Conservativism Triumphant

Well you have Liberals apologizing.

Paul Wolfowitz thought U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators in Iraq. I did not. His prediction in this case, was correct. I was wrong. (And not for the last time, I’m guessing.)

I hope Mr. Wolfowitz has equally good luck in the rest of his predictions since they seem to be driving U.S. foreign policy right now. I’d be amazed, and the consequences of his being wrong will likely be catastrophic for this country, but as I said, I’ve been wrong before. And as far as the Iraqi liberation goes, I’m extremely pleased to be wrong this time, at least in the short run. And if the Bush Administration’s past history is any guide, the short run is just about all the Iraqis can expect to enjoy.
Eric Alterman

And you have Conservatives crowing.

I want to rub it in the anti-war crowd's face so badly. I want to hear the protesters explain why it's a bad thing we released more than 100 children from an Iraqi gulag for underage political prisoners. I want them to talk about how they were fighting for the Iraqi people as the Iraqi people hug and kiss the American forces in Baghdad and greet the human shields with signs reading "Go Home You Wankers." I want them to explain why it wasn't worth it.
Jonah Goldberg

So it's a nice week to be a conservative. But of course the real question is (and always is, I suppose) now what? Most of the more reasoned arguments against the war dealt with this what's ahead of us, not what we have done. Some predicted that the war would be harder than it was; more predicted the war would be quick, although perhaps a bit more bloody. But the real question is now, what are we going to do to keep our promises to the Iraqi people? Are we going to take the time and the effort required to help them, or are we going to make a half hearted effort and then disappear? I hope it is the former; I believe it will be. But we need to keep pressure on the white house to make this happen.

Lunchtime Musings

Right now I am working my way through Eric Alterman's What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News which looks like this:



Well, after reading maybe a third of it, I am coming to a conclusion--Alterman's not much better than Bernard Goldman or Ann Coulter. All he's doing is doing Ann Coulter in reverse--attacking Conservative columnists for their fabrications and what not. That's fun, up to a point, but what good is it?

Liberals can throw insults are Conservatives all day long, and Conservatives can throw them back. Both sides can say, "Well the other side has done worse then we have." or "They started it." Both do say that, in fact.

That's why I am writing a book to compete with the Coulters and the Altermans of the world. It's going to be called, "Why Don't You All Shut Up!" And it's going to be about how we as Americans can maybe discuss issues, even very divisive issues, without having to attack or destroy each other. Look for it soon (and by soon I mean later) at all good booksellers.

The Liberal Media

Good article today at Salon about the "Liberal Media." It is a review of Eric Alterman's recent book "What Liberal Media?" In a bit criticizing the media's coverage of the post election struggle, Alterman writes, "Liberal columnists Al Hunt and Richard Cohen offered this novel rationale for why the majority who voted for Gore should welcome a Bush presidency: The far right had turned America into such a nasty and brutish place that it could not be governed by a Democrat. Only Bush, wrote Cohen, could keep the "GOP Dobermans" on a leash. To which the only response could be: Why had the country bothered with an election at all?"

Anyway this is hardly news. The press is liberal on some social issues and conservative on must economic issues. They are also usually hawkish, enjoying the drama inherent in a good war.

Bonehead of the Week

This will not be a weekly feature. It's not that people don't do bonheaded things each week. It's the difficulty of narrowing it down to just one. This award goes to Eric Alterman this week for his idiotic comments to Esquire magazine. Here's a shot of the magazine page from Rush Limbaugh.com (with their own redlines).

Here's his statement, "The lack of civility he [Limbaugh] demonstrates toward liberal politicians is really dangerous to our political public. I hate to say it, but I wish the guy would have gone deaf. I shouldn't say that, but on behalf of the country, it would be better without Limbaugh and his 20 million listeners."

This makes me angry. It's exactly, EXACTLY, the same kind of things that Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh say about their Democratic enemies, but that does not excuse Alterman. The only advantage liberals have had in this debate has been in taking the moral high ground on this issue (in general). And now Alterman has surrendered that. Presumably because he is a bonehead.