fearlesshistory

Conservatives are, to put it mildly, duplicitous. And it can be proven in this way:

During the campaign of 2008, the conservative base equated “small town values” with goodness, right rule, and the American way. Fred Thompson praised Sarah Palin as a person “with small town values.” At the Republican Convention in St. Paul Minnesota, Palin herself spoke of small town values, to which the Republican (mostly conservative) audience lit up with rapturous cries of “Sarah!” This, of course, begs the question “What are small town values?”

Although there are no concrete answers to “small town values” in the same way that one could say “what constitutes a small town” or “what is the value of ‘x’ in this equation,” there is a pervasive myth of the wonder of small towns. A recent question about the nature of small town values posted to the non-scientific-but-popular-nonetheless YahooAnswers elicited these responses:

“Small town values mean people stick together through hard times and prosperity. When someone needs help, the whole town pitches in. We actually have doctors that donate healthcare to the uninsured, because they are human and care about each other. We look after each other, and stand up for what we believe in. We mow each others lawns and keep each other safe. You should try it just once. You would be amazed!”

and the same question at BeliefNet forums revealed users who had this to say:

“A small town used to be a place where everyone knew and helped their neighbors and cared about their community. Local business met local needs and no one locked their doors at night. IT was good place to grow up and to love…”

And

“As a small town person; Leaving your neighbors well enough alone and doing your own thing. Helping them when in need. Creating a positive atmosphere. “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Community supporting the future of our children (Education and School involvement).”

Distilled down to the very core we have:

1) Co-operative, community ownership of the troubles of the individual with an emphasis of “helping out” (helping children, neighbors, etc.) including “doctors donating health care.”

2) the non-interference of other people’s values onto the private life of the individual

3) corporate (or at least capitalist) reinvestment in the community they serve

The conservatives of the Republican party, however, have historically been against these priorities, in essence against “small town values.”Here is how:

1) Co-operative, community ownership of the troubles of the individual with an emphasis on “helping out”…

In 1995, the New York Times reported that former Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi opposed a child-care aid bill that would allow women who are on welfare to pay for childcare so that they can become productive citizens under the Welfare-to-work programs across the United States. Lott is quoted as saying “This is a big, big cost item. If we did everything the Democrats are talking about, we’d end up with welfare reform that costs money.” Additionally, in a story by Reuters on 14 February 2008 states that “About 70 percent of Republicans said socialized medicine would be worse than the current system, Republican candidates and policy strategists often accuse Democrats of advocating “socialized medicine“, depicting such plans as entangled in bureaucracy and synonymous with a so-called single-payer government health care system. “

2) the non-interference of other people’s values onto the private life of the individual

Mormons were instrumental in passing Proposition 8 in California, noted the New York Times, and conservative commentator Ann Coulter said this about gay marriage: “In a democratic process, liberals could never persuade Americans to vote for their insane ideas – abortion on demand, gay marriage and adoption, handgun confiscation, Out of respect for my gay male readers, I’ll resist the temptation to characterize this ruling as ’shoving gay marriage down our throats.’”

3) corporate (or at least capitalist) reinvestment in the community they serve

Take, for instance, Wal Mart. It is the nations’ largest retailer and employer, fielding thousands of workers in every state. They enjoy large corporate tax breaks and little oversight of their affairs per the conservative dogma that government oversight equals a debilitation of the efficiency and good practices of business. Yet, as reported in the New York Times on 29 Jan 2006, “Some state officials across the nation, warily eyeing enormous Medicaid costs, are accusing companies like Wal-Mart of using the program as a crutch to keep their costs low.” Wal-Mart, a private corporation, expected the state and federal government to bail it out of the cost of healthcare but fought a Maryland law that required it to contribute a portion (8% of payroll) of its operating costs to Medicaid plans. In solidarity with the corporation, Gov. of Maryland Robert L. Ehrlich, a Republican, vetoed the bill, on the premise that such a requirement of a corporation to reinvest in the community they serve might drive the corporation (and others like it) out of Maryland.

Therefore, given that conservative Republicans do not want welfare, will interfere in the private lives of homosexuals, and hold corporate profits in higher regard than community well-being, we must conclude, logically, that the conservatives are duplicitous in their advocacy of “small town values.”In short, they lie and invoke the spectre of the fictional town of “Mayberry” in order to dupe poorly-educated rural people into voting for a governmental and societal structure that is in all respects diametrically opposed to “small town values.”

QED

—————–Resources—————

Yahoo Answers “What are small town values? “

Beliefnet “What are small town values? “

ROBIN TONER. New York Times “Defeat for Child-Care Aid in Welfare Bill.” New York, N.Y.: Sep 12, 1995. p. A.20

JASON SZEP Reuters “U.S. Split on “socialized medicine” London, Feb 14, 2008

JESSE McKINLEY and KIRK JOHNSON. New York Times “Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage.” New York, N.Y.: Nov 15, 2008. p. A.1

Clifford J. Levy. New York Times “The New Corporate Outsourcing.” New York, N.Y.: Jan 29, 2006. p. 4.1

New York Times “Challenges to Law Aimed at Wal-Mart.” New York, N.Y.: Feb 8, 2006. p. C.3

RightWingNews “A Year of Ann Coulter Quotes, 2003-2004 “

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