Robin's remorse

A woman named Robin, from Berkeley no less, describes her conversion from leftism in American Thinker. She is now a recovering liberal, she says, and apologizes to people she has harmed, especially herself:

I didn't know any better. I thought the whole world lived in areas where the streets are filthy, aggressive street behavior is allowed because the perps are victims of capitalism, and where you can easily get mugged walking down a street or eating in a restaurant at noon. (By the way, with the Left in charge, expect gangs, crime, indoctrination of 5 year olds and general anarchy to be coming soon to a neighborhood near you.)

Given that the media is pretty much censored (good luck finding a conservative book in your local "independent" book store or hearing a Republican speak anywhere), you didn't know that a party of grown ups even existed that didn't advocate screaming at others as the preferred mode of communication. So to my dear Robin, apologies for what I put you through, what I deprived you of, and my pledge to do better.

I expect we will hear more than a few such recantations as the attempted remake of the USA into Obamastan gathers steam. But although Robin deserves credit for willingness to change her mind, and for courage if she still lives in Berkeley — I sincerely hope she is not kidding herself about being able to withstand the hatred she will encounter — to judge from her self-description, it is questionable whether she has actually become a conservative. It's rather like she has become angry at liberalism, which is not the same thing.

I started hearing about many other incidents where loyal Democrats were being physically and emotionally threatened for supporting Hillary. A woman in Berkeley had her front window broken because it displayed a poster of Hillary. Randi Rhodes, an Air America talk show leftist, called Hillary a f______ witch. (Rhodes was recently promoted to a national talk radio show, illustrating another disturbing trend: the deafening silence about what Rush Limbaugh has dubbed the new "thug-ocracy.)

An acquaintance had her car broken into, and the only item stolen was a NoObama bumper sticker. A South Park episode featured an episode where a nuclear weapon was being aimed at Hillary's genitals. My local greeting card store sold very flattering cards about Obama, insulting ones about Hillary, and a Hillary "nutcracker." When I complained, the young male manager literally laughed in my face.

Is Robin, at heart, a "loyal Democrat" who is ticked off because Obama supporters disrespected her beloved Hillary? Her diatribe reads like a fit of pique. Perhaps that's not fair to her — she can't be expected to describe her new outlook fully in a short article — but she seems more fixated on settling scores than on principles. It's all about her feeling hurt and insulted.

Taking a stand against the soft totalitarianism of Obama nation is fine, but it would be more of an achievement to understand what conservatism is actually about, things like belief in limited government, the federal system, judicial restraint, free markets, local traditions, Western culture, and more.

What, for instance, would she have to say about the leftist Establishment's ethnic replacement policy, which no one has ever had the opportunity to vote on, that is transforming California as gleefully described by the Los Angeles Times?

More than 1 million immigrants became U.S. citizens last year, the largest surge in history, hastening the ethnic transformation of California's political landscape with more Latinos and Asians now eligible to vote.

Leading the wave, California's 300,000 new citizens accounted for nearly one-third of the nation's total and represented a near-doubling over 2006, according to a recent report by the U.S. Office of Immigration Statistics. … Mexicans, who have traditionally registered low rates of naturalization, represented the largest group, with nearly one-fourth of the total. They were followed by Indians, Filipinos, Chinese, Cubans and Vietnamese.

The new citizens are reshaping California's electorate and are likely to reorder the state's policy priorities, some political analysts predict. Several polls show that Latinos and Asians are more supportive than whites of public investments and broad services, even if they require higher taxes.

No doubt; many nonwhites will be happy to receive more "services" such as free (for them) child support and healthcare, while sending the bill to California's rapidly dwindling core of taxpaying businesses and middle class people. Is Robin prepared to take a stand on touchy issues involving race and immigration? Or would she revert to type if only liberals had better manners and Hillary rotated into the White House?

Jesus said something about how not all those who cry "Lord, Lord" will be saved. True conversion is a matter of mind and heart, not of the emotions.