Liberal Hypocrisy

If you have always wondered how your liberal friends can tout raising taxes (for compassionate reasons, of course!) in one breath and use the couch they bought for their home as a business deduction in another, than Peter Schweizer's new book, Do As I Say (Not As I Do) : Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy, is for you. The book looks at the way famous liberals live and finds that despite their attempt at moral superiority, their personal lives are a series of contradictions.

Social parasite Noam Chomsky denounces capitalism in one hypocritical breath, while taking millions from the Pentagon in the other (while, of course, denouncing the Pentagon as the epitome of evil). Corporate criminal Michael Moore states he does not own stocks because they represent the corrupt capitalist system, yet the back cover of the book highlights a number of Moore's stocks, including Halliburton (which made him some good money). Bill and Hillary Clinton, have claimed thousands in write-offs over the years that they were not entitled to.

Yes, Conservatives have their issues too. Rush Limbaugh has been addicted to OxyContin while going after drug addicts in his younger days, Dr. Laura posed nude in her younger days while preaching family values and Bill Bennett preached honesty, integrity and virtue, despite gambling. But they have all pointed out that they felt these acts were mistakes (except for Bennett who had never singled out gambling as immoral), and they did not benefit from their acts. Liberals, on the other hand, are not only given a pass by the media for their hypocritical behavior, but are rewarded for it. One of my readers put it best in this comment:

To me, that's the greatest value of the book: it shows how very smart, very successful liberals have become successful despite, not because, of their liberal principles. And unlike the armchair philosopher who fails to live up to his philosophy, these people are trying to persuade or even coerce others to live according to the principles and rules they themselves reject daily by their actions. To me, that's by far the greatest hypocrisy of all.

Given that these liberals don't think their advice and policies hold true for themselves, should we really base our politics on their views?