“Two Distinct Ideologies?” Are You Kidding?
by tristero
A very long time ago, I opined that it would be wonderful if Judge Roy Moore – he of the Ten Commandmants rock – would run for president. It would make electing sensible people that much easier. David Neiwert took me to task for my cynicism – and he was right.
David’s point – he’s an expert on the far right – was that, despite any short term gains, the country is far better off if wacko ideas are not treated as part of the mainstream discourse. The problem is that elevating extremism to the level of serious discussion tends to confer enormous status on bad ideas and that makes it more difficult to fight against them. It also tends to move the discourse towards treating the bad ideas as reasonable ones – the Overton Window concept, more or less.
I thought about this for quite a while and finally came to the reluctant conclusion that it would be far better if right wing nuts remained marginalized, even if it meant that it would be harder to elect Democrats, liberals and other people with reasonable views. You just don’t play with fire.
Ryan Lizza writes:
…the good thing about the Ryan pick is that the Presidential campaign will instantly turn into a very clear choice between two distinct ideologies that genuinely reflect the core beliefs of the two parties. And in that sense, Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan is good news for voters.
It would be nice if that were true. But Randism isn’t so much an ideology as it’s a cult, roughly akin to Scientology. Randism has as much intellectual integrity as intelligent design creationism or birtherism. As a result, “two distinct ideologies” aren’t at play. There is only one: centrism, represented by Obama. What Romney and Ryan offer is just battiness, not a truly coherent vision.
As a matter of substance, there is little to be gained by elevating Ryan’s wonky junk to the level of a presidential discussion, and much to lose. The assumption among Democrats who cheer Ryan’s vice-presidential nomination is that Americans will be so appalled when they finally hear, loud and clear, what the Ryans of the world actually want to inflict on them that they will turn away in droves.
I hope that happens, and will be very glad if it does. Even so, Ayn Rand’s crackpot notions have now moved to the exact center of the national debate about what kind of country we should be, with an unprecedented level of visibility.
Any way you look at it, this is terrible news.