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:: MAX BLACK ::

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." --C.S. Lewis

"The Swiss pocket knife of conservative thought on the web..." - Eli Kardrakian

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:: Saturday, September 11, 2004 ::

What They're Saying

Here's a quick rundown of what some in the blogosphere are saying about RatherGate:

Roger L. Simon:

"...some of us are willing to tell and accept the worst forms of mass lying , forgeries and so forth, for their political ends. I was going to name names but somehow it seems to dishonor the reputations of those who died at the World Trade Center. Some of those people who are telling these lies, or overlooking them, do so because they think they are the holders of a "greater truth." This is so absurd under present circumstances that it is almost laughable. Only it's not. I am not a religious man, but there is no question in my mind that this lying of political convenience is deeply reprehensible on the most basic moral premises. I call on those people on this anniversary to reconsider, tell the truth and move on together. We owe it to those same children and grandchildren."

Simon finds Rather's gambit, in view of the 9-11 context, offensive in the extreme. I agree--CBS has made a terrible mistake here.

Powerline offers further context to CBS's brand of journalism:

"Scenario 1 -- The Swiftvets put out an ad that questions whether John Kerry told the truth about his service during the Vietnam war. The charges go unaddressed for days. When they are finally addressed, the main argument is that the Bush campaign is behind the ads. Thus the charges remain largely unanswered.

Scenario 2 -- CBS airs a story that questions whether George W. Bush told the truth about his service during the Vietnam war. In less than 24 hours, the main elements of the story (the things that made it different from past tellings) are pretty much discredited.

Question -- How do we explain the difference betweeen these scenarios?

Answer 1 -- The Swiftvet story is based on reliable evidence; the CBS story isn't.

Answer 2 -- The Democrats rely on an increasingly incompetent MSM; the Republicans don't, and are the beneficiaries of the efforts of conservative bloggers and their readers"

It's become obvious that Rather's 'reporting' is well beyond mere, left-leaning partisanship--it's blatant propaganda--lies crafted to affect the outcome of the American Presidential election. If there were no bloggers, this story would likely have gone forward without challenge. Think about it.

Jeff Jarvis is angry--and tired of living between the political 'fringes' in a "crossfire" of mudslinging--with 9-11 still smoldering in the background:

"Every year, I return to the site to remember and pay tribute. I retrace my steps that day, grateful to survive. I stand and listen to the litany of innocence and tragedy. And I don't know what emotion is going to take me over until I am here. Two years ago, it was reverence. Last year, I said that sorrow and anger fought and sorrow won.

This year, anger wins.

I am angry to be living in the crossfire, angry to be living between the fringes.

I am angry to hear the names of 2,727 who did absolutely nothing to deserve death ... except that they were in America. They were caught in the crossfire of a war that wasn't theirs. They were murdered just for the sake of it by the fascist fringe.

And I am angry at the same time that the political fringes in America are taking over this election. I'm mad because they are distracting us from the real enemy, the one who struck that day, the one who killed those 2,727 whose names are being read right now, the one who turned America into his battleground; they are making us forget the real war. I'm mad because they are distracting us from the real work we should be about in this democracy. I'm mad because they are turning into America into their battleground, too.

I'm mad because I'm sick of being surrounded by mad people.

As usual, Jarvis takes the high-road in an admirable effort to keep us centered and I agree with his thoughtful position--in principle. I'll admit it--I'm having a very hard time shelving my partisanship in view of the coarse behaviour of the left in this country. From the shrill, unstatesmanlike and hypocritical outbursts of the Democrat leadership such as Kennedy, Dean, Gore and McAuliffe to their ill-informed punk protester constituency, the left has added very little in the way of civil political discourse--much less offering a concrete agenda for how they would handle things any differently at all. Toss a shamelessly dishonest press into the mix and the right will understandabely react as they have--defensively.

Being the moderate I am, I can't imagine I would disagree with much Jarvis would have to say on matters of public policy. But I certainly can not embrace a policy that is ephemeral and chimeric as the one offered by the Democrats this election cycle; it's all smoke, mirrors and vitriol--with 9-11 smoldering in the background.

(fielding a lugubrious, wooden, out-of-touch presidential candidate two elections in a row doesn't help matters for the Democrats either)

:: Max 11:08 AM [+] ::
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