by Jacob G. Hornberger
Americans received a good dose of conservative idiocy over the weekend.
The dose, which almost defies belief, involves noted conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, who got upset with a television advertisement by Dunkin Donuts that featured 30-minute chef Rachel Ray.The reason for Malkin’s distress over the commercial? The war on terrorism, a war that excites conservatives even more than the war on drugs, the war on communism, or the war on immigrants.
Malkin went ballistic because in the commercial Rachel is wearing a scarf that bears a resemblance to a kaffiyeh, a traditional scarf worn by Arab men, which apparently some people in the Middle East view as a symbol for Palestinian independence and Islamic radicalism.
So, there you have it: Rachel Ray, the chef who shows people how to make 30-minute meals, and Dunkin Donuts, the company selling donuts and coffee, secretly and subliminally promoting terrorism and al-Qaeda and maybe even anti-Semitism.
Hey, it gets worse. According to the a blog by Monica Corcoran in the Los Angeles Times, the kaffiyeh has been won by dozens of celebrities, including Colin Farrell, David Beckham, Kirsten Dunst, and both Olsen twins.
Oh my gosh! Those anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorism moles have now infiltrated sports and Hollywood? Quick, declare them all “enemy combatants” and ship them off for a bit of waterboarding at Guantanamo Bay.
Is this idiocy or what? Alas it’s what goes for intelligent commentary in the conservative movement these days.
Let me tell you why conservatives are spending their time with this type of idiocy. They know that it wasn’t just the neo-cons who supported the war of aggression against Iraq. It was also the conservatives. Take a look at any conservative website and you’ll find a host of articles from the 1990s calling for the U.S. government to overthrow Saddam. Once the adventure took a nosedive, conservatives chose to do anything to avoid confronting their personal responsibility for the debacle, even trying to mislead people into thinking that it was all the fault of just the neo-conservatives.
Look at what conservatives have done with their out-of-control government spending, especially on the U.S. military, the military-industrial complex, and Iraq. For the last several years, the dollar has cratered in value, resulting in soaring prices at the pump and in the grocery stores, restaurants, and elsewhere. Conservatives are doing everything they can to avoid taking personal responsibility for the horrific consequences of their big-spending ways.
Look at how conservatives have legitimized intentional violations of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, including presidential wars waged without the constitutionally required congressional declaration of war, torture and sex abuse, indefinite incarcerations, kidnapping and rendition, secret overseas prisons, kangaroo military courts, and denial of due process, habeas corpus, trial by jury, and effective assistance of counsel. Unable to confront the shame of their actions, conservatives now spend their time wallowing in idiocy, as the Malkin complaint about Rachel Ray and Dunkin Donuts so perfectly reflects.
Unfortunately, Malkin successfully intimidated Dunkin Donuts into withdrawing the ad. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if the company and Ray had instead responded, “Malkin, take your conservative idiocy and shove it”?
Mr. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.
politics
