IN liberalism's graveyard, ensnared by ivy and obscured by the accumulated dust of misguided behavior, is the tombstone of political honor: granite that lists the names (Jefferson, Jackson, Kennedy and Truman) and causes (freedom, strength and patriotism) that define liberalism's formerly proud heritage as the soul of the Democratic Party. And, for many, liberalism without honor - without any pretense of national pride or moral calculus - is just fine; provided words like "evil" or "immoral" define conservatism or Caucasian men.
Enter Tammy Bruce, author of the thought-provoking new book "The New Thought Police: Inside The Left's Assault on Free Speech and Free Minds".
For Ms. Bruce, liberalism's greatest failure is not Bill Clinton or the sustained popularity of NBC's "The West Wing" (political pimples, cosmetically frightening but medically irrelevant), it is the moral death among her former colleagues and political organizations.
The inability to draw moral distinctions between good and evil, or the elevation of self-esteem against the greater goods of truthfulness and integrity, disturbs Bruce. She is both apostate and apostle, a former president of the Los Angeles chapter for the National Organization for Women (NOW). She knows personally the price of liberty - as "feminists" explain O.J. Simpson's violent behavior, or compartmentalize Bill Clinton's adulterous actions.
Bruce represents a viewpoint almost largely extinct: principled liberalism - nay, independence - where abortion is an issue worthy of debate and the Democratic Party is a movement, not a monolith. But Bruce's enemies, people committed to her personal destruction, treat dissent the way NOW embraces masculinity - with pinched noses and total horror. For Bruce is not merely a political opponent, an adversary with iconoclastic, though admirably individualistic, ideas; she is modern liberalism's enemy, which demands her silence.
Bruce is liberalism's enemy for two important reasons: because she believes O.J. Simpson is a murderer, and that open debate is the Left's greatest threat. These two issues - ideas that, divorced from liberalism's hijacking of truth and logic, would never properly align themselves together - is the Left's current signature. And, as open debate confirms Simpson's deplorable behavior, the Left waves the accusatory flag of racism - suggesting that, because he is black, Simpson's "guilt" is somehow less relevant than the injustices imposed upon all African-Americans, including those sequestered in Brentwood (and remunerated by Hertz, NBC and the NFL).
Yet, what truly angers Bruce is liberalism's assault against unpopular opinion. This assault treats conservatism as an alien ideology, where racism is the Republican Party's mantra and sexism its practice. She carefully uncovers the Left's use of these inflammatory terms, regardless of their veracity. Thus, accusations alone become evidence; evidence becomes historical record; reputations dissolve; truth disappears.
Again, Bruce is a political prophet without a party. Her thoughtful embrace of Republicans, along with her true commitment to inclusion amidst an otherwise exclusionary world (modern liberalism), explains the Left's relentless assault against her. She now must choose between her principles and her *principals* - political bullies that abhor debate and stifle dissent. She must find or create a new political home.
No, Tammy Bruce is not a victim. She is a political truth-teller, one that avoids liberalism's greatest lie: that race or sex defines belief, period. She is an independent mind that does not dismiss conservative thought, nor personally destroy Republican speakers.
But she is an individual dismissed by liberals, and almost nearly personally destroyed by Democrats.
She is a fresh new spokesperson for free, fair and open political debate. She is what the Left fears - a woman that avoids labels. She is the thought police's newest enemy.
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I like this woman.
ESquared, Dartman, EdS et al......she's not blonde but she is better looking than you-know-who IMHO and this one has brains [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] .
