Recently we saw thousands of Americans take to the streets to peacefully voice their opinion against the recent growth in government, growth in deficit spending, and increase in taxation. For eight years and through every anti-war protest and Code Pink shout down of the president we have been told that protesting and dissent are the heights of patriotism.

However, now things have changed as those in power have changed. Few media outlets decided to cover these protests, and when they did they derided them. David Axelrod now says the Tea Party Movement is “unhealthy”. Those who protested in the street are called radicals, morons, immature, brainwashed, and worse. Particularly frightening is the perfectly timed Department of Homeland Security leaked memo released right before the protests warning of “Right Wing Extremism” and disgustingly trying to link current conservative dissent with terrorism. Unfortunately, this is not a new tactic.

The left does not prominently argue by ideas and reason, but rather by emotion. This emotion leads to vitriol and ad hominem attacks. We must have progressive taxation or you hate poor people. We must redefine marriage for gays or you are a homophobe. If you don’t like affirmative action quotas you are a racist. If you question Obama’s policies you are a racist. If you take the Bible seriously you are a moron. If you believe in any protection for unborn babies you are an oppressor of women. I could go on, but you have heard these all before.

            The argumentation of the Left is argumentation by slander.