Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Townhall Magazine: "100 Americans the left hate most!"

If one's mission were to "win friends and influence people" they would most likely do their best not to criticize, condemn or complain and act in a friendly manner. You may be mistaken for thinking this is what Politics is about, not quite. Winning elections is about having more votes than your competitor, its not necessarily about winning everyone over. If you're able to impassion a majority to victory it would almost be wise to cut your losses, sometimes having a constant opposition as a bogeyman can be the best motivator.

The world of wrestling is built on the very notion of "Us vs Them". Wrestlers orient themselves as either 'Heels' (villains) or 'Faces' (heroes) by their actions and their words. Their appeal however is based entirely on how they connect with the audience and not their orientation. Its not uncommon in wrestling to find that you root for the villain and loathe the hero.

Identity politics is built on proudly distinguishing oneself as part of marginalized group, insisting on such a narrative is a source of empowerment, a badge of honor. Its a tactic used by politicians and pundits with Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck arguably being the most effective proponents. Not surprisingly the marginalisation angle works best for the pundits when their ideological side is out of power and their supporters most engaged. As evidenced by the introduction of Liberal radio station Air America and pundits like Randi Rhodes, Sam Seder and Al Franken during the Republican Bush' second term. Also seen in the emergence of Glenn Beck and his brand of restoration during President Obama's first term.

Its not uncommon for these "marginalised" groups to glorify their status by identifying their biggest targets as TownHall Magazine have done below. But these lists can easily be recontextualized so the positions of strength are inverted as seen in these set of ranking  - Top 10 list of anti-Barack Obama conservatives
100 Americans se left hate most!
The more effective the voices that oppose their agenda, the greater the venom the Left spews in their direction. It’s this out-of-control behavior from our fellow citizens who are sold out to the ultraliberal progressive Obama agenda to “radically transform” the United States that led us to create this list of “The 100 Americans the Left Hates Most.”

The Townhall editorial staff compiled a massive list of those we believe have the largest bull’s-eyes painted on them by the Left and the Democrat-dominated government...

Download the PDF here - The 100 Americans The Left Hates Most

The usual suspects of PunditFight conservatives appear on the list, you'll have to go to TownHall magazine to find their respective rankings:
Hugh Hewitt, Bill Kristol, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck

Watch how marginalised heel personalities negotiate between each other to elevate themselves

VIDEO: WWE Over The Limit 2010 Randy Orton Vs Edge

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