the way these things become unquestioned truisms, especially among the right, is by virtue of the freakin rightnut media. i watch it happen every single day on that politics list i sub to.
e.g., we've been having an off and on discussion of neocons. all of a sudden, one day, a couple of the cons are running off at the mouth, slyly accusing others of being anti-semitic.
where did this come from? rightnut radio. rightnut editorials. that piece doug forwarded by rightnutter podohertz.
It's the right's damn astroturf campaign.
Everyday, after Rush, they hop on the 'net and parrot everything the guy says.
Now, what? do we recreate the same thing? I find the thought of encouraging this kind of dittohead agit prop for "our side" deeply problematic. Not that you're proposing this, but what kind of people does that create? People who don't have two brain cells to rub together. Dittoheads do not create the kind political practices, practices of commitments, and political communities that are capable of substantive democracy.
kelley