I’m not the kind of blogger who spends a lot of time on conservative sites, trying to figure out what “the other side” thinks about this or that issue. My time on the computer is limited, and I would rather spend it reading blogs I enjoy and learn from. If Instapundit or Michelle Malkin or some such hack says something particularly noteworthy, I will probably run across it at one of the blogs I read regularly (e.g. Atrios’ “wanker of the day”).

But when John Deeth called attention to the University of Iowa College Republicans’ plan to hold a capture-the-flag game between the “illegal immigrants” and the “border patrol,” it piqued my interest.

Back when I was growing up, Dinesh D’Souza was just an annoying bigot at Darthmouth College, planning stunts and then playing the martyr when people called him on his racism. Seems like College Republicans haven’t evolved much since then, and why should they? Distort D’Newsa and others have parlayed this “victim of political correctness” act into lucrative careers.

So I wandered over to Cyclone Conservatives to see what they are up to these days.

Didn’t find any cheap stunts, but I did find an amazingly ignorant and malicious post whining about Democratic “sob stories.” Join me after the jump if you have any interest in hearing more.

I know nothing about NancyMcD, the author of this post, but she reminds me of the college Republicans from the 1980s–trying to get attention and cheap laughs by making fun of people who have been injured or discriminated against.

Here she is, complaining about the “Sappy Sob Stories” she has to listen to Democrats tell in the legislature:

just last night I had to listen to sob stories about gays and lesbians. It is not that I don’t feel gays and lesbians should have rights or should be discriminated against, I just don’t understand how they don’t classify into the category of “everyone” as in “everyone has equal rights.”

The fact being that I don’t think one group should have more rights than another group. By giving gays and lesbians more rights, we have just discriminated against every other group.

Really, Nancy? The new legal protection given to the GLBT community means the state of Iowa is discriminating against “every other group”? Here’s a tip for you, Nancy: the language was added to the Civil Rights bill that already contains language protecting people from discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, etc. So many groups of people are specifically protected and have been for many years.

Why are these groups named? Because these are the groups that, historically, are likely to be discriminated against. That’s why civil rights laws exist. The Civil Rights bill does not give named groups “more rights.” It protects individuals in these categories from discrimination that has been prevalent in our society.

But Nancy’s ignorance really shone in this passage about “emotionally sensitive complainers” pushing legislation that will require “an exorbanant [sic] amount of funds (leading to tax increases)”:

Another example is a bill that requires mandatory testing of children for lead. Odd bill I thought. Why would this be such an issue? Until Representative Ford tells a sob story of a child in his district that ate paint and got sick. Blah, blah, blah…kids could get sick…and apparently it’s the state’s job to baby-sit every child in Iowa. Though I can’t help but wonder what dumb child would eat paint! And what irresponsible parent would not know their child is eating paint?

Hey Nancy, if you’re worried about “exorbitant” funding of programs for children, you should love mandatory lead testing. Because lead poisoning is a leading cause of mental retardation, and early identification of kids at risk paves the way for early intervention to remove the source of contamination.

We can get the lead out of those homes, which benefits not only the affected children but any future children who may be raised in those homes. That means less money for the state to spend later teaching and caring for kids and adults with severe developmental disabilities.

Testing for lead is a no-brainer. My kids’ pediatrician tests every baby in his practice when they turn a year old. But to the College Republican brain, making this test available to every family is somehow tantamount to asking the state to “baby-sit every child in Iowa.”

What else does Nancy seem clueless about? Oh yeah, she wonders what kind of “dumb” kid would eat paint, and what kind of irresponsible parents would not know their kids are eating paint.

Nancy, learn a little about infant and toddler development. All babies, not just the “dumb” ones, put hands and graspable objects in their mouths.

Parents may not realize that they are stirring up lead paint dust when they do repairs on their old homes. They may not realize that when they slide the windows open and shut, lead paint residue is accumulating on the windowsill, which is the perfect height for a baby to grab while pulling himself up.

My dad was a College Republican in the 1940s. He and I disagreed on a lot, especially regarding economic policies, but he never had that irritating tendency to laugh and sneer at tales of other people’s misfortune. I cannot imagine him arguing that the state of Iowa does not have a compelling interest in identifying children who have been poisoned by lead.

What do you think is behind the proud lack of empathy displayed by today’s College Republicans?