The objective of conservatives is no longer to win the political debate. They aren’t willing to engage in honest discourse anymore because it’s become abundantly clear — especially to them — they can’t win. Most of the conservative talking points we hear are destined for the ash heap of history, soon to be buried alongside the forgotten memoirs of their most outspoken demagogues from the previous generation, from Strom Thurmond to Jerry Falwell. Even Ronald Reagan doesn’t resonate much anymore within the political mainstream.
No matter what today’s hot-button topic is — whether it’s man-made climate change, a dangerously widening income gap, student and middle-class debt, corporate greed, national health care, out of control defense spending, or selective law enforcement and the gross misappropriation of justice in America — the debate is pretty much over. On every front, conservatives find themselves on the losing side of popular opinion.
Think that’s an exaggeration? Then, consider something else. The conservative plight on the most pressing social and cultural issues of the day appears even dimmer. The evolving debate over traditional family values, gay marriage, drug legalization, gun control, and immigration reveals that conservatives aren’t just playing for a bad team while calling plays from an outdated playbook. They’ve already lost the game and now often end up embarrassing themselves.
Quick. Name a conservative paradigm where future trends are favorable. You can’t. The disappearing middle class, the environment, equal rights for all — the liberal argument continues to gain ground and win converts. Conservatives simply will not turn back public opinion on gay rights or tax cuts for the rich or perceptions about the role of government. More and more people want equal rights for all people. They want a fairer tax code. They understand the government is necessary to protect us and provide leadership.
Given that it’s now desperation time, such harsh realities call for drastic countermeasures. Knowing they can’t win the public debate anymore, the conservative movement has already begun engaging in a concerted strategic shift to delay what’s become inevitable. Whatever it takes, and by any means necessary — just stall. Lie. Fabricate. Distract. Deceive. Try and run out the clock. In the meantime, all the beneficiaries of this delay of the game strategy include covered wagons perpetually circling inside the right-wing power parade — giant corporations, energy companies, arms dealers, churches, and religious organizations desperately clinging to the past, and, of course, the wealthiest one percent of all Americans. Keep the masses at bay for as long as possible, while we continue to hoard more gold. The vault will be cleaned out eventually. That’s the conservatives’ tactic.
From the loneliest right-wing bloggers to radio-talk show hosts to state governors and members of Congress, it’s hard to tell if most conservatives really are in a state of denial, or simply delusional. Take climate change, which is probably the most glaring example of reality versus fantasyland. Or evolution. Or any other issue that’s science-based. Time and time again, conservatives find themselves denying the advances made in science. When scientific discovery threatens big business and their profits, then just make up your own science. Create an alternative universe. It doesn’t matter that much of what anti-climate science, evolution deniers, and other reactionaries put out is usually a gross distortion. If anyone bothers to do a little research, by the time anyone digs deeper and investigates, our attention has moved on to something else. They play for a draw.
Indeed, since facts aren’t usually on their side, they now resort to making up their own. Sadly, there are plenty of starving academics and public relations whores willing and able to write up and say just about anything, so long as they collect a handsome consulting fee. Government officials and agencies are now bombarded with bogus “studies” and half-wit “research papers” from organizations with benign-sounding names much like the Koch Brothers front group known as the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Corporate funded “research” which denies man-made climate change is granted equal credence and put on the same scale along with legitimate science groups such as the American Meteorological Society, the U.S. Academy of Sciences, NASA, and just about every established scientific body which warns us that the planet is heating up and we’re the cause of much of it. The mainstream media even go so far as to booster these hired talking guns alongside actual scientists, debating live on the air. We see this all the time.
Unfortunately, the more savvy media-trained public relations gurus often do a much better job than they should, out-dazzling the often frumpy and data-driven scientists and researchers.
Indeed, think tanks used to be reputable places where actual research was done, usually free of bias and void of outside financial interests. The Rand Corporation, The Brookings Institute, and The Heritage Foundation were (and still are) respectable extensions of government and academia where source material can be trusted. Now, civil think tank society has turned into a mob. Some organization with a clever-sounding name is always willing to dig up dirt or cherry-pick facts for anyone willing to pay the price.
The conservative obsession with bringing down so-called liberal administrations reveals many of these same dubious tactics being used, only worse. First, it was President Bill Clinton, who was viciously attacked by the political right and investigated numerous times. Despite this, Clinton gave this country eight remarkably prosperous years. Then, it was President Barack Obama’s turn. Six years into his presidency, half of the Republican Party still thinks he’s a Muslim. More than half label him a socialist. Nearly half still believe Iraq was partially responsible for the 9/11 attack. Yet, much like Clinton’s presidency, the record of actual accomplishments is pretty glowing despite the White House being consistently slung with mud.
The barrage of typically short-lived pop-up right-wing websites spreading outright “fake” news stories is the clearest example of delaying the game. Invent the news. Do whatever it takes. Say whatever you can. Take lines in speeches out of context. Confuse. Lie. Distort. Then, when the deception gets exposed, move on and repeat again. There’s plenty of Koch Brothers money eager to fund the next boiler room operation.
You don’t believe it? Check out Facebook sometime and skew through the sludge of conservative hate targeted at President Obama and his family. It’s nauseating. Oddly enough, when balancing fake news sites and outright distortion, I don’t recall much of any liberal activism, and I’m on just about every left-wing mailing list there is. This has become a one-sided political battle that, at times, does seem to work. The 2010 and 2014 midterm results where conservatives picked up wins are the best examples of Tea Party hysteria and the mobilization of grassroots reactionaries. Yes, stonewalling everything President Obama does sometimes works, even though it’s terrible for the country and even worse for working Americans. Delay of the game can indeed be quite effective.
So, where were these delay of game tactics invented and learned? Where and when did they begin?
A convincing case can be made the blueprint now being used so effectively by many corporations and right-wing political activists was first put into play by the big tobacco companies. Fifty years ago, cigarette makers denied smoking was harmful. They even funded their own fictitious studies. When finally proven wrong, next they claimed that cigarettes were not addictive. When proven wrong yet again, they began connecting the habit of smoking to an act of personal freedom, almost patriotic. Time and time again, big tobacco delayed what they knew to be inevitable. There was no debate because the facts were not on the side of smoking. Just as more restrictive laws were gradually enacted throughout the United States, the interval period which lasted over decades gave the cigarette companies plenty of time to retool their marketing and distribution efforts, by expanding internationally. Now other countries are beginning to ban smoking, and big tobacco is using the same stalling tactics.
Despite plenty of setbacks and lots of frustration over the years, there’s still reason for optimism. So long as conservatives continue to align themselves closely with big tobacco, oil companies, multinational corporations, banks, weapons makers, and Bible thumpers who want to turn the clock back to the 19th Century, they’ll continue to lose the minds of the next generation and alienate much of the political mainstream.
Unfortunately for progressives, the challenge is to now get the ball back and begin to play offense. It’s hard to defend against the delay of game.