When Bush and Cheney left office, they became old news. Mocking them now is like making Eisenhower jokes, but that doesn’t stop the occasional hack like Wanda Sykes trotting out tired material. And Obama seems off limits lest anyone wants to look like a buzz kill during the ever-lengthening, forced-fed honeymoon. In fact, the only show that really dared effectively to venture into political mockery consistently this season was South Park.

Mike Judge

And spare me any mention of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. Both shows kiss the Democratic ass (the donkey, I mean) all week until they realize how biased they’ve become. Then they scramble around to make fun of some minor Dem Congressman for 30 seconds and applaud their own objectivity. Meanwhile, Stewart rages at every conservative cause he can find with the furor (not the wit) of Murrow until he’s called on it. Then he scrambles back into his hole screaming, “I’m only a comic!”

Fortunately, The Goode Family levels the satirical skills of Judge (creator of Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill) at the taboo supporters of global warming, racial hypersensitivity, animal rights and any other cause over-hyped by self-righteous busybodies.

When critics say it’s the wrong time to make such jokes, it’s exactly the time to make such jokes.

The Goodes live an obsessively “green” existence while obsessing over political correctness until they’re tied in knots. In other words, Judge isn’t attacking cleaning up the environment or treating others with respect. That’s all well and “goode.” He’s teasing those who over-think such choices so much and devote themselves to such thinking so blindly they lose sight of their own well-being and why they were doing it all in the first place.

It’ll be interesting to see how well a show does that deliberately ribs people who often lack a sense of humor. If the reviews we’re seeing so far are any indication, the hard left media had its nose turned up with a collective “You dare to offend me, sir…” before they even saw a screener.

Let’s hope this new show is a success because those same smug critics don’t dare touch a show like South Park because it’s too big for such a tussle. Only decent ratings will get the whiny pundits off Judge’s back now.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

The idea of turning a board game into a movie isn’t earth shattering. Jumanji did it about a fictional game, and there are already deals on the books to bring Ouija Board, Candyland and Monopoly to your local multiplex. But when you mix the “you sunk my carrier” news with the scoop that Disney is making a movie of Tomorrowland as a follow-up to Pirates of the Caribbean, and toss in just a dollop of the ongoing march of mid-80s remakes like the approaching new Videodrome, Red Dawn and Fright Night, we must at least consider prosecuting for fraud anyone in Hollywood who calls themselves “creative.”

There are countless screenwriters throughout Los Angeles laboring long, lonely hours to produce original stories. Most of them are god-awful and deserve to fade into obscurity, but surely some are worthy of production. In fact, a small fraction of them could prove to be the kind of movies that inspire generations — like Raiders of the Lost Ark inspired my peers.

Give some thought to what’s in theaters these days that would ignite a kid’s imagination to want to pick up a pencil and write a short story or to grab a video camera and shoot a short adventure starring action figures. Where’s the next Matrix or Star Wars to blast young minds and behinds out of their seats? Will it be the big screen Land of the Lost? The remake of Bill Murray’s Meatballs? The re-telling of Red Sonja?

Hollywood is so terrified of failure and potential irrelevance right now, so desperate to snag a big opening weekend for any movie produced, and so cynical over the imagination and intelligence of moviegoers that studios rarely reach for anything that’s not a remake, prequel, sequel or based on a TV show, video game comic book, novel or short story. And now you can throw in amusement park rides and board games.

In other words, anything conceived and created originally for the big screen is almost certain never to make it to said screen. That’s tragic because there are some ideas that need to be movies and some concepts that could make legendary films if they’re fostered through the development process — while also making serious scratch for the scared studios.

But those studios aren’t in the business of developing anymore. They’re widget-makers now, filling theaters and DVD shelves with anonymous product that won’t inspire audiences to look back at the source material — let along urge them to imagine what spectacular and moving stories Hollywood could tell one day.

Fortunately, there’s got to be a tipping point coming in which audiences wave off the remakes and demand original material. Maybe there’s still a glimmer of hope that Hollywood professionals who love movies — and there are some out here — will realize that they didn’t sacrifice chunks of their careers to remake Porky’s. That’s when you might start seeing original scripts breaking into the cinema marketplace again.

Most folks working in the entertainment industry live in pockets of Los Angeles in which they’re so warmly cocooned in smug, safe familiarity that they don’t have to worry about encountering so much as an opposing political philosophy, let alone a foreign hostile enthusiastically set on killing them. How are these actors, writers, directors, producers, et. al, supposed to take foreign terrorist threats seriously when the most they have to concern themselves with during their average day is whether that spa barista really did use soy milk and not non-fat in their morning coffee colonic?

