The tendency on the left to think in abstractions leads to Jonathan Chait‘s
claim that they do not have an ideology, but operate on an ad hoc, or
case-by-case, basis. Unlike the racist in old TV shows who would say
“But you’re OK, it’s those other ____ that are the problem,” Democrats
apparently are less generous with disaster relief for certain groups (second heading – Miserly Republicans, Unprincipled Democrats).
The
difference between a person’s policy preference (the rich should pay
higher taxes) and the voluntary actions that person could take to
achieve the same result (Bill Clinton paying what he would have owed
the IRS before the Bush tax cuts) is not hypocritical in this view
because the individual does not matter.
Tiger
Woods and Angelina Jolie get exempted from the definition of “rich”
because they are clearly different from the rest of us in their
talents. Anyone can run a company if they’re greedy enough, according
to the myth of the left.
