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November 01, 2006
Red on Red
Regular readers (both of you - thanks, mom and dad!) know that I have no great love for John Derbyshire of National Review Online. I think that far too often, he uses the cover of contrarianism to get away with saying nasty things. Today, he did just that regarding the statements Kerry made a couple of days ago:
I'm not carrying any water for John Kerry. I wrote this about John Kerry, and a good deal more uncomplimentary stuff besides. I don't like John Kerry. I didn't vote for John Kerry. Truth is truth, though, even when applied to John Kerry. If you can't handle the truth, that's your problem.Unfortunately, he is not the only conservative feeling the need to push above the fray. Instapundit links a post by LaShawn Barber, who is defending Kerry. Her view is interesting, even if I disagree with it, but it's loaded with insults against conservatives who she sees as overreacting.
...Calm down. Get a grip. Take a pill. Blog about something that makes sense. Kerry’s mangled remarks aren’t worth it, in my view. So you rally your readers against him and enjoy the thrill of yet another blog swarm. But it’s based on nothing.Reasonable people can disagree over the meaning of Kerry's words. I have said that the lack of clarity in those words should lead him to apologize to anyone who was inadvertently offended. Such a statement would have been gracious and would have ended the controversy. Although he may have intended it as a slam against the president, his angry statements since then have made him look defensive. I disagree with Derbyshire and Barber's take on this.Are there any voices of reason on the Right???
...And commenters are still doing what I asked them not to do: posting links and ranting about Kerry’s previous statements about the troops. Some people just have a hard time focusing. All that MTV-style TV. Then again, who said conservatives were careful readers?
Why didn't those two just limit their remarks to simple disagreement, instead of tossing off insults and accusing their fellow conservatives of lacking reading comprehension skills? I applaud their willingness to stand up for their opinion on this, but it is possible to stand above the fray without stepping on fellow conservatives to get there.
Posted by slublog at November 1, 2006 12:35 PM
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Tracked on November 1, 2006 03:00 PM
Comments
Amen. Normally, I just scroll right by his crap on the Corner, but I noticed some people responding to him today, so went back and read what he wrote. He's calling people liars for interpreting Kerry's words at face value? WTF? If you disagree, say so, but what business do you have presuming that it's "fake" outrage?
He needs to be thrown out on his ass immediately. What can we do to get him off of the Corner?
Posted by: Brett at November 1, 2006 02:22 PM
Probably not much, unfortunately.
I'm sure they've gotten plenty of complaints.
Posted by: Slublog at November 1, 2006 02:26 PM
You know, its nice to see others writing what I've been thinking for a while now: "The Derb" is an insufferable ass. He's always going on about how his email inbox contains many notes of support and I often wonder, who the hell is reading NRO and thinks, "I just gotta write in and give old John an "attaboy!" for his latest snarky dig against Bush for not personally putting up a chain link fence on the border with Mexico". Seriously. Who regularly reads National Review for the Derbyshire columns?
Posted by: AFKAF at November 1, 2006 03:24 PM
Funny. I, too, skip right over Derb's posts on the Corner.
I have met him in person, though.
Yes, I ponied up the cash for one of those meet'n'greet NRO gigs in DC two years ago. They held it at Kate O'Beirne's house. I spoke to just about everyone who posts on the Corner for some time. Interestingly, their posts really do reflect their personalities face to face. I'll leave it to you to infer how Derb came across.
Posted by: kelly at November 1, 2006 03:40 PM