Dylan Hales

March 05, 2009

For the last month now the conservative blogosphere has been fiercely criticizing President Obama for his apparent inability to find a political appointee that has payed their taxes.  A typical example of the right wing bitchfest reads like this:

…it seems that all of these folks were not only tax cheats, they also lied when they filled out the questionnaires. If they didn’t lie, then Obama nominated them knowing they were unethical candidates.

Either way, Obama’s incompetence in selecting these people is breathtaking.”

While pointing out liberal hypocrisy may be good for an “amen” or two, preaching to the converted on matters such as these is hardly an act worthy of praise. In fact such a myopic fixation on the failure of liberals to live up to the supply-side of their tax and spend bargain, only obscures the much more important issue that conservatives should be hammering home-the total absurdity that is the American system of taxation.

In the United States, there is a near unanimous view that taxes are too high, the tax code is too complicated, and Americans are getting an awful return on what they are paying in.  Prior to the Ron Paul Revolution, the Fair Tax movement may have been the biggest issue-oriented revolt among rank-and-file GOP voters in years.  Problems with a national sales tax notwithstanding (and there are many), the reality of an authentic base of voters willing to mobilize in opposition to the federal income tax should be seen as a wonderful sign for movement conservatives dedicated to the principles of limited government.

And there lies the problem. The conservative movement as it stands is a totally moribund, fraud, more interested in producing laugh tracks for it’s glorified stand-up comics, than it is in running with opportunities-even slam dunks like this one. Talking trash about the “incompetence” of Obama isn’t brazen or ballsy-it’s playing it safe. Running with rhetorical attacks and away from policy prescriptions, is a tacit endorsement of the status quo at best. At worst it’s outright advocacy on behalf of the State.

Screaming “tax cheat” might give Rush and the gang an inflated sense of self-importance, but in the end it only serves to further sink a conservative brand, branded ridiculous by a growing portion of a disgusted populace.