Why do conservatives value Self-Righteousness and Hypocrisy?

take the poll; at
Why do conservatives value Self-Righteousness and Hypocrisy?

http://www.opednews.com/Poll/Why-do-conservatives--valu-by-Edwin-Rutsch-080706-786.html

 (   ) They are self deceived and don't even see their own self-righteousness and hypocrisy.
 (   ) They know that being self-righteous will get them power.
 (   ) They can feel superior to others and enjoy their vices at the same time.
 (   ) Some or all of the above.
 (   ) They don't value self-righteousness and hypocrisy but instead value integrity?
 (   ) Others, please explain.

by Edwin Rutsch (57 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 138 comments) on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 4:25:58 PM
 

Hypocrisy and pointing fingers

One commenter wrote "We all have our problems, I’m sure, both parties, but I don’t see the Democrats pointing fingers all the time.  I see the Republicans pointing fingers every time. "

But isn't "pointing fingers" at Republicans what this whole discussion is about?  Be careful not to fall into hypocrisy yourselves!

The examples of "family values" Republicans themselves engaging in immoral behavior are examples of hypocrisy.  But none of the other examples are.  The other examples are nothing more than policy disagreements.

 If you read partisan material on both sides (as I do), you will see that _both_ sides accuse each other of hypocrisy.  This accusation is occasionally true, but usually not.  Most people, even in politics, sincerely believe what they say.

I used to vote mainly Democrat and occasionally Republican.  Lately, I have done the opposite.  I have strong disagreements with certain policies on both sides.  I came here with an open mind to learn something, and to make sure I don't become complacent in my thinking.

If your goal is to congratulate yourselves and villify the other side, fine.  But if you want to influence voters in the middle like me, you'd do well to try to respect and understand the other side's point of view, and then make intelligent arguments advocating your own opinions.

by Robert Gale (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 5:52:24 PM
 

I wondered about that as well

I added the quote by Emerson to point out that we all have some hypocrisy.
Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

I think acknowledging that all have made mistakes is to first step.  However, I don't see the conservatives doing it until after they get caught; chasing pages, affairs, Vitter, gay sex in bathroom stalls, etc. etc. It seems to be  endemic.  It's the combination of failed conservative values of self-righteousness and hypocrisy which is so damming.

There are whole books on this social conservative hypocrisy.

http://www.conservativesexscandals.com

However, you never hear conservatives taking responsibility for all this hypocrisy. So, that becomes another failed value of conservative irresponsibility.

by Edwin Rutsch (57 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 138 comments) on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 6:21:49 PM
 

Scandals on both sides

There are scandals on both sides.  Two minutes on Google turns up a number of conservative web sites listing scandals involving prominent Democrats.  Here is one arbitrary example:

http://www.boycottliberalism.com/Scandals.htm

There are corrupt people all over.  Politics seems to attract them disproportionately.  This is an annoying fact of life.

 My point is that saying "their scandals are worse than our scandals" is useful mainly for self-congratulation.  When this is done (pretty much equally by both sides), independents like me reach for the remote.  We'll tune back in when you have something substantive to say.

by Robert Gale (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 6:46:22 PM
 

checking the website and

One thing I notice is that most of the  listings are quite old and there are far fewer democrats on that page than on the republican pages which are also more current.  I'd also like to see a comparison of conservatives to progressives, what is the ratio there?   There are a lot of conservative democrats..

by Edwin Rutsch (57 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 138 comments) on Monday, July 7, 2008 at 10:30:11 AM
 

btw,,, did you even hear the points the interviewees made?

You didn't even bother to address any of the points they so passionately made.  I would say that if you voted for the conservative values they talked about, that you have a responsibility for the mess they made.  What are you doing to address this?

There are many more failed conservative values that you can think about here as well.

http://progressivespirit.com/InterviewStories/ProgressiveValuesStories.htm

Failed Conservative Values: Congresswoman Maxine Waters on Blame, Hate & Lying
Failed Conservative Values: Gordon Wright on Psychopaths and Fear
The Failed Conservative Values of James Dobson 
Failed Conservative Values: Elaine Charkowski on Patriarchy Family Values
Failed Conservative Values: Louise Specht on Hierarchy Authoritarian Narcissism
Failed Conservative Values: Dona Ridgeway on Authoritarianism
Failed Conservative Values: Arianna Huffington on Family Values Hypocrisy
Failed Conservative Values: They're Not Working - George Lakoff
Failed Conservative Values: David Sirota on Economic Darwinism
Attack of the Anaconda -  Failed Conservative Values Metaphors

by Edwin Rutsch (57 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 138 comments) on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 6:32:58 PM
 

polls are quite condemming.

if you check the above poll  and the following one. You'll see that most people on these sites see conservatives as quite self-righteous and  hypocritical.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/6/172922/9355/747/547426

by Edwin Rutsch (57 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 138 comments) on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 6:45:22 PM
 

it is hypocrisy, that's why we're progressives

the progressive movement started as a bi-partisan movement to keep our politicians honest.  i hope one day it will be again, but right now, our home is mostly in the democratic party.