Of course, they take that safe comfort completely for granted and never think to respect or thank the men and women risking their lives to preserve it. In fact, the entire concept that there might be grimly determined, painstakingly trained and resolutely dedicated Americans who work day and night to keep Hollywood and the rest of the civilized world safe from fanatical attacks is truly beyond their Fred Segal-ized, Wolfgang Puck’ed comprehension. So, if they can’t perceive of such honorable public servants, we can’t expect them to show any support for their efforts.

You have to understand that, while hard working at their chosen entertainment careers, Hollywood types are generally not a hearty breed. We’re talking about generally wispy, uber-sensitive folk who don’t like getting their hands dirty. Well-educated and desperate to be liked, they don’t want their qi and chakras befouled by any bad buzz — even though the world is awash in it.

Unfortunately, that all means if the law of the jungle ever took hold around them, they’d be the first ones hollowed out, stretched, tanned and made into survival shelters by the rest of us who dug a ditch or bled on the grass now and then.

And that would be too bad because a lot of them are my friends. They’re good people at the end of the day. They don’t want to hurt anyone (besides Sarah Palin and anyone who got the role they auditioned for earlier). They’re just not adept at facing and accepting the uglier realities of the world — that the bad guy gets a vote and, when he decides to bring down a downtown LA skyscraper with a jetliner full of innocent passengers, he’s not likely to tell any of our authorities about it if you simply offer him a comfy chair and a cup of tea.

Of course, their lord and savior declared waterboarding off limits now. And that’s fine. It’s been well argued by some in the intelligence committee (including high-ranking FBI officials) that the technique is unreliable and unnecessary. So, go ahead, Hollywood hard left folk. Applaud your hand-selected government as it takes that ugly waterboarding off the table as an interrogation option. I know it troubles you to read about such distasteful realities in the New York Times over your organic sprout luncheon muffins.

But, you’d best be prepared to decided what techniques you will support — what limits you’re willing to test to interrogate those planning future terrorist actions, because the problems those interrogations are meant to solve aren’t going away. There are men out there right now who are watching this “torture” debate — looking at all of Hollywood’s self-righteous indignation and sterile pontificating. They don’t debate. They don’t give themselves hugs for how evolved, compassionate and enlightened they are. They just plan and wait.

They behold all of the Starbucks, Sushi Rokus and Urban Outfitters — all of the self-absorbed, delicate people filling them — and they laugh through clinched teeth until they’re heard from again with a violent bloodlust that makes waterboarding look like a garra rufa pedicure.

Note: Out of respect for my friends and peers, I deliberately and carefully paraphrased any postings or “tweets” listed here so as to protect the anonymity of the poster. Unlike many hard-core liberals I know, I enjoy having friends with opposing points of view and I don’t want abuse to come to them.

That said, the following are the best examples out of several short messages from Obama supporters quietly protesting the “Tea Parties.”

1) How about taking “tea party” passion and all of the tea and instead of dumping it give those in need something to drink?

Evidently, there’s a “death by dehydration” epidemic spreading throughout metropolitan Los Angeles that caught me by surprise.

That said, this demonstrates the dim view by the hard left that anyone protesting excessive taxes is inherently selfish and wants the poor to suffer. It assumes that all taxes go directly to the poor and never to ridiculously wasteful government programs, brain dead federal employees and pork. If you don’t want the government to take more and more of the money you earn, it’s not because you distrust the effectiveness of big government. It’s because you hate the underprivileged.

Of course, this lazy worldview is completely blind to the possibility that any individual could oppose ever-growing taxation and still make donations to a non-profit or volunteer at their local (Gasp!) church. Any such possibility is pointless to imagine because if you reject taxes — if you so much as question the President proposing them — you’re a miserly racist.

2) It’s so silly, environmentally damaging and ignorant.

Make no mistake here. Simple reactions like this grow out of the hard left’s inherent, knee-jerk smugness and insecurity. They’re so deeply invested in shaky propositions like Obama’s economic theory and the tired global warming debate that any uprising against any such cause enrages them.

It’s silly and ignorant to question your government? Tea leaves are environmentally damaging? No. What’s ignorant and damaging is bowing, scraping and coughing up endless supplies of money to a ready-made king in the White House without asking what he wants it for, why he’s asking for so much so quickly, or when he’ll stop asking for it.

