Posted on 02/21/2014 9:08:20 PM PST by Sideshow Bob
Well, the elitist establishment (dare I say RINO) editors over at National Review and National Review Online (NRO) have sunk to another new low in their continued attacks on conservatives. It's been bad enough that the NRO stable of writers have been cranking out multiple hit pieces (including 3 in a row from the normally lucid Dr. Thomas Sowell) attacking Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and the House/Senate Tea Party caucus, but NRO is now moving towards silencing conservative criticism of NRO's writers, columns and seminar RINO and libertarian posters.
Don't get me wrong, I like posting and/or commenting on NRO articles here at FreeRepublic. In the past, it was because the NRO article had something new, interesting or important I wanted to share or discuss with other FReepers.
A few years ago NRO added a clunky commenting function to their website and offered a feature that FR didn't have - a like/dislike button (actually, positive/negative). The button allowed NRO readers to express their displeasure at the posting of another commenter. After a while, NRO changed their posting policy to require registration to post a comment or use the negative button.
OK, I wasn't thrilled with losing some of my web "anonymity", but figured NRO - as a conservative website -wouldn't abuse my privacy too badly. Besides, I still liked being able to use that speedy negative button to "shout down" the pinhead RINO's who sometimes trolled over at NRO.
Many people say that National Review has been in decline away from conservatism ever since founder William F. Buckley died. I am inclined to agree. To be sure, the NR/NRO staff is becoming increasingly filled with young elitist East Coast writers from elitist East Coast universities. They might still be Republicans - and Olympia Snowe Republicans at that - or even Libertarians, but their content and editorial slant are increasingly out of step with the conservative grassroots and Tea Partiers. And it's getting really obvious and obnoxious.
First it was NRO's easy acceptance of Juan McCain as the 2008 GOP nominee, then it was their shameless politicking for a Romney candidacy, their quick embrace of Chris Krispy Creme and finally their bizarre condemnation of Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Tea Partiers and the government shutdown strategy.
With the clean debt ceiling bill recently passed by Congress you would think that NRO and the GOP Establishment writers would be happy with Ted Cruz and the House/Senate Tea Party Caucus. After all, Ted followed their advice and didn't shut down the federal government again to thwart Obama's continuing attempt to bankrupt the country.
Nope. Now the Establishment is ticked off that Ted & the TPers completely outmanuevered GOPe leadership, turned the tables on Boehner & McConnell and outed them as Obama surrender monkeys. It's taken a few days, but NRO has stepped into the breach and has launched a major offensive against Cruz and the conservative base. Each day for the past week NRO, their writers, their columnists and their editors have escalated their attacks. They want to embarrass Cruz and sway the conservative base back to the "reasonable" leadership of Boehner & McConnell.
The editors started by writing debt ceiling editorials that - just as in the government shutdown last fall - agreed with Cruz & TPers in the House on their conservative position, but criticized their tactics. NRO writers next move to writing puff pieces extolling Boehner's & McConnell's bravery in taking an adult position in passing a clean debt ceiling bill.
To NRO's shock and disbelief, their conservative readers are mixed in between seething anger and sneering, scoffing laughter at the positions and opinions of NRO, Mitch McTurtle, John Boehner, the rest of the GOPe circus and the Establishment RINO seminar posters on their website.
How can this be? Mitch & John are the GOP leaders, NR is the foremost opinion-leading conservative magazine (or so they think). They are confused why the conservative base isn't listening to them.
So the RINO Establishment media step up their game. Byron York (a former NR editor), Mona Charen, Ann Coulter and others sharpen their attacks on Cruz. As noted above, even Dr. Thomas Sowell writes 3 consecutive columns attacking Cruz. Their new storyline - Cruz is selfish and ego-driven. That's why Cruz forced poor Mitch & Assistant Senate Minority Leader John Cornyn to cloture vote in favor of raising America's insane amount of debt. Even worse, they argue, that self-serving Cruz is going to singlehandedly cause the GOP to blow their chance at regaining the Senate majority in November.
But this lie doesn't work either.
