in the wrong era. Soundly refuting
liberals online since 2000. NOTE: That is NOT
me pictured at left. :)
| WSJ | World: Europe Girds for Greek Exit |
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| NYT | Policy: Romney Calls Education ‘Civil Rights Issue of Our Era’ and Urges Shift |
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| RCP | Campaign 2012: Why Tuesday’s Democratic Primaries Matter |
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Audacity of Truth
"Diplomacy":
"People are saying what in the world is going on with North Carolina, we look like Mississippi." - NC Gov. Bev Perdue (D) on the passage of Amendment One, 5-11-12
Dissecting the writings and ideology of Andrew Sullivan
Christopher Badeaux at The New Ledger has a seriously devastating takedown of Andrew Sullivan, the likes I’ve never seen before. He covers Sullivan’s rampant hypocrisy, his various political “awakenings,” talks at length about Sullivan’s obsessions (like Sarah and Trig Palin, for example), and his famed hostility towards the Catholic Church for their stance on gay marriage – and then some.
Anyone who has followed Sullivan’s metamorphosis over the last several years from Clinton supporter to Bush supporter to Kerry supporter to now Obama supporter will recognize a lot of what’s written there, but some of it will be new as the writer reaches back more than just a few years on Sully’s writings.
That being said, if someone is desirous of writing a serious critique of a fellow writer, I don’t recommend the way in which it was done in this piece. It drips with sarcasm and venom, and isn’t very constructive. And I say this as someone who has criticized Sullivan myself over the years. Sullivans’ not always been this way, though, and I guess I still have a tiny (very tiny) soft spot for the writer he used to be. Back before Sullivan “went left” (again) pre-Bush and the gay marriage amendment push, I found him to be a good writer, capable of seeing both sides of an argument. In fact, before I started blogging, I was a fairly regular reader of his blog, and even emailed him once in disagreement about something he wrote – and he wrote me back and told me I made some fair points. But after Bush “declared war” (the left’s description) on gay marriage, Sullivan bailed quickly and he’s never looked back.
But I digress.
The types of serious writer criticisms (more than just something written off the cuff) I prefer are more often than not constructive in nature (exception!), much like we saw at National Review after Kathleen Parker decided she despised Sarah Palin and social/Christian conservatives. They – for the most part – took a lot less time to write, a lot less webspace, and got to the point rather than ripping the criticized writer a new a*******. That’s what this critique of Sullivan ideally would have looked like to me. I mean, with everything that is going on in the world, is it worth it to devote the level of time I suspect it took to write this detailed critique of Sullivan in the first place?
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I only got to know Sully after the Trig Palin “controversy” broke out. That was enough for me. The man has serious problems.
Venom?
With all due respect …
This is THE best piece evah, Sister! I have no soft spot for this man, and the anti-Semitism alone makes Sullivan deserving of whatever venom we can muster!
Indeed it is, ST. After the day I’ve had, I needed a great laugh and a warming of my heart’s cockles – and Badeaux has provided these in abundance.
The man apparently does have dementia due to a physical cause. I don’t necessarily blame him, but I do blame those who publish and promote his irrational screeds.
The best quote … “Rarely in human history has a gay man been that obsessed with a married woman’s vagina.” Second best quote .. Such a man, with a mind before whom John Chrysostom, Augustine, Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, Maimonides, Wojtyla, and Ratzinger must bow, has a greater calling before him: Define dogmatically the Catholic Church, as none have before. Do what the Magisterium is unable and unwilling to do, and explain how abortion and homosexuality fit squarely into a faith that has opposed these things for two thousand years.
He is more of a what than a who.
Wow….just WOW. This article is one devastating takedown. One brilliant slam after another in rapid-fire succession. I like good snark; when it’s well done it’s an extremely effective tool. My only concern is that this is SO well written and SO thorough that the casual reader might comprehend the complete and utter revelation of Sullivan’s foolishness.
I do have to disagree slightly with ST here….this piece wasn’t meant to be a “critique” and provide anything “constructive”. It would do little good to equivocate and offer Sullivan constructive criticism. Badeaux knows that would be a waste of time. No – this article was meant to be a nuclear strike that leaves nothing standing. In that sense, it is very successful. And sometimes, that’s what is needed.
That should be “the casual reader might fail to comprehend”.
Serves me right for working and commenting at the same time.
I’m with GWR… this wasn’t a mildly critical dissertation, this was global thermonuclear war. It was a massive takedown of a pathetic deluded man who sadly has richly earned it, instead of quietly slinking off the stage once he jumped the shark.
That said, I gave up about a third of the way into the article. First, I am tired of Sullivan and his dementia and can’t be bothered any more. Second, it quoted extensively from Sullivan’s writings, and I just won’t read another word written by that sorry slow motion train wreck, even if I’ve seen it before.
If this ends Sullivan’s writing career, then Badreaux has done us all, Sullivan included, a service. But in today’s public life, abject humiliation is no longer a final curtain. Sullivan will continue to be the pseudo-intellectual’s Perez Hilton.
Steve! Great to see you back here again – it’s been way too long! Welcome back!!
STEVE!! Awesome to see you posting again!
Aw, shucks, ma’am… t’weren’t nuthin’ no other red blooded ‘Murican wouldn’ta done…
Oh yeah, happy to be back. Been stuck in Total Internet Crap Land the past while (uh oh… I hope ST doesn’t send me to the penalty box for language). There are a couple pros coming out who claim they can unstick our inner tubes.
We’ll see. I think DoD’s various security filters have just slowed things to molassas-in-January speeds. Granted, I hate spam and ChiCom hackers as much as the next guy, but the satellite connection aboard has been slower than Andrew Sulli- oh, jeez, no way. Not gonna mention that guy again, even to make a joke.