"Conservatives" are traitors.

[I hate liars]

24. There are two kinds of destructive conservatives...

1. Ideologues who are too dim or stubborn to see the damage caused by their ideas

and

2. Sociopaths who don't care about the damage as long as they benefit personally.

The intent of the perpetrator really doesn't affect the outcome. Both kinds of conservatives have brought this country to its knees, and both are responsible for that result.

The situation is exactly like a parent who whips his child with a belt regularly. How can you tell whether that parent really believes that kind of "discipline" is the right thing to do or instead is just a sadistic asshole?

From the child's perspective, it doesn't matter.

If through some combination of fortitude and good fortune the child grows up to be a caring and successful person, the disciplinarian parent is likely to take credit ("Look at Estonia!" scream the Austerians), ignoring the much better outcome that might have occurred if the child were raised in a nurturing environment.

But it's far more likely that an abused child - or nation - will end up failed, angry, and clueless about raising the next generation in a way that avoids the same result. That's my fear for America.