David Blaska, the local conservative victimologist, recently decried Rush Limbaugh's failed attempt to exercise his Yahweh-given right to own an NFL team, namely, the St. Louis Rams. You may recall that Limbaugh was recently booted from a group of investors led by businessman Dave Checketts who are seeking to buy the team. It was determined by this group of private businessmen that Limbaugh's presence was apparently not helping matters because of his "divisive" day job where he blathers and lies.
Because conservatives are victims of liberal conspiracies in the Blaska world, he can blame lefties for Limbaugh's ousting. Never mind that it was, in fact, private businessman Dave Checketts who gave him the boot. You know, a private citizen taking responsibility and doing it for himself. Why is Blaska not cheering the fact that government stayed out and allowed private individuals to settle the matter amongst themselves? By the way Blaska writes, you'd think Noam Chomsky had done the deed himself as he sat at his underwater headquarters petting a cat and ordering his minions around via a really big video screen.
Blaska goes on to list various liberals who are divisive like Keith Olbermann and Jimmy Carter. Of course, none of these people are involved in the private matter of trying to buy the St. Louis Rams. Blaska noted:
Imagine if the Right had tried to slam George Soros, bankroller of MoveOn.org (General Petraeus, don’t betray us!) from buying a sports team. For speaking his mind! Freedom of speech!
Well, the right may not have slammed him in quite the same way, but, unlike Limbaugh, Congress decided to chime in when Soros tried to purchase a baseball team.
"It's not necessarily smart business sense to have anybody who is so polarizing in the political world," Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-N.Y.) said. "That goes for anybody, but especially as it relates to Major League Baseball because it's one of the few businesses that get incredibly special treatment from Congress and the federal government."
George Soros was apparently so divisive that Sweeney resorted to threats. Did any Congressional Democrats threaten the NFL if Limbaugh was allowed to become an owner? When a private individual boots Limbaugh, it's an outrage and the fault of liberals. But when a Republican Congressman threatens MLB over a liberal…? So was that OK, Mr. Blaska?
(h/t Ed Brayton.)
5 comments:
Isn't it strange that a belief in victim-hood has become a central tenant of modern conservative?
Quite ironic, I would say. But such a stance can be useful, I suppose.
Oh yippy for us, now we have both parties using victim-hood as a central tenant. Although im pretty sure thats nothing new for either party.
There's nothing like victimhood to bring people together.
I've had to read a lot about extreme right movements in Europe this semester. Victimhood is almost always central to the rhetoric of the leaders. The right-wing talk radio populists – Rush, Beck, O'Reilly – are disciples of that philosophy. It is them and "the people" against the elites. It is them protecting the people from immigrants, taxes, secularism, etc.
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