Emmett Tyrrell

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- One of the reasons I can say with the utmost confidence that the liberal Democrats are going to be out in the cold for a very long time has to do with a sociological observation. Almost no liberal Democrat knows a conservative Republican of whom he is not contemptuous.

 To be sure, liberals in their think tanks, their universities, their corporate offices or government bureaucracies encounter the occasional conservative. Doubtless over at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, many of the resident liberals knew that amiable moderate conservative former, Sen. Al Simpson. Many probably even liked him. Simpson is not easy to dislike. But did they respect his political values? The thing for a liberal is impossible.

 In fact, did the liberals at the Kennedy School even recognize the amiable old senator's political values? As I say, Al is a "moderate conservative." If memory serves, he was pro-choice. He was not a ferocious tax-cutter or a very vigilant proponent of limited government. Yet loosely defined, the Al Simpson I knew was conservative, which means that the liberals who knew him probably suspected him to be down deep a bigot and stupid.

 Liberals believe that even the most amiable conservative is predisposed toward old-fashioned prejudice against all their approved minorities: gays, blacks, poor people, feminists, the disabled. Moreover, American liberals have been convinced for generations that John Stuart Mill was right on the money when he adjudged conservatives as being members of "the stupid party," notwithstanding that Mill was talking about a different country and a different kind of conservative.

 To American liberals, almost all conservatives are a little stupid, even conservative presidents. The only exception to this rule is a conservative who is obviously intelligent, for instance Richard Nixon or Henry Kissinger. These rare conservatives of intellect, every liberal knows, are immoral and usually in the pay of evil powers -- for instance, corporations.

 The liberal Democrats' contempt for those who just won the Nov. 2 elections explains their amazing anger. Couple their contempt with their ignorance -- often studied ignorance -- of the people who just beat them, and you will understand why I say liberals are, politically speaking, finished.

Emmett Tyrrell

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