Kneecapping the Arrogant

There is only one question that matters today in conservatism, and that is: What can conservatives do, right now, today, to push back, beat back, deter, and defeat the onrushing tyranny of woke socialism?  There's no point in waiting for a savior to ride to the rescue: if Christ chooses to come imminently, well and good, but failing that, we're not likely to get a bolder, smarter, and more determined leader than President Donald Trump who, alas, failed utterly to defeat the Swamp.

No single answer to this question exists, just as no single person can solve all our problems.  But, just as a multitude of little nobodies working together can accomplish great things, so can a multitude of cuts bleed even the most giant monopoly corporations or unaccountable bureaucracies.  You can sink the greatest of battleships if you put enough gravel into it, one stone at a time.

At this time, we have only one tactical advantage: The Left is overwhelmingly arrogant, convinced that they have permanently won, and of course that they are the ultimate arbiters of moral rightness with a mandate to do whatever they darn well please.

We see a case study of this in the strident demands that Mr. Biden pack the Supreme Court and the Senate trash the filibuster.  No political group that thought they might ever again find themselves out of power, would dare to do such a thing; only someone convinced that they've won permanent total power would risk eliminating the protections for minority views that are the hallmark of the American system.

After all, our Founders set us up as a republic specifically because they knew that democracies are subject to the "tyranny of the majority" and that minorities need strong protection, especially unpopular minorities.

Ponder the fact that it was the Left who eliminated the filibuster for appointing judges quite some time ago.  At the time, Sen. McConnell warned them that they could come to regret that move.  They went ahead anyway, and just as he'd prophesied Mr. Trump was able to appoint three Supreme Court justices.

In spite of regretting that to a degree, they seem determined to make the same sort of sweeping change again!  Is that not the peak of arrogance?

Their arrogance is even more striking when we consider that they have not, in fact, secured total power, even if temporarily.  Yes, they do appear to have captured our Federal government - but what of the states, many of which are even more totally Republican?

Perhaps they are assuming that most of those "Republicans" are really RINO squishes who won't have the guts to stand up to them.  They're not totally wrong, but it only takes one DeSantis to set an example for all the others, particularly after they got a 4-year cram course in fighting back from The Donald.

Just last week, Gov. DeSantis and his Florida legislature passed innovative legislation to force the giant media companies to provide platforms for conservative Florida politicians they don't like:

Social media companies would be unable to permanently kick people off their platforms under a tough new Florida law.

The bill, passed by the GOP-dominated state Legislature Thursday and awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature, would make it a crime to remove state political candidates from Twitter and Facebook, and would mete out penalties of $250,000 a day for any statewide candidate who is deplatformed.

Removing more local candidates would cost the company $25,000 a day.

Now, Facebook could probably afford $250k/day if it really hated somebody - for instance, if, say, Donald Trump saw fit to file for an office in Florida.  But they might have a hard time justifying the ever-mounting fines to their shareholders.

A scant few years ago, this aggressive regulatory approach would have sent conservatives into fits of apoplexy.  Today, this kind of thing is our only hope.

From the BBC comes another fascinating idea for a followup:

Online seller eBay says it is handing regulators the power to take down dangerous listings without consulting the company.

Officials will be able to remove items "where they have evidence of a risk to consumer safety", eBay said.

Only selected, trusted authorities will have access to the new tools. But those that do will have "the ability to take down any listings from the marketplace themselves", the company said.

This seems like it's designed for an obvious and non-controversial niche: truly unsafe products, like dangerous electrical appliances.  Firearms, of course, have long been banned from eBay and other online sellers, so the much-abused Second Amendment is not at issue here.

A moment's consideration of the fascist nature of the Left, though, will immediately show how this can be abused.  Wasn't it just the other day that eBay itself banned the sale of Dr. Seuss books the cancel-culture mobs had decided were racist?  The CDC - an over-powerful regulatory agency if ever there was one - says that racism is a serious threat to public health.  And ten years ago, under the Obama administration, Congress passed a law effectively banning the sale of used children's books printed before 1985.

All of this is stupid, dangerous, un-American, un-Constitutional, and arguably flat-out evil.  But thanks to our federal-republican form of government, wisely designed by our Founders to provide a bulwark against exactly this kind of tyranny, two can play at that game.

Does not Florida have its own consumer products safety authority, as does most every state?  Are not these the very definition of "trusted authorities"?

And, is there not abundant evidence that, say, Black Lives Matter clothing and other paraphernalia poses an imminent threat to  public health and safety?  After all, even Wikipedia includes a list of deaths and other violence from BLM riots.  Perhaps, for form's sake, we should start by using these newfound powers to expunge the sale of KKK garb from eBay - they surely won't object, and it would establish the principle.

Or, what about using these powers to remove Mein Kampf?  That book certainly led to the deaths of millions... as did Das Kapital and the Koran.  Wouldn't it be fun to see someone making these arguments, and forcing the left to counter-argue as to why those books weren't in fact dangerous?  And if Mein Kampf, of all things, isn't dangerous, how on earth could anything written by a living right-winger possibly be?

Should any state do this?  Of course not.  But consider the obvious result: the Left, perhaps the ACLU, or even eBay itself, would at their own expense sue Florida (or wherever) to establish the principle that they can't do that.

How nice of them to establish a precedent that right-oriented lawfare teams can then point to, when (say) New York tries to cancel pro-life shirts and buttons!

If nothing else, the Left would be triggered and discomfited.  If nothing else, our side would have a morale-building opportunity to pass the popcorn.  And if we're extremely lucky, America might get a timely reminder as to why the First Amendment is supposed to protect all views, most especially those that are unpopular.

Too aggressive, divisive, and inflammatory?  Well, when would you propose to start fighting back - after conservatives have been pushed out of all positions of power, and no longer have any power with which even to bleat?