Saturday, August 29, 2009

Their Own Private Idaho

A particularly prolific and vocal set of Arizona Republicans have launched their own version of Facebook, calling it Republicanville. I won't dive too deep, but we're talking about the likes of Charles Jensen, founder of Politics on the Rocks, Jeff Vath (aka Tony GOPrano), David Schweikert, the GOP CD5 candidate who lost by better than 10 points to Harry Mitchell in 2008 (yet lists his political title at his profile as "Congressman"), Rachel Alexander, the paradoxically intelligent fountain of output at The Intellectual Conservative, and the rest of the Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale GOP bunch. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they are serious or joking, but they talk about Republicanville displacing Facebook. Not sure how many people are on Facebook, and it's not clear what this new site realistically seeks to accomplish, but they might be up to about 150 members. I doubt Facebook has cause for alarm.

The endeavor ties to a much larger one on the part of conservatives to craft their own world in the face of changing times. In response to the Wikipedia explosion and its remarkably detailed and accurate information, conservatives unhappy with reality (evolution, age of cosmos, fossils, glaciers, plate tectonics, Hispanics) launched their own pedia, called Conservapedia, which forwards the assertion that Obama is seeking to rule the Internet and features a picture of him with the caption, “Fascism.” They don't bother to mention that Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, is co-sponsoring the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, who said, "If we fail to take swift action, we, regrettably, risk a cyber-Katrina."

Do you know anyone who has looked something up in Conservapedia? Conservatives have not launched their own version of the academic Scholarpedia because they've never heard of it.

The Bush administration all but institutionalized "reality is what we say it is" and of course 911, Katrina, two botched wars, and last fall's financial meltdown occurred during its distilled ignorance. The country's pants were around its ankles for eight years. As Katrina victims were dying on rooftops and in stadiums, Bush agonized over which Air Force One landing location would make the best impression.

Perhaps they will create their own Google that only links to hate saturated Jesus freak pontifications. I would love to grant them their wish to depart our messy reality for a distant, racially pure Idaho where a 6000 year old sun revolves around a recently flooded flat planet that isn't getting warmer. They would be happier, and so would the rest of us.

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

More GOP fantasy. They can drink their own Kool Aid.
Gulp, gulp.

8/29/2009 2:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My first time at this blog. This place packs some serious gray matter.

You really cut through it. I can now say what I've been thinking a lot more clearly. They are more committed to what they believe than to what is correct.

It can't last. Ignoring fossils or Hispanics won't make them go away. Fossils don't vote, but Hispanics, not to mention African Americans, do.

I visited the Conservapedia link. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. How can a page calling the duly elected and law abiding President of the United States a fascist even pretend to be anything other than propaganda, let alone an encyclopedia? They're too stupid to see their stupidity.

8/29/2009 7:22 PM  
Blogger The Navigator said...

The country has really splintered. It is quite telling that the conservatives find it necessary to create their own news (Fox) and their own Wikipedia. This Facebook thing is even more bizarre, since the purpose of Facebook is to maximize connections and networking. I guess they only want to network with each other.

Regarding the cyber law, apparently the Republican strategy is to tear into every piece of legislation and do whatever is necessary to whip up images of Armageddon. Every bill, every law, every move Congress or the President makes will bring about the apocalypse. The goal is to paralyze the government and then say it's Obama's fault.

I don't see how they can do this indefinitely. When Gingrich and gang paralyzed the government over the budget, it hurt the GOP and badly, and that was 14 years ago. The changing demographics are real, and the efforts to keep hatred of Obama from occurring as racist fall completely flat. They paint him as a monkey or with a Hitler mustache, call him a fascist and a socialist at the same time (idiots), and think we don't see the racism?

As x4mr has written, the voter registration statistics are damning for the conservatives. Despite conservatives best efforts to keeps the kids in the cave, children do learn math and science. They learn the earth is round, rotates around the sun, and is older than 6000 years. They learn that sexual preference is basically determined by chromosomes. When they register to vote, they sign up as Democrats or No Preference. In addition to losing the young, it doesn't take much imagination to know what is occurring with minorities.

The conservatives pool together to reassure themselves that a greater number of people agree with them than actually do. Reality is closer to the image portrayed in today's Fitzsimmons cartoon.

8/30/2009 8:43 AM  
Anonymous Observer said...

While I agree with your remarks regarding Conservapedia, which is positively embarrassing, I don't buy the connection to Republicanville at all.

I'm a lefty, so the site is not for me, but I think it's a great idea. I don't know about others, but my Facebook has become infested with the most inane and idiotic posts by people I should never have friended. WTF is it with "Mafia Wars"? I have no idea except I am sure it is stupid.

Republicanville looks a good way for that group of people to communicate and coordinate various activities. I don't agree that it's a way to further isolate themselves. Also, any site that helps a person connect with people as cute as Rachel Alexander can't be all bad.

8/30/2009 10:07 AM  
Blogger x4mr said...

After reading what you wrote, Observer, I find myself agreeing with you. The motives behind Republicanville are almost certainly little to do with those behind Conservapedia. That said, I do think conservatives are highly prone to an "us vs. them" mentality. In particular the religious conservatives practice a great deal of "circle the wagon" thinking where they only converse with themselves.

That was my initial take on the new website. Republicanville is harmless and if it becomes useful and worthwhile, good for them.

It is certainly not the malicious distortion racket of Conservapedia.

8/30/2009 12:54 PM  
Blogger Tony GOPrano said...

x4mr,

I find your comments here amusing on this topic. Sounds like to me you might be a tad bit jealous? Republicanville.com is an alternative to other Social Networks. You Liberals already have the print media, NBC, CBS, ABC, PMSNBC, etc, etc. You can laugh all you want, but the success of this new venture will be amazing. Watch it grow!

8/30/2009 10:59 PM  
Blogger Tony GOPrano said...

'Observer' - Thank You for the nice comment about my dear friend Rachel Alexander, she really enjoyed it. Not only is Rachel gorgeous, she is one of the brightest, most intellegent persons I have ever met! She is also one of the top Bloggers in the United States! Thanks again...

8/31/2009 9:01 AM  
Anonymous Observer said...

Tony,
You're welcome. I like holding x4mr accountable when he goes astray. What's cool about him is that he gets it when presented a stronger argument.

Not sure if you know, but Republicanville (including the logo) made the Rachel Maddow show tonight. YOU'RE FAMOUS!

Next time you see the other Rachel (Alexander), tell her I empathize completely with her late brother and the whole child support / custody / visitation thing. I know that pain. The system is brutal.

8/31/2009 8:51 PM  

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