Posted on 10/27/2006 8:29:35 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Politics and pulp fiction
By Michelle Malkin · October 27, 2006 08:51 AM
Remember how pathetic it was when the Left tried to make scandals out of books written by Lynne Cheney and Scooter Libby?
Cheney wrote a pulpy novel, "Sisters," about a frontier woman that included graphic sexual passages and lesbian lovers. (A conservative-bashing site reprinted excerpts here.)
Libby wrote a pulpy novel, "The Apprentice," a "story of innocence and temptation" set in turn-of-the-century Japan that included graphic sexual passages--including bestiality and a scene in which the brothers of a dead samurai have sex with his daughter.
Both were works of fiction. You know, stuff that's made up.
Now, the George Allen campaign has detonated its October surprise using the same tactics as Cheney's and Libby's critics--attacking the fiction of his Democrat opponent, James Webb via an official "press release" sent to the Drudge Report last night. Are the passages in Webb's "Lost Soldiers" bizarre and perverted? Yes. But they are no more proof of Webb's immorality and unfitness for office than the passages in "Sisters" are proof that Lynne Cheney hates men or that the passages in "The Apprentice" are proof that Scooter Libby endorses sex between children and bears.
John Hawkins, who first highlighted Webb's fictional work here and here, does make a good point about media double standards:
It goes without saying that any Republican who wrote this sort of thing and ran for office would be absolutely ripped into a thousand pieces by the mainstream media. Of course, John's right.
Allah does him one better:
If George Allen had written this book, not only would the left be going berserk, theyd be circulating lists of characters in his other books whom they suspect of being gay. Heh.
I don't think, however, that the Allen campaign--couldn't they leave this to surrogates?--should be trafficking in this late October muck. It is beneath them and there's plenty else about Webb that is damning.
Like Webb's lying about leading the "fight" to include an African-American soldier in the Vietnam War soldier's memorial.
Or his non-fiction writing about women in the military.
And what happened to focusing on Webb's stance on taxes, as fiscal conservatives in Virginia have been urging?
Political strategists in the Beltway are exulting that "Webb is toast" as a result of this Drudge/Allen bomb. But if this what Republican Senate candidates need to do to win elections, I don't think any of us should be cheering.
I'd like to raise a glass with Ollie North, the guy whom Webb went way out of his way to defeat when Col. Norte ran for the Senate. (They were Annapolis classmates).
1. Someone who writes fictional novels that have passages about oral sex with young boys should be put in a position as chief executive of ANY state in this GREAT NATION?
2. Especially when his own party is clamoring about a possible homosexual relationship between a congressman of the opposition party with a young congressional page and the opposition party bosses possibly covering it up?
I choose not to move on. Good stuff to know.
I'm not moving on Michelle. Democrats tried to make this election about sexual perversion because of Mark Foley, so let them have their election about sexual perversion. They didn't move on from Mark Foley, who frankly looks like an amateur in dirty talk compared to Webb the pervert, so we should not move on from this. I'm sick of letting these bastards play dirty then have people on our side tell us we shouldn't hit them back just as hard. Not to mention, Webb's filthy campaign did everything in its power to smear Allen and to fabricate things about his past and to even smear his family that somehow it's bad he has Jewish roots. Well f him! If that's the kind of campaign that pedophiliac racist woman hating loser Webb wanted to run then he had to expect pay back and now the little b-tch has gotten it! So don't tell us to move on Michelle. We get creamed by these people and their dirty politics and we're just suppose to be above it all? Forget it.
I agree with you there.... I love a good Trollope novel (watch our less literary Freepers make hay with THAT one), and am particularly partial to the Barsetshire series.
"chief executive of ANY state in this GREAT NATION?"
He's not running for governor, who is the chief executive of a state.
OOPs sorry. Correction to my post #22. - "Senator of ANY state in this GREAT NATION?"
"There in no playing this story down. Webb is gone."
There's no need to play it down. The story isn't being reported in Virginia. Nor do I think it will be, other than perhaps in the context of "Sen. Allen is slinging mud at the poor, innocent Jim Webb."
If Mr. Webb is smart, he'll take the cue from our lapdog Virginia newspapers and ignore this.
Rules????
>I'm sick of letting these bastards play dirty then have people on our side tell us we shouldn't hit them back just as hard.<
Someone on another thread pointed out how much good keeping above the fray did Bush41 in 1992. I think the person made a good point.
The Democrats have gone way over the top, attacking George Allen, with the most outrageous stuff imaginable this year. The reason is now clear. They have such a flawed candidate, the ONLY way they can win is to drag Allen down to their level.
And yes, that would go for Lynne Cheney and Scooter Libby, too.
Very simple...Lynn Cheney and Scooter Libby are not and were not running for office. Stevie Wonder could see that difference.
"This is a steel cage death match. There will be one winner and one loser. I want to be the winner."
Interesting to see the transition in the way that conservatives view politics.
One of the major reasons why I'm a Democrat and not a Republican (well, there are several reasons) is that Republicans just don't seem to have the stomach for the political fight.
After this election, I might be forced to re-evaluate that.
Any chance of you taking over your party???
Oh, yes. The Anna Kournikova rule.
Interesting -- I thought the conventional wisdom was that it's the other way around?
I don't see the Ds being very effective, to be honest. As unhappy as the conservative base is, the Ds should be guaranteed to sweep both houses. Yet they're scrapping, hoping to take one.
I just don't see the Ds as having the stomach for the real political fight on points. They seem primarily wrapped up in idealistic notions of "We're good, they're evil".
Maybe that's just me, tho.
I disagree with Michelle. Webb himself offered this window to his mind to the public. His mind is ugly and the voters, the vast majority of whom have never read his muck, have the right to know it.
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