Name:   copperline - Subject:   Converting Heros into Goats Date:   6/30/2012 10:20:29 PM

      i’ve been trying to understand  the reasons behind the intensity of the rhetoric and polarization of the political process…    The conservative reaction to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court seems to be a good example of what’s going wrong, but doesn’t give us any ideas about what to do about it.      After a career of blessings by the Right-wing, Justice Roberts’ ruling ran against what part of the political establishment wanted… and the action has left him to be redrawn him as a far less admirable man.    This quick conversion process has become an accepted part of the conservative thinking.     A few days ago, he was an unquestioned hero. 

     The really polarizing component of conservative thinking is the attention to identifying & naming of enemies.  This view is that compromise over differing ideas is not just bad, it’s dangerous.  Failure to oppose their philosophy with complete conviction becomes the same as consorting with the enemy.   it isn’t allowed, it’s even seen as a question of character.   Once an enemy is created, they can neither be trusted nor completely rehabilitated.     With that in mind, these politicians make every effort to cast themselves as ‘complete patriots’, ‘true conservatives’, rather than Statesmen & representative of ALL of the people in their districts.

    So, when a traditionally conservative Supreme Court Justice fails to agree with the position of the group that claimed him, questions quickly surface about his true beliefs and adherence to their political agenda.  As a Supreme Court Justice, he’s not SUPPOSED to be party to the political process!   But this public reaction just underscores that there will be no room for compromising, no tolerance for discussions of consensus building in the Tea Party ranks.    

      As a result, i expect we’ll remain stuck as long as we allow the over-blown political verbiage on both sides to keep us up in arms…..racing around to identify & pillory enemies, or defending against ridiculous & misleading sound-bites. 

   Seems now a tradition in the conservative movement to over-idealize their political figures and later demonize them as failures, or worse.   George Bush is a pretty good example of how fickle this is.   The right wing won’t even acknowledge for a second that he was once the hero of their movement.   if Mitt Romney loses he’s likely to see his history written that way, too.    Now it’s Chief Justice Roberts turn to be degraded as traitor to “the cause”.   Conservatives who supported him should be proud that they brought an impartial jurist to the Court, and hope that politics doesn’t ever overshadow the purpose of the SCOTUS.