Republican Political Correctness

Republicans have been very successful at using the term "political correctness" to beat back any attempt to paint them as sympathetic to the worst attributes of any of their supporters. This is how Dick Cheney can go on Rush Limbaugh without being asked by the media if he supports some of the more controversial things that Limbaugh has said. If anyone in the establishment press did so they would simply be attacked by the right-wing media apparatus as trying to suppress different points of view.

Democrats, on the other hand, tend to run away at the first sign of controversial support. Kos notes in this post that few in the Democratic leadership have embraced Howard Stern's call to his listeners to vote Bush out of office. They are afraid to do so because Stern is a controversial figure.

The smart Democrat is one that realizes that there is no such thing as support that is not immune from controversy. They have to be willing to stand up to criticism. They have to turn the tables on the Republicans and ask, like they do with their critics, why they want to beat down opposing points of view.

Democratic leaders, instead of fretting about some of the "liberties" Michael Moore allegedly takes with the truth would help their cause far more if they were to make an issue out of right-wing attempts to keep Moore from getting his message out.

It's time to turn the PC tables on Republicans and make <i>them</i> sweat a little.