As anyone who’s read this blog over the past few years (including the desert years of 2009-2011) knows, I’m more than happy to hold those on the left accountable for their idiocy and to call them to task for being… well… illogical and willfully stupid. And so, some people may think that my laser beam of stupid is aimed only at liberals and that I’m unwilling to hold my own – or myself – accountable. Those people would be wrong.

Marco Rubio – Apparently, a Liberal
When it comes to politics, I’m a solid right-conservative. My Political Compass rating (an excellent test for determining your personal beliefs, even if their analysis of public figures is way off – they rank Obama as a right-authoritarian) is a 7.12 economic and 0.15 social, so you know where I’m coming from: a fairly Reaganesque, but not hard-right conservative. And as conservative as I am, I am well aware of the fact that there are those who do not share my beliefs. The last 5 Republican Presidential nominees and presumptive nominees (Romney, McCain, Bush II, Dole, and Bush I) have all been much more moderate than my own beliefs. And yet, though these differences existed, I came to the conclusion that, at the end of the day, my 80% political friend was not my political enemy.
And yet, what I see happening on the right now is to take Reagan’s sage advice to his staff back in 1972 (“The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor”) and flush it down the commode in an attempt to find the mystical “perfect candidate”. It goes to the point of people misunderstanding what conservatism really is, and calling out anyone who disagrees with us on a single issue. Example? OK. I’ve heard more than one conservative call out Marco Rubio as an imperfect RINO in waiting because, according to them, he supports the DREAM Act (or at least, a version of it).
OK, let’s think about this for a minute. First – let’s talk about his version of the DREAM Act and what it really is. First – it’s not even on the table yet. It’s not even been proposed. However, the word on the street is that the revised DREAM Act being proposed will basically allow children (who cannot be legally responsible) who were brought over the border by their parents (not of their own free will) who work to complete school, register for selective service, and be good citizens (no troublemakers or layabouts allowed) an opportunity to work within the existing immigration system (not creating a pathway to citizenship, thus preserving our existing investment in our legal immigrants) to stay in the country (rather than being thrown back over the border to a country they may not even remember). In other words: it allows kids who had no choice in becoming illegal immigrants both an impetus to be good people and an opportunity to become law-abiding adults without ignoring their status as an illegal immigrant. Simply put: this is a good thing.
Let me say it again: providing people who were unwillingly dragged into breaking the law an opportunity to follow the law is a good thing. Period.
And yet, there are way too many conservatives who are ready to throw Rubio under the bus because he won’t toe the hard-line school of “we don’t care if they haven’t lived in Mexico since they were 2 – throw them back over the border”. Marco Rubio. A man whose voting record has earned him a 100% rating from the American Conservative Union, whose record of conservative leadership in Florida has earned him the respect of people around this country. A man whose common-sense responsible conservatism has earned him a potential tap as the Vice Presidential nominee of our country.
And these idiots are calling him a RINO, not because he HAS stepped out of line on an issue… but because he MAY step out of line on an issue. Ditto with other conservatives, including some of the most conservative members of Congress out there.
We saw it all primary season long… Republican candidates who would rise up to challenge Mitt Romney and then get knocked down by the conservative branch because they weren’t the perfect conservative candidate that Ronald Reagan was (the same Reagan who raised taxes, spent money like water – arguably with good reason, and who provided blanket amnesty for a group of illegal immigrants). Tim Pawlenty (a strong mainstream conservative whose sin was supporting cap and trade), Rick Perry (another mainstream conservative who supported vaccinating girls against cancer and supported the Trans-Texas Corridor), Newt Gingrich (a successful conservative leader with a 90% ACU rating who got in trouble for global warming and for opening his mouth too much). And the result: we’re left with Mitt Romney… whose lifetime ACU Rating is 55.
Congrats, conservatives. Thanks to you throwing good candidates under the bus, we’re left with a middle-ground squish. Mission Accomplished! And now, having learned absolutely nothing from the Primaries, you turn your attention to demonizing some of the most conservative people in this country because they’re not good enough on maybe – MAYBE one issue. They’re like the geniuses who refused to vote for Sarah Palin for Vice President because a woman’s place is, apparently, in the home, ignoring the fact that she was a successful, inspirational administrator with a conservative and anti-corruption record longer than the Alaskan coastline.
So, this is my love letter to my fellow conservatives, and as much as it hurts me to say it: stop being idiots. You’re acting like a bunch of retards. As much as I loathe Romney’s moderate politics, you’re going to have to admit that it’s you conservatives who got us into this mess with him as a candidate because you were too focused on nuking your own wounded and not building a consensus candidate that could appeal to the entire party. You were too busy running the bus over the people who failed the perfect-conservative litmus test and not busy at figuring out how to play a political game that requires more finesse than a Sherman Tank and that doesn’t alienate 30% of your potential voters.
Or, you could at least try to act like adults. That would be a nice change.
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