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Home Front: Culture Wars
Furore over Hitchens's sapphic slip
2008-04-13
Chris Hitchens unloads on Andrew Sullivan. It's about time someone did.
When is a lesbian not a lesbian? When the person in question is a gay, Catholic, conservative blogger by the name of Andrew Sullivan, it would seem.
As a commenter at Hot Air says, if Andrew Sullivan is a conservative, Chris Hitchens is Opus Dei.
For when Sullivan was stuck for words on an American news discussion programme last week, he was confronted by the acerbic polemicist Christopher Hitchens. "Don't be such a lesbian," intervened Mr Hitchens. "Get on with it."
See it on YouTube at about 2:05. This is part 4 of the show. Get the context by watching the whole show. Hitchens pretty much mops the floor with Andrew, and he hammers Barack Obama and the Hildebeast with an intellectual joy and panache that few others in our country have.
Mr Sullivan paused. Mr Hitchens looked to the floor. And the MSNBC Tim Russert Show merrily continued with its analysis of the role religion and the preacher Jeremiah Wright have played in Barack Obama's election campaign.

The internet has since exploded with speculation, mystification and more than a little anger regarding Mr Hitchens's use of the L-word.
Gee, Mr. Hitchens said something snappy and biting in a debate? Quelle horror!
In an email to The Independent on Sunday, the commentator wrote: "Don't know what came over me: the dear boy did suddenly seem extremely sapphic, yet I think my intuitions must have been scrambled all the same, since what I was actually thinking was: 'Andrew really wants to have Barack Obama's fucking child'. Clearly some confusion of categories on my part."
Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch ...
Posted by:

#19  Maybe your being uncomfortable with his "atheism" may be a product of the fact that this is the only guy who truly opened an honest discussion about GOD.

Yeah right - there has only been 2000+ years of discussion on this topic by some of the greatest minds in history. But thank God Hitchens opened the topic by immediately dissing anyone who may believe otherwise by simply declaring them not as smart as himself.
Posted by: Woodrow Slusorong7967   2008-04-13 20:54  

#18  KBK - St. Andrew of the Perpetually Aggrieved will disabuse you of that notion. Everthing's an affront, starting with our daily refusal to give gay marriage equal status...that's before he gets outta bed...the rest starts after the first dump/shower
Posted by: Frank G   2008-04-13 20:49  

#17  Makin a funny, RD. One Al Aska Paul super dooper spiritual absolution comin' up. (you want ice with that/)
Posted by: Al Aska Paul, Resident Imam   2008-04-13 19:56  

#16  Don't know what came over me: the dear boy did suddenly seem extremely sapphic, yet I think my intuitions must have been scrambled all the same, since what I was actually thinking was: 'Andrew really wants to have Barack Obama's fucking child'.

I don't take this as a put-down. Quite the contrary: I consider both the orginal comment and the follow-up to be extremely amusing, because they are sophisticated, completely unexpected, and wildly overstated in a very humorous way.

I doubt that Sullivan was upset, and I suspect that he accepted it all as friendly banter once he got over the initial surprise.
Posted by: KBK   2008-04-13 19:43  

#15  What I find interesting about Hitchens, in addition to a scathing wit, is that he was a radical leftist until he had a come-to-Jesus moment (*) and swung over to a more conservative, sensible position. Triggered by crazy Muslims, I believe.

(*) sorry. poor impulse control. It was like a hanging curve ball, looked as big as a grape fruit...
Posted by: SteveS   2008-04-13 19:39  

#14  But his militant atheism is very disturbing.

Doesn't disturb me. He is allowed to hold whatever religious view he chooses, even none. What I find most disturbing is people who can not tolerate anyone holding a religious view different from their own.
Posted by: crosspatch   2008-04-13 19:12  

#13  For some reason I'm reminded of SOUTH PARK > "THIS IS LE BIEN" [SPARTA]!
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-04-13 18:48  

#12  I LOVE Christopher Hitchens. I do.

An honest challenge is very, very respectable.
Maybe your being uncomfortable with his "atheism" may be a product of the fact that this is the only guy who truly opened an honest discussion about GOD. And one thing you need to know about GOD is She loves an Honest person, almost over any others.

So, Hitchens is not the problem, but those that try to answer his honest questions are usually not studied enough or try to present pictures over substance.

But I really do like him. Wrong sometimes, but I have not seen anyone step the plate to address this correctly. And by all means, by God given and all due right, he is able to present as he knows it, or at least stir it up a bit.

Good for him!.
Carry on.
Posted by: newc   2008-04-13 16:13  

#11   Thank God that I'm an atheist......

youse mean youse can't give me absoultions for my sins Al Aska Paul, Resident Imam?

:(
Posted by: RD   2008-04-13 14:54  

#10  Thank God that I'm an atheist......
Posted by: Al Aska Paul, Resident Imam   2008-04-13 14:47  

#9  The most important detail about Andrew Sullivan BAR-NON is that he's but another FAKE "conservative" so labeled and anointed by the elitist Main Stream Media as such.

Do Tell, Who else but the MSM sticks the "conservative" label on this Faggot?

His writings are so loaded with caveats try and find any article where he takes a clear position on anything, the second Amendment for instance, Find any article of his that rejects any grab by the Gubmint of our rifles, shot guns and hand guns.

Read this tripe on Iraq he writes.

The Media's darling "conservative" is married to a G'Damn DUDE for Christ Sake..

LOL, the MSM has a stable of Fake Bastards they constantly dupe the public with..

How about that FAKE REPUBLICAN called David Gergen...LOL,

Good God Almighty please Drown these FAKE PUSHERS in their unmitigated gaul!

/gawd ima go take a shower now..
Posted by: RD   2008-04-13 14:31  

#8  Sullivan is an a-hole. Pure and simple. He is a disgrace, who calls himself Catholci while denying the basic teachigns of the Church.

He deserves any and all venomous comments thrown at him, in my opinion.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-04-13 12:15  

#7  but does he have better fashion sense?
Posted by: john frum   2008-04-13 12:00  

#6  Hitchens is head and shoulders more intelligent, cogent, and entertaining than Sullivan.
Posted by: Penguin   2008-04-13 11:05  

#5  In an interesting twist, so does Camille Paglia. Go check it out at her blog.

Maybe it's a gay thing?
Posted by: no mo uro   2008-04-13 09:31  

#4  I watched the show - don't remember him saying that (mighta been edited out?), but Andrew had a hard time explaining away Wright and Obamessiah. I find Sullivan to be a real lightweight, anyone remember his overwrought abu grahib articles?

'Andrew really wants to have Barack Obama's fucking child'. woulda been frreaking awesome if he'd said that
Posted by: Frank G   2008-04-13 08:53  

#3  To understand Sullivan you need know only that all points lead back validating the gay lifestyle. No contortion of logic is too great, no sacrifice of the populace is too small to forward the gay agenda. I'm not personally making any commentary on the gay lifestyle - I'm just noting that Andrew Sullivan is a one-trick pony and gay rights is his only ride.
Posted by: Woodrow Slusorong7967   2008-04-13 07:50  

#2  Hitchens is avery amusing guy, but a frustrating guy.

His love of the West and his defense thereof is unparalleled. But his militant atheism is very disturbing.

At any rate, I'm glad he bitch-slapped Sullivan. For a long time now, I've suspected that the only reason that Sullivan associated with conservatives at all was because he wanted to sleep with Reagan back in the day. Now Hitchens has called him on the same with BHO. Good for Hitch.
Posted by: no mo uro   2008-04-13 07:26  

#1  I had a run in with Andrew Sullivan a couple of years back. He's no intellectual heavyweight.
Posted by: phil_b   2008-04-13 06:20  

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