They Call Me a Reactionary Right-Winger

by Doug Payton

I was perusing a web site called the Global 100 the other day, seeing what web sites are considered most popular based on their data, and I came to the name "GOP Infighting". I’m often interested in seeing how the Republican Party is portrayed by those who disagree with it, and this apparently was a highly popular site (ranked #8 on July 17, 2000), so I took a look.

The first thing I found was that it’s latest story was full of flagrant conjecture, idle hopes and gross misquoting, so I took a look at some other areas of the site and found a real gem; an article called "The Reactionary Right-Wingers Call Me a Liberal" written by Douglas Giles, webmaster of the site.

If this is what liberals really think, then they truly haven’t been paying attention. Mr. Giles appears to split the world into two groups; liberals and "reactionary right wingers". He fits the profile of those liberals whom I describe in my essay "Portrait of a Right-Wing Extremist". Either he is someone who thinks that the principles that this country was founded on are wrong beyond words, or he doesn’t really understand those principles.

Given how much traffic the "Infighting" site apparently gets, this isn’t an isolated case. So, as a public service, I’ll respond, in like form, to Mr. Giles’ self-serving assumptions and misconceptions.

[Mr. Giles words appear in red. Mine appear in black.]

The reactionary right-wingers call me a liberal

I refuse to pretend that racism and sexism no longer exist, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that reverse-discrimination is still discrimination, and that the best way to assure equal treatment is to actually treat people equally, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe that "market forces" are some magical panacea, so they call me a liberal.

I understand market forces, and understand that, over the long-term, they work far better than state-run economies, and understand that history bears this out, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe cutting the military from being able to blow up the world 10 times over down to only 8 times over is a bad thing, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that there is more to the military than nuclear weapons, and that the real military cuts in manpower and conventional weapons have crippled our readiness, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I understand that nuclear weapons haven’t been used since the 1940s, and that since the 1940s the idea of Mutually Assured Destruction has worked remarkably well, and that a National Missile Defense would be better, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe family means a man ruling over a wife and kids, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that a husband must be the servant of his family, that he must consider others above himself, that he must love his wife so much that he would be willing to die for her, and that, within those parameters, God has given him the role of tie-breaker with respect to decisions within the marriage, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I understand that, for the best possible development of children, a family requires a father and a mother, and that this arrangement has served civilization well for centuries, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I understand that Promise Keepers doesn’t think that the husband should "rule" his family either (by which they mean he shouldn’t act as sole dictator, rule by sheer force, nor ignore needs other than his own), but I notice that allegedly "pro-family" liberals denigrate Promise Keepers, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe that money magically trickles down from the rich, so they call me a liberal.

I believe in a fair wage for a good job, that rich people employ and buy from people who are not generally as well-off as they, and thus I understand that "trickle-down" is not a theory or a policy but a description of how wealth flows in a capitalistic society, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe giving a mother food stamps to feed her kids is a waste of money, while buying the air force a billion dollar bomber it doesn't want isn't, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that painting all welfare recipients as single mothers that spend all their money on their children is as inaccurate as painting them as all crack-addicted bums that spend all their money on drugs, and that the percentage of poor people today is about the same as it was when welfare began, and that dependence on government strips people of their personal dignity, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I understand that if we reduced the massive waste in welfare programs we could pay for those bombers, which would then be employed to protect the freedoms of welfare recipients, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe cutting the taxes of the rich helps the poor, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that "rich", by liberal standards, includes anyone who owns their own home, that "poor" by liberal standards, includes people who own their own home, and that liberals bandy about labels like these when it suits them, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I understand that when the rich’s taxes increase, they stop purchasing items from the middle class, and stop donating to agencies that help the poor, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe Rush Limbaugh has talent on loan from God, so they call me a liberal.

I understand on-air shtick when I hear it, and don’t dismiss conservative voices out-of-hand, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe that the profit motive creates virtue in people, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that profit motive creates drive in people and thus an economy that prospers, and that the lack of that drive gave us the shining examples of East Germany and the Soviet Union, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe that might makes right, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that might makes safety, security and a better life for all whom that might is created to defend, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe the government should control women's reproductive choices, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that the government should not allow women the choice to kill their own children, that the choice involved occurred at conception, and that the most dangerous place to live in the world today is in a mother’s womb, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe that single mothers are necessarily bad parents, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that single mothers can be wonderful parents, but I understand that the two-parent, mother & father home, provides a more balanced and healthy environment for children, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe only northern Europeans have culture, so they call me a liberal.

I understand and appreciate America’s unique culture, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe a union worker making $17/hr is overpaid while a CEO making $1 million/year is not, so they call me a liberal.

I believe any artificial, union-required, make-work job is overpaid at any price, that increased responsibility should translate into increased compensation, and that no one should be allowed to tell me how much I am allowed to earn, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I refuse to ignore the long history of oppression, so they call me a liberal.

I understand the history of oppression and intend to learn from it, move on and not dwell on it, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe teaching children about cultural diversity is wrong, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that diversity is good, but unity within diversity is better, and that America has a culture just as valid as any other, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe the only good jobs are ones where someone else is skimming off a profit, so they call me a liberal.

I understand the value of volunteer work, but I also understand the failings of socialism and communism, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe Americans are inherently superior to other nationalities, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that America is one of, if not the, freest nation in the world, and thus one of the most prosperous, and that this is a good thing, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe homosexuals are evil, so they call me a liberal.

I believe homosexuality is wrong, unhealthy and destructive to the family unit that has served cultures well for centuries, and I understand the difference between "disagreement" vs. "hate" and "fear", so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I understand the Biblical principal of loving the sinner but not the sin, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe non-Christians are evil, so they call me a liberal.

I don’t call people with whom I disagree "evil", so they call me reactionary right-winger (as well as far more offensive things like "fascist" and "Nazi").

I don't believe liberals are subhuman monsters, so they call me a liberal.

I understand that liberals enjoy hyperbole, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe that things are black-and-white, so they call me a liberal.

I understand the difference between right and wrong, so they call me a reactionary right-winger.

I don't believe their lies, so the reactionaries call me a liberal
The more they talk, the more being called a liberal sounds like a compliment.

- Douglas Giles

I don’t believe their misconceptions, their incorrect assumptions, their theories that run counter to experience, their ideas that don’t work over and over, their scare tactics and their fabrications. The more they talk, the more being called a reactionary sounds like a compliment. But of course, in they’re love of hyperbole and name-calling, they still don’t know what I am.

Liberals don’t seem to understand the problems, nor the ramifications of their solutions. I am a conservative because I do understand.

- Douglas Payton