Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

What better way for the Radical Right's de facto aristocracy to ensure that the illusion of its superiority is maintained? Brown is well-connected; for him to be allowed to slink-off into obscurity as a consequence of his disgrace would be an implicit admission from his fellow elitists that they're not superior to the rest of us.

It's the latest act in an age-old play performed by the gentry of every country, with the mis en scene now including defenders of Brown, whose lines will read something like this: "Obviously, Brown wasn't as incompetent or derelict as he appeared to be while in charge of FEMA. If he were, would clients be lining-up at his door? Of course not."

In addition to this "defense," expect the usual false accusations of liberal media bias and hints of a smear campaign "conducted" by left-wingers to tarnish the man; never mind that Brown's experience in managing catastrophes probably extended only as far as finding someone to put a bullet in an Arabian horse when a show jump went horrifically wrong.

Left unsaid is the fact that the aforementioned clients aren't really hiring Brown for his (non-existent) "expertise" in disaster management, they're hiring him for his Washington connections. As ever, when large sums of money are involved, who you know is as important -- sometimes, more so -- than what you know.

Class loyalty is what allows aristocracies to maintain power, and "Brownie's" brazen foray into d.m. consultancy is a perfect example of the wealthy looking out for their own, damning the consequences, and thumbing their nose at the American mainstream.

Honestly, after six years of the Shrub, nothing that right-wing extremists do should come as a shock.