That’s the most disturbing part of the opposition to the taxpayer revolt. No one on the hard left is debating the taxes themselves, their amounts, their purpose, etc. They’re simply attacking the protesters for having the unmitigated snot to stand up to the Cult of Obama and ask questions. It’s hero worship turned ugly.

3) They’re not overly good at sharing. They need to go back to kindergarten.

There’s the ultimate achievement of brainwashing by the hard left. They’ve got their followers believing that it’s generous — even a privilege –to pay taxes. Yes, you’re required by law to pay them, but apparently you’re supposed to enjoy shelling out — to be grateful for the opportunity to contribute to society’s great need and to participate in Obama’s master plan.

Sure, you might’ve been able to make a charitable donation you approve of with said money. You might have made a purchase that helps maintain someone in a job — or even started a small business to keep multiple people employed. But it’s better to turn your brain and ambition off and simply write out the check. Hand over the money, smile, and be grateful that the all-powerful and ever-wise federal government is there to decide what to do with your money. Anyone who doesn’t realize the privilege Washington bestows upon them is ignorant and racist.

(How do I “tweet” me sitting here, sadly shaking my head on how dead the maverick, independent American spirit really is?)

The situation presents a perfect opportunity for:

A. Hollywood to produce an exciting action/adventure film based on real world events.

B. The American president to make a rousing and pointed statement on his firm support of the rule of international law on the open seas and how he’ll defend the safety of his citizens if endangered anywhere on Earth.

I predict you have a better chance of being abducted by said pirates at your local McDonald’s than you have of seeing either of the above actually occur. Why?  Both Hollywood and Obama are held hostage by the same childish, simple-minded worldview that curses all hard left art and politics (a refrain I’ve sung before and will chirp about again): “The strong are always bad. The weak are always good.”

You might say, “Wait! Aren’t armed pirates the bullies here? Aren’t they ’strong’ movie villains?” They can’t be because, no matter how many unarmed merchant ships are taken at the point of their assault rifles, no producer in Hollywood is likely to make a movie with African villains. It’s not politically correct to pose ethnic minorities as antagonists — even when they’re not really ethnic minorities because the story would take place in Africa.

So, you’re not likely to see Bruce Willis lead a team of Navy SEALs onto the deck of a rusting freighter full of cutthroats unless you can find a way to cast wealthy western European and American men as said pirates. Actually, I might be on to a pitch there: “Bruce Willis takes on a team of American CEOs (fired from their jobs by the Obama Administration) who turn to a life of piracy off Somalia.” I’ll call my agent.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Obama literally has nothing to say about the Somali pirates taking an American captain prisoner. It’s a no-win scenario for the president to open his rarely noiseless mouth on this crisis. After all, those pirates are most likely poor and frightened. It wouldn’t be enlightened and compassionate to tell the captors to let the American citizen and his crew go lest Navy snipers unburden their skulls of their brains.

Even worse, they probably don’t speak English and have never been inspired by one of the President’s speeches. Would they let the crewmen go free in return for copies of Obama’s autobiography and this month’s edition of Oprah’s magazine? No. That could backfire. They might doubt their own ability to take more innocent men hostage at gun point until they realize, “Yes, we can!”

The bottom line is, if you want Obama to take forceful, vengeful action, you’re going to have to find some rich Americans he can punish for their rude success. And, if you want Hollywood to make a modern pirate movie, find a Somali warlord Ralph Fiennes can play.

In its 20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture rankings, Entertainment Weekly listed 007 #1 — a move not likely to please fan’s of every hippie’s favorite spy (other than Valerie Plame), that assassin with a conscience, Bourne. In fact, if EW was going to run a Top 2 All-Time Most Cheesed Off Folks right now, it might rank Bourne’s cinematic creators –Team America star Matt Damon and United 93 director Paul Greengrass — in that order.

Damon or Greengrass seem obsessed with attacking the James Bond films and the character himself every chance they get. Mixing up a bitter soup of professional envy at Bond’s legacy and success, personal insecurity at producing movies beholden to Bond and (of course) self-righteous political arrogance, both artists froth at every opportunity to brand Ian Fleming’s creation a soulless killer. Ignoring Bond’s efforts to battle terrorism and global crime, they stamp him a militarist imperialist misogynist.

That’s a lot of “ist”s to heap on a fictional character, and the Damon/Greengrass vitriol festival seems unwilling to turn the same critical eye toward their own non-corporeal screen creation. While Robert Ludlum’s character is an impressive and skilled killing machine, the movie Bourne is gloomy, bitter, self-absorbed and motivated only by personal revenge and the desire to be left alone (a trait of questionable heroic value).

