Me conservative, me stupid: or at least rigid and habit-bound, says 'the science'

National Review, Oct 8, 2007 by Jonah Goldberg

Hannah Arendt once observed that the greatest contribution the Left made to American politics in the 1930s was to dispute facts by attacking motives. But attacking motives was never good enough, because even motives can be rational, decent, and freely chosen. Better to proclaim that conservatives don't think at all, and ridicule the stupidity of their habit-bound minds.

If conservatives complain--out of habit, no doubt--liberals can just say, "Back off, man, we're scientists." That this project continues today is a sign of the dogmatic and fear-driven illiberalism at liberalism's heart.