On Facebook, my brother posted a link to this article dealing with the current trend among Tea Baggers and fellow travelers to refer to the people on the left as "elitist". One of the many dictionaries I have (actually, the closest one to my computer) defines an elitist as one who believes in rule by a small and privileged group. Since the Democrats currently hold majorities in both houses of congress as well as the White House, I guess the small group who wishes to rule are the Republicans. So who is the elitist?
If you believe in American Exceptionalism, the notion that 5% of the world's population can tell the rest of the world where to get off,or should be able to assassinate anyone it wishes, you might be an elitist.
If you think that 'some people are just born to be slaves, you might be an elitist. If you think public employees shouldn't be allowed to vote, you might be an elitist.
There it is. Using the proven Rovian tactic of attacking your opponent on your own weaknesses, the right is accusing the left of being exactly what they're guilty of doing. Equity and fairness is not elitist, but a select few deciding to abolish the minimum wage appears to be. And so is a select group of businesspeople pooling their resources to put 1.4 million people out of work.
So remember when you hear the GOP and Tea Party (one and the same, I know) about "liberal elitism", just remember, it's just petty jealousy. There's a group that these people will never belong to.
It's called humanity.
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The teabaggers are either elitists themselves, or they're perfectly happy to be lowly peons who worship their feudal masters. Either way, they're projecting their own twisted selves onto Democrats and liberals.
This is why I always frame the owners of the Republican Party as the economic elites and the Guardians Of Plutocracy.
They poisoned the word liberal, falsely pairing it with elite. We know the wealthy aristocracy are the true elites.
You're so right about the Rovian tactic. He has a well-established pattern of that, and we saw it in play throughout Bush's reign of error.
This follows on the "limousine liberal" attack line the righties used, often absurdly, in the late 70s and 80s. I guess because Ted Kennedy didn't drive a used VW beetle and wear suits from off the rack at Penneys.
Gee, I wonder what Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity and Rove drive. I'll bet it's not a used econocar.
Dave Dubya: The teabaggers are definitely being manipulated by the nation's wealthy elites.
General Comment: Originally, "elites" was a codeword for Jews for the right. The term still has the same emotional timber for the rightists, even though they are misusing it more broadly.
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