"Concerns" Over Egyptian Democracy Spread by Right Wing Fear Merchants

Shame hath no place in the house of conservative punditry. If they can take a position against real democracy and real freedom, they will. Sure, they preach "liberty," but what they really mean is the freedom to be and think like them and the liberty to live under their world view.

Theirs is not a policy of live and let live, nor one of celebrating the free exchange of ideas across a wide range of thought. No, the far right is bereft of sound policy suggestions or real ideas - and as such, must resort to the politics of fear and hate to fill the vacuum.

The latest entry in the fear everything not approved by Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly and Palin category comes to us as the democratic revolution in Egypt. Rather than embrace the opportunity for real political reform throughout the region, they instead turn to fear.

Who, when news reports were coming in that Mubarak would be forced from office and sent to the dust heap with right wing dictators gone by, wasn't happy for the people of Egypt? The American far right.

Across the board, right wing commentary decried the demonstrators and called for strong support of Mubarak. On the more extreme were calls for direct and immediate U.S. military intervention to help put down the insurrection. Yes, the self-proclaimed voices of liberty wanted a violent put-down slapped on Egyptian protesters.

Now, as dissent spreads across the region, fear mongers on the right are screaming about everything from the Twelth Imam and the end of the world to a new Islamic Caliphate and the coming destruction of Israel, Europe, and then America.

Glenn Beck is probably the most deeply psychotic ranter going, assuring his minions that indeed, the sky is falling. He rants about a new Caliphate, even though most of his listeners wouldn't know a Caliphate from a cauliflower.

The American right has a long tradition when it comes to favoring despots and dicatators in the Middle East. Of course, should they fail to fall into lockstep with the corporatist ideals, they are shunted aside, even if it means making up reasons for war, like happened with Iraq.

Yes, some of the government to be elected in Egypt may well be Islamic theocrats. Not likely to be anything close to a majority, but more than a secularist like myself would be happy with. That, however, is no reason to deny the people the road to real democratic reform. As they grow as a society, hopefully they will dismiss all the fundamentalist thought.

As an American, I am far more concerned with theocrats in our own goverment over those in Egypt. Conservative fundamentalists are flexing their muscle in Congress now, and if allowed to will do far more damage to America in the long run than any Islamic cleric.

Know your enemy - and your enemy is not democracy in Egypt.