The View from the HudsonOkay, I Officially Think Conservatives are Meaner

Liberals often point to conservatives’ tactics, saying they punch below the belt. I used to defend our friends on the right. I’d point out that Jon Stewart and the rest of the comedians on our side...

Liberals often point to conservatives’ tactics, saying they punch below the belt. I used to defend our friends on the right.

I’d point out that Jon Stewart and the rest of the comedians on our side can be pretty mean too … they just have a sense of humor and are clever about it. Still, Russell Brand (admittedly not a U.S. citizen, but still) calling a sitting president a “retarded cowboy?” What about when Bill Maher called Sarah Palin a “stewardess.” Funny, yes. Nice, not by a long shot.

But now I’m done.

Rick Perry, the governor of Texas who just entered the race to be the Republican presidential candidate, told an audience on Saturday that if Fed chairman increases the supply of dollars, “I dunno what y’all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas.”

Texas, with its history of lynchings. Texas, where from time to time black men are dragged behind pickup trucks until they are dead and dismembered. I have met a lot of wonderful people from Texas, kind humans who would never hurt a fly … but when the governor starts talking about violence this is what a lot of us picture.

The problem is that these tactics are not limited to political rhetoric.

I had a wonderful uncle (may his memory be for a blessing) who abandoned his party during the Clinton impeachment trial. The Republicans knew they didn’t have the votes to remove him from office and they put the country through hell anyway.

And just recently, the Tea Party-controlled members of congress knew they were not going to let America default, but they brought us to the brink and allowed the debt ratings agencies to lose faith in the U.S. treasury. Now the stock market is swinging wildly with no end in sight.

Thanks, Rick Perry. You’ve lost another moderate. Keep hurling threats. I’m done.

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