Monday, November 14, 2011
Mindless conservatism
Great opinion piece in the Washington Post about a disturbing trend in today's Republican party - not merely conservatism but mindless reflexive conservatism that hasn't thought through the consequences of its actions.
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"But that so many other members of a movement theoretically devoted to traditional values on sexual matters would eagerly jump into this mess on Cain’s side speaks volumes about its condition. "
Can't argue on the Perry stuff, but Mr. Dionne should have closed with a stronger argument--the liberal male playing the feminist card didn't do it for me.
A less enthusiastic response over the Cain scandal is to be expected from conservative women--it doesn't illustrate a radical change in conservative principles and it doesn't "speak volumes" about the current condition of conservative thought.
Women from the conservative camp are generally less upset over the Cain allegations because they don't share third wave feminists' agenda--conservatives broke from mainstream feminism once Margaret Sanger hijacked the movement in the sixties. Once conservative and liberal feminism divorced, each group formed their own ideology. The liberal movement addressed issues pertaining directly to female sexuality (rape, domestic abuse, sexual harassment, sexual liberation, etc.). On the other hand, conservatives were certainly "devoted to traditional values on sexual matters," but they focused on a different set of sexual matters--the defense of marriage and abortion. Over the past decade, the conservatives' "lax stance" on women's rights and issues of sexual abuse have lead many to refer to 'Conservative Feminism' as an oxymoron.
This is not to say that no conservatives are worried about rape/sexual abuse...just to point out that the liberal second/third wave feminist movement has taken a much more public stance on these issues, while conservatives have been criticized for taking a softer stance, or even neglecting, issues of sexual abuse.
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