The Jewish Star: Losing the Right To Be Right
Here’s a great editorial at Long Island’s The Jewish Star, responding to my post about “Why I Parted Ways with the Right:” Editorial: Losing the right to be Right.
Something unheard of happened on the Internet on November 20th.
Defying all historical precedent, someone actually changed his mind.
Charles Johnson, the popular pro-Israel, rightwing blogger of Little Green Footballs, announced he had severed his ties with the political Right. A post entitled “Why I parted ways with the Right” listed his dissatisfaction, which included the right wing’s support for fascists like Pat Buchanan and white supremacists like Robert Stacy McCain. Johnson also wrote about the Right’s support for anti-government conspiracy theories, anti-science craziness and the hatred reserved for President Obama, which goes, in his words, far “beyond simply criticizing his policies.”
“The American right wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff,” Johnson wrote. “I won’t be going over the cliff with them.”
Despite our generally conservative stance, we can’t help agreeing with Johnson on a number of points. The right wing’s embrace of Buchanan is disturbing, to say the least, as is their wholehearted denial of climate change without allowing for any sort of compromise or reasoned discussion. Johnson’s post made us ask, in turn, where has the sensible rightwing gone?
While the left has always had its share of crazies (ever met a card-carrying Republican with a PETA membership?) it seems the Right has begun to match them kook for kook, loon for loon.
Frank says: