Optimism has a well known liberal bias
By Steve Benen
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Tue Feb 7, 2012 9:28 AM EST
Following up on a segment from last night's show, if yesterday was any indication, it might be a while before the right stops complaining about Chrysler's Super Bowl ad.
Karl Rove seems to be leading the charge, telling Fox News he was "offended" by the commercial, adding, "This is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics." The complaints were part of a larger " conservative outcry" in response to the spot.
In the unlikely event you haven't already seen it, the "Halftime in America" ad, starring Clint Eastwood, did not explicitly include any political messages. It was patriotic, and perhaps even nationalistic, but it wasn't partisan -- there were no references to parties, ideologies, or officials.
It's "halftime in America," Eastwood told viewers. "People are out of work and they're hurting. And they're all wondering what they're going to do to make a comeback. And we're all scared, because this isn't a game." The point of the ad, though, was to draw a parallel between the American auto industry and the nation as a whole -- Detroit nearly collapsed, but "now Motor City is fighting again."
The ad continues, "[A]fter those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that's what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can't find a way, then we'll make one.... This country can't be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. Yeah, it's halftime America. And, our second half is about to begin."
For Rove and the right, there are two principal concerns here -- one related to policy, the other about themes. There's a strong case to be made that conservatives are wrong on both counts.
On the former, Chrysler and the U.S. auto industry itself survived because the Obama administration rescued it in 2009. Republicans were apoplectic about the policy, and told anyone who would listen that the White House policy would be a disaster and a fiasco.
We now know the right was wrong about the policy. Obama took a gamble and it worked -- the rescue saved millions of jobs, the companies themselves, and the backbone of American manufacturing. The "Halftime in America" ad rubs salt in the wound, reminding conservatives not only of the fact that they were wrong about the industry at a time of crisis, but also of the fact that government intervention in the marketplace can work.
But the thematic issue is just as interesting. At a visceral level, we know exactly why the Chrysler commercial rankled the right -- it told Americans to start feeling optimistic again.
We've reached a very strange point in the national discourse. Nine months before the election, many Republicans have adopted the line that hope itself is now partisan, and those sounding encouraging notes should be assumed to be partisan players. Stephen Colbert made famous the adage that "reality has a well know liberal bias," but we now have a revised maxim for 2012: Optimism has a well known liberal bias, too.
For Rove and his allies, Chrysler wants Americans to feel good about the future because it represents a form of political payback. That's nonsense -- Chrysler wants consumers to feel optimistic so they'll buy cars.
The complaints themselves are telling. The right is so invested in its message -- America is in decline, our best days are over, abandon all hope -- that the very idea of optimism is quite literally offensive.
"This country can't be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines." What does it say about the Republican message of 2012 when they hear this, shriek, and reach for the panic button? |
