The Conclusion of the Rude Pundit's 8th Anniversary Marathon Beg:
Today is the day. Eight years ago, this blog began with a simple mission: Make fun of conservatives by degrading them with lots of dirty words and bodily function imagery. Yet, for some reason, others also find this a worthy place to spend time and money. For that, he thanks his readers (and podcast and Stephanie Miller Show listeners and YouTube viewers and Twitter followers and Facebookers), and he reminds you that he's still collecting cash in order to buy that shiny new MacBook Pro he's got his eye on, as well as stock up on decent vodka.

You can spread you wallet cheeks wide here:

Or click over on the side. Credit cards are accepted (wow, how do you say that without feeling douchey?).

The Rude Pundit offered to answer questions this week, and he's gotten a number of really interesting ones, not just "Why don't you allow comments?" (To which the Rude Pundit can only say, "Have you ever read the comment threads on blogs?")

More to the point, Garry in Nashville asks, "Why do you think the South is always so eager to swallow the GOP's BS? Is it because of the GOP's 'starve the lazy/immigrants/niggers' philosophy, or is it due to some sort of inherent self-hatred, or is it just plain, old-fashioned perpetual hillbilly ignorance? Do the vast legions of hillbillies on disability not realize that cutting Social Security will cut off their checks?"

God and guns and racism, Garry. The conservative Christianity of a great deal of the white South has so fucked with the heads of people that it's gonna take generations to breed that out, if ever. So, yeah, it's genuine ignorance (which is propagated by the shitty schools in so many of the states). There's genuine progressive pockets in the South, in, say, West Virginia and North Carolina, and not just in urban areas or college towns. Here's the conundrum, though: if you're a coal miner, for instance, you may want your union protected, but you also want to keep mining, even removing mountaintops, to keep your job, and Democratic policies on labor and the environment can complicate things, even if, more often than not, they might benefit the workers overall. (By the way, the Rude Pundit's lived in Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee. For years of his life. He knows from the South.)

Mark from California writes, "I spend a lot of time networking at the local chambers of commerce looking for business. A lot of these small business owners spend their time crying about taxes, Obama, healthcare, regulations, and a bunch of other shit that are not the real reasons that their businesses are down the shitter the last few years. What would be a good response for me to give these retards who consistently vote against their own self interest and do not even realize it?"

Hmm. How about: "How would a national health care plan ease your burden?" Or take the Elizabeth Warren approach: "Would you like to pave the roads leading to your business?"

Lisa from Toronto wants to know "You and Mark Russell of the Public Theater [in New York], uncanny resemblance or twins separated at birth?" Whoa, weird. But, hey, if you could get the Rude Pundit a meeting with him, he'd love to talk about doing something at the Under the Radar Festival. (By the way, speaking of New York theatre, the Rude Pundit's always thought he had an uncomfortable resemblance to actor Michael Chernus.)

And Lorraine from upstate New York writes, "Even knowing what you know, do you have hope that things will change? Or, if we can, should we just get the hell out of this country?"

Honestly, really, if you can afford to get the hell out, go to Canada. But the Rude Pundit will stay here and fight until the bitter end. Because he's a stupid-ass American, filled with as much idiot optimism as an explorer standing on the edge of a Massachusetts beach in the 17th-century while getting infected with diseases he never knew existed.

Okay, let's get out before this gets too long and self-indulgent. Perhaps more questions answered this weekend, so toss some into the pot. But, as ever, more rudeness tomorrow.