David McElroy

Going into Super Tuesday, Ron Paul hadn’t won a state yet, and his big hope was that he might win North Dakota. That’s right. North Dakota was his best shot.

Super Tuesday has come and gone. The other three GOP candidates all won at least a state. Even Newt Gingrich took a state, with a win in his home state of Georgia. But Paul is still waiting for a win, because Santorum took North Dakota. Is there anybody sane left who honestly thinks Paul has any chance?

For months, I’ve been hearing from my Ron Paul-supporting friends that he was “our last hope” and that if he didn’t win this year, we were doomed as a nation. Although that naive belief that Paul can win has died gradually among many of the people I know, they’re still left to face the reality of their own dire predictions. If you meant what you said — that Ron Paul was really your last hope for change through the electoral system — are you ready to join me in giving up on that system? Are you ready to start lookin at alternatives?

As some people have realized that Paul can’t win, their story has started changing a bit. Now they tell me the objective isn’t necessarily to win, but to win enough delegates to influence the Republican platform for the fall. Really? You’re telling me that you’ve poured all this money, time and work into an effort to influence a document that will promptly be forgotten — by the nominee and everyone else? Really?

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I hate paying the high prices that movie theatres charge for snacks and drinks, but it never crossed my mind to sue anyone about it. One spoiled brat in Michigan is so upset about being deprived of his right to inexpensive popcorn and Coke, though, that he’s filed a class action lawsuit demanding lower prices.

I would simply laugh at his idiocy and childishness, but we live in a culture that caters to these sorts of irrational whims. This lawsuit will probably be dismissed, but I can see the idea behind it succeeding in the future. How long will it be before some congressman introduces legislation to create the National Theatre Snack Food Board, with the power to regulate prices?

If you think that sounds absurd, you’re right. But remember that we live in a country where Congress has passed laws regulating the acceptable volume level of television commercials. Seriously. There’s a law about it. I’m not making this up.

Many people have come to believe that life should be set up to please them. They believe that other people have a responsibilitiy to cater to them. And when reality doesn’t deliver what they want, they expect governments to give it to them.

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Rush Limbaugh has been a polarizing figure for years. To many of his adoring “dittoheads,” he was a political god. To many Democrats, he was the devil incarnate. His bizarre comments last week that law student Sandra Fluke is a “slut,” though, surprised many of those who love him.

Limbaugh’s apology Saturday was meaningless and perfunctory. With many of his allies condemning his remarks and sponsors pulling out of his show, he didn’t have any real choice. I don’t think anyone believes there’s any sincerity to the statement, any more than there typically is when a parent forces a child to make an apology to an adult for being disrespectful.

It would be easy to pile on Limbaugh here, because he’s an easy target and he deserves the derision. (I’ve made it clear in the past that I have no use for him.) But Limbaugh is just a symptom of an ugliness that stains our political culture. It’s not something unique to Republicans or conservatives. I’ve seen it from progressive leftists and libertarians, too.

It’s a hate for their enemies that’s so strong that truth and fairness don’t even matter to them any more. What’s worse, they don’t even recognize their double standard. I can’t imagine how corrosive that hatred must be for them on the inside.

When stories such as this one with Limbaugh happen, those on the progressive left are smug and self-righteous. Many of them are no more fair and honest in their reactions than Limbaugh is. Consider this graphic offered by the progressive left website Daily Kos for readers to use online in attacking Republicans over this issue. The headline on the graphic says, “Republicans hate women.” It’s a lie, of course, but the truth doesn’t matter when you hate your opponent. Honest disagreement becomes “hate.”

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