Good vs. Evil?

There's a very important point at the heart of Conservatism that should always be part and pole of the general political debate, which is the notion of liberty in so much as it runs into conflict with equality, two key tenets of our Independence from Britain and our Constitution. America was built on rule of law over rule of mob, and while we aren't always true to that ideal, the idea of equality, i.e. equal justice under one set of laws, is at the core of American greatness just as much as the freedom to be whomever you can be, which gives us our engine of perpetual innovation.

And while the pendulum swings between Roosevelt and Reagan and back to Obama, there is an American middle that at least tries to stay on the side of the common man or woman, the idea that this is a non-ideological tension, that somewhere in the middle we're all in it together.

Not so much with the #1 daily voice of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Limbaugh, in some sort of open-necked Dracula look, was the featured speaker at the CPAC event on Saturday, serving red meat for the faithful:

"This notion that I want the president to fail, this shows you the problem we've got. This is nothing more than common sense and to not be able to say it? Why in the world would I want what we just described: rampant government growth, welfare that is not being created yet is being spent? What is in this, what is possibly in this that any of us want to succeed? Did the Democrats want the war of Iraq to fail? They certainly did. And they not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail they proclaimed it a failure.... They hoped George Bush failed. So what is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?"

The crowd, watching in three individual ballrooms because of overcrowding, went absolutely wild.

Notwithstanding the elliptical lying about the Bush Administration, yjr self-justifying mischaracterizations of the left and the deliberate context-ectomy of his comments, his core argument takes the liberty tenant of Conservative philosophy and uses it as a blunt object, pounding fear into anger with the language of hate.

He's not the only fighter, though. Our President today discussed his newly submitted budget in his weekly video address. I'm fascinated with how strategically he passed the stimulus, deflating a lot of hubbub and proving his ability to win quickly and against conventional Washington wisdom, and followed it up with a vague feint towards bank bailouts, capping public attention with a triumphant plan for ending the Iraq War in early 2011, so that the budget made less of a splash, feeling more like an extension of the stimulus battle he already won.

That package may have been the pilot, but this is the full series. Obama is seeking to make so many of the changes he campaigned and won on, and that so many have wished for for so long, in the most direct way possible, i.e. budgetary policy. Included in his plan is the first battle on the road to a fully reformed national health insurance system. And as Obama says:

"I realize that passing this budget won’t be easy. Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington. I know that the insurance industry won’t like the idea that they’ll have to bid competitively to continue offering Medicare coverage, but that’s how we’ll help preserve and protect Medicare and lower health care costs for American families. I know that banks and big student lenders won’t like the idea that we’re ending their huge taxpayer subsidies, but that’s how we’ll save taxpayers nearly $50 billion and make college more affordable. I know that oil and gas companies won’t like us ending nearly $30 billion in tax breaks, but that’s how we’ll help fund a renewable energy economy that will create new jobs and new industries. I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this:

"So am I."

Am I wrong? Is this not a struggle between the force of activism, optimism, energetic thoughtfulness determined to help average Americans across this great land, vs. a recidivist, fearful, bitter ideological foe?

Is this not good:

vs. evil?:

You be the judge.