George Rebane
The more you redistribute,
the less you have to redistribute.
The very liberal truthout.com is absolutely frantic in its email seeking donations from its readers. The fear of the conservatives they profess matches or exceeds anything equivalent I have seen coming from the right in reference to the left. Here’s their opening (original emphasis) –
Tea Party candidates across the US have been winning primaries and are pushing the Republican Party even further to the extreme conservative fringe.
Our worst fears about the Tea Party appear to be coming true. The racism, disregard for reality, selfishness and enthusiasm for gun ownership has progressives lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering how hard it would be to move to an island. But the real question is: Why are the most extreme candidates on the right winning?
For the answer, turn on your radio and scan the AM stations. Right-wing talk radio is dominant. The hosts have spent hours every day spreading a conservative morality across the country. Just today, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh broadcast a combined six hours promoting Tea Party candidates and lambasting efforts to make wealthy Americans pay slightly higher taxes. Billionaires (and many millionaires) are funding these efforts in droves.
This is a pretty bleak picture the progressives have of us conservatives, and especially those of us who are connected to any of the multiple factions of the Tea Party movement. (For the record, the Tea Party Patriots, the largest of the factions, does not endorse any candidates as a matter of policy. That cannot be said for the Tea Party Express and FreedomWorks.)
Our views on the governance of a free (or not so free) society are literally 180 degrees out. Both sides are scared to death of a future in which the values and mores of the other become the standard for society. Never have so many disagreed about so much with each other. We no longer debate issues because the ground rules each side follows originate from different realities.
The only ray of hope for a peaceful parting is that some progressives think they can create enough wealth to make it on their own. Sadly they are a minority; the majority of progressives know in their heart of hearts that without the conservatives they will be fiscally on their collective butt. Nevertheless, they remain convinced that the wealth created by the conservatives is really theirs – “Give them the wealth! Give them the power!” (Van Jones). That this wealth creation will come to a grinding end once their fundamental transformation is in place never enters their mind.
Has anyone found any ‘middle ground’ lately?
rebanesruminations.com 
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