The War on Empathy

I've got a post at The American Nihilist in which I suggest that Sonia Sotomayor is a huge nihilist because she has empathy and feelings; which is in contrast to those who have principles and values.  And that was a big joke, not only because empathy and feelings generally aren't associated with nihilism, but also because empathy is generally considered a positive trait that is part of one's value system.

And that's what makes the Republican War on Empathy such a mind-blowing effort.  I mean, they're attacking empathy?  Really??  Empathy??  What's next?  A War on Sympathy Cards?  A "Down with Compassion" teabag rally in every town square?  Because that's even the weirder thing: They're not even referring to empathy.  They're attacking compassion, caring, and warmth and insist that this disqualifies her from being on the Supreme Court.  What planet are these people from?

And this all shows how completely out-of-touch these bozos are.  They've grown so accustomed to believing that any attack is a good attack that they're attacking extraordinarily positive characteristics that most people would want in a judge.  As Carpetbagger suggests, most folks aren't going to see this as a code word for "Unfair Judge," but rather the opposite.  They'd have better luck attacking her love of bunny rabbits or denouncing her for liking Puerto Rican food (oh wait, they did that).

But then again, I suppose if they were empathetic, they couldn't be conservatives.  And lacking empathy, it just doesn't occur to them that the rest of us just aren't like them.  And that could explain why they imagine the political dynamite they're holding is somehow going to hurt their opponents instead of blowing up in their faces.  And again, all this shows is how insulated they are within their own shrinking bubble.  

They don't care if Sotomayor is qualified or not; they're just looking for something to attack her for.  And in this case, they're attacking her for a human trait that normal folks find appealing.  Weird, weird people.