Years ago a fairly prominent public conservative was basically turned into an UNPERSON for a few years (I think she managed to crawl back in eventually) to the conservative movement because she took a heretical position on some issue of major importance.
Ah, Atrios, what issue was that?
Glad you asked. She wrote a piece about how ADD (now ADHD) was REAL, actually.
Wow, Atrios, how was that heresy?
Honestly, I don't even remember precisely why! I mean, I do remember "ADD IS A BIG MYTH" being a thing for conservatives. I can sorta guess why that was, and if I cared I'm sure there are enough remnants on the big old internet that I could figure it out, but I don't actually remember.
Of course ADD was real to this person only because she had a kid who was diagnosed with it. There is rarely any other reason conservatives acknowledge any possible struggle that others face.
The Wingnut Extended Universe has long been a thing. Part of their mythology includes these weird little beliefs (ADD IS A LIBERAL PLOT!) that party allegiance requires adherence to. But 30 movies and several TV show later, that mythology is really really complicated! I'm very online and I can't keep up.