The NRO comments on these columns and editorials blow up from the normal handful of comments to HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of comments that are FURIOUS with the NRO, the GOPe, Charen, Coulter and especially Sowell. While it can't be proven, there appears to be an increase in the number of seminar Establishment posters (perhaps NRO staffers?) attempting to combat the reaction of NRO's conservative readership. But it doesn't help. These seminar NRO posters are getting crushed in thread debates and are being hammered with the speedy negative button.
Now perhaps it's just a coincidence, but in the midst of this conservative Tea Party commenting pushback NRO changed their policy regarding the negative button without fanfare. Readers even need to follow a hidden link to learn that NRO will no longer display the running count of users of the negative button. They claim that they will still maintain a negative count internally, but just won't display that to their readers. This gives their readers a false appearance that any debate within their story threads is balanced.
The good news for Free Republic is that more FReepers will abandon NRO's commenting feature and bring their discussion and debate of NRO materials to this website. It's hard not to interpret NRO's policy change as an attempt to diminish and control Tea Party conservative pushback against GOPe messaging. It's also very sad and ironic for NRO to be moving toward silencing conservatives during the same week that NRO pontificates against FCC's plans to censor news and media.
One Team, One fight, gentlemen...
The Leftards hate us ALL equally.
Agree to disagree, and disagree cordially.
How is that different from what it was when Buckley was alive? Fewer ex-communists, I'd suppose, but where did Buckley come from anyway? And where did Buckley end up politically in his last years.
There have been bigger changes going on in conservatism and the country over the past two generations, and they're harder to explain so simply.
You know, this bothers me a bit. Look, I like Ted Cruz, too...but he is not beyond criticism....and Thomas Sowell, unlike Ted, has been around for DECADES.
What made Reagan such a great choice for conservatives is that he WAS AROUND FOR MANY YEARS fighting the cause...and he was a governor for TWO TERMS in a state.
I think we need to take the advice of conservative leaders and thinkers who have been around for a long time--not slavishly, of course--before we dismiss them because they bash our current heroes.
Yes this murderers' row of geniuses who have brought us to a $17 trillion debt, an economy in shambles, a foreign policy of death and disgrace, a national social makeup of shame and evil, race relations at their worst in decades, a workforce that can't and, increasingly, doesn't want to work, youth who can't read or write or think...
Yes, yes, we must continue to worship at the altar of the august god-men who understand these things so much better than we.
Good piece though I know little about the posting at NR, if true it’s a lib tactic to shut down the voice of the opposition.
I find it strange that as soon as Thomas Sowell started taking Ted Cruz to task several more (establishment) writers seemed to follow suit. In my view Ted Cruz is the strongest conservative though a few are close and he most certainly has the leadership qualities conservatives are looking for, that would explain establishment writers jumping on the bandwagon.
Thanks for the ping.
I think I’ll cancel my own g** d*** subscription.
I have been a Sowell fan for decades now.
Yet I disagreed with him on an issue : That allowed totally unconstrained development of land would result in good, after I saw the libs move into this area in new housing and take over and they keep raising my taxes.
But I cant disagree with Sowell, that shutting down the government now just to lose and point fingers and cave for the third time is counter productive and just helps Dems.
I like Sowell too.
I just think when we have disagreements out here, we should keep them cordial. Argue on the back channel, so the libtards have nothing to have wet dreams about.
Dude, I am the most civil and polite freeper on this board.
But I do like to disagree from time to time.
Otherwise I wouldn't feel relevant.
I find it most helpful when we have disagreements that we take off all our clothes, slather ourselves up in Mayonnaise and wrestle.
OK, who’s first ?
I disagree
Would you prefer Grey Poupon instead ?
You kinky boy!!!
Shaddup.
I’m ronery.
You perverts are scaring me into double checking my locks before bed.
I’m under your bed, with a big tub of Hellmann’s that has your name on it. ;-D
I think you’ve been thinking about my unorthodox proclivities.
Looks like things be rubbing off.
You animal.
Are you using Hellman’s? ; )
From Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”:
“Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight.”
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