Posted on 04/15/2002 1:54:23 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
It is easy to list conservatives that you like but now I have a tough assignment for you----list the LIBERALS that you like and why. I'll start it out by listing some of the liberals (alive and dead) that I like and why:
1. Steve Allen---Very liberal but a HELL of a nice guy. I met him at the airport years ago and talked to him for awhile. He didn't put on any airs such as many celebs do. Anyway, I told him a funny story about what it was like for "civilians" such as me to meet celebrities and also mentioned an article I wrote on this topic. He seemed quite amused by my observations and I also mentioned that I had recently had a history quiz published. Steve asked to take the quiz and he was the OHLY person to have answered ALL the questions on the quiz correctly so I was quite impressed by his intelligence. He carried a pocket tape recorder with him and asked for my name and address to write me a letter. I thought he was just being polite but a few weeks later I got a nice letter from him. We wrote back and forth for a few months after that so I have great memories of Steve.
2. Edwin Newman---I wrote him a letter once about one of his books and he replied and we sort of became pen pals for a couple of years. I never really mentioned politics to him since I found his observations on English quite interesting.
3. Al Sharpton---A complete fraud whose actions in the Tawana Brawley and other cases were quite despicable. However, Sharpton, unlike a lot of liberals, does speak his mind and he is quite funny in his outrageousness. Best of all he will make the 2004 Presidential primaries VERY EMBARRASSING for the other candidates. Just watching Al making the other candidates sweat makes me like the guy despite his many other drawbacks.
4. Adlai Stevenson---Okay, I'm going back in time but Stevenson, although he would have made a lousy president, had a great wit. Plus I like the fact that once he called his TV advisor up to his hotel room (after ignoring him previously) during a campaign to fix his TV set.
5. Hubert Humphrey---One of the last of the decent liberals. Although lionized by the Demmycrats today, he was once flamed by the far left. Little known fact about Humphrey is that although he championed the Civil Rights act he was strongly against quotas (what is now called affirmative action).
6. Hugh Hefner---Who even cares that he is a liberal? He has the Playboy Mansion filled with bunnies. I like that. So when do I get my invite, Hef? (p.s. Petra Verkaik was the best Playmate ever.)
7. Isaac Asimov---His political views were infuriating but he wrote some great books. Also his "Asimov's Guide To Shakespeare" is the absolute BEST reference book for understanding the bard. I also like the fact that Asimov figured out during WWII that the USA was working on a secret A-Bomb project because all the periodical guide references to Atomic Energy suddenly disappeared shortly after the war began.
8. Robert Caro---I'm not sure he is a liberal but some others on the FR have said he is. Makes no difference. Caro follows the facts where they lead him. His volumes on Lyndon B. Johnson are the absolute BEST biographies I have ever read. He also wrote a great book about Robert Moses.
9. Nat Hentoff---For obvious reasons but also because I know a lot of you will take the easy way out and name Henthoff on your list. However, I am making it tougher for you by taking Henthoff out of contention since almost every Freeper has mentioned that Henthoff is a liberal that they like. Remember, you can't mention Henthoff on your list because I already mentioned him.
How about Christopher Hitchens?
"Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be very carefully used and that definite rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of the citizen to bear arms is just one more safeguard against a tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible."
He always seems to come down of the right side when patriotism is at issue. He steps out of character and gets in the face of anybody who accuses him of not loving America. For that alone, he has my deepest respect.
Um.... I mentioned him already to take his name OFF the list since I knew you all would mention him. I wanted to make this challenge as difficult as possible.
Disqualified. Prager is a conservative. Remember you must mention AUTHENTIC liberals for your list.
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