Deep cover liberal

{{conspiracynav}}{{cquote|If liberals are disorganized, how are they so good at getting false flag operatives into [[Congress]] as Republicans?|||Josh Barro on Mo Brooks (R-[[AL]])<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150413210415/https://twitter.com/jbarro/status/496714653356290048 "Mo Brooks Says DREAMers Shouldn’t Be Allowed In Military Because They’re Not Loyal And Will Have Access To Nukes"]</ref>}}
A '''deep cover [[liberal]]''' is someone who supposedly [[Poe's Law|pretends]] to be [[Wingnut|ultra-conservative]] with the intended purpose of discrediting [[conservative]] political parties or conservatives in general. According to this accusation, they act in a way contrary to their own beliefs and often sacrifice their credibility to defend the public against world-renowned [[Republican Party|nutjobs]].

==Characteristics==
Deep cover liberals are often characterized by:

*Subtle or not-so-subtle [[Racism|racist]] (often [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]]) comments disguised as "Pro-[[Christian]]" statements.

*Extreme [[Fundamentalism|religious intolerance]]. 

*Active persecution of minorities.

*Unquestioning support of former [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]], [[George W. Bush|Bush]], and/or [[Donald Trump|Trump]] and apparent hatred for anyone who disagrees with them.<ref group=note>[[QAnon]] [[Cult of personality|notwithstanding]], the opinions of "[[No True Scotsman|real conservatives]]" are not ''quite'' as unanimous on the subject of Donald Trump as they are on Ronald Regan or George W. Bush. ''Some'' conservatives either still hold Trump's former affiliation with the Democratic Party against him (to the point where Trump himself has been accused of being a deep cover liberal; see [[#People|our section on suspected DCL individuals]]) and/or are just ''barely'' intelligent and/or [[Morality|empathetic]] enough to recognize Trump as [[Fascism|a crime against humanity]] [[Authoritarianism of Donald Trump|made flesh]] and realize that endorsing him is a horrible idea on every possible level.</ref>

*Making suggestions for policy that actively ''contradict'' the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]], either literally or in intent.

*[[Proll|Frequently making outrageous and illogical statements]] which do more harm to the conservative cause than good (conservatives are sometimes oblivious to this).

==Alternative theories==
Whether or not these people actually exist is an open question. An alternative theory to explain the existence of people like this is related to the existence of [[Poe's Law]] — that liberals themselves just can't possibly grasp that alternative views ''this'' [[extremism|extreme]] can seriously exist. Therefore, real wingnuts ''must'' be taking the piss, it's the only thing that [[common sense|makes sense]]. This isn't entirely a fault; anyone with even a modicum of confidence in the goodwill of humanity will have their view threatened by ten seconds in the presence of [[Ann Coulter]]. Assuming or theorising that [[Kool-Aid drinker]]s are in fact parodists or insincere may just be a way of resolving the [[cognitive dissonance]] of wanting to think that everyone is, deep down, a good person while watching [[Glenn Beck]] make an ass of himself.

==Mentality==
The concept of a deep cover liberal says quite a bit about the conservative mindset. Follow this [[Schlafly]]-esque line of reasoning:

# All conservatives are good
# ''This'' conservative, however, is making us look bad
# Therefore, they must actually be a leebral

This seems ridiculous at first, but time and time again, conservatives want to [[Scapegoat|attribute blame to liberals]] for the bad things (or at the very least, bad press) that conservatives are actually responsible for. This mentality is the heart of such annoyances as the [[Dixiecrat fallacy]], as well as [[PIDOOMA]] assertions such as one by [[Ted Cruz]], who suggested that the very conservative, [[anti-abortion]] perpetrator of the [[Planned Parenthood]] shooting in Colorado Springs, [[Colorado]] in 2015 was actually a [[transgender]] [[leftist]].<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/30/ted-cruz-cites-reports-that-planned-parenthood-shooter-could-be-transgendered-leftist-activist-what/</ref>

The phantom of a deep cover liberal also plays into the [[paranoia]] and [[persecution complex]] of [[conspiracy theorist]]s that dominate [[conservative talk radio]] and other media. Apparently, pretending to be a member of a party that you're not is a perfectly acceptable political tactic to win an election, such as was the case with [[Kim Davis]] or Dave Wilson.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20141101230613/http://www.khou.com/story/news/2014/07/24/12238904</ref>

==Suspected DCLs==

===Groups===

*''Everyone'' on the [[alt-right]]. The movement is sometimes claimed, including by some of its own proponents like [[Milo Yiannopoulos]], to be made up mainly of trolls who don't seriously hold the views they espouse.

