Of course, there are plenty others to be found here.
They all share from the same mendacious, hypocritical, vainglorious, and hubristic bag of mixed-up moral misgivings that should disqualify them from acceptance into any fraternity representative of "family values." Yet here they are, pimping the conservative hustle for all its worth. Somehow, these and countless other "God and Country" flag-wavers have managed to establish for themselves, a solid chain of idolatry linking what can only be described as a smooth-talking core of right-wing scheme merchants to a substantial group of easily-persuaded Americans.
Sarah Palin, a perhaps unlikely Schlessinger defender (Dr. Laura condemned Palin as unsuited for consideration as vice-president two years ago) and herself no stranger to the role of quitter, obviously understands the implications of gullibility among rank and file conservatives. It is one of the major factors that drove her to "retreat" rather than "reload" in her position as Alaska's Governor (thus ignoring the advice she offered Schlessinger), in order to dive headfirst into the lucrative marketplace which is part and parcel of the conservative hustle. Apparently, Palin's brief excursion out of Alaska state politics during her vice-presidential run elicited her awareness of the old saying: "superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages; but truth goes a-begging." It hasn't taken long at all for her to figure out that walking the walk seems completely unnecessary to conservative leaders when their followers consist of those for whom a reassuring lie serves as the best antidote to an inconvenient truth. Particularly, it seems, if the lie enhances one's stature as a core conservative.
This should surprise no one. The hard right's longstanding tradition of lock-step devotion to the message and its willingness to rationalize the misbehavior of those among its leaders who preach that message but fail to "walk the walk" is nothing new or unusual. Over the years, we've witnessed a seemingly endless slew of flawed individuals on the right who have attracted throngs of sycophants by presenting a disingenuous front regarding their own personal lives. All someone like a Dick Armey or a George W. Bush need do is don a goofy ten-gallon hat or a front a pair of dusty cowboy boots and they are halfway there. Today there's Palin -- whose own overt diva tendencies have done little to undermine the "mama grizzly" everywoman image she's constructed for public consumption -- finding herself well entrenched among those for whom the use of disinformation, prevarication, and flat-out lying has provided success in pulling in the kind of folks who'll believe pretty much anything that "sounds American."
In the process they provide fuel to a stubborn vortex of ignorance affecting a large chunk of the American public which Palin, et al clearly understand can be personally rewarding if shrewdly manipulated. This would seem evident by the astonishing number of Americans spellbound by the beguiling logic, asinine non-sequiturs, and dippy interpretations of words and phrases like "socialist," and "end of life consults" which have been twisted into pointlessness by way of crafty Orwellian doublespeak pushed onto the public through vehicles such as the Fox News Channel and right-wing talk radio. And a result of all this has been some curious inanities within conservative circles.
It would seem for example; that even the least inquisitive of conservatives would wonder why, after enduring months of criticism for what they claim was Barack Obama's 20-year association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright --a Christian preacher -- over a third of their conservative brethren believe that the President is a Muslim? It's a belief that's even more dubious in light of Obama's continued stewardship -- via among other methods, the stepped up use of predator drone strikes -- over one of the deadliest sustained killing sprees against top level Islamic extremists since the height of the Iraq insurgency.
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