But Bourne fights predominantly middle-aged white men in suits who are part of the military and intelligence establishments. Combine that with the character’s inherent narcissism, and he’s the perfect screen hero for the hard left.

But EW left him out of their Top 20 — a decision that could indicate Bourne is already fading into also-ran spy status as Daniel Craig and the Bond franchise flourish. In fact, whether the magazine’s editors realize it or not, the EW list is very conservative friendly, including fine, upstanding badasses like Dirty Harry, Jack Bauer and Batman. Then again, the left alienates itself from heroic qualities when it so frequently surrenders to moral relativism and the simple-minded “weak always good, strong always bad” mentality. So, it’s hard to balance such a list politically.

There’s talk of another Greengrass/Damon/Bourne project in Hollywood, but that series will never match Bond’s pop culture significance and historic resonance with movie fans — and that will forever burn in the guts of hard left ideologues who forget “it’s only a movie.”

I don’t know if he’s with ICM, CAA or whatever William Morris and Endeavor are going to be after their merger, but an agent’s job is to consider the talents of the individual client and guide him or her into opportunities that best exploit certain core competencies. We’re not seeing that anymore from Obama’s people. As we approach the back end of his first 100 days, his performance has that unsettling aura of David Letterman’s one-time hosting of the Oscars. Letterman didn’t really want to be there, and the audience slowly came around to the same thinking.

While Obama’s current headliner part as leader of the free world should keep him in syndication for a few years, his overnights are dropping fast and his Q Factor can’t be too far behind. Someone has to get the man back to what he does best (selling and pretending) and away from he has no aptitude for (decision making and problem solving). In other words, they’ve got to find a way to keep him in the role of running for president because he shows no dramatic aptitude for taking presidential action.

If this correspondent could pretend he was an agent for a few moments — a bit of role-playing that put me into anaphylactic shock the last time I attempted it — I would make the following pitch to Obama:

“O! Welcome. I’m a huge fan of your work in…whatever you used to do. Can Cherise get you something? Water? Pellegrino? Humility? No? Fine. Have a seat.”

“Well, you killed on Leno, and your NCAA tournament bracket was a hit on ESPN. In fact, we’re still tracking well on most of your promotional tour stops. But there’s a problem.”

“The consumer Q&As we’ve done show people aren’t quite sure what you’re promoting anymore…Yeah, hope and change. We get that. But we sold that Oprah routine in the pilot episode. Once we went to series in January, the tone of your show changed to that sort of Battlestar Galactica, Lost gloom and doom. People are starting to change the channel — starting to ask why you’re goofing around on TV when the national debt’s higher than Cherise’s skirt.

“Bottom line, we’re wondering if we maybe saturated the market.”

“So, one of the interns in the mailroom had an idea that we think you should consider. Think about it…On the show, your character enjoyed running for president. He enjoyed winning. He enjoys the big speeches and applause. He like being worshipped. And, you like playing the hero, right? You like acting like a president.”

“But, you don’t like being president — you don’t like the job. I mean, it wasn’t the best decision to put wacky Uncle Biden in the pilot. The audience doesn’t get his incoherent catchphrases. Then, there was the episode when you made tax evasion the only qualification for a cabinet appointment. Just last week we had to fire the writer you put together the ‘make wounded veterans pay their own medical bills’ special. At this rate, I don’t see us keeping our sponsors through the 100 episode plateau.”

“Anyway, here’s the idea. You do a reality show. Call it Obamathon or Obamarama. Put it on MTV or Spike. The cameras can follow you around on your TV appearances, introduce your groupies, spy on a secret room where your wife can dish on you.”

“Then, we’ll get someone else to do all that boring, real-life president stuff. You don’t want to make all those decisions. Is someone a terrorist? Will they kill us if we let them go? Should we send more troops, fewer troops, F Troop? Let the bankers and CEOs run circles around some putz. You’re a star.

“And, while that’s going on, your new show will be pitched to a media that will lap it up. It’ll all be calculated to keep you popular — keep you liked. No, loved. Because that’s what you really want, kid. You don’t want to put in the hard work of saving anyone or making life better. You just want people to think you’re a savior and adore you for it without asking for results.”

“O? You OK?”

“Cherise — Mr. Obama will have that humility now. What? No. On second thought, make that the Pellegrino. Thanks.”

