Reply #11: All th rabid conservatives I know... [View All]

[anigbrowl]

(as opposed to the thoughtful but cautious conservatives, who I respect) have this in common. THE easiest way to find out what sort of conservative you're dealing with is to casually mention Viet Nam in a neutral way - that is, solicit their views rather than set them up for an argument.

All the rabid ones (regardless of when they were born) are FURIOUS that the US gave up on Viet Nam. They all think that the military was sold out by a bunch of civilian pussies who wouldn't let the 'get the job done'. Don't waste your time (like I did) pointing out that *just maybe* dropping napalm on peasants was not an appropriate task of the US military. These are the same people that argue we had to drop two nuclear bombs on Japan because otherwise we would have been attacked with sharpened sticks by staging a ground invasion. (the real reason, although I disagree with it, was to scare the pants off Stalin before he got the idea to liberate France too).

To these folk, the US decision to get out of VN is a massive betrayal. This is the fuel for all those 'POW*MIA' campaigns, Rambo movies etc. They hate McCain because he has insulted them in the past, with comments like 'dime store Rambos' and so on. He's actually been the real deal so they can't argue with his experience of war, but transfer their annoyance at him onto other parts of his record. Believe it or not, there's a conservative conspiracy theory that McCain actually spent most of his captivity enjoying hookers and blow in return for giving the NVA all kids of useful intelligence info.

Anyway, while McCain has genuine war hero status, he still has to deal with the fact that he was a hero because he got captured and survived a long time, as opposed to because he bombed Ho Chi Minh's HQ or something. And so we are hearing lots and lots of talk about 'finishing the mission' in Iraq - I can't help feeling that in some ways this is the 'mission' he never got to finish himself because he was shot down. It may or may not be the case in McCain's mind, but it is certainly so in the minds of rabid conservatives. And since they loathe him so much, the only way he can get them back on board and out to vote in November is to promise them a great triumph in the deserts of the Middle East.

In their minds, if we don't a full-sized, unarguable grade-A 'Result' in Iraq, then the whole thing has been a waste of time. If we do get a huge win, then it's OK - all the pain, suffering, money and time is OK as long it bring Glory. Conversely, no amount of brilliant diplomacy, strategy, whatever can ever make up for the 'cut and run' feeling if we pull out o Iraq before that country comes to resemble the 51st State of the USA.

Deep down, subconsciously even, rabid conservatives feel as embarrassed and humiliated by W as anyone...not only have been in Iraq and Afghanistan longer than it took for the whole of WW2, but every time Bush talks to Saudi Arabia they are keenly aware that he is basically kissing the ass of a feudal king, and that Saudi Arabia makes Iran look like a liberal democracy. Rabid conservatives are authoritarians, who are psychologically biased towards accepting dominance, submission and humiliation as facts of life, and indeed the natural order of things. The fact that Saudi Arabia is not obviously kissing our ass can only be interpreted one way - when push comes to shove, they are more powerful than we are. This notion is crushingly humiliating to anyone who has gone through their life believing that the USA is the best country in the world because of its ability to Kick Ass. (Indeed, it's noticeable that these people are obsessed with being able to Kick Ass. Not to land a knockout punch, or fool the enemy, but specifically to kick their asses. And you wonder why so many GOP politicians have boy problems).

McCain can only reactivate the conservative base by promising Revenge. Revenge against the illegal aliens, revenge against the damn A-rabs (never mind the details, everyone east of Jerusalem is some kind of damn muslim to them), even revenge against Europe for their snotty 'I told you so' attitude. Of course he can't say this out loud...but the big thing this year will be the 'clear and presnt danger' of Iran (or any other catchy Tom Clancy book title they can get to fit. They all love tom Clancy - he makes them feel intellectual).

In short, McCain himself is only part of the problem. The real danger is that the people he needs to vote if he is to be elected desperately, passionately want a giant shooting war, and would be entirely happy for it to go nuclear.