Thursday, March 22, 2007

That Other 6-letter "N"-word

Crankycon notes Jonah's latest observation regarding the continuing disintegration of the word neocon. Michael Medved pointed this out a few weeks back when a rightly confused caller asked sincerely, "What is a Neocon?" He responded in the same way as Jonah does, saying something like, "It's just a word people use for someone they don't like."

I especially like Paul Z's list. I wouldn't never have known that Jerry Lewis and Cher were neoconservatives. I'll definitely stay away from them now.

I've heard Mel Gibson called a neocon as well as both recent Popes, all disparagingly. Neoconservative, like fascist, used to mean something, but has even more rapidly descended to the level of words like jerk, dweeb, dork -- words with indefinite origins from a dark realm where etymology and spelunking meet.

15 comments:

  1. To my experience, leftists are totally ignorant about this term "neocon." They think that all conservatives are the same, and their tiny minds can't process subtleties. Neocons themselves, on the other hand, aren't ignorant about the meaning of this term, but they feign ignorance. Meanwhile they castigate paleoconservatives as disloyal, unpatriotic, and reactionary.

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  2. I don't think paleos are unpatriotic. I do find some paleocons to be self-marginalizing, ineffective and as ignorant of the political process as Code Pink.

    I probably actually am a neocon under one or more definitions of the word. So what?

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  3. the bottom line is use of these words is virtually always boring and reactionary, and whenever i encounter them i begin to tune out.

    offtopic: the al gore impersonator regularly appearing on the glenn beck show is totally funny

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  4. Kathleen:

    Yes, that Al Gore impersonator is funny; but Darrell Hammond's impersonation of Gore is even funnier. What do you think?

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  5. IMHO glenn beck's guy has got it down better. e.g. i like how he randomly spins off into gore's "black baptist preacher growl" when the mood strikes

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  6. So if I read your last paragraph correctly, Bubba, there is a difference between an ideological paleocon and a functional, or practical paleocon. Or substitute anything for paleocon in the above.

    I've often told people that the so-called neo-cons are the ones who make the most sense, IMHO, even though not all of those folks are neocons.... probably.... HELL, they're not even all Jewish!

    --- but my point is: if that makes me a so-called neo-con, then whatever.

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  7. I bet he got that a lot in gradeschool, along with scum, dumb and numb.

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  8. Maybe such childhood trama is the source of the bile and invective he now directs at paleocons.

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  9. Count me in among those with issues, particulary with ol' Massah Lincoln. I have other problems with the notion of dumbocracy, but there the problem is theoretical. With Lincoln and his henchmen, the problem is moral. Quite simply, he presided over a policy of mass murder and plunder. Yeah, I do have issues with that.

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  10. Don't evva change, Andy. You're a diamond, baby. A diamond in the rough.

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  11. I thought you might appreciate my reference to the "Hair" soundtrack...

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  12. Hmmm ... a six-letter word beginning with N that indicates something bad.

    I ain't touching THAT one again.

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  13. All this crazy labeling is reason enough to just label myself with what I've titled my blog.

    And I'm sorry to have to have broken it you about Cher. But she was married once to a Rethuglican.

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  14. Rethuglican!!! Ewwww!! that sounds like a cross between a Republican, a Theocrat, a Ugandan and an Anglican. Bizarre.....

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