Posted on 10/16/2017 12:17:38 PM PDT by TBP
We’re coming to the end of a slew of Jewish holidays, today being Shemini Atzeret. Ben Shapiro, being a devout Jew, is unable to use technology, with holidays treated as the Sabbath. Ergo he cannot reply to criticisms leveled against him. A perfect time for The New York Times to conveniently drop an OpEd titled “The Hollow Bravery of Ben Shapiro.”
Pro-tip: if you’re going to accuse someone of “hollow bravery,” post your hit piece when the subject can respond. Lest anyone call you, or your organization, cowards. Blatant, obvious cowards.
A note before we continue: I beg for your indulgence, as it’ll take a few paragraphs to lay appropriate character foundations; it’s important to know who is accusing Ben Shapiro of “hollow bravery” before addressing the qualms directly. Goes to relevance.
Firstly, lemme state that I (note the byline) do not personally know Ben Shapiro. Nor — it’s clear — does Jane Coaston, the author of the aforementioned OpEd in The New York Times. As of the writing of this post, Ben Shapiro and I have never spoken. What I know of Ben is from what I’ve gleaned through his debates and speeches (on campus, network news appearances, stand alone YouTube videos), his OpEds and essays posted on across the net (Brietbart.com, Dailywire.com, NationalReview.com, etc), and his Twitter account.
Which means I know more about Ben’s work than Jane Coaston.
There is a world of difference between the primaries and the general—and even that is an understatement. The primaries are when the party’s candidates duke it out for the nomination. It’s one-hundred percent legitimate for conservatives to select and campaign for their favorite candidates—and that includes at the expense of those candidates they believe would be a mistake.
The general is almost always a binary choice. We have a two party system, so the choice is Democrat or GOP. When you campaign hard against the GOP candidate, that is the exact equivalent of campaigning FOR the Democrat. Some of the more honest Never-Trumpers admitted as much. They came right out and said they preferred Hillary.
Voting for McCain or Romney made you a Never-Obama.
I voted against Obama in both those races. You need to take your question to a person who stayed at home. They’re the only ones who can explain why they did so.
I like Ben, and consider him one of the top 5 guys I listen to and watch on Youtube. That said, he was a total d*ck never trumper. Can I forget all that? No, I am still displeased at what he did back then? Can I forive him? I Think maybe, he is such a good mouthpiece for our side.
I will not stick up for Mr. Never Trump. That creep was so awful to Trump and the whole thing with his girlfriend getting attacked. Screw him. I used to think he was a great writer, now he is just a liberal democrat.
Cult of personality, anyone?! I used to get creeped out going over to my neighbors house with their framed portrait of Barack Obama. Who puts a framed portrait of their leader in their home except for communists, amirite?
From my perspective it seems like a lot of Freepers have a framed portrait of President Trump not in their homes but in their MINDS.
It’s creepy.
From my perspective it seems like a lot of Freepers have a framed portrait of President Trump not in their homes but in their MINDS.
It’s creepy.
Nope. What’s creepy is how quick some “conservatives” are willing to put Never Trump general election antics down the memory hole. The fact is those selfish bums made every effort to enable Hillary & her 1/2A destroying SCOTUS.
No “true conservative” should ever forgive or forget how the chattering class Never Trumpers betrayed conservatism and country for person gain during the general election.
No true Scotsman! LOL, got it. How often do you polish and dust your portrait of the Dear Leader.
Do you realize you’re doing what Leftists do? For example, there is no record of Trump ever assaulting a woman, not even a hint of such a thing. So Leftists say that because he spoke of what women would ***allow*** a certain type of man to do, that makes him guilty of assault. Indeed, they say that he’s as bad or worse than Weinstein. Let that sink in.
You say that Trump supporters are a cult of personalit—as bad as people who display Obama’s photo in their homes. How do you know any of us have portraits of Trump in our homes? [I don’t.]
Well it doesn’t matter, you say. His portrait hangs in our minds. That makes us “creepy.”
So just like a Leftist, you have tried and convicted us, not on the basis of anything we’ve done, but on the basis of made-up accusations. That’s one hundred percent illegitimate. None of us are guilty based on the vagaries of your imagination.
personalit = personality
I said you have a portrait of your Dear Leader in your mind, I don’t know what you hang in your home. Look, the President is surely a better outcome than President Hillary would have been, but this prevailing wind on FR over the past year that anyone who disagrees with President Trump and his policies is a NeverTrumper or worse... it’s creepy to me. He’s a man; mankind is imperfect, and I’m suddenly not a conservative because I don’t jump on the Trump Train. That’s fricking creepy to me.
That you so glibly dismiss the importance of defeating Hillary Clinton tells me all I need to know about the genuineness of your conservatism.
Do enjoy your do nothing pet “true conservatives” in Congress. Meanwhile, I will celebrate one conservative victory after another by POTUS.
“Ben lost me when he was a vicious condescending Never Trumper prick for about a year and a half.”
Whats life like in the Ever Trumper bubble?
How many conservative victories can you name by this administration beyond the Gorsuch nomination? We haven’t gotten repeal of the ACA; there’s no Wall yet; the President is open to extending DACA; there’s no tax cuts I’ve seen.
President Trump’s inexhaustible tweets on everything? Is that a conservative victory?
What is ‘conservatism’? Is it just about the President and the GOP winning?
None of this would be an issue if we could stick with the facts. It is anything but a fact that a person who disagrees with Trump on a policy matter is a Never-Trumper. No one on this thread has used the term that way.
Ben Shapiro was the one who started that destructive lie. He said he was labeled a Never-Trumper bc he didn’t acknowledge that Trump is perfect and can do no wrong. That’s not just a lie; it’s a steaming pile—but par for the course for Trump-haters.
A Never-Trumper is a very specific designation. It refers to a person who pretends to be a conservative but who campaigned hard against Trump ***in the general.*** That is the exact equivalent of having campaigned FOR Hillary. The ultimate goal was identical: defeat Trump and elect Hillary.
A person who voted for Trump but who disagrees with some of his actual actions is not Never-Trump. A person who voted for Trump but who carps endlessly about things he hasn’t actually done but which they believe he *might* do isn’t Never-Trump either. They’re tiresome and counterproductive, but not Never-Trump.
I campaigned heavily for Ted Cruz in the primaries. Sat out the general election because I could not reconcile my values with the values of Donald Trump.
Does that make me a NeverTrumper and not a ‘true conservative’?
I give the POTUS credit when it’s due, and vociferously oppose him when it’s not.
My experience on FR over the past year or so makes me think that most Freepers judge me as a NeverTrumper and not worthy of having an opinion about anything.
I am heartened that you seem to disagree with that labeling.
From memory, so the quote may be off by a word or two, but the gist of it is there. Koch was an interesting guy to listen to.
If you voted for Trump then you don’t need me or anyone else to tell you that you’re not Never-Trump. The facts speak for themselves.
If the choice came down to Hillary or Trump and you couldn’t even bring yourself to vote Never-Hillary...do the math.
I sat out the general election for a couple of reasons, but mostly because - yes - I could not stomach supporting a candidate who didn’t support my values.
Do the math, Fantasywriter. Do the math that calculates me as a non-factor or a negative factor to your choice.
I’m glad that we got Trump over Clinton but I could never live with myself if I had supported someone I felt was unfit for the Office. That’s called having a conscience.
#14 You are correct. He was a radio host on 870 am radio and left in Jan 2017 to start off on his own.
He thinks he is so smart but has no common sense.
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