David Frum is finding out just how mean-spirited and vindictive the right wing blogosphere can be, as his request to join the “conservative Blogads network” is rejected by dim bulb John Hawkins: Responding to John Hawkins.

Observe a few things:

1) Observe that Hawkins does not say, “We denied FrumForum admission to the conservative hive because they are not conservatives.” He did not say that because it would be too obviously ludicrous to do so. His complaint rather is that we are conservatives who do too much self-criticism.

[T]he mainstream media loves “conservatives” and “Republicans” who will trash whomever the Left hates most. So, if you’re willing to talk about how Sarah Palin is a hick, Glenn Beck is a crank, Rush Limbaugh is bad for the country, and the Tea Party is bad for democracy, the mainstream media will reward you – and because conservatives pride themselves on being open minded, they’ll all too often give you a pass for your atrocious behavior — especially since the MSM doesn’t insist you play their game all the time. As long as you’re willing to say what they want about the people they hate the most, they’ll reward you with a cover story at Newsweek and then in your off time, you can churn out a few articles to point gullible conservatives towards while you’re trying to guilt them into taking you seriously by crying “epistemic closure!”

Hawkins does not argue that these statements are false – that e.g. Glenn Beck is not a crank. His point is that regardless of truth, these criticisms should not occur. Or anyway, that no conservative should engage in them. Our job is to fall into line and not notice that Beck is in fact a crank or that Palin is not well-informed or that the Tea Party has saddled the Republicans with awful and probably doomed candidates like Sharron Angle and Rand Paul.

Hawkins’ attitude here reminds me of an ancient definition of a political party: “It doesn’t matter what damn lie we tell, so long as we all tell the same damn lie.”

David has more to say; you should read the whole thing.

By the way, Hawkins also expelled me from this network, declaring that I had become a “leftist.” I had to laugh at this line:

…conservatives pride themselves on being open minded…

He has the gall to write something like this in the very same post in which he rants that any and all criticism is off limits and cause for ostracism. Amazing.

David Frum once asked me to reconsider “leaving the right,” but this kind of vicious behavior, intended to cause actual harm to the infidels who dare to criticize, is one of the main reasons why I want nothing to do with any of these people any more.