Posted on 12/20/2002 11:30:10 AM PST by Ohioan
I have just posted the first complete draft of a study and analysis of the recent Lott smear, in the context of established Leftist tactics and how to answer them.
As always, comments are invited. There may not be time to specifically answer them, but they will be considered when I revise the post into its final form.
The essay may be pulled up at Trent Lott Affair--The Anatomy & Context Of A Smear.
William Flax
Rule 1 - don't hand them the hammer to hit you with.
Rule 2 - give your allies a good reason to stand behind you.
The title, of course, is, The Trent Lott Affair--The Anatomy & Context Of A Smear.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
From WBBM 780 Chicago 12/20/02 12:00pm news:
Trent Lott resigned today because of recent comments he made supporting segregation.
Just a constant distortion of what he said. oh...then there are the late night comedians. Also the President came out against him. One big onslaught from all direction Trent Lott didn't have a chance.
His appearance on BET and his support on affirmitive action wasn't a help either
But I hope you will take a few minutes to read my essay. I tried to put all of this into a much broader context of the ideological war, and how the Left operates.
Lott's resignation simply guarantees strong "legs" to the contrived hoopla.
William Flax
Frankly, it is difficult to imagine what Democrat has not benefitted from the spectacle of the Republicans responding like panic stricken delinquents in the face of a contrived ruckus that should have been laughed at. It isn't just that everybody seemed to rush out and insult a large section of the Republican base, in order to appease an agitation which cannot be appeased. They acted so stupidly as to undermine their images with all segments of the ideological spectrum.
It was a sickening display, and the damage will not be easily repaired.
William Flax
Actually, a whimsical flight of fancy is not a faux paux. What we saw was a probe by the Left, seeking a raw nerve and a demonstration of vulnerability. They found it, because the inside the beltway mentality is apparently still deadly to common sense.
People need to understand, that the probe might just as well have been on a different tack--say accusing some Republican of being a friend, or maybe even a guest of someone at the Augusta National Country Club (or whatever the name of it is); or having been seen at a party with someone who did such and such, etc., etc..
Any one who understands the complexity of human interaction, knows that the fanatics who advocate an undifferentiated humanity have absolutely limitless opportunities to harass ordinary people, IF those ordinary people have a propensity to appease such agitators and provacateurs. The demonstration of vulnerability by the Repubs in Washington, has been noted and understood by the enemy; and you may be certain the fallout from this is only just getting started.
William Flax
Regards.
While the ideas with which the Conservative American is assailed are really and truly intellectual drivel, they have been hammered into the heads of College students for over half a century, fairly generally, and a lot longer in some of the more "prestige" venues. But I will grant you that effective brevity would be a plus. It is just that it is easier to meet a rational argument than one based upon what has become nothing more than compulsion based superstition.
But again, thanks!
William Flax
I didn't see what Ann Coulter wrote, but in my opinion almost all Conservative pundits could benefit from a course on long term tactics, with particular emphasis on how different definable groups are actually wrapped from the standpoint of what motivates them and what does not motivate them politically.
I am not suggesting that we become demagogues and forget our principles--not at all. But understanding how to stroke different groups in order to maximize the potential for our message, is only common sense. Unfortunately, the Republican Party inside the beltway cannot seem to get past the impressions that some of them picked up in College, as to how people are motivated. What they do not realize is that they were helped into those impressions by people who are not on our side.
This often puts them into the position of vulnerability to just such a panic reaction, as they had over Lott, because they really do often have private sentiments which they know are not "politically correct," and not having the confidence to defend them, go into a very amateurish damage control mode. I have been watching this sort of thing for most of my life, and recognize the pathology of it.
What is dangerous in the present debacle, is that the present party leadership is in very great danger of destroying the benefits of what William Rusher set forth in his book about the making of the new majority party, in 1976. It was a coalition of the Republican Conservatives from the West and Midwest with Southern and Northern Blue Collar, ex-Democratic, social conservatives. It is what made the Reaqan election possible, as well as the more general Republican rebound.
William Flax
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.