I appreciate the attempt at a temperate response, but perhaps that's why it was less than satisfying. Not that I was looking for provocation, rather you circled around the main point without getting near it:

I think it's fair to say that the fundamental issue most people to the left of you have with RightWingers is the constant smear campaign that underlies almost everything you say. It's not sufficient to just say you disagree with some idea, you routinely add insult by speculating about sinister motives and with ever-present thinly-veiled accusations of treason. It's not confined to groups or people recognizably "Leftist", Conservatives even attack moderation as "appeasement", as being "soft" on this that or the other thing. It's the language of extremism.

You're an extremist, Tom.

We've been down this road, as periodically people have objected to the RightWing tendency, which you exemplify so well, of the automatic broad-brush ad homineum attack. It's so natural to the RightWing personality that I'll concede you probably don't notice it most of the time; but when called on it, you have the regrettable tendency to backpedal with some variation of "present company excepted, of course".

You didn't make an exception for Democratic voters, Tom. That's backpedaling.

It's an unfair debating tactic, because you give yourself the chance to make those sweeping generalizations about "The Left", but the backpedaling makes it extremely difficult to respond coherently; a rebuttal has to first clear the hurdle of defining just who the heck you were smearing as you deny smearing any particular person who's offended. You smear us all, but deny smearing any of us in particular.

If you think you're setting some kind of trap to flush out "Leftists" by provoking a defense, think again. I understand that by "Left" you mean "anyone to the left of me", which encompasses the entire spectrum from the vanishing moderate Republicans all the way out to rabid Marxists. Doesn't bother me to be one of your "Leftists", because I recognize the category as your cognitive deficiency rather than any reflection of reality.

The phrase "America is still here" may be a bit flip, but it's also at root serious. When I see Conservatives wrap themselves in the flag and brag about America's strength and project belligerence, I see it as compensation for deep insecurity.

America may have a wonderful, robust political system that always produces the best results; yet somehow America is always just one election away from disaster if the "right" people aren't elected.

America's economic system may be the most powerful wealth-generating system ever conceived, yet Conservatives plead poverty whenever it's suggested that perhaps it's inappropriate for people to struggle for subsistence amidst such staggering wealth. We're always just one social program away from bankruptcy.

We can be proud of our large and professional military; yet according to Conservatives they're actually so weak that they're sure to fail if anyone dares to question government policy.

Conservatives give lip-service to the notion that freedom of speech is one of our greatest strengths because it ensures that our democracy reaches the right decisions after free and open debate; yet to a Conservative, dissent is treason. We're perpetually only a few harsh words away from destruction.

Conservatives believe they're constantly under threat from Liberals who want to rob them of their wealth and that their wealth is constantly being eroded by Liberals; yet not only is overall wealth in America at an all time high, the wealthy Republican base has a greater percentage of it than ever before.

America is much stronger than Conservatives think. Most people realize that, and that's why Conservative fearmongering doesn't usually gain widespread traction. 9/11 predisposed Americans to be the most pessimistic we've been in decades, and Republicans made proportional electoral gains; but now that the fear is wearing off and Americans are remembering their own strength, those gains are disappearing. I'm looking forward to getting out from under the cloud of Conservative doom and gloom and fear and weakness, and living again in a strong nation. I'm looking forward to the restoration of optimism in America.