I’m conservative myself, but don’t have all the data on SUV’s, so I have no opinion one way or the other, but listening to conservative talk show hosts, they seem to defend SUV’s to the death. Some of them also ridicule the hybrid cars.
What is this conservative love affair with SUV’s? I can understand if there’s misinformation about them, and the talk show hosts want to set the record straight, or when you have things like, for example, Rush Limbaugh making fun of headlines that make it sound the SUV’s are driving themselves, like for example, he’ll read a headline that says something like “SUV drives off a cliff”, or something like that, and then he’ll make jokes about how the SUV must have been feeling suicidal to do that.
But this love of SUV’s seems to go beyond trying to keep the record straight. And personally, even though I’m a conservative, I don’t understand it. Can anyone help explain it?
I think it has alot to do with the liberal demonization of SUVs, apparent in the “SUVs support terror” ads and even in quite a few threads on this board.
This conservative rant might explain some of the frustration.
Remember when conservatism was associated with conservationism and sheparding of health and the environment, and it was the liberals who wanted to tear things up, blindly embracing development, waste, and technology?
Part of it, I think, is the belief that the first goal is to PO the enemy. Which is OK. Until you encounter an instance where it’s not clear who is and who isn’t an enemy.
One of my favorite examples was Rush’s claim a few years back that ‘feminism was founded to give unattractive females access to mainstream society’ (that’s from memory – correct away if wrong).
I never felt he believed it – it was simply paramount that feminists feel the wrath.
(Love to see Rush say that in front of Jeanne Kirkpatrick). 
It’s as silly to blame Saudi Underwriting Vehicles for terrorism as it is to blame drugs. Or to blame bank robberies on guns.
Maybe it’s the age-old canard of someone dressing up their cultural biases as timeless, principled convictions? All idealogues do it.
Well, not ALL conservative commentators are SUV enthusiasts. I’ve heard Bill O’Reilly, for instance, urging people to stop driving them, and calling for Washington to regulate the gas mileage such vehicles get.
But as for why Limbaugh (and many others like him) scoffs at people who question the need for SUVs? Mainly because, like msot of us, he succumbs to the urge to ridicule EVERYTHING his ideological opponents support. He figures if hippie-dippie lefties take a particular stance, that stance MUST be invalid, and deserves automatic mockery.
Well now, if you ask O’Reilly, he’ll tell you that he’s independant, not conservative.
But anyway, yeah, that’s something I’m thinking myself, that since the left is demonizing SUV’s, then some or most conservative talk show hosts automatically defend it. Kind of like how all the democratic presidential candidates do is automatically rip on Bush.
I’m for CAFE standards, which runs against my generally libertarian grain. But, so long as they are implemented gradually, they aren’t that onerous. I don’t have a problem with government mandated safety mods. on vehicles either. Although those can backfire - as in all the air bag related deaths.
So basically if you can make it get decent mileage, and don’t kill me, I don’t care what you drive. Right now, SUVs are some of the worst in those two categories: fuel economy and killing other drivers. So, when I see a really big one (like a three tonner) weaving around absentmindedly with one person inside it is hard not to ponder, “what the fuck are you driving that for?”
I occasionally wonder the same thing when seeing a large pickup truck (especially the ones with four wheels in the back). Or one of the gazillion minivans. Or big luxury cars.
It’s depressing, the contempt some people have for my conception of what they should drive. Maybe I should just stick to supporting across-the-board increases in mandatory mileage standards.
Actually, no.
And Arianna “Zsa Zsa” Huffington is a conservative columnist, yes? She hates SUVs!
[Note: I just hate 'em because they’re roadhogs, you can’t see past them, and they take up all the parking spaces]
Arianna Huffington has very publicly changed sides and no longer considers herself a conservative. And I agree with your reasons for hating SUVs. In my town there used to be relatively good visibility at the intersections. Now, all the %#%&! SUVs parked along the streets have reduced that visibility and made accidents more likely. People, if you have to drive them could you PLEASE at least not park them near the corners!
Arianna is every liberal’s favorite “conservative.” She doesn’t stand with conservatives on a single issue of any importance, but she’s a valuable fig leaf to liberals, who love to point to her and say, “See? Even a conservative like Arianna Huffington is on my side!”
Kinda like John Leo (one of my favorite columnists) calls himself a liberal, even though he hasn’t really fallen into that category since the 1960s.