I mentioned yesterday
HERE the trouble I was having putting a finger on the abstract nothingness that seemed to be the Glenn Beck rally. I don't mean that as an insult, I mean the entire thing seemed to be followed by a collective "wait...what?" feeling. In this op-ed Ross Douthat, hardly the lefty pinko commie Xmastime is, nails
why I was having trouble finding anything to land on:
But whereas Obama wouldn’t have been Obama if he weren’t running for president, Beck’s packed, three-hour jamboree was floated entirely on patriotism and piety, with no “get thee to a voting booth” message. It blessed a particular way of life without burdening that blessing with the compromises of a campaign, or the disillusioning work of governance.
For a weekend, at least, Beck proved that he can conjure the thrill of a culture war without the costs of combat, and the solidarity of identity politics without any actual politics.
Politics without the pesky business of actually having to do anything and getting mad benjamin$ to do it. Where do I sign up?
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