‘Progressive’ Praise for McCain Shows Limits of ‘Acceptable’ Conservatism

Guest Post by David Codrea

“Dear friends” celebrate their interpretation of the Constitution with awards — meaning anyone to the right of this alliance can be labeled an “extremist.” (John McCain/Facebook)

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him,” Mark Antony declares in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Those familiar with the play understand the subtlety of the oratory and its hidden political purposes. There are political parallels now that Republican Sen. John McCain has passed, with Democrats signaling their admiration for the man.

I’m not going to speak ill of the dead. McCain’s record in life was clear and my differences with him – and there were many — were expressed then. It’s more productive for the purpose of defending against some of those differences to look at what his ostensible political opponents, his friends across the aisle and in the media, are saying about him now.

Barack Obama recalled a “shared… fidelity to something higher.” Joe Lieberman “lost a dear friend.” Joe Biden “will miss him dearly.” Bill and Hillary Clinton noted “He frequently put partisanship aside to do what he thought was best for the country, and was never afraid to break the mold if it was the right thing to do.”

The New York Times called him “a last lion of the Senate,” a title previously bestowed on the death of another McCain friend, Sen. Edward Kennedy. Similar tributes appear in all the major papers.

MSNBC remembered “the ‘maverick of the senate,’” compiling recollections from, among others, “Rev.” Al Sharpton and “conservative” radio host Hugh Hewitt. As with the newspapers, all the major networks have similar fond memories with similar controlled opposition.

That’s just normal, though, right?  At times like these, people put aside their differences; they do the right thing, the polite thing and try to find something good to say?

If you believe that, you believe the sympathizers are essentially benign and objective, as opposed to opportunists bent on manipulating public perceptions in order to advance an agenda. Who thinks those delivering the “heartfelt” eulogies would not find all kinds of critical remembrances if the politician being memorialized were President Donald Trump? Who thinks some wouldn’t be “In your FACE!” about it?

What they say and do for public consumption is about power.

This is the lesson Republicans continue to not learn—every time they make a concession and surrender a point on guns, what happens? It’s never enough, and the citizen disarmament zealots are back demanding more—and painting anyone who stands in their way as an uncompromising extremist.

They won’t appreciate you for “compromising.” They’ll take it and continue on their quest to have it all, and to apply the politics of personal destruction against anyone who stands in their way.

Case in point, let’s look at how “actress and activist” Hayden Panettiere regarded John McCain in a (NSFW) “Funny or Die” video (one that looks like attempts have been made to scrub it from the internet, but is still posted – for now — on a Brazilian site).

The underlying message: McCain was too conservative, too unethical and too dangerous, in fact, the political equivalent of a carcinogen.

If that’s what they’d say about a man many of us considered unacceptably “moderate,” what must they want followers to think about those of us that are more hard line and less willing to cede any ground?

We know.  We’re extremists and haters. Just ask the Southern Poverty Law Center. And because “hate speech isn’t free speech,” not only will the dominant DSM ignore us, we’ll be increasingly locked out of social media platforms.

For now, those praising Caesar to advance their own ends are extolling his virtues for reasons beyond good manners. Look for them to hold those up as the ultimate edge of acceptable political discourse, where anyone outside those calculated boundaries can be branded an “anti-government” radical, a clear and present danger, and ultimately, an “enemy of the Republic.”

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