Conservative Hypocrites

If you often think that Conservatives are hypocrites, blithely spouting whatever they think will make them popular at the moment,(+) without reference to any real core set of beliefs, then you should definitely check out this post by Dan Drezner.

Now you might be thinking, “Dan Drezner … Chicago … Illinois … Hypocritical Republican …” and conclude that Drezner’s post is about Jack “Sex Club” Ryan, but you’d be wrong. For that, see this other Drezner post. Speaking of Ryan, there is one possible upside to the whole scandal for him. Until the latest scandal, Jack Ryan was often confused with the corrupt and recently indicted former Governor of Illinois, George Ryan. Now I’m pretty sure voters know they’re dealing with two distinct Ryans. But I suspect they still won’t like either one.

AB

(+) Yes, of course Democrats do this as well. But it’s a matter of degree and, ever since the rise of Gingrich, the Republicans have moved from approximate parity to total dominance on the hypocrisy metric. See, e.g., the Marriage Amendment proposal, repealing the “Death Tax” to protect small family businesses, the ever-shifting rationalizations for invading Iraq, the flap over the Pledge, the incessant invoking of God in all contexts by those with decidedly ungodly behavior. On the Democratic side, I think the biggest point of hypocrisy is actual free-traders giving lip service to protectionism — but Republicans are doing the exact same thing in this context. So my informal hypocrisy scoreboard shows Republicans 8, Democrats 1.