Teabag terrorism: Why do conservatives hate America?

How's this for phony patriotism?

Radical right-wingers across the land have been blasting President Obama for personally lobbying the International Olympic Committee on behalf of his country and his hometown of Chicago, as he and many others hoped to land the 2016 Olympic Games.

The spin leading up to the moment has been quite ridiculous. They claimed that Obama was taking his eyes off problems at home, though they didn't complain when the last president read childrens' books in a photo op as terrorists flew planes into New York skyscrapers. Or when he ate birthday cake and strummed the guitar while New Orleans drowned. It's quite baffling that the rabid right would rally against something that would bring increased international prestige, jobs and pride to our shores. But their seething hatred for the current president trumps all, and if they could spite Obama at the cost of the U.S. crumbling, so be it.

But events yesterday could quite possibly be the conservative movement's proverbial 'shark jumping' moment. When the IOC, a day after Obama appeared before them to stump for our country, passed over Chicago and gave the games to Rio de Janeiro, wingnuts everywhere cheered and danced. See, this isn't about the U.S. losing the games, it's about feeble attempts to chip away at Obama's perceived ego, America be damned!

Never mind the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Lake Placid, NY games. Never mind Olympic heroes like Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps. Obama got stiffed! Ha ha! Seriously, these people have lots of ego and no pride.

What these feeble-minded fools don't realize is that it's not all about Obama. It was about our country -- their country. Yes, it was a U.S. defeat, not an Obama defeat. But don't let a stupid little thing like facts get in the way of good spin, right?

Here's a sampling of some of the sickening right-wing reaction to yesterday's news:

Upon being informed of the news, a gathering of conservatives at the Americans For Prosperity -- one of the main organizing groups behind the tea party protests -- erupted in applause. They cheered once more after they were told that Chicago had been eliminated during the first round of voting.

RedState's Erick Erickson took glee in Chicago - and, by extension, Obama's - rejection. "Hahahahaha," he wrote. "I thought the world would love us more now that Bush was gone. I thought if we whored ourselves out to our enemies, great things would happen. Apparently not. So Obama's pimped us to every two bit thug and dictator in the world, made promises to half the Olympic committee, and they did not even kiss him."

Michelle Malkin, meanwhile, wrote that the news effectively ended the Obama campaign motto of "Yes We Can" by dawning in a new slogan: "No, You Can't."

Rush Limbaugh spent Friday's show gloating about the loss, calling the snub a "bitch slap," a "metaphor for weakness" and the "worst day in his presidency." "Obama demeaned the office of the presidency, going on this sales pitch," said the glorified disc jockey.

Glenn Beck, mere days after being called out on one of his usual lies by the White House, practically did his usual insane happy dance when he announced the news on his radio show. "Please, please let me break this news to you. It's so sweet," he gloated.

Weekly Standard blogger John McCormack published a celebratory post on the magazine’s blog, titled "Chicago Loses! Chicago Loses!." The blog entry was soon edited to a more sedate "Chicago loses," lest anyone think they were rooting against their country.

The Drudge Report giddly exlaimed in a big red headline, "The Ego Has Landed." Matt Drudge is evidently dancing more over this than he does in the Miami discos.

The likes of Malkin, Beck, Drudge and Sean Hannity have resorted to blasting the city of Chicago, working overtime to comb the Chicago crime blotter in feeble attempts to tarnish the city.

I should say that at least a few conservatives, particularly MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, thanked the president for helping to land the games, and chastised partisan critics hoping for his loss. And to Mitt Romney, who helmed the Salt Lake City games of 2002 and also supported Obama's efforts.

Now, what these naive souls don't realize is that Obama was not the one who initiated the Chicago bid in the first place. The effort goes back years, long before Obama was even considering a run for the White House. In April 2007, Chicago was selected as the United States' bid city for the 2016 games. That Obama is from Chicago is mere coincidence, but who could blame him for trying to bring the event to his own city, let alone his own country? Hey, if former British Prime Minister Tony Blair could personally lobby (successfully at that) to bring the 2012 games to London, why shouldn't Obama do likewise? Our last president, George W. Bush, made a feeble attempt to bring the 2012 Olympics to New York City, by way of a videotaped plea, yet we heard no squawking from the right-wing peanut gallery when his efforts fizzled.

But it all seems so clear now. After witnessing their ongoing battle to torpedo health care reform, the war in Afghanistan, economic stimulus and other priorities of the current president, I think we've learned quite a bit about the right-wing. Suffice it to say, conservatives don't give a shit about you. They don't need to. They've got good jobs (well, most of them do anyway). They've got health care. They've got their punditry gigs on high-profile media outlets. They've got their dinner party invites. And they've got their own massive egos. They don't care about supporting our president, as they demanded the same of us for our last president. They don't care about the middle class. They don't care about America. And they certainly don't give a shit about anyone except themselves. As stated earlier, if America becomes a big, stinking hole in the ground, they don't care. If it brings down their adversaries and further feeds their own oversized egos, so be it. It's all about them, and fuck everyone else. And it's narcissistic thinking like this that will eventually kill the rabid right once and for all. Then perhaps we can get some level-headed civility back into ideological discourse.

CNN's Roland Martin nails it:

So, to all the critics happy about us losing the 2016 games, turn in your flag lapel pins and stop boasting of being so patriotic. When an American city loses, like New York did in the the last go-round, we all lose. And all you critics are on the same level as the America haters all across the world.

You should be shouted down for not backing your own country. The next time any of you bang out a press release about "Buy American" or "Support our troops," remember this moment when your cynical, callous and small-minded brains happily rejoiced when America lost the 2016 Olympic Games.

Seriously, why do conservatives hate America?