Quote:
Originally Posted by killer_carlson
Rex Murphy - the country's best journalist not named Mansbridge - with an article why Ford in climbing in the polls.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/...still-matters/
Essentially it's because the arrogance of the Anti-Fords is bothering "normal" people more than Ford's antics. |
Same thing happened with Bush. Kinda crested when Michael Moore made his movie and unfortunate speech at the Oscars, and then goaded the crowd into defending Bush. Which is weird, cause I don't think anyone would call the Oscars a bastion for the 'common man'.
Here's the problem I have with all of that. While I do agree it is true, and it is unfortunately how a lot of people on the right see the situation, it is a horribly skewed position and factually incorrect.
If a defender of the right gets behind god and guns, they are a common man. They may not have the most up to date ideals, and we may even say, I don't entirely agree with you. But gosh darn it, your a salt of the earth type guy and you have a right to make an argument even if it makes no sense.
Yet if a person on the left gets behind health care and and social responsibility, they're elitist. Which is fine if you agree I guess, but those same people, who are very common man, just want to feed their family and pursue the dream, don't get the same benefit of the doubt if you disagree with them. They're elitist, and not with 'the common man'.
It's a double standard at it's finest. And the worst part is, if the have the intelligence to properly defend their position, it only gets worse. Then they are really elitist. How dare they use such fancy words and good reasoning?! Don't the realize that sort of thing doesn't matter to the common man who just wants to feed their family? That the common men are only interested in the simple things, not all your fancy learning.
And the worst part of it is the fact that...
Ford isn't the common man.
It's just a label he's been able to drape himself with successfully. The exact same trick Bush pulled.
Both Ford and Bush came from families of wealth and privilege. Their cowboy and common man persona's are just that. Persona's.
In fact, Obama is far more common man than Bush ever was. He came from poverty and lifted himself up. Yet the right slaps the elitist tag on him. Now why is that?
The whole 'common man' argument is just simple word play that the right has used for years very successfully to frame arguments. It doesn't hold up to logic or history or facts.
I too generally like Rex, but I can't get behind that article. I guess I can get behind it's sentiment, as I already said. Yes, that is how it's playing out. But only because the whole argument has been framed incorrectly for many years. Those crying out against Ford's bad behavior aren't elitist or arrogant, or any more or less normal than those that are not. They simply have different priorities for their leaders.