Conservative Patriotism

Steve Brenen at The Washington Monthly comments on the unseemly glee expressed by various conservative commentators over Chicago not getting the 2016 Olympics. He notes favorable Rachel Maddow's comment that the right wing explicitly cheering an American loss may well leave an impression far longer than the loss itself. I would note, however, that this is only the latest in a string of such anti-America sentiment from the right, and it highlights what I think is the character of right wing so-called patriotism. From Jerry Fallwell commenting on the 9-11 attacks to John Hagee's comments on Hurricane Katrina, the right wing has always been willing to criticize and blame America. The right have never had a problem with those who criticize America. Rather the act they find intolerable is not criticism of America, it is criticism of Conservatism. America does not matter to them, conservatism and conservatives do. So if the America fails to win an Olympic competition, and that failure fuels conservatism, that to conservatives it is indeed reason to cheer.