{"id":3024,"date":"2008-03-26T08:06:00","date_gmt":"2008-03-26T14:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/03\/mirror-mirror\/"},"modified":"2009-08-22T14:10:05","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T20:10:05","slug":"mirror-mirror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/03\/mirror-mirror\/","title":{"rendered":"Mirror, mirror"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Carter Bundy<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s said in politics that the extreme right and left often are very similar. With all respect to conventional wisdom, that\u2019s patently false when it comes to substance. For example, the far right\u2019s unwavering support for military action is hardly the same as a pacifist\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Likewise, the far right\u2019s insistence on slashing billionaires\u2019 taxes is a far cry from the far left\u2019s insistence on investing billionaires\u2019 taxes in programs for the poor.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But in an important sense, political polar opposites frequently share something in common: a certainty of their positions that leads them to tear down \u2013 by any means \u2013 anyone with whom they disagree. Their attacks mirror each other so much as to give life back to the conventional wisdom that the far right and left do, in fact, come full circle.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Progressive posturing<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Last year, one of my fellow supporters of Patricia Madrid<\/a> held up a sign saying \u201cHeather Wilson<\/a> hates our troops.\u201d I know the protester, and he\u2019s a smart guy, to be sure. And in my humble opinion, his heart is usually in the right place. He even had plenty of info on how Heather had supported tax cuts while voting for budgets that didn\u2019t have adequate body and vehicle armor for the troops.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the problem: Heather Wilson doesn\u2019t hate our troops. She may pursue incongruous, counterproductive, unwise and insensitive economic and military policies from our point of view, but she doesn\u2019t hate our troops.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Saying Heather hates the troops is not only intellectually dishonest; it undermines the credibility of the left.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Conservative canards<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The characterization of those of us who want to end the war in Iraq<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> as traitors and haters of the military is a vicious attack with no basis in fact. Yes, we believe the country needs a new foreign policy, but no, that doesn\u2019t mean we dislike the people doing the job their civilian, democratically-elected leadership demands of them.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Far from it, we believe that anyone willing to put himself or herself in the line of fire for our country is owed an extensive exhaustion of every alternative before endangering each\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Saying that anti-war activists are traitors is not only intellectually dishonest; it undermines the credibility of the right.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Ridiculous religious rows<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Those of us who have defended Barack Obama\u2019s<\/a> speech on race have been roundly criticized for supporting hate speech. A large part of our defense of Obama is that association with someone who negatively and unfairly stereotypes a large group of people doesn\u2019t automatically disqualify one from being president.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But as regular Heath reader and friend Ben points out, would the left be as tolerant if it were a conservative candidate who associated with a hatemonger such as Pat Robertson<\/a> or Bob Jones<\/a>? It\u2019s a good question.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The short answer, for many of us, is yes. The fact that John McCain<\/a> has pandered to and actively sought the political support of the likes of segregationist Bob Jones or Pat Robertson is appalling to me. But do I attribute all of their beliefs to McCain? I haven\u2019t and I won\u2019t. Unfortunately, many on the left have and do.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The right (and occasional right-wingers like Ben) note that Obama\u2019s relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright<\/a> is closer than McCain\u2019s relationship to Jones and Robertson. Fine, but that cuts both ways: Who is to say that Wright\u2019s spiritual and personal guidance isn\u2019t enough to overwhelm Obama\u2019s dislike for some of Wright\u2019s political views?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, McCain purposefully pursued positively putrid pastors precisely for political patronage. Which is worse?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t spare your own legs<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know, but in the wise words of Ivan Turgenev\u2019s Bazarov in \u201cFathers and Sons<\/a>,\u201d \u201cBrother, if you\u2019ve made up your mind to mow down everything \u2013 don\u2019t spare your own legs.\u201d Some on the right do exactly that \u2013 mercilessly attack Obama but blithely dismiss McCain\u2019s dalliances with the devil.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Consistency counts. If you think Obama shouldn\u2019t be president because of his dealings with Wright, don\u2019t turn around and say McCain\u2019s political dealings with Jones and Robertson aren\u2019t of significance. Likewise, if you think Obama\u2019s incident doesn\u2019t disqualify him, don\u2019t disqualify McCain on that basis.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Hilarious hypocrisy over Hillary<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Maybe the most bizarre religious hypocrisy of the year comes from the extreme left, who rightly see unfairness in guilt by association when it comes to Obama. Some of those same people currently claim that Hillary<\/a> has broken bread with certain Christian Republicans in Washington and that therefore she \u2013 and I swear I\u2019m not making this up \u2013 is part of a vast right-wing evangelical conspiracy to take over the world. Uh huh.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

If those who peddle such frivolous but ferocious allegations aren\u2019t abashed by their attacks after reading Turgenev, maybe they can be goaded by Ghandi<\/a>: Be the change you wish to see in the world. If you expect the world to treat you and yours with honesty and integrity, do the same. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

If Ghandi isn\u2019t your cup of tea, well, even Michael Jackson<\/a> had a similar take on it: Change starts with the man in the mirror. If those three can\u2019t convince you\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME<\/a> in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. The opinions in his column are personal and do not necessarily reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here<\/a>. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carter Bundy It\u2019s said in politics that the extreme right and left often are very similar. With all respect to conventional wisdom, that\u2019s patently false when it comes to substance. For example, the far right\u2019s unwavering support for military action is hardly the same as a pacifist\u2019s position. Likewise, the far right\u2019s insistence on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bundy-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3024\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}