On the rare occasion that I have the misfortune of discussing politics with a conservative, they always react with feigned outrage when I make a reference to conservatives being bigots. Now, I won’t argue that all self-identified conservatives subscribe to some form of bigotry, even though conservative policies have disproportionate negative affects on minorities. But the fact is, the rare level headed conservative must realize that when you claim to subscribe to a certain ideology, you are associating yourself with the leadership of that ideology and the positions of that leadership. And in the case of conservatism, the leadership of that movement is composed nearly exclusively of radical bigots.

To illustrate my point, I need only point to tonight’s GOP Presidential primary debate. Without exception, every candidate that will appear on the stage tonight has a history of extremist bigotry. Let’s take a look:

Ron Paul:

“Opinion polls consistently show that only about 5 percent of blacks have sensible political opinions, i.e. support the free market, individual liberty and the end of welfare and affirmative action. Given the inefficiencies of what D.C. laughingly calls the `criminal justice system,’ I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal (W)e are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, it is hardly irrational. Black men commit murders, rapes, robberies, muggings and burglaries all out of proportion to their numbers. We don’t think a child of 13 should be held responsible as a man of 23. That’s true for most people, but black males age 13 who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult and should be treated as such.”

Newt Gingrich:

“What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?” Gingrich asks. “That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior.”

“The American people believe English should be the official language of the government… . We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto,” Gingrich said, drawing cheers from the crowd of more than 100.

Michele Bachmann:

One comment she has never explained came during a debate she had while running for Congress the first time in November 2005. Prompted by a question on the rioting in France and Europe at the time, Bachmann said “not all cultures are equal, not all values are equal,” letting it be known that she thought that people of the Muslim faith had an inferior culture to that of the United States and the West.

Herman Cain:

Cain’s comments came in response to a question from a reporter for liberal-leaning Think Progress about potentially appointing a Muslim in a Cain administration. “No, I will not,” Cain responded. “And here’s why. There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. This is what happened in Europe. And little by little, to try and be politically correct, they made this little change, they made this little change. And now they’ve got a social problem that they don’t know what to do with hardly.”

Tim Pawlenty:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (yes, him again! sorry, Minnesotans), in a little chat with reporters this week, described why he feels immigration enforcement is so necessary: “It’s analogous in some ways to what was happening in New York not long ago. If you allow people to pee on the sidewalks, next they’re snatching purses.”

Mitt Romney:

I asked Mr. Romney whether he would consider including qualified Americans of the Islamic faith in his cabinet as advisers on national security matters, given his position that “jihadism” is the principal foreign policy threat facing America today. He answered, “…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration.”

And of course, the GOP field’s Grand Poobah of bigotry, Rick Santorum:

Marriage is an institution that’s a bridge too far for too many African-American woman and is not desirable among African-American males.

If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything.

[On senior military officers acknowledging that allowing gays to serve openly would be good for the armed forces]: I’m not too sure that we haven’t indoctrinated the Officer Corps in this country that they can actually see straight to make the right decisions.

The radical feminists succeeded in undermining the traditional family and convincing women that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness“

The Islamization of Europe that is already on the way and will visit these shores not too soon is a concern for us and something that we need to identify and we need to talk about and we need to fight with every ounce of our being“

If you find these comments distasteful, maybe you should question why you subscribe to an ideology that is led by outright bigots. If you don’t maybe you should take a moment for introspection to determine whether you are actually a bigot.