THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

KISSING LIBERAL BACKSIDES IS ***SHREWD**** | 2002-02-02

About every two weeks, another Shrewd (Please see January 26, 2002 - WHEN DUMMIES TRY TO BE "SHREWD") rightist sends me the same idea, and every one of them thinks he came up with it.

He says, we don't have to get the liberals mad at us by defending the rights of right-wing extremists. He says, "Let's be Shrewd."

He continues, "Nazis and other extremists are really left wingers, they are really socialists, so we just need to say that and nobody will connect us with them."

Then they tell us the really Shrewd Part: This way we on the right can lead the lynch mob against right wing extremists, and leftists would pat us on the head for it.

When a rightist decides to Get Shrewd he always has the same punch lines: 1) everybody will go along with it, and 2) liberals will pat us on the head for it.

The disastrous "Let's get the black vote" nonsense is exactly the same. It lets us denounce everybody liberals hate and do what they approve of.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, this "far rightists are actually leftist" gambit is as moronic as every other attempt by a rightist to be Shrewd.

No matter what we do, liberals are going to use the naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews shriek against us forever.

Further, real people out in the real world see the familiar left-right continuum, and only a moron thinks he is going to change that, even if WE controlled the media. And we don't.

So any precedent we help leftists establish against the extreme right will eventually be used against us.