Advise to Young Conservatives

[Wiregrass Willie]

As a courtesy to Conservatives on this group, I'd like to tell a very
short story that may explain my dislike for many of the people I refer
to as "professional conservatives" who seem to hang out on the Fox
News Network.


I know we have all had experiences in our lives that may have colored
our outlook on certain subjects. But one of my experiences had an
especially hard impact on mine.

Back in the about 1968, in my early 20s, I had just begun to think I
was born to be a conservative. Most of the people I knew voted for
Goldwater, thereby breaking what for them had been a life long
Democratic affiliation.


In my work, I came in frequent contact with a guy I will call "Jim".
He worked across town and I only saw him once or twice a week. He was
about 30 and was active in conservative politics. Actually "active"
is an understatement. Jim was an active member and held office in
just about every right wing organization of that day. Including -- but
not limited to -- the John Birch Society, Citizens Council, State
Rights Party, Secretary for the Young Republicans and others I can't
remember.


I liked Jim. I was young and I respected him and sought to become
more involved myself. But my big problem is that I have never been
a "joiner". I will support various organizations philosophically and
financially, but I don't like to actually join many groups. Jim was always
trying to get me to join one of his groups and it seems that he collected
the dues for most of them. He would say something like "Willie, you can
join the (whatever) this week and I will get you a 10% discount off
the usual initiation fee". I'd always thanked him but declined. I
thought he did it because he was so much a believer in the causes. I
suppose he had about given up on me and probably thought I wasn't that
much of a right winger, anyway. One day he gave me a half hearted
sales pitch, and after I declined he shrugged and said :


"Willie, a young man like you should get more involved. There's a lot
of money to be made in this Right Wing shit".


Right wing shit ! Good god ! At that time in my life I thought the
Conservative cause was writ in the sacred blood of Saints. I wasn't
a "joiner" but I was a true believer. And here one of it's most
successful local promoters refers to it as "shit". What a jolt for a
young man.


I stayed friends with Jim for a couple more years up until he got a job
offer with a country band on a national TV show. Every Saturday
night that I'd see him on TV, I'd wanted to ask him -- "Jim, is
there more money in this hillbilly shit than in right-wing shit ?"
But I never saw him again.


When I see people making a lot of money off political causes I respect,
I think of Jim. When I see Coulter and Hannity on Fox, I can't help but
know that as soon as the camera is off, one will turn to the other
and say "Man, there's a lot of money in the right wing shit". I saw
Hannity interview George W Bush one evening a couple of years back.
I figure that as soon as Bush got up to leave, and the microphone was
off, Hannity turned to him and said:


"Thank you so much, Mister President. There's a lot more money in
this Right-Wing shit than there was before you came along".


That's what I call a "professional Conservative" :-)


My advise is to take all of these Faux promoters with a grain of salt.

The wisest quote I have read in a long time goes --

"every political cause eventually becomes a business and then
degenerates into a racket".

[trotsky]

1. Ha! Great post!

Welcome to DU, Wiregrass Willie! :thumbsup:

"Man, there's a lot of money in the right wing shit"

That says it all.