One
answer is the appeal of entitlements and a desire to be taken care of.
It takes a strong-willed citizen to vote against receiving free
benefits.
But
an even greater explanation is the saturation of Western society by
left-wing hate directed at the right. The left's demonization, personal
vilification, and mockery of its opponents have been the most powerful
tools in the left-wing arsenal for a century.
Since
Stalin labeled Leon Trotsky — the man who was the father of Russian
Bolshevism! — a "fascist," the Left has labeled its ideological
opponents evil. And when you control nearly all of the news media and
schools, that labeling works.
The
liberal media even succeeded in blaming the right wing for the
assassination of President Kennedy even though his assassin, Lee Harvey
Oswald, was a pro-Soviet, pro-Castro communist.
Similarly,
just one day after a deranged man, Jared Loughner, attempted to kill
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and murdered six people in the process, the New
York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote that it was right-wing hate that
had provoked Loughner.
Bullied Into Quitting
Krugman
made it all up. But what matters to most of those who speak for the
left is not truth. It is destroying the good name of its opponents. That
is the modus operandi of the left. It works.
Two
examples in the last month bear testimony to its efficacy. One was the
overwhelmingly likely motivation of Chief Justice John Roberts to
declare the ObamaCare individual mandate constitutional despite his
ruling that, as passed, the mandate was in fact unconstitutional.
The
other was an op-ed column that David Blankenhorn, the prominent
conservative advocate for marriage and against same-sex marriage, wrote
for the New York Times.
Blankenhorn
has committed his professional life to fighting for the institution of
marriage. And as recently as 2010, he testified on behalf of California
Proposition 8, which, in 2008, amended the California Constitution to
define marriage as the union of one man and one woman — and which was
immediately challenged in the courts, where liberal judges overturned
it.
Blankenhorn
was vilified throughout the liberal and gay media. As Mark Oppenheimer,
editor of the "Beliefs" column in the Times wrote:
"During
the trial (over the constitutionality of Proposition 8) and in the
immediate aftermath, Blankenhorn became a national figure; he was ...
the butt of ridicule. ... And now, he has decided to give up that
fight."
'Just A Bigot'
Blankenhorn told Oppenheimer:
"I
had an old community-organizing buddy who wrote a note to me after the
trial and said, how does it feel to be America's most famous bigot? I
used to think you were a good person. Now I know you're a bad person.
How does it feel to know that your tombstone will read that you're just a
bigot."
Two
weeks ago, Blankenhorn wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times in
which he announced that he now supports same-sex marriage.
As
for Roberts, he and his conservative colleagues on the Supreme Court
have been the targets of media and academia vitriol and personal
invective for years, and in some cases, decades. But while his
conservative colleagues don't care, Roberts does.
As reported by CBS News:
"Some
of the conservatives, such as Justice Clarence Thomas, deliberately
avoid news articles on the Court when issues are pending ... . They've
explained that they don't want to be influenced by outside opinion or
feel pressure from outlets that are perceived as liberal.
"But
Roberts pays attention to media coverage. As chief justice, he is
keenly aware of his leadership role on the court, and he also is
sensitive to how the court is perceived by the public. ("The public"
means liberal media and academics.)
"There
were countless news articles in May warning of damage to the court —
and to Roberts' reputation — if the court were to strike down the
mandate."
Blankenhorn's
change — he has admitted he is tired of fighting the culture wars, and
he has gone from being the object of New York Times derision to being a
New York Times hero — and Roberts' change — New York Times columnist
Thomas Friedman wrote a column lauding Roberts for his "statesmanship" —
reassure progressives that ridicule, demonization, and character
assassination work. With the stakes so high in the forthcoming election,
expect it to only increase.
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