Wednesday, May 18, 2005

I Would PAY

Students at Evanston Township HS in Illinois are challanging Rush Limbaugh to a debate on American History after he attacked the school's multicultural curriculum (via Wonkette). Of course, he'll never accept--Limbaugh was never exactly the brainiac--but oh, man, what if he did...
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1 comment:

David Schraub said...

You're all right. Although I have read some of Limbaugh's work (I don't listen to talk radio, but I've seen some of his writing), and although a quick perusal of my blogroll would show it includes such sites as Althouse, American Future, Andrew Sullivan, Daniel Drezner, Ex Post, Oxblog, Powerline, Professor Bainbridge, Pseudo-Polymath, Southern Appeal, The American Scene, and The Volokh Conspiracy, clearly I never, ever, read conservatives. Seriously, though, it would be very obvious that I very much enjoy reading with and engaging commentators on the other end of the blogosphere. Indeed, I was (gasp) first inspired to blog by two conservative sites, Powerline (which gave me my first link) and Daniel Drezner.

Hugh Hewitt, by contrast, is not on there for a very special reason. That reason is he is the most partisan, radical, right-wing hack I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Calling Hewitt a "center-right" commentator is like saying Barbara Boxer is on the "center-left," you have to be orbiting way out in the boondocks somewhere if that's your political perspective. I have never ONCE seen Hewitt take the Republican Party to task on anything--except for not being conservative enough. He engages in a Coulter-esque politics of demonization which I think degrades the nature of discourse and is utterly unbecoming in the public sphere. He's not on there for the same reason The Daily Kos isn't on there: it just isn't worth my time to listen to partisan ravings--even when they're true, they lose whatever credibility they might have had because of the source.

It is somewhat distressing for me to be labeled dogmatic and partisan, considering that this site has been consistently registered as a voice of moderation (albeit one coming from the center-left). Searches through the archives would find some posts praising President Bush, alot more criticizing him. It would also show that I was (and am) in favor of the Iraq war, that I reject Democratic neo-isolationism, that I am a stickler for ethics, and that I am evolving into a budget hawk. Indeed, currently sitting on my front page, you'll see a defense of the boy scouts' right to discriminate against homosexuals, hardly a kneejerk liberal position (and one that cuts very much against my instincts).

I won't go so far as to say you think anyone who challenges the right from the left has to be a close-minded dogmatist (though the stirring tribute to Mr. Hewitt does make me suspicious). Rather, I'm curious what "basket" of posts led you to believe that I only listen to leftwingers.

11:15 AM

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