The great American rant (Waaaah. Conservatives Are Mean)

Boston Globe ^ | 9/18/2003 | Ellen Goodman

[Lance Romance]

I NEVER actually got a black belt in combat journalism. A few years ago, in a misguided moment, I agreed to go on "The O'Reilly Factor." Dashing out of the office to the studio, I literally ran into a glass door -- a glass door that had been there forever. I figured this was god's way of telling me not to mix it up with Bill.

[Lance Romance]

Apparently, she doesn't remember the Clinton years of calling Paula Jones trailer-trash, bugging Newt Gingrich's phone calls, Mike McCurrry's accusation that Republican's wanted old people "to dry up and blow away", blaming OKC bombing on talk radio........

[ventana]

And some simply maintain that liberals aren't angry enough to do screed TV or rant-lit.

They're angr. It's just kind of a more Nurse Ratchit angry. They're all about control: of everything. V's wife.

[ventana]

angr. oops: angry

[dyed_in_the_wool]

True Story:
In a critical thinking class in college, we had to incorporate discussions of 5 news 'articles' about the Unibomber. (He hadn't been caught yet.)
We had to use the standard pro and con of each argument, and then synthesize our response.
I got a 'B-' because for one article, I only did con and was thoroughly demeaning throughout.
I told the prof, I had a problem with his criticism.
He explained his rationale.
I said, "Great, but it was an Ellen Goodman article. Everyone on the Philosophy floor know she's a crank."
He didn't realize she had such bad rap and understood now why I wrote the way I did.
I got an 'A'.

This chick is consistently derided for her less than stellar line of 'thinking'.
As for her hit on Ann Coulter not being 'rational' well, you know what side of the aisle this 'middle of the roader' comes from.
Time was these liberal columnists wouldn't even admit they had sympathies, much less where they lie.

[ClearCase_guy]

OK, the most recent person to mourn the lack of civilized political debate was Ann Coulter, who said "the country is trapped in a political discourse that resembles professional wrestling." That's like Arnold Schwarzenegger complaining that voters pay too much attention to body image.

Ellen is not a great thinker, and seems to be having trouble putting coherent pieces together lately. The excerpt above is where Ellen could have said, "Even Ann Coulter agrees with me. Why can't we work together to elevate the level of discourse?"

But, no. Ellen instead basically says, "Ann Coulter agrees with the point I'm trying to make -- but she's a Conservative, so let's discount her entirely, and just move on after I gratuitously insult her."

[Kenton]

And some simply maintain that liberals aren't angry enough to do screed TV or rant-lit.

Yeah, that James Carville and Paul Begala are the voices of reason...</sarcasm off>

It's your MESSAGE that doesn't work, Ellen.

[TUX]

The problem for the liberal left wing conspiracy is the derth of facts or ideas. Screed like this lib whine has not one single fact.

Put them in the spotlight and watch the emotional name calling and character assination. The only program of the dwarf nine(oops 10)is Bush bashing/hating.

Like any bully face them down with facts and they whine and run.

[Arrowhead1952]

blaming OKC bombing on talk radio........

and blaming EVERYTHING on President Bush as the 10 and counting dwarves are now.

[Alouette]

What a pathetic, angry, bitter, jealous bitch Ellen is.

[Noumenon]

Like any bully face them down with facts and they whine and run.

Most of the time, they resort to outrageous lies and name-calling. The ususal lib 'neutron bombs' of debate are to label your opponent as a bigot, homophobe, racist, etc.

I've taught m ydaughter that once they go to that level, you've won the debate. Your opponent doesn't have a single fact to offer.

[ClearCase_guy]

You have a typo: you said "James Carville", and according to Ellen Goodman, the proper formulation is: "The belovedly bellicose James Carville"

[Fester Chugabrew]

"Do you know liberals have no sense of humor?"

[over3Owithabrain]

So when a conservative attacks, it's mean and nasty. When Carville attacks, it's "belovedly bellicose".

What did she call killing Kathleen Willey's cat? Amusingly threatening?

[Orangedog]

The great American rant (Waaaah. Conservatives Are Mean)

Don't expect the Dems to stop this using this "Conservatives Are Mean" mantra...it's worked fabulously for them ever since the 1994 elections. The GOP leadership is so afraid of being called mean names, they cave in anytime the dems even threaten to call them "mean spirited." Why should they stop using a tactic that they have had wild success in using? Just look at how they worked over the chairman of the ways and means committee several weeks ago. They had him bawling like a little girl on the House floor because he "dared" to call in security when the Dems on the committee threw a temper tantrum. A lot of Republicans have had just about enough of what passes for leadership in the GOP House and Senate.

[wayoverontheright]

I searched for a central theme, point, or message in this article, and was denied. Clarity is the Left's enemy, as motive and agenda must by necessity be obscured.

The Left's overriding emotion is not anger, it is fear, herein we witness the frantic gesticulating of someone drowning, in the form of screed.

[Lance Romance]

Lest we forget the tar and feathering of Trent Lott? I was happy to have Trent removed, but the racist accusations by the liberals was way overdone.

[King Prout]

yo. ellen. remember that lemon-faced coonass's remarks about the results of fishing in trailer parks using Benjamins for bait? I cannot remember his name offhand... the fellow who bears a striking resemblance to Gollum.
Oh, yes... James Carville.
That was the best your side of the aisle can produce.
Remove the beam from out of thine own eye.

[King Prout]

I don't doubt it. Wasn't it "Vern" who taught us that trick of redacting an essay, removing all words and terms which contain no denotative data, to derive the actual core of the essay?
I am not sure, but I do like that trick.
Ellen's work does not fare well under such an examination.
Reduced to its ultimate form, it comes out "Waaaaah!!!!"

[SpinyNorman]

The search for the Great Left Hope has engendered a good deal of soul-searching. The search committee has reasoned away the lack of liberal attack dogs with arguments that range from the elitist -- "we don't do mud wrestling" -- to the defeatist -- "we're too wimpy."

And let us not forget too illogical, irrational, close-minded, whiny, asexual, transexual (anything but heterosexual), shrill, immoral, smarmy and vapid. But then, I tend to sugarcoat things.

I have to wonder just how hard she hit her head on that glass door....

[Kenton]

"The belovedly bellicose James Carville"

Yeah, maybe that's how Ellen sees Carville, I don't agree. When I see Carville, even when I have the TV muted I am transixed at the sight of so much evil and so much ugliness in one package.