The conservative agenda: Undermine the very process of governing

Glenden Brown at OneUtah:

Conservative politics – look no further than the Bush administration – are about creating a sort of free-floating chaos, deliberately undermining the mechanisms of society, deliberately attacking not only the actual consensus but the mechanisms by which consensus can be reached. Rush Limbaugh and his legion of imitators from Bill O'Reilly on down the food chain to the lowest of local columnists, trade in anger – and endless free-flowing sludge of resentment, anger and divisiveness. David Brock calls it the plen-t-plaint – there's always something to complain about, some new misdeed to upset the masses. These complaints serve to keep the masses angry, stirred up, on the lookout for traitors in their midst, to divide them from their neighbors. While that is happening in one area of conservative politics, conservative politicians are actively working to undermine the political processes by which consensus is reached.

Consider that the current crop of Republican Senators has more filibusters going right now than any other group of senators in history by an order of magnitude – on issues that have popular support. George W. Bush and his unitary executive theory is all about undermining historical checks and balances in power. The net effect of all these activities is an undermining of the processes of governing. Solutions become almost impossible to reach since a portion of the population is foaming-at-the-mouth angry.