Waa! Waaa!

Somebody should tell the "social conservatives" that whining is unbecoming, especially in adults. Then, someone should pass that same word on to the Republican Party at large. Gregory Rodriguez has done a nice job in starting that work in his column in today's Los Angeles Times.

After years of decrying "victimhood" amongst those who actually were the victims of a racist and sexist society, of railing against affirmative action as coddling those who have made victimhood a self-fulfilling prophecy, the GOP is now using that very frame to whip up their supporters, which is, as Mr. Rodriguez points out, quite ironic.

When Americans go on the attack against elites, historically we think of economic populism, the kind of class warfare pushed by the left wing. This is about money, inequality and an agenda to redistribute wealth. Liberal activists rail against robber barons and corporate fat cats. Conservative populism leverages social rather than economic cleavages. The agenda is mobilizing resentful masses that get a vicarious go at thumbing their noses at anyone they feel looks down on them. The enemies list is made up of professors, public intellectuals and entertainers, not captains of industry. And without any real redress in mind, conservative populism is all about emotion and personal grievance, not righting any particular social or economic wrong. You'd think the rise of conservative media, eight years of a conservative administration and a conservative-leaning Supreme Court would have undermined the GOP's victim strategy -- they are in power, which is one way to define "elite." [Emphasis added]

You'd think so, but you would be wrong, especially at this point in history. For those "social conservatives," and I use the quotation marks because I believe the syndrome is far more anti-social than social, it's a zero sum game. If someone rises, then somebody else falls. If a Mexican gets a laborer's job, then that means somebody is out of a job, even if that job would have remained unfilled had the Mexican not shown up and offered to do the work. If an African American wins a scholarship to Harvard and graduates with honors, then some poor white boy with a C- average was shut out unfairly.

The GOP has successfully fostered that attitude for more than twenty years. And now they're doing it because, let's face it, they have nothing else to offer after eight years of unnecessary wars, the shredding of the Constitution, and an economy that right now looks like it is about to fail completely. Mr. Rodriguez makes that point beautifully:

But who really cares about fairness and consistent thinking when politics are in play? Like the minority activist groups that conservatives abhor, the Republicans know very well that crying out against a foe is one sure way to rally the troops. And it works particularly well when your side is in political or ideological disarray. If you can't inspire your base with a coherent vision of the future, then you might as well unify it with the promise to stand up against the boogeyman.

Indeed.