Progressive Opinion

truthdig.com — In the parlance of our times, the term idiocracy means a nation run by idiots — and the term idiot is defined by the dictionary as “an utterly foolish or senseless person” who exhibits “a mental age of less than three years old.” If there remained any flicker of hope that we aren’t turning into a full-on slobbering idiocracy, that hope was snuffed out last week by two of the Washington intelligentsia’s most respected voices.

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truthdig.com — The loudest voices on the right never tire of telling us that they are the truest patriots. They claim to be the deepest believers in our system, the strongest defenders of our Constitution, the most upbeat, bold and courageous Americans anywhere. But now that the government is finally prepared to put the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on trial, these same patriots are the first to spread doubt, instigate anxiety and abandon constitutional principles. When did fear-mongering in a time of war become an act of patriotism?

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washingtonpost.com — Democrats in the Senate — the House is not the problem — need to have a long chat with themselves and decide whether they want to engage in an act of collective suicide. But it's also time to start paying attention to how Republicans, with Machiavellian brilliance, have hit upon what might be called the Beltway-at-Rush-Hour Strategy, aimed at snarling legislative traffic to a standstill so Democrats have no hope of reaching the next exit.

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airamerica.com — While you can't avoid speaking to anyone still willing to identify themselves as a Conservative altogether — whether at the Thanksgiving table or in the wider world — there are some precautions we can take to make it a more pleasurable experience. Here are some basic guidelines.

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washingtonmonthly.com — For all the GOP bluster, I find it hard to believe even the most wild-eyed Republican seriously believes repealing health care reform — which they apparently concede will become law in some form or another — is a possibility. For one thing, if anyone thinks the year-long effort to pass reform was difficult, just imagine trying to un-pass it.

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washingtonmonthly.com — Over the summer, right-wing activists hung Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil in effigy outside his district office. It was a key signal of what's to come — the far-right Tea Party crowd's tactics go a little further than the usual political protests we're accustomed to in contemporary American politics. How far? Virginia Tea-Baggers plan to burn the representative and Speaker Pelosi in effigy at their "Fired Up for Freedom Rally."

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blog.locustfork.net — The people who are showing up with those signs in the park, protesting a plan for real progress in this country, do not represent freedom. They don’t represent heaven. They are the devil in cheap blue jeans with bad hair cuts. Maybe I will show up for one of those protests one day soon and tell them that myself. Or maybe I will just sit here and laugh at them from a distance for being so ignorant, and take pleasure in knowing their day is almost done.

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tomdispatch.com — During the 2008 presidential race, some Republican Party elders warned of Palin's destructive influence. They insisted she was a polarizing figure whose extremism would accelerate the Party's slide toward the political and cultural margins. New polling data appears to support such doomsday prophecies.

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huffingtonpost.com — While the concerns of many white, middle-class people are worthy causes and should be addressed by liberals (and are), it is not elitism to treat this roving band of conspiracy nuts for the cretins they are or associate with. This would be akin to President Johnson in 1964 undertaking a federal committee to study the mind control powers of fluoridated water. That would be asinine.

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openleft.com — Once again, it's not just that the primary Republican demographic is declining, that demographic is also voting increasingly for Democrats.

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