john manning

Inferior Right Angles
The Empty Argument of Bush Supporters.
TvNewsLies.org - 03-Nov-2003
http://www.tvnewslies.org/html/infer...ht_angles.html


Listen to the argument from the right.
Listen closely. Listen carefully. Do you
hear anything? Probably not. There are
sounds, there are words, and there are even
complete sentences. But there is also
something similar about all their
proclamations: There is no logic. There is
no substance. There is no reasoning. There
is never a coherent defense of the madness
that is this administration. To paraphrase
the bard, the debating angles of the
radical right are, “…full of sound and
fury, signifying nothing.”

In an attempt to bring contrasting
viewpoints to TVNL Radio Live, I ventured
into the nether world of conservative and
right wing political Internet forums. As a
relative newcomer to the battleground
between the left and the right, I tried to
have an open mind and vowed to listen to
what Bush supporters had to say. I really
tried. I really, really did. Simple as that.

What I encountered, however, was a wall.
It was not a clearly defined wall, - not a
palpable wall that shut me out as a member
of any forum. I posted, people responded,
- but there was no debate. I posted,
people responded, but there was no
discourse. I posted, and people responded
with the same, almost identical methods:
labeling, name calling, generalizing, and
being in a stark state of denial. The wall
that went up excluded any rational exchange
of views. Any criticism of the Bush
administration was discredited without
explanation. It wasn’t true. I was wrong.
They were right. Simple as that.

As I wandered from forum to forum, the
methods were frighteningly similar.
Opinions were posted with no supporting
evidence and were totally devoid of
details. The primary exchange among the
regular members consisted of liberal
bashing, pronouncements of right wing
patriotism, and mutual admiration for
supporting the President. Requests for
clarity went unheeded, - documented facts
were discredited as left wing propaganda,
and the large majority of the posters were
there to reinforce one another’s views.
Most minds were made up and closed. Simple
as that.

I am not suggesting that this means that
the left is correct and the right is wrong
about any issue under discussion. What I
am suggesting is that there seems to be no
foundation on which the right can build a
case for supporting the President’s
policies. The people on the right seem to
be at a loss for any concrete reasons for
their opinions. They cannot seem to point
out the weakness or fallacy of a criticism
presented by the left. Rather, one after
another, across the board, and across the
nation, responded to documented challenges
of this administration with dismissive
insults. A favorite was the “liberal rag”
accusation against any news source to the
left of FOX. Nothing, absolutely nothing
critical of the Bush administration had any
credibility. Simple as that.

Even more interesting were the GOP mantras
that popped up almost everywhere. The US
was in this war to “liberate the Iraqis,”
and we had to go after Saddam “before he
came after us.” The terrorists all “hated
freedom” and were all “evil” people who had
to be wiped out. Liberals just wanted more
government handouts, and all Democrats had
a deep rooted hatred for George Bush. They
had it all down to a science, and they
believed everything they said to one another.

All but a small handful of posts were
rather unsophisticated and uncomplicated.
There was no breaking of the ranks. They
all agreed. They had no questions. Simple
as that.

administration and the Congress for our
military and veterans. These articles were
posted or linked on a number of forums,
including military bulletin boards. When
reading the threads posted in response to
my documented criticisms, I found myself
laughing at the sheer idiocy of some of the
right wing responders. The content of the
articles were never commented upon. There
was absolutely NO allegation that anything
I had written was inaccurate or misleading.
I had to smile at the typical responses
by the right, - the insults, the labels,
the denial. There they were, - the same
old posts: "Go away you @#$$ liberal!”
“Some of us are tired of you Bush bashers!"
“More partisan garbage!” The usual. The
responders almost never made an attempt to
engage in a discussion. They never disputed
the facts. They never attempted to offer
additional or contradictory information.
They were unable to offer an opposing
argument. They had nothing relevant to say.
So they attacked. Simple as that.

It’s pretty sad. A democratic society so
desperately in trouble should be engaged in
open and intelligent debate about the vital
issues in contention. That isn’t
happening, - not on the Internet and not in
the mainstream media. The right sells its
policies to the public, and the media
disseminates its message. The left
grumbles among itself – and so, there never
is the need for the right to justify,
explain, defend, or offer evidence to
support its policies.

I am beginning to believe that there is no
argument on the right that would actually
stand up. I am beginning to wonder whether
anyone on the right can really explain why
ANY of the Bush/PNAC policies are in the
best interests of the American people. If
someone out there, on the right, wants to
prove me wrong, let me know. You’ll be
heard. The contact information is on my
web site: call me, email me, AIM me.
You’ll be my guest on the air. Simple as that.

confusious

message board is full of nothing more than namecalling republicans and
calls for republicans to be exterminated
http://ronwade.freeservers.com/soreset8.JPG

clovis lark

Run off?????

confusious

Nope, just another one of John's kooky websites,

clovis lark

Every one's out of step except for my son...