Update: Julie Kelly takes the virtue whores at NRO to task:
The easy explanation for their bad behavior this weekend would be confirmation bias, the propensity to select or ignore evidence to support a specific viewpoint. Anti-Trump “conservatives” long ago decided that Donald Trump not only is unfit for office, but that his supporters are ignorant rubes with racist tendencies. (NR’s David French wrote recently that Trump is the reason for a supposed—but actually imaginary—rise in white supremacy.)
In an interview Monday night, Goldberg again defended his side’s confirmation bias by invoking another tactic—false equivalence. “The confirmation bias that says, ah ha, this proves that the people I disagree with aren’t just wrong, they’re evil, which is rampant on both sides of the aisle these days.” Contrary to how Goldberg tries to sell it, it’s pernicious on one side: His.
But this time they crossed a line. It wasn’t their usual hyperventilating about Trump-Russia conspiracies or “shithole countries” comments or exit strategies for our troops in the Middle East. No, this time they exploited innocent high school students for their own political gratification. They abandoned not just their professional duty but their self-proclaimed conservative principles and any sense of decency—all in order to Get Trump.
Update II: Some excellent observations from Mark Steyn.
I have to keep pinching myself to see if I'm dreaming, that something like this is international news. Or that people out there say things like that about ordinary young folks, just like I once was. Bizarro world.
ReplyDeleteIt is depressing that this encounter should have been blown so far out of proportion. I'm not really surprised that the Left's Wall of Sound descended on those boys; anything is grist for their propaganda mill theses days. But the alacrity with which self-serving, sanctimonious, self-styled "conservatives" jumped on the bandwagon is infuriating. I doubt whether The National Revile (as friend and commenter Bucky calls it) will ever recover.
ReplyDeleteBetween Covington and Buzzfeed, a large number of people have had a rather bad weekend. Which means the rest of us had a delicious weekend.
ReplyDeleteAnd it appears that National Review is playing Hold My Beer with CNN in the quest for total irrelevance.
Gregory: Maybe I should start a dead pool game for NRO.
ReplyDeleteEver notice how these sanctimonious "anti-racist" bastards never go anywhere without a camera? Also, Nathan Phillips is not only an Indian activist, he's also a jailbird who has been caught lying about his military service. He presented himself as a Vietnam combat vet, but actually he never went to Vietnam, and apparently at that time, there was no such thing as a "recon ranger".
ReplyDeleteRebecca: Yeah, I've been reading about how Phillips' "war record" is unraveling. In one interview, he slyly referred to himself as having served in "Vietnam times", without (Blumenthal-style) openly stating the lie that he had actually stepped foot in the country. At this stage, I'm not taking the guy's word for anything; I'll wait for responses to the FOIA requests.
ReplyDeleteThe Inside The Beltway "conservatives (yes, I know many live in NYC and other places too) live among the leftist media and politicians and bureaucrats. They literally are their neighbors, their kids go to the same schools, their wives hang out with each other, they vacation in The Hamptons or on Martha's Vineyard. Their lives won't be disrupted by the online lynch mob, their kids won't be targeted. If a manufacturing plant or mine is shut down, their paychecks aren't affected.
ReplyDeleteTheir "conservativism" is, from our perspective, a pose. They mean it up to the point a line is drawn and they must take a stand. Then they stand with their class. And it is a class and culture divide.
Steve: Spot on.
ReplyDelete