In an odd sense, nearly Monkey’s Paw level of horror, perhaps the notion of a focus on community writers was a bit overwrought. Given context of an evenhanded distribution of bat-shit writers with community-centric pieces is a better idea. Also, “community writer” should be a term limited proposition. Especially in the case of the community writer I’m going to skewer today.

Lawrence Wetter, retired engineer, is a “community writer” who’s ramblings are published weekly, like a regular columnist. In recent months he’s come under more severe scrutiny for some of his more bombastic remarks, especially concerning subjects he knows very little about. Which is a common theme amongst the establishment right-wing punditry, but Mr. Wetter is probably more prone to come face to face with his detractors, and actually reads the letters and e-mails that are sent to him. So much so that even the editor of his paper spoke out against his writings, having been fed up with being forced to actually absorb the idiocy she was putting on her editorial page. These are types of things that help the newspapers, this nonsense level of unaccountability that partners with a lot of syndicated product is just getting out of hand.

On the topic of letters, I do appreciate that Mr. Wetter used them to clarify his narrow-minded focus on the lower class. Unlike Kathleen Parker's recent “mad lady” column where she used “letters sent to her” to muddle a “These are my peers that are calling Michelle Obama a made black woman” point she was trying to make. Ms. Parker, even in 2012, still knows where her bread is buttered. To her mind, your average American is the force calling the first lady a “mad black woman”, not the right-wing blowhards of Hannity, Limbaugh, Savage et al? They’re just picking it up from the vernacular of the average citizen? Please!

It’s a shitty parallel, I know, but it does show that community writers are at least held to some responsibility for what they put out there. Even more depressing, someone who’s compensated very little or nothing at all, has more accountability than someone who’s been maintaining a status quo for twenty odd years.

Now that I’ve rendered what little respect I have for Mr. Wetter aside, I present my beefs with the man. The first and foremost is the old white man wagging his fist at society. As frequent readers know, I don’t care much for what these doddering fools have to say anymore. Granted, they don’t realize that all their rambling has long been tone deaf and mostly ignored, but we still keep humoring them for some reason. Like I’ve said before, even entertaining their tired, regressive agendas gives people the notion that this is a populist idea. We need to stop that. Secondly, Mr. Wetter is full on display as the “anyone but Romney” republican type that’s making this GOP Presidential Candidate run most entertaining. Like the other old white men, he’s still under the impression that Romney, like McCain before him, is being foisted on the GOP by the mainstream media. While at times, I’m loathe to agree, as the establishment “center-right” writers (Parker, Milbank, Brooks) all seem to be bang the Romney drum all day. I don’t think Romney is being foisted on anyone. When compared to the other potential Presidents, Romney is just outclassing them all damn day.

Mr. Wetter pretends that he wants a true conservative, writing: “[Establishment Republicans] don’t understand and trust true conservatism, in spite of a good bit of evidence that conservatism, properly presented, can reach reasonable people, including independents, and defeat liberalism every time on its merits.” Looks like someone’s been using his David Brooks Anal Recess Institute Research Group Encyclopedia on the whole conservatism being properly presented nonsense. The funny thing is, despite popular opinion of “conservative” is that the federal government has not or will ever run in a black and white kind of ideology. So there is zero proof of conservatism on any level being “properly presented”, whatever that means. If as an ideology, then yes, it’s been presented and implemented as a counterbalance to more progressive behavior, as this is the foundation of our Nation. But as a pure, unmitigated straight up implementation, I don’t think so.

A more prescient article from Mr. Wetter, would be why, like his fellow “Anyone-But-Romney”’s, he’s constantly in support of the 2nd place finisher and not a substantive candidate. For this article he’s all about Santorum, because he’s a true “conservative”. Mr. Wetter is, like his peers who share his little “c” conservative views, also doesn’t care about the present realities of a modern government. These “values” voters are only important on a lip service level to the candidates. Mr. Wetter acknowledges as much in his refutation of Romney as the GOP Presidential Candidate. When pressed about foreign policy and economics the “values” voters cannot ever respond intelligently or pragmatically.

If we’re talking little “c” conservatism being “properly presented”, then we would be worse off as a nation internationally than ever before (see W. administration for the tiny bit of conservatism tinged foreign policy being “properly presented”)! This thinking with your gut bullshit, instead of being pragmatic and using your mind is never going to work. Even when coupled with the Conservative ideology. When your whole worldview is wrongly juxtaposed as black or white, the grey area where realism and modernity resides will always confuse and warp that view. When Teddy Roosevelt said speak softly and carry a big stick, he didn’t mean in the sense that you whisper rueful nothings into combatants' ears while you beat them mercifully with that stick...but he was a progressive so he has no place in today’s GOP.

Also, independents are the foragers of the middle. Neither hot nor cold. No black/white ideology is ever going to grab hold of them.