For good reason, ash has nicknamed conservative journalist George Will "the evil genius." The following is a response to a Will column in which he attempted to dismiss Thomas Frank's "What's the Matter with Kansas?" with the rejoinder, "not much." ash begs to differ.
It has come to this: George Will accuses the political left of crass materialism.
In his latest column, Mr. Will never states for the record whether he has read "What's the Matter with Kansas?" I stipulate that I have not. However, I have read a long, comprehensive review of the book, and if the reviewer is to be believed, Will's review is at best misleading.
Will suggests that economically secure, if not thriving, Kansans, seeking to improve the cultural climate by protesting abortion clinics and similar activities, have been distracted by a patronizing Democratic party preying on their inherent greed.
Not according to the article I read. On the contrary, it is the Republican party contacting poor, unemployed, struggling Kansans to appeal to their conservative positions on the social issues. Though it may well be a constituency eager to further altruistic causes beyond their immediate circumstances, their primary concerns are not addressed.
Nor is the validity vs. "silliness" of abortion a relevant argument. While officially sent by politicians sharing their views, behind the mailings, calls, and emails the citizens of Kansas receive are corporations - yes, George, such as Walmart - who don't much care whether abortion is legal or not so long as regulations favoring bottom-line profit remain intact.
It's classic bait and switch. Since "Vote for my guy and keep me rich, never mind your lost farm or job" is hardly a winning campaign slogan, they substitute pro-life, anti-gay language to whip up support for the big business candidate.
Apparently, it works. Not only do the natives not revolt, they continue to vote against their own self-interest. So much for Will's assertion that it is the cynical, faux capitalistic Democrats manipulating Kansans into wanting more when they already have more than enough.
Whether deliberate or not, it seems that Mr. Will has "missed the point." Furthermore, that an aristocrat should equate financial well-being with "materialism" is quite an ironic distortion of what's really going on in Kansas.