The left’s vice has long been known: treason, the defense of outsiders to the point of revolution — the overthrow of the in-group hierarchy and betrayal of the in-group itself.

The left’s virtues are even better known, since leftists never shut up about them. Which has always made them rather ridiculous. And nasty.

Now, the main rhetorical gambit of the left towards the right has been to characterize the right only by its besetting vices (racism, cruel oppression of outsiders) and to dismiss the right’s virtues as non-existent. This is partisan — base rhetoric — and it has provided cover for the extremity of the left’s own vice, especially in the Democratic Party’s compromises regarding China, ongoing for decades and now revealed in recent spy and corruption scandals.

Which CNN somehow downplays.

Two things seem obvious to me: the Democrats are completely compromised, morally, with the leftist vice, and my personal strategy of never identifying myself as either ‘on the left’ or ‘on the right’ is one of the very few good moves I have ever made.

I do not know where this will end up. But the perfidy of the left, along with leftist craziness in current political correctness, socialist rhetoric, and defenses for secret plutocracies, make Democrats look especially bad right now.

To my right-wing friends: your ideas are often quite wrong-headed, but your basic stance of defense of in-group is legitimate, and you now have license to mock the political left without mercy. And perhaps even build a few scaffolds. Though remember, your champions often deserve a forced march up the stairs to stare at the trap-door and rope, too.

twv