It’s tough being a conservative politician right now. You can’t really run on the conservative record of fiscal restraint, and (formerly hot-button) social issues only work with a shrinking number of Americans. So what’s the safe thing to run on? One possibility that we are seeing more of is to be against anything that the “liberals” are for. Even if being against it doesn’t make sense, and even if you used to be for it.

For example, last year Ezra Klein wondered about the GOP’s sudden and baffling affection for “Drill Baby Drill“. The McCain campaign pushed the “Drill Baby Drill” rhetoric, even though he had previously been opposed to offshore drilling, and despite the fact that it wouldn’t actually solve our energy problems. Why? Klein notes that “Drilling may not work to solve our oil prices or bring down costs, but liberals really hate drilling, and that’s enough.”

Atrios noticed the same thing:

It’s long been the case that what really gets the Republican base excited is anything that pisses off liberals. There are genuine policy differences, of course, but to get an audience of Republicans on their feet and cheering you need to mention something, no matter how pointless, which pisses off liberals. It’s the glue that keeps them together.

Over at Redstate, conservative bloggers were encouraging readers to protest the recent “Earth Hour” by using lots of extra energy, who responded with assorted descriptions of switching on the TV but not watching it, excessive baking, and turning on every light switch in the house:

I turned our closet lights on too. My husband laughed at me and said no one would see them. I said I didn’t care, I felt good because I KNEW they were on.

What in the world would possess people to spend their own money wasting energy? Because it pisses off liberals!

LMAO about the fact that I cancelled out about 3 Greenies sitting in the dark!

August Pollak points out that this explains a lot. It is why “Joe the Plumber” exists. He actually hurt the Republican party, but they loved him anyway because he pissed off liberals. Same thing for Ann Coulter, who makes millions of dollars simply because she pisses off liberals. They couldn’t care less that she’s a complete whack job. Indeed, one of the biggest selling points of Hummers is that owning one will piss off liberals. Isn’t that worth all the extra money?