*[[Breitbart]], the alt-right news outlet, collaborated with liberal activists to take down mainstream conservatives like Marco Rubio in order to get [[Donald Trump|Trump]] the GOP nomination.<ref>Hadas Gold, [http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/breitbart-liberal-activist-230255 Breitbart coordinated with liberal activist and organizer who disrupted GOP primary campaign events.] Politico, 25 October 2016.</ref> But the argument could go both ways; perhaps the liberals in question are really deep cover alt-rightists?

*The editorial staff of the ''[[New York Post]].''

*The [[Birther]] movement, which originated thanks to [[PUMA]]s.

===People===

*[[John Ashcroft]], after his dramatic reversal on [[states' rights]] upon becoming Attorney General.  In his case, of course, there's no need to chalk up to "deep cover liberal" what can be more easily explained as simple hypocrisy.

*[[Glenn Beck]], for [[hypocrite|hypocritically]] using the same tactics that he decries liberals for using.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091009085612/http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/10/brilliant_response_to_beck_cas.php Brilliant Response to Beck Case], ScienceBlogs</ref>

*[[Herman Cain]]

*[[Jack Chick]]

*[[Ray Comfort]]

*[[Ann Coulter]], according to ''The Boondocks''<ref>"The S-Word," episode 2.11 of ''The Boondocks''</ref>

*[[Ted Cruz]], an [[Fiscal cliff|undercover CSIS agent]]?

*[[S. E. Cupp]], an [[atheist]] [[concern troll]] and "coastal [[elite]]" who insults coastal elites.

*Clint Eastwood, after lighting up the 2012 GOP convention by yelling at a chair for ten minutes.

*[[The Huffington Post|Arianna Huffington]], outed after the 2000 election by virtue of being a friend of [[Al Franken]].

*[[Victoria Jackson]]

*[[Koch Industries|Charles G. Koch]], because flags.<ref>[http://twitter.com/pourmecoffee/status/451524889682247680 Weird to see basically the @dailykos logo on the Charles Koch @wsj op-ed out tonight.] pourmecoffee on Twitter, 2 April 2014.</ref>

*[[Rush Limbaugh]]

*[[Christine O'Donnell]], for obvious reasons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20101003125718/http://www.cracked.com/funny-6527-christine-odonnell/|title=Why Christine O'Donnell Seems So Familiar [CHART]|website=Cracked|date=23 September 2010}}</ref>

*[[Bill O'Reilly]]

*[[Fred Phelps]], according to ''some'' conservatives, anyway. Though he was not exactly a conservative so much as an extreme homophobe who had no opinion on almost any issue not related to homosexuality.<ref group=note>Because Phelps was a [[Dixiecrat|Democrat]], Conservapedia said he was a liberal for quite a while.</ref>

*"Mad" [[Melanie Phillips]], especially for her columns in the ''Spectator.''

*[[Andrew Schlafly]], founder of [[Conservapedia]], and is theorised to have only done so to avoid embarrassing his mother, [[Phyllis Schlafly]].<ref group=note>However, his activity at [[Conservapedia|CP]] has not ceased, even after the death of Mommy Schlafly.</ref>

*[[Donald Trump]], former reality TV star, former [[President of the United States|President of the United States]]. Granted, Trump did identify as a Democrat, donated to major candidates of both parties, and had nice things to say about [[Hillary Clinton]] not even four years before he ran on the GOP ticket for the first time, which lends a ''little'' credence to the theory.<ref>Conor Friedersdorf, [http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/donald-trump-running-for-president/398345/ Donald Trump Is No Conservative.] The Atlantic, 13 July 2015.</ref>

*[[Hal Turner]], outed as a possible [[FBI]] informant against [[white supremacy|white supremacist]] activity in late 2007 — was he only in it for the [[money]]?

*Jesse Waters, [[Fox News]] ambush reporter, who may be one of the first ''documented'' deep cover liberals; he donated $500 to the Obama campaign while publicly mocking [[Obama]] voters on the air.<ref>Tommy Christopher, [http://www.mediaite.com/online/fec-document-fox-news-ambush-reporter-jesse-watters-donated-500-to-obama-campaign/ FEC Document: Fox News Ambush Reporter Jesse Watters Donated $500 To Obama Campaign.] mediaite.com, 11 December 2012.</ref><ref group=note>Of course, as of this writing, it ''could'' be a [[hoax]], but it's too funny not to mention. ([http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jesse-watters-wife-voted-obama Maybe not.])</ref>

==See also==
*[[Poe's Law]]
*[[No True Scotsman]]
*[[Agent provocateur]]
*[[False flag operation]]
*[[Lightning rod]]
*[[Club for Growth]]
*[[Useful idiot]]
*[[Tea Party]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]

Categories: Conspiracy theories, Right-wing activists