Superman Returns screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris shortened Superman’s call to arms to just “Truth and Justice” because “The American Way” was supposedly not worth fighting for anymore. They then proceeded to transform The Man of Steel into a simpering, self-absorbed drama queen.

Why has Hollywood worked so diligently to remove well-focused, admirable heroes from American movies? The primary reason was George W. Bush’s presence in the White House and the primary focus of his administration — the war against Islamic militants.

To the hard left in Hollywood, 9/11 and subsequent struggles in Afghanistan and Iraq were caused by the U.S. The bad guys had no say in the matter and were merely reacting to circumstances thrust upon them by Uncle Sam. Naturally enough, fighting terrorists anywhere on the planet merely added to America’s crimes.

That astoundingly naive world view grows out of the primary philosophy of anyone on that hard left: “The strong are always bad, and the weak are always good.” Morality and philosophy play no part in this global vision. If A has more than B, A is evil. B could lie, cheat, steal or fly commercial airliners into skyscrapers, and it’s all justified because simple math unveils inequities.

If you impose this philosophy onto movie stories, you can see how difficult it is to create compelling bad guys for movies. If no one in a weakened social or political position can ever do anything wrong, all you have left is wealthy, Western business men to plot society’s downfall — and that’s who perpetrated most of the foul deeds in movies during the Bush years. That leaves a rich cesspool of villainy untapped. But, once you admit that there’s evil in the world that must be fought in your movies, it becomes that much more hypocritical to rail against the war in Iraq at your next yoga class or macrobiotics party. Hollywood painted itself into a corner from where it couldn’t admit to the existence of evil and maintain its political stance.

Unfortunately, when you remove compelling villains from stories, you take the teeth out of our cinematic heroes. Offer a hero no truly dastardly deeds to fend off and no evil foe to battle, and you give an audience less to invest in and enjoy. We’re left with the one perfect hero for the anti-Bush era, Jason Bourne. Think about it. He’s poor. He’s sick. He battles middle-aged white men in Washington. And, his one great desire in life isn’t to defend the innocent or fight for justice — it’s to be left alone to his own brooding self-absorption. Sure, those movies made money — since audiences were starving for anything resembling a true hero.

Then, a strange thing happened as Bush was headed out the door in 2008. Heroes made a massive comeback as Iron Man, The Dark Knight and Gran Torino featured men sacrificing their own comfort and desires to fight genuinely evil men. They didn’t sit around contemplating the inequities of Western culture or exploring their feelings. They risked their safety to fight threats to the innocent — and only Iron Man featured a remnant of the “evil rich guy” villain (Jeff Bridges).

More importantly, these movies were successful — in the case of Dark Knight, immensely successful. And Dark Knight had the audacity to make all that money while including Michael Caine’s seminal, “Some men just want to watch the world burn…” speech (thus far, the most perfect dramatic explanation of why we’re fighting terrorists across the globe).

Hopefully, the success of these films will shake Hollywood out of its navel-gazing, passive-aggressive political statements and force it to present some interesting heroes and heroines again. Audiences crave them. And, since a Democrat is president and it’s safe for Hollywood to support America’s wars again, there’s reason to hope for such a comeback.

Politically speaking, it’s quiet in Hollywood. Too quiet.

It’s not a foreboding kind of stillness like the sunrise on a battlefield before the ranks are formed. It’s not an anticipatory breed of shush as “jocund day stands tiptoe” before a big game or the opening of Christmas gifts.

It’s a boring silence — a befuddled, anti-climactic, sighing void that took hold of this town not long after Barack Obama stormed into the White House. With George W. Bush retired to Texas and the most enlightened leader in the history of bipedal evolution taking his place, all problems are fixed, all debates are over, and the supremacy of everything hippie is assured forever. What fun is that?

With Obama as supreme leader, there’s just nothing remaining for Hollywood’s hard left to complain about now. And, you get the feeling they miss the old days.

For a short while after Obama’s win, the self-righteous activist types had gay marriage to keep them occupied. They possessed a cause to keep them chanting and picketing. But, as such causes go, the Prop 8 hooting and hollering lacked a certain clarity.

First, libertarian-leaning types like this commentator also opposed Prop 8 — hoping to keep the government and courts out of marriage issues. And nothing makes a cause less satisfying for progressives than sharing the position with non-liberals.

Then, the Prop 8 protestors started clashing with minority groups — presenting a brand of crippling irony certain to drain all of the tingly, pretentious thrill out of stomping around with a sign and a chant. Just imagine it: You’re on the hard left and you reside in the international multimedia capital of everything warm, fuzzy and superior. Then you realize the minority groups you’re sworn to protect — but don’t want living anywhere near you (Right, Santa Monica and West Hollywood?) — oppose your cause of the month.

