The worst person in the world speaks out
Jonah Goldberg, National Review
Keith Olbermann, MSNBCs answer to a question no one asked, declared this week that Im the worst person in the world.
Worse than Kim Jong Il. Worse than the Burmese thugocracy. Worse than Paeleostinian suicide bombers. Worse than Michael Vick or Paris Hilton. Worse, even, than Keith Olbermann.
This is not as bad as it might seem. Its sort of like being called uncool by the asthmatic assistant recording secretary of the high-school chess team.
Zing!
Im the worst person in the world the designation is apparently a nightly feature of Olbermanns show because during a Fox News interview about the current idiotic Rush Limbaugh flap, I said that conservatives dont actually question the patriotism of liberals, they merely call attention to the statements of liberals. . . .
Anyway, the point Id been trying to make was that liberals routinely and righteously condemn the questioning of anyones patriotism until they have a chance to do it themselves. For example, in the debates over the formation of the Department of Homeland Security and the passage of Patriot Act, Democrats accused George Bush and the GOP leadership of questioning Democrats patriotism. But they never did any such thing. Rather, Democrats asserted that Republican criticism of their opposition was tantamount to questioning their patriotism.
John Kerry was the all-time champ of this sort of thing. He routinely insinuated that criticisms of his positions on national defense were tantamount to McCarthyism. Indeed, like Johnny Carsons Carnac the Magnificent, Kerry could psychically predict the reaction before it happened. Addressing the Council on Foreign Relations, he prophesied, I know what the Bush apologists will say to this that it is unpatriotic to question, to criticize and to call for change.
This in itself is a backhanded way to question the patriotism of your opponents. After all, to liberals, Joe McCarthy is synonymous with un-American. So, by preemptively and wantonly declaring any criticism to be McCarthyite dirty pool, Democrats are questioning the patriotism of their opponents in order to silence dissent (they play a similar preemption game with charges of racism as well).
But Democrats did worse than merely question the patriotism of their opponents; they flat-out denied it. Sen. Bob Graham called Bushs war policy anti-patriotic at the core. Kerry dubbed Bushs creed of greed you guessed it unpatriotic.
Howard Dean, the nearly invisible chairman of the Democratic National Committee, used to get himself into those Im-turning-into-the-Hulk rages over the merest hint that Republicans questioned the patriotism of Democrats. But he saw nothing wrong with righteously proclaiming that John Ashcroft is no patriot. Hes a direct descendant of Joseph McCarthy.
It's even worse when they're talking to each other and don't think the rest of us are listening. Over at Kos or DU or RabidDogLake (and even in the comment sections at quasi-respectable places like TNR) there are innumerable references to "Likudniks" and the "PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel" and so forth--and you really don't want to see some of the stuff they say about "Jew" Lieberman's alleged loyalties.
And now with Rush Limbaugh, Democrats, starting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, are lining up to call the radio host unpatriotic and do whatever they can to discredit him.
Now, the fact that no serious person actually thinks Limbaugh really or intentionally called soldiers dissenting on the war phony doesnt matter to the Democrats. Rather, theyre just gleeful to play the pot to Limbaughs kettle. Never mind that its unfair and dishonest, never mind that what theyre doing is far closer to the McCarthyism they routinely denounce, never mind that such Limbaugh-lynching Democratic senators as John Kerry and Dick Durbin have suggested, respectively, that American troops are terrorizing kids in Iraq and are akin to the torture masters of Nazi Germany or Pol Pots mad regime.
All that matters is that Democrats get a free hand thank you, mainstream media to do what theyve spent years denouncing as the worst, lowest form of politics. And, unlike Republicans in most cases, the Democrats actually know they are lying. They just dont care.
But dont take my word for it. Im the worst person in the world.
Posted by: Mike 2007-10-05 |