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Open Mic Brilliant Blow By Sherman Peabody BRAVO! The U.S. Supreme Court decision this week put Al Gore firmly in his place and proved a brilliant blow against liberalism in this country. Finally, our greatest judicial institution has succeeded in a task at which valiant conservative foot soldiers have failed for years--the wholesale disenfranchisement of millions of liberal voters. A kudos to the court. It's true that a large share of the electorate already was disillusioned--why else would anybody rally behind an egotistical nerd like Ralph Nader or a blowhard billionaire like Ross Perot? Those so-called third-party candidates are but pathetic eccentrics tilting at windmills, their followers little more than sad-sack Sancho Panzas carrying the torch for a tarted-up Dulcinea. However, the real menace remained, throwing a shadow of doubt across the hearts of those of us who dive eagerly into the Wall Street Journal's editorial page before their first cup of coffee. Even after two decades of hard-fought cultural wars that saw the rise of the Christian Coalition, Newt Gingrich, and the Contract with America, the right faced serious threats from resurgent old-guard lefties who constituted Gore's power base. Even the unions (please pardon my necessary use of that unfortunate word) were on the move again. But with one wise ruling and a grand sweep of their black robes (Justice Stevens and his insistence that the court has dishonored itself notwithstanding), the mighty justices have effectively vanquished the whining masses and extinguished their pathetic cries for costly labor rights, social justice, increased environmental protection (at the expense of corporate strength and free trade), and weakened military power. No more will we have to tolerate rowdy demonstrators howling at the authority of capitalist rule. Gone will be the immoral moguls of Hollywood and their cultural trash, all draped in the guise of Freedom of Speech. The office of the president, tarnished by eight years of Clinton's contempt, will be polished to a golden luster. America will be respected for the magnificent superpower that she is. And imagine how long it will take for the force of this brilliant blow to fade. At last, with a diminished electorate and a true visionary like George W. Bush in the White House, conservatives can regain their momentum and return to the glory days of the Reagan era. Once again, it is morning in America. Sherman Peabody is the author of 'America, What Went Right? In Praise of the Newt Gingrich Revolution' (Stubby Press, 1999). [ North Bay | MetroActive Central | Archives ]