 it is hypocrisy, but it's more than that.  it's about the leash of emotional abuse that the conservatives have wrapped around people, to control their vote while surpressing the truth.  and in the real end of things, they make absolutly no progress on anything, and blame the other side for that, while hiding their own hypocrisy, corruption, and laziness.

 the conservatives have ruined politics --even die-hard republicans will admit to it.  and if there is a finger to point, it's at the republican politicians who made these deals with the neo-cons, the war hawks, big oil and other corporate special interests, and the religious right--and use our emotions to manipulate people and their votes.

 they'll make this deal with the religious right to control voter's emotions all the way to the ballot box...but in the end, the winners are still the corporations and the war hawks and so forth that they owe payback to.  this trinity between religion, politicans, and corporations is simply unholy, and undemocratic.

 yes, no one is free from sin, and we are all forgiven.  but, when you are looking at leadership that is responsible, that will be held accountable, hypocrisy is a big, big deal.   you don't shake the devil's hand then say you're only kidding.

it's not being liberal, it's being progressive.  it's being vigilant towards our politicians, our government.  if you follow closely, we're watching democrats all the time.  here in my area, we kicked out an incumbent democrat for his corporate ties and war hawk votes, and replaced him with a progressive.

 liberal means you use reason and logic to base decision making on.  well, that's not a bad idea either, and the two ideas make a great partnership.

by kenshin (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 18 comments) on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 1:03:55 PM
 

Now we're talking!

Ah, now we're having a conversation!  We won't agree on everything, but maybe we can at least hear each other.

Re: the poll:  Polls on liberal web sites will lean liberal.  Nothing wrong with that.

Interviews:

Waters on blame, hate, and lying:  Both sides blame.  There is a certain amount of lying on both sides, less than many think.  Hate?  What's the "hate" thing?  In recent years I've seen only isolated examples of public hate speech.   Mostly stealthy, out-of-context videos showing racism (white racism by the Seinfeld "Kramer" guy, black racism by Reverend White).  I haven't a clue what she means by Republican "hate".

 Gordon Wright:  Sorry to hear about his father.  There are lots of jerks.  Presidential events are increasingly choreographed (especially Reagan and Clinton.  The Bushes are amateurs).  Good point about Republicans and unfettered capitalism.  Democrats err on the side of government meddling.  It's hard to find the correct middle ground.  B. Clinton was probably the best at that.  No clue what McCain or Obama will do.

 Dobson:  Slogan-shouting on both sides.  Boring.

 Charkowski:  Fear of authority?  Huh?  Conservatives support smaller government, liberals support inserting government authority into peoples' lives.  But wait--conservatives are authoritarian, liberals are open-minded.  Or is it the other way around?  Broad generalizations.  Not useful.  Boring.

Specht:  Good point about narcissistic conservative blow-hards.   There are stuffed-shirts on both sides.  Classical partisan tactic is to talk about the jerks on the other side.  But here's something that would be more interesting:  What if the more intelligent Democrats conversed with the more intelligent Republicans?

Ridgeway:  Makes some good points.  Interesting.

Huffington:  Partisan tripe.  Boring.

Lakoff:  Policy successes and failures.  Partisan, but substantive.  Interesting.

Sirota:  Partisan, but original and thoughtful.

Anaconda, animal metaphors, etc.:  Gimme a break . . .

Nancy Kops:  Conservatives are not caring.  But wait--I know some caring ones.  How confusing.  Could it be that my black-and-white view of the world needs refining?   Naw . . . .

Okay, enough, I'm getting tired of hearing myself talk.  Summary:  Some of these people have good points.  Some don't.  Most of them would sound a lot more intelligent if they studied their opponents' positions and articulated intelligent, non-cartoonish responses.

by Robert Gale (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 8:00:29 PM
 

you've got your work cut out for you.

Glad to have you join the converstation and for your replys...

  You did miss some points, for example, Nancy Kopps says she know's conservatives who are caring people but she thinks they don't see the bigger pictures. So she didn't say there are no caring conservatives.

if you really look at all the comments people have made you'll be quite busy.

see

 here's a few..

http://progressivespirit.com/InterviewStories/ProgressiveValuesStories.htm

but many more here.

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=failed+conservative+values&search_type=&aq=f

How would you say conservative values have failed?

by Edwin Rutsch (57 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 138 comments) on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 11:37:35 PM
 

Are you in the deep or shallow end of the Bull Sh*t Pool

Might be true, But are you in over your head in the conservative deep end of a pool full of bull, or are you in the shallow end. Just remember that when your in the deep end, you're in over your head.

There's also the issue of the conservatives pointing fingers at everyone else in the pool and saying how they have values and no-one else does.

by Edwin Rutsch (57 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 138 comments) on Monday, July 7, 2008 at 10:24:42 AM