A double attack - on the Pope and Conservatives

Rush Limbaugh - Shock Jock

Rush Limbaugh, a shock jock (so guess what's coming next) accuses the Pope of preaching Marxism.

That was attack number one.

The liberal/progressive media carrying this story likes to represent that Rush Limbaugh speaks for all Conservatives.

That was attack number two. Here, the media want to promote the idea that Christian Conservatives are for sticking it to the poor. It's a win-win. Paint the Pope as a Marxist, paint the conservatives as heartless.

Rush's comments are dealt with quite easily. His polemic view is simplistic to the point of stupidity. Anyone criticizing excessive greed is not automatically a Marxist. I like the Vatican response: "It does not seem worth the trouble of answering seriously," said a Vatican spokesman.. A quick Google search finds plenty of other places quite willing to take the trouble to answer, although after all is said and done, it really isn't worth taking the time to answer seriously.

What the Pope said makes perfect sense - and I suggest many Conservatives would agree. Unfettered capitalism (greed and economic exploitation) is not a good thing. The solution is not Communism, and any student of history will understand the Catholic Church has a long history of opposing Communism, which is an atheistic doctrine as much as it is an economic one. Marxists can see where unfettered capitalism may lead, but their solution is worse. Catholics and Conservatives understand the role of respecting property rights. They understand the importance of working and receiving a living wage.  Conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism.  Whilst they understand the importance of community they also understand the reality of inequality - it is a necessary side-effect of diversity and freedom.  That does not translate to class warfare, in the Marxist sense.

Rush Limbaugh is a shock jock. So I'm not shocked by what he said.

It is also worthwhile to point out that the progressive/liberal media take every opportunity to mischaracterise Conservatism.  All the better to use the Pope as a convenient object for misdirection.


[Updated/Edited 5 minutes after post to focus some sentences on economic conservatism. ]