The Left Will Eat Itself
Conservatism is certainly not one specific idea or agenda. It is a fairly big tent that encompasses social, economic, foreign policy, and moral issues. Those, like me, who would label themselves as conservatives certainly have a whole spectrum of opinions on each of these issues. On issues ranging from abortion to our appropriate role in the Balkans, conservatives frequently debate among ourselves. Nevertheless, there is a general philosophy that can more-or-less include almost all conservatives. Broadly speaking conservatism stands for free markets, a strong military (and among us neo-cons assertive use of it), a limited government domestically, and a general suspicion of tampering with time-tested social traditions.

The left, on the other hand, IMHO has long ceased having a set of core beliefs and has instead become a coalition of distinct, and frequently competing, constituent groups. These groups have nothing in common with each other ideologically other than their opposition to conservatism, but as they all oppose different pieces of conservatism, their agendas are frequently at odds with each other. I always love stories when two lefty groups crash head-on with each other, never before having realized that they have been working for exactly opposite things. They are frequently confused and disoriented, since heretofore they always thought lefties were all on the same side of things, the good side.

Here are some examples:

• Labor unions who want tight immigration control vs Immigrant rights groups and third world apologists who want open borders
• Feminists vs Pornographers
• Pacifists vs Radical Islamists (the latter typically win by beheading the former)

The most recent news item that caught my eye in this genre of left vs left was this story out of UCLA.

LOS ANGELES -- Two tenured art professors have resigned from the University of California, Los Angeles, because the school refused to suspend a graduate student who may have used a gun during a classroom performance art piece.

Chris Burden and Nancy Rubins, internationally known artists who taught at UCLA for more than two decades, filed their retirement papers Dec. 20.

"They feel this was sort of domestic terrorism. There should have been more outrage and a firmer response," said Sarah Watson, a director at a Beverly Hills gallery that represents the couple.

Too funny. Post-modern free expressionists vs discipline-free publicly sponsored higher education and defendant rights. I guess art can only horrify and offend Christians. When it horrifies artists, the line’s been crossed. Anyone think the ACLU will defend the student by arguing he has a combined first and second amendment right to free speech with a firearm? Me neither. - served up by Doctor Bean @ 6:58 PM