Ready to rumble? Village Voice Author, Rick Perlstein, Here to Debate the Freeper Horde

08/03/2004 | Rick Perlstein

[dead]

Opening Statement

Dear FRiends:

I once suffered two great frustrations in being a freelance political writer. First, the loneliness: you put an article out there, and you might as well have thrown it down a black hole for all the response you get. Second, the ghettoization: when you do get response, it would be from folks you agree with. Not fun for folks like me who reliish--no, crave and need--political argument.

Then came the Internet, the blogs--and: problem solved.

I have especially enjoyed having my articles in the Village Voice posted on Free Republic by "dead," and arguing about them here. The only frustration is that I never have enough time--and sometimes no time--to respond as the threads are going on. That is why I arranged for an entire afternoon--this afternoon--to argue on Free Republic. Check out my articles and have at me.

A little background: I am a proud leftist who specializes in writing about conservatives. I have always admired conservatives for their political idealism, acumen, stalwartness, and devotion. I have also admired some of their ideas--especially the commitment to distrusting grand social schemes, and the deep sense of the inherent flaws in human nature. (To my mind the best minds in the liberal tradition have encompassed these ideals, while still maintaining that robust social reform is still possible and desirable. My favorite example is the Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, author of the Serenity Prayer and a great liberal Democrat.)

Lately, however, I've become mad at the right, and have written about it with an anger not been present in my previous writings. It began with the ascension of George Bush, when I detected many conservatives beginning to care more about power than principles. The right began to seem less interesting to me--more whiny, more shallow--and, what's more, in what I saw as an uncritical devotion to President Bush, often in retreat from its best insights about human nature.

I made my strongest such claim in a Village Voice article two weeks ago in which I, after much thought, chose to say conservatism was "verging on becoming an un-American creed" for the widespread way conservatives are ignoring the lessons of James Madison's great insights in Federalist 51 that in America we are supposed to place our ultimate trust in laws, not men.

Finally, in what I see as the errors of the Iraq campaign, I recognize the worst aspects of arrogant left-wing utopianism: the idea that you can remake a whole society and region through sheer force of will. I think Iraq is a tragic disaster (though for the time being the country is probably better off than it was when Saddam was around--but only, I fear, for the time being).

I am also, by the way, a pretty strong critic of my own side, as can be seen in my latest Village Voice piece.

So: I'm yours for the day--until 7:10 pm CST, when I'm off to compete in my weekly trivia contest at the University of Chicago Pub. Until then: Are you ready to rumble?

Respectfully,
Rick Perlstein

[Humidston]

DEEP BOW!

[Phantom Lord]

I just got home from the bar and checked to see if he provided any cogent replies to my questions. He didnt.

[reagandemocrat]

I have conducted an indepth review and analysis of this entire thread; and can without any hestitation render a final score as follows:

Perlstein: minus 27

FReepers: 438 kabazillion

Thanks for playing.

RD

[dead]

Thorough! Nice job.

[Dec31,1999]

bttt.

[Brian Allen]

<< In Perlstein's article on people who love Bush, I wondered why he painted conservatives/Republicans as people who change the subject if they don't have a good answer, when that's exactly what liberals/Democrats do. >>

[Psycho?]Pathological Projection Syndrome is the definitive sypmtom of the Liberal Psychosis and is suffered by every "Democrat."

That is, by all too stupid to know they are being lied to and/or too mean-spirited and/or greedy to care -- by those who comprise the bottom half of the wrong side of the Bell Curve [AKA "The 'Democrats'' base"] -- and by those gangsters [AKA "DemocRAT" politicians] who comprise the vast organized-criminal enterprizes we euphamistically and generously know as the "'DemocRAT' party" -- and who, consequential to a cynical "career" choice, lie for a "living."

[Psycho?]Pathological Projection Syndrome is also demonstrated by all who comprise the so-called "mainstream media" [Also -- and less generously, perhaps, known as the Verbalized-Bowel-Bubbles and Bloviators Brigades.

Another sure giveaway of those whose political platform is constructed and stands upon the position that it is "law" and not crime if the gang is large enough that steals and confiscates the wealth of those who create it and squanders it to buy the favor and the votes of those parasites who would so elect them to power -- and uses it also to enrichen themselves and their patrons, intimates, enablers and facilitators -- is that they never call a spade a spade. Apart, that is, from being skilled looters, liars and thieves -- they are adept only at inventing the appearance of "good motive" to cover up their evil intent."

None of their "elected" has ever had a real job or met a non-public-purse payroll and in our still somewhat, thank God, FRee Republic, they are successful only to the extent they can sell their lies to sufficient numbers and/or perpetrate sufficient massive electoral fraud to "elect" themselves to the offices they would never attain on the merits of the truth about themselves, their lack of any recognizable talent, creativity, innovation, productivity and/or industry -- or upon the Truth as to their actual intententions.

Kerry and his trial-liar running mate, lacking on the one hand the ability to lie convincingly -- and on the other the ability to lie convincingly to an audience as smart as is the American electorate -- are doomed to fail.

Especially given that Attorney-General Ashcroft's men are aggressively identifying and eliminating the mass-electoral frauds by way of which the appearance of support for "Democrats" and the outcome of elections are often altered, this year United States of America's President and Armed-Forces Commander-In-Chief, George Walker Bush, will win by a larger than 10% margin and by an Electoral College-dictated minimum 44 States to a maximum 6, plus DC.

Best ones -- Brian

BUMPping

[ClancyJ]

So, why would you care if we "like and trust" a man? Are we never to appreciate a person that has the same values we do?

Does this mean you don't trust or like any of the liberals?

President Bush is the first president I have felt held the same values as I do. I see honesty where liberals see fraud, corruption. Therefore, I fully trust the man with my country. Now, no amount of lies and distortions from the left depicting all the supposed flaws of this president will change my mind. I understand what the man is about, what he values and I like him.

Get over it. Maybe someday you will like a man who becomes your president and hopefully that man will be honorable - something conservatives expect and demand.

[John Lenin]

I detected many conservatives beginning to care more about power than principles. The right began to seem less interesting to me--more whiny, more shallow--and, what's more, in what I saw as an uncritical devotion to President Bush, often in retreat from its best insights about human nature.

No Rick, what you are trying to do is spread your misery around as you see your agenda being trampled on by the masses.

[Fawnn]

I'm so late with this comment that it'll be anticlimactic, but....

If somebody the size of Moore was able to "sneak" into Carter's box at the DNC, that doesn't speak well for how the Democrats handle security. ;)

[G.Mason]

"A sadist says "no" when he/she knows that it will bring "torture" to the masochist by denying him/her pain."

Ah ha! Now I am on the right page.

I was lost for a while. ;)

[beachn4fun]

Hi Sis. Did anyone ever tell you that you are AWESOME? Did Perlstein ever respond to your many questