The American Mind

I won’t convince them I’m a well-meaning person devoted to limited government, freedom, and American greatness.

LOL! Not after voting for Bush, you won’t.

You’ve made my point better than me. No amount of words will combat flippant ad hominems.

Sean, the problem we have is exactly as Rush Limbaugh has said on his radio show yesterday.

It seems that those on “our side” who wish to be called “conservative” and wish to call themselves “conservative” are never willing to stick up for anyone fighting for their cause when they slip up and accidentally use a word that is not politically correct.

Given all of the crap we hear from Michael Moore, Bill Maher saying the world would be better with Dick Cheney assassinated in the attack, and so on…

It is painful to see so many conservatives just instantly go on the defensive and instantly into Apologetic Mode and instantly believe that we have anything to apologize for after the malicious attacks we suffer every single day from the left.

Just look at any of the commenters on HUFF PO in which virtually every post is marked “Abusive.”

Just look at the filth the liberals get to say without any ridiculous OPEN LETTER campaigns by their advocates.

We are not suggesting that what Ann Coulter said was “ok.”

We are just fed up with conesrvatives wanted to act like a LYNCH MOB when one of their spokesmen or spokeswomen in this case does slips and does something in bad taste.

Liberals would have us believe calling terrorists, “Ragheads,” is somehow bad….

I mean the list goes on. It’s like we are not allowed to express ANGER despite the fact that we have to sit quietly and listen to ANGER from the left side of the aisle (just as we sit and read CHET and DJ posts about how Conservatives are typically bigots).

It is about time we stop worrying about whether or not the “Conservative Movement’s Image” is tarnished and focus on the fact that our ideas are original and better than the Left’s New Deal Legislation / Great Society programs.

She could have picked a better moment than at a forum where every Republican hopeful was forced to disavow her comment.

But, why are we now afraid to take on the left? I read the comments from yesterday and it seems as though we still have a large base that prefers “head-in sand” versus “head-held high”.

Sack up kids. This is going to get much worse before the primary races heat up.

Given all of the crap we hear from Michael Moore, Bill Maher saying the world would be better with Dick Cheney assassinated in the attack, and so on…

Michael Moore has been largely silenced by the left. He’s not given a platform to speak by liberals.

Same with Maher – nobody I know pays any attention to his show. (I’m not even sure that he said what you said he said, btw.)

But Coulter? She’s held high by conservatives. When she calls John Edwards a “faggot”, you people cheer her on. And she’s rewarded for it – she’s going to see her face on every talk show this week. When was the last time Michael Moore was on TV? Not for years, I think.

Just look at the filth the liberals get to say without any ridiculous OPEN LETTER campaigns by their advocates.

Look at what? This is just an assertion without any examples. Can you name a single prominent liberal – on the same level as Coulter – who’s rewarded for calling Republicans “faggots”?

Sean, you may consider Chet’s comment an ad hominem, but he makes a point. As a social conservative, Bush may get high marks for being anti-gay, Christian, and pro-life, but a fiscal conservative he is NOT. You know this. Spending went through the roof, most of that going to defense, and most of that being funnelled to his big business contract pals rather than spending on armor and medical benefits for our troops. Making government bigger is exactly what has happened in the last six years (i mean, for frack’s sake, he added an entire cabinet department! How is that pro-small government?). So, yeah, Chet’s remark carries some weight, i think.

It seems that those on “our side” who wish to be called “conservative” and wish to call themselves “conservative” are never willing to stick up for anyone fighting for their cause when they slip up and accidentally use a word that is not politically correct.

I think “your side” would be well-advised to learn to distinguish between Republicans and Conservatives, and figure out that the core of the GOP stopped being fiscally conservative years ago. From many of the comments from yesterday, it seems that some people have finally figured that out.

By the way, JT, you might not wanna put Chet’s and my names in all caps…if your real name happens to be “Jeff MacMillan,” you probably don’t want your writing style to resemble the one that got you initially banned from here (if you’re not him, my apologies and never mind).

Oh, and BTW, Bill Maher’s a Libertarian. I haven’t seen his show in years, but i’ll wager that fiscally he’s more conservative than the entire GOP wing of Congress put together.

Finally, Sean, i forgive you for not addressing my point from yesterday amongst the din, but i really feel like this needs emphasis:

Coulter’s vicious word choice tells the world she care little about the feelings of a large group that often feels marginalized and despised. Her word choice forces conservatives to waste time defending themselves against charges of homophobia rather than advancing conservative ideas.

Now, hold on just a minute. I have to call foul here. Sean, i’ve seen you in past entries on this blog refer to homosexual relationships as “less valid” than straight ones (maybe that’s not your exact word choice, but that was the sentiment. I don’t have time to dig up the exact post but i believe it happened during the gay marriage amendment debate). Maybe that makes you a little more civil in that you choose not to use epithets like “faggot,” but from my end of the spectrum, the difference isn’t all that great. You’re still marginalizing a large group by implying that they are somehow less than straight people (and your eventual “yes” vote on that amendment brought that home).

In fact–and this isn’t necessarily my view, but it should be addressed–that Coulter should almost be thanked, in a backhanded fashion, for going about her marginalization and hate in such a crass fashion that it forces people to talk about how disgusting it is, whereas your version of homophobia (and make no mistake, simply saying a gay relationship is “less valid” isn’t “fear” per se, but it does stem from the same place–a lack of understanding) is more subtle, more discreet.

Don’t get me wrong, i appreciate and support your condemnation of “Crypt Keeper” Ann Coulter, but from where i’m standing, based on past blog entries from you, this ultimately looks like a case of a pot and a slightly blacker kettle.

I invite you to correct me and set me straight regarding your newfound support for gay people and your belief that they are deserving of all the same civil rights and priviledges that straight people have.

Sean, you may consider Chet’s comment an ad hominem, but he makes a good point. As a social conservative, Bush may get high marks for being anti-gay, Christian, and pro-life, but a fiscal conservative he is NOT. You know this. Spending went through the roof, most of that going to defense, and most of that being funnelled to his big business contract pals rather than spending on armor and medical benefits for our troops. Making government bigger is exactly what has happened in the last six years (i mean, for frack’s sake, he added an entire cabinet department! How is that pro-small government?). So, yeah, Chet’s remark carries some weight, i think.

It seems that those on “our side” who wish to be called “conservative” and wish to call themselves “conservative” are never willing to stick up for anyone fighting for their cause when they slip up and accidentally use a word that is not politically correct.

I think “your side” would be well-advised to learn to distinguish between Republicans and Conservatives, and figure out that the core of the GOP stopped being fiscally conservative years ago. From many of the comments from yesterday, it seems that some people have finally figured that out.

By the way, JT, you might not wanna put Chet’s and my names in all caps…if your real name happens to be “Jeff MacMillan,” you probably don’t want your writing style to resemble the one that got you initially banned from here (if you’re not him, my apologies and never mind).

Oh, and BTW, Bill Maher’s a Libertarian. I haven’t seen his show in years, but i’ll wager that fiscally he’s more conservative than the entire GOP wing of Congress put together.

Finally, Sean, i forgive you for not addressing my point from yesterday amongst the din, but i really feel like this needs emphasis:

Coulter’s vicious word choice tells the world she care little about the feelings of a large group that often feels marginalized and despised. Her word choice forces conservatives to waste time defending themselves against charges of homophobia rather than advancing conservative ideas.

Now, hold on just a minute. I have to call foul here. Sean, i’ve seen you in past entries on this blog refer to homosexual relationships as “less valid” than straight ones (maybe that’s not your exact word choice, but that was the sentiment. I don’t have time to dig up the exact post but i believe it happened during the gay marriage amendment debate). Maybe that makes you a little more civil in that you choose not to use epithets like “faggot,” but from my end of the spectrum, the difference isn’t all that great. You’re still marginalizing a large group by implying that they are somehow less than straight people (and your eventual “yes” vote on that amendment brought that home).

In fact–and this isn’t necessarily my view, but it should be addressed–that Coulter should almost be thanked, in a backhanded fashion, for going about her marginalization and hate in such a crass fashion that it forces people to talk about how disgusting it is, whereas your version of homophobia (and make no mistake, simply saying a gay relationship is “less valid” isn’t “fear” per se, but it does stem from the same place–a lack of understanding) is more subtle, more discreet.

Don’t get me wrong, i appreciate and support your condemnation of “Crypt Keeper” Ann Coulter, but from where i’m standing, based on past blog entries from you, this ultimately looks like a case of a pot and a slightly blacker kettle.

I invite you to correct me and set me straight regarding your newfound support for gay people and your belief that they are deserving of all the same civil rights and priviledges that straight people have.

Sorry for the duplicate–my posts keep getting lost in Sean’s spam-blocker hell.

I’m sorry you felt my remarks were ad hominem, Sean; I didn’t feel that way when I wrote them and I don’t see how they can be construed that way.

They were a remark about your politics, which are inconsistent.

But to get personal – I wanted to congratulate you on the success and notoriety of your open letter. You’ve really become the flashpoint for this debate, on a number of fronts. And I think you deserve it.

>>We are just fed up with conesrvatives wanted to act like a LYNCH MOB when one of their spokesmen or spokeswomen in this case does slips and does something in bad taste.
>>

I seriously doubt that was a ’slip’ on Coulter’s part. It was entirely in character for her.

A few of these comments are distressing- you simply don’t grasp the point and are unable to advance beyond a childish retort of “they do it too!”

This episode has absolutely nothing to do with challenging liberal ideology. This is a clear case of taking a stand against a woman who is more concerned with her own ego and book sales than the conservative movement. This is a case of taking a stand against a grown woman who reduces political discourse to rubbish.

Ann Coulter is not an anonymous blogger on a liberal site. She is a respected conservative intellectual and featured speaker at poltiical events. All the more reason to make a principled stand rather than resort to tired excuses.

The conservative movement should attempt to stand on the moral high ground. Let the Republican pols and hacks dirty their hands. Conservatives can be passionate, energetic, and persuasive without having to toss around nasty, mean words.

What’s really bad is Coulter is a smart woman. She chooses to say what she wants when. She could be a positive, powerful force for conservatism–see her most recent column on global warming. Instead, she prefers to be a lightning rod.

None of you seem to know what Conservatism actually is.

If we have to police our tounges all of the time like paranoid, schizos, then we playing on the same terms that the Liberals want us to play on.

We are playing on their TURF rather than setting our own rules.

Ann Coulter is and always will be a rules breaker and I am saddened that so many people are ignorant of what that means.

Ann Coulter’s popularity is because she represents the passion that us conservatives have in wishing that we could just be ourselves free from liberals whining about word usage.

The idea that all of our spokesmen and spokeswomen have to play nice and fair despite seeing the Vice President receive a Death Wish coming from Bill Maher, is not only unfair… It is ridiculous.

And it completely hurts and damages the conservative movement to gin up this gigantic conspiracy cause to defame and destroy Ann Coulter because you fail to understand her.

Well, her fans do not fail to understand her.

As many people as you can find who abandon her for someone else like Thomas Sowell, I can find people who welcome her despite ALSO enjoying other authors.

I happen to be one who enjoys authors like Thomas Sowell as well as Ann Coulter.

I enjoy Ann Coulter because she has popularized what so many of us Conservatives badly need.

We need a place to VENT.

And CPAC should be that place if it ever expects to represent Conservatives.

The truth is that Coulter Fans are not starting a war with Anti-Coulter Fans in the Conservative ideology.

The truth is that Anti-Coulter Fans have whined and complained for years railing against her and bickering about her very existence…

This was just an excuse to try and finally “Get rid of her.”

And I for one am deeply offended.

JT,

Venting is fine. Venting can be intellectual and can deliver a strong message. However, it is quite a stretch to claim that her comments at CPAC were annything approaching intellectual. If you would like these comments to represent conservatism, the movement will wither on the vine.

Bill Maher’s comments are reprehensible. However, he hardly occuspies the same lofty position on the other side of the aisle. Your comparision is specious.

Bill Maher isn’t even a liberal! WTF!

“I enjoy Ann Coulter because she has popularized what so many of us Conservatives badly need.

We need a place to VENT.”

If that is true for the conservative movement, then it has an anger management problem.

You can be passionate and change the political landscape without these rather primitive forms of venting.

Populism and political agitators always have the nasty sideeffect of distracting from the real issues and creating discussions about the style of discussions.

Political progress (if that word can be associated with some brands of conservatism) lies within the content of political debate, not within it’s style.

Ms Coulter’s style – like so many media shock jocks & pundits left and right – is mostly about themselves. It’s their way of making money and staying in business.

Can ANY political movement afford to be driven by commercial pundits instead of political idealism and realpolitik?

Thanks for listening.

If you find calling homosexuals “faggots”, Iranians “ragheads” liberals “terrorists” is “venting”, cathartic is someway, then the acceptable, polite English just hides what you really think. I don’t think “political correctness” comes into this – it is the difference between acceptable English usage and stereotype insults. I don’t think it is conservative to insult people. It is one of the oldest tricks in the books to insult people rather than convince them with a coherent argument and program.