The Blind Pigs' Acorns

The Republican circus is coming to town. The barkers and clowns are still in the process of assembling the pachyderms for the parade, but they are eager to pitch their tent along with the same, lame economic theories they were pitching before the Great Depression. I know that does not sound very appealing, but fear not - be of good cheer!  Even blind pigs find acorns once in a while, and it is fun to watch them bump into the absurdities and step in the right wing crap as they search:

“We’re going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share,” Reagan said in a speech to high school students. The loopholes “sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing,” he said, “while a bus driver was paying 10 percent of his salary, and that’s crazy. It’s time we stopped.”  Class Warrior?

I am sure the lunatic right wingers would think so if they were not too busy trying to deny that Ronald Reagan ever said it. The rest of us know better. This was one of Mr. Reagan's rare acorns. It was a time when his ideology slipped, and he had a moment of clarity that allowed him to see what was reasonable.  Below is a sage warning from an equally unlikely source:

"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.” Barry Goldwater

How prophetic!   And this warning was from the guy who also said: "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."  Do I need to tell you which quotation was one of Mr. Goldwater's rare acorns?

In this post I have done what people do when they quote what they hope other people will accept as authorities.  Which is to say I was very selective in what I was quoting.  The problem with using quotations in this manner is that your opponents will find and use statements by the same people you quoted to support their contention that you are full of it (and most people, no matter how ideological they are, are inconsistent enough to permit that).  If your opponents are members of the Christian right they will also quote the bible to support their denial of all inconvenient facts, and they will threaten to pray for you.