Enemies everywhere

The right preaches against self-victimization except when it practices it.

Published January 31, 2008 12:33PM (EST)

Writing about last night's GOP debate, John Hinderaker of Powerline, Time's 2004 Blog of the Year, shared this observation:

Businessmen, in my experience, are generally more idealistic than politicians. Businessmen really do make deals with a handshake. No one would dream of doing that with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi or the Clintons. . . .

I don't view this as an argument in Romney's favor. As President, he wouldn't be dealing with honorable, law-abiding businesspeople. He would be going up against the Vladimir Putins, Osama bin Ladens and Harry Reids of the world.

That passage was then promptly quoted by National Review's Mark Steyn, who said that Hinderaker "might be on to something."

Why don't Democrats become more bipartisan? Why are liberal bloggers and The Angry Left so hateful? Why does Bush Derangement Syndrome cause people to say such mean things, make such extreme accusations, about the Commander-in-Chief? After all, the right-wing of the Republican Party is so reasonable and sober and so eager to work cooperatively with Democrats for what's best for the country that it's just inexcusable for liberals to view politics as warfare and refuse to shed their hostility in order to get things done.

And besides, the nation's poor War Cheerleaders of the Right are always so besieged by vicious Enemies lurking on every corner -- people who are ruthless, without scruples, and who are even willing to break the law. Like Vladimir Putin, Osama bin Laden, and Harry Reid.

They're treated very unfairly everywhere -- by the press, by colleges, by political elites, by other countries, by the U.N., by minorities. There is no more besieged and victimized group anywhere on the planet than white, Christian, American conservative males (except, perhaps, right-wing Jews, the only worthy competitor for the glorious mantle of Most Persecuted). Among other things, they must battle "the unholy alliance of leftists, Islamists and multiculturalist racial pressure groups."

Every institution treats them unfairly; every sector poses a threat to their Goodness; they are surrounded by soul-less Enemies who wish to do them harm. Nobody deserves the slightest sympathy -- nobody's plight merits the slightest concern -- except for theirs. They are the best people on Earth -- actually, the best people ever in all of human history. And everyone is against them. Everyone is waging war on them. Enemies everywhere work together to threaten and harm them. It's all deeply unfair. And they must wage vicious war -- against all the Enemies, Everywhere -- if they have any hope of being protected.

* * * * *

For a sense of just how very much the Honorable, Besieged Right hates law-breaking -- just absolutely cannot abide it -- my earlier post on yesterday's testimony of Attorney General Michael Mukasey is here.


By Glenn Greenwald

Follow Glenn Greenwald on Twitter: @ggreenwald.

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