Letters to the Editor
Holly McLachlan
Published Letters: 559 Editor's Choice: 3
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A critique of Gerstein: politics makes (& unmakes) strange bedfellows
[Read the article: The Dan Gerstein sham]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Glenn the attack piece you reference in your post, which Gerstein published in OpinionJournal Online in 2005, includes these 2 paragraphs at the end of the article:
...better yet, follow the lead of Hillary Clinton, who is making the progressive case for cultural responsibility better than anyone. Cynics tried to dismiss her recent speech on the issue as pre-presidential positioning. But the fact is that Sen. Clinton has been strong and steady in her advocacy for overwhelmed parents ever since coming to Washington. She's been smart, too: She does not demonize cultural producers, overstate the extent of the problem, or let parents off the hook. She frames the culture's influence as a public-health issue as much as a moral one, and cites research showing the potentially harmful effects of screen sex and violence. And she is honest about the limits of that research, which is why she has joined with Sen. Joe Lieberman in introducing a bill to fund more studies of the electronic media's impact on children.
At the same time, Sen. Clinton is not afraid to make clear statements of right and wrong. In recent comments, she forcefully condemned the sequence in the lurid video game Grand Theft Auto in which a player scores extra points for having sex with a prostitute and then stomping her to death. It says something sad about the Democrats that such a statement could be read as a sign of guts. But it does say something important that one of the left's leading icons is the one stating it. Come to think of it, maybe all that needs to be said about our values vacuum to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean is: Lay off Lakoff and hire Hillary.
Funny, isn't it, how Gerstein is now the named source in an anti-Hillary hit article by the WaPo? In 2 years he's gone from publicly declaring admiration for the authoritarian wing of the Democratic Party to shilling on behalf of Republicans. Now, what factors might have effected that change? Surely self-interest could not be playing a roll here!
I read most of his piece. It started off with a few paragraphs in which he presents himself as a champion of overburdened exurban moms who wish to protect their children from cultural filth. I am just such a mom; destructive cultural filth is rampant in entertainment media, and....guess what? I don't want a viper of his sort shilling on my behalf. His "deep concern" over morality is perfectly analogous to Republicans' "heartfelt" hatred of taxes (they've done nothing about the AMT in +6 years of power) or their equally tepid "defense of the unborn". They'll never do away with their most useful fund-raising issues.
I am remarkably tired of these parasitic Beltway creatures. Please, let the beatings continue until further notice.
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Yes, the current has shifted, but I'll continue to try and be Nekton, not Plankton
[Read the article: A genuine political sea change?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Most of what has occurred in this country under the Bush presidency has been effectively concealed -- mostly due to a broken, corrupt media and a malfeasant Congress -- but all of it is beginning to emerge, and the consequences will likely be as extreme as the corruption and deceit itself have been.
I'm honestly not sure that this will come to pass -- this cascade of consequences and comeuppances. Some of the significant Administration law-breaking and venality will see the light of day, but a fair bit of it won't. There are limits to how much evidence will be or can be retrieved in the remaining 2 years. The true Bush loyalists are very close to Stalinists in their mode of operation; they are convinced they are better than you and me, that they are right & righteous. They doubtlessly only allow the same types in on their serious planning. They will have some success in impeding Congress's efforts to force them into account for their actions. When the next administration takes office there will be much less opportunity for oversight of Bush and his appointees.
The American people will slowly turf the wingnuts for their failures & their visible arrogance, but their amorality won't likely be the deciding factor.
My greatest hope is that the balance of power between the 3 branches will be restored -- that this Administration's attempts at creating a dictatorial Executive will be thwarted & rolled back. It will require some heavy duty, active and detailed legislating in order for this roll back to take place. This may happen. Politics is the natural habitat of smart narcissists and sociopaths. However, they can be useful when constrained by social norms and fear of the electorate.
I don't want to give the impression that I'm taking a negative view on this post topic -- I am not. It's just that I assume the day I can give up vigilance in defense of my rights and opportunities is the day after I die.