It’s a curious thing, the sudden and bizarre demonization of true constitutional conservatives like Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R–Tennessee) by some conservative online agitants.

Most conservatives understand that Rep. Blackburn is one of the more reliably intelligent and sober figures in contemporary politics.  That’s particularly true when it comes to technology policy.  While most political leaders speak in simplistic talking points, Rep. Blackburn is known for developing real knowledge about, and applies her steady conservative principles to, the issues.

As the most prominent example, Rep. Blackburn remains one of the most steadfast and informed opponents of so-called “Net Neutrality,” which truly will launch governmental micromanagement of Internet service.

So it’s especially odd and ironic that some conservatives suddenly slur her.  Said RedState’s (and CNN’s) Erick Erickson, “I am pledging right now that I will do everything in my power to defeat her in her 2012 re-election bid.”  His rationale?  Erickson has joined the likes of MoveOn.org, Demand Progress, the Marxist group Free Press and others on the left in fanatically opposing legislation to stop foreign Internet piracy, H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).  In doing so, he and other generally reliable conservatives are promoting lawlessness and outright theft by foreign pirates over constitutionally protected property rights.

So what is SOPA, and why all of the fuss?

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For years, liberals in Washington have tirelessly thwarted America from tapping its domestic sources of energy, while hypocritically lamenting our “addiction to foreign oil.” They have forsworn abundant energy supplies just off our coasts and erected boundaries against drilling and energy development right here at home. The unfortunate effect of their effort is to unnecessarily drive exploration further and further offshore, to deeper and deeper depths.

Suddenly, those same forces are forging a marriage of convenience with BP to scapegoat the entire energy industry for BP’s individualized failures. In his Oval Office speech to the nation, for instance, President Obama resorted to sloppy slurs against “oil industry lobbyists” and “an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.”

By doing so, the far left factions of Congress and the administration seek to use the Gulf spill as a political opportunity to shove an ulterior agenda down America’s throat. In that same Oval Office speech, Obama exposed his real agenda, saying, “we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires,” and, “the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission.”

Does the phrase “never let a crisis go to waste” ring a bell?

What these liberal opportunists forget is that oil helped propel our nation’s very economic growth and prosperity for over a century. The overwhelming majority of America’s energy enterprises possess a proven track record and have managed to safely extract oil for decades. According to the Interior Department, offshore drilling produced seven billion barrels of oil between 1985 and 2001, with a spill rate of just 0.001%. The Obama Administration, however, is attempting to punish others for the failures of BP, which has long suffered from an abysmal safety record relative to its peers.

One disturbing byproduct of the recent Gulf spill is the light it shed on the cozy relationship between BP and the Obama Administration. Despite the usual empty tough talk from the White House, the close association between the White House and BP is a commonly known fact inside the Beltway. The reality is this crisis has brought to light the codependency of BP and the Obama administration – each gaining from the others cooperation.

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After 230 years, are the American people coursing toward eventual divorce?

Our polarized society increasingly ponders what would happen if American conservatives and liberals simply agreed that their differences had become irreconcilable, and redivided the nation to go their separate ways. Which side would prosper and experience an influx of migration from the other? Conversely, which side would likely become a fiscal and socio-political basket case?

Any reasonable person already knows the likely answer. One need only compare the smoldering wreckage wrought by liberal governance in such states as California or Michigan with the comparative prosperity created by conservative governance in such states as Texas or Utah. We can also examine the past 400 years, during which immigrants abandoned Europe for an America founded upon the fundamental principles of limited government and individual freedom.

Regardless, the above hypothetical has become increasingly frequent among both conservatives and liberals in recent years.

Following the 2004 election that they confidently expected would vindicate their 2000 rage and send President Bush back to Texas, liberals only half-jestfully proposed that “blue” states secede and join a new “United States of Canada.” Conservatives replied with a collective, “don’t let the screen door hit you in the [posterior] on your way out.”

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“Oh, no…  What have I done?”

That is the lament of innumerable people staring into a mirror at the garish tattoo they added to their lower backsides the previous night during a spell of misjudgment.

Such tattoos are often referred to as “tramp stamps,” a term that has gained such cultural currency that it was named one of the “Words of the Year” for 2009 by the New Oxford American Dictionary.  Perhaps the best definition, however, can be found atwww.urbandictionary.com:

2.  Tramp Stamp:  “Tramp Stamp” is a derogatory term referring to a tattoo which a woman places on her lower back.  It is especially popular among women born in the late ‘70s, ‘80s, and even early ‘90s.  Fair or unfair, these tattoos have a socially constructed connotation associated with them.  Although these are often biased and generalized claims, there have been sociological studies done by the American Psychological Association, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and other demographic researchers showing strong correlative evidence associating tattoos with high-risk behavior, illegal substance abuse and sexual promiscuity.  These risk factors are greatest in the age range which these types of tattoos are gaining mainstream popularity.  Some have also jokingly stated that by 2050, the “tramp stamp” will be renamed the “gramp stamp.”

What thus seemed at first a hip, daring way of demonstrating individuality to the world quickly becomes a lasting and unsightly cliché of indiscretion.

It seemed so cool at the time.  But now, the cool is gone and all that remains is a silly permanent mark.

Today, one can travel down any busy American street or highway and usually spot the new political equivalent of the tramp stamp.  Namely, the ubiquitous 2008 campaign decal with the cartoonish stenciled portrait of Barack Obama gazing wistfully into the distance above the nebulous term “HOPE.”

Created by “street artist” and George W. Bush antagonist Shepard Fairey based upon the 2006 photograph of Obama by Associated Press (AP) photographer Mannie Garcia, the image became synonymous with the Obama hysteria.

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