The coalition that keeps California in the hands of Democrats broke down as those two-timing minority groups voted against gay marriage in keeping with their cultural and religious views. Hollywood’s enlightened types must’ve been disgusted: You give those folks jobs as your pool cleaners and groundskeepers, and they don’t have the courtesy to obey and follow the progressive agenda.

So, Prop 8 goes off the boil, and Bush is still gone. All Hollywood’s most dedicated complainers have to show for it is some faded “I Voted!” stickers and a squadron of Prius(es) covered in “Endless This War!” bumper stickers. Perhaps you would argue that they have their savior in the command chair, but that same silence spoke of whispers of a little buyer’s remorse.

Taking the oldest trick out of the tyrant’s manual, Obama ran on “Hope” to seize power. Then once he had it, he changed the message to “Fear” to keep expectations low and the masses in line. Maybe that strategy was necessary, since between the unpaid taxes, failed cabinet appointments, the Blago scandal, raging debate over the “spend-u-lous” package and the continued decline of the markets, World War I had a more inspiring first 100 days.

Obama will decisively close Guantanamo (maybe — in a year or so). He’ll promptly get the troops out of Iraq (right around the time they were scheduled to leave anyway — except for the 50,000 he’ll keep there to train combat units). And, he’ll up the ante with more boots on the ground in Afghanistan. It’s enough to transform the Obama-forged screams of adulation to a collective sense of “hm.”

In the end, it’s becoming clear that Hollywood’s progressive crowd had more fun criticizing authority figures than owning authority. Maybe it just felt sexier to attack the old administration free of responsibility than to lead and face the consequences of failure. After all, what’s the point of being smarter, more sensitive and more sophisticated than those crude Republicans if you actually have to submit to performance standards?

I took a tour of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on a recent Saturday afternoon, visiting the graves of several entertainment legends. One of the more recent additions to the grounds is the cenotaph for original punk rocker, Johnny Ramone.

Ramone’s remains are not on the property, but the rock legend’s family and fans wanted a memorial on the well-trafficked grounds amongst other varied legends like Cecil B. DeMille, Vampira, John Huston and Jayne Mansfield.

As I admired the life-size marble statue, the friendly tour guide standing nearby said in passing, “He was a huge Republican, you know.” (And he was. He once praised George W. Bush at an awards show, and you’d have thought he relieved himself on the podium.)

RIght on cue, for most of the assembled Hollywood crowd joining me on the tour, that tour guide might just have well said, “He ate babies alive, you know — while their families watched.”

But one woman didn’t scoff or suck in a horrified breath. She shrugged and said, “It’s the only way to be cool now.”

Could that be true? For so many years, Republicans and conservatives were the polar opposite of hip. They were supposed to be the uptight, sour-faced types in buttoned-down suits and sensible shoes. They were “The Man” in movies, pitted against the innocent hippie crowd battling their corporate hassles. Conservatives were the totalitarian Empire sending its Stormtroopers against the freedom-loving Rebellion while the Death Star crept ever closer.

Has the resurgence of progressives in Hollywood and Washington made left-leaning politics so common and ever-present in the media that they lost their cool counter-culture cache? It would seem very difficult for progressives in positions of power on Sunset Boulevard and on Capitol Hill to “fight The Man” when they are “The Man.” When you’re making the rules, you can’t also be the roguish, freedom-loving pirates breaking them at the same time. And, you can’t mock Stepford Wives-ish waves of blind political obedience when it’s your own side of the aisle who sold its soul to a messiah.

Since every formation of a power block forms a vacuum awaiting a countering force, it’s only natural that the Right take on a more risky and rebellious attitude. They are the loyal opposition, and anyone who enjoys questioning common wisdom or tilting at the windmills of woolly thinking should be naturally attracted to the role of a conservative exile.

The more cultish and unquestioning the religious fervor for President Obama becomes, the more naturally inquisitive people will become uncomfortable with the resulting knee-jerk groupthink of his followers. 

And, as the hard Left becomes more Draconian — using its current power base to push political correctness, global warming policies and other freedom-trampling pet causes without fear of voter reprisal for at least two years — it’ll only add to the number of rebels willing to question the value of such policies.

To steal just one more Star Wars reference, “The more the Left tightens its fist, the more questioning minds will slip through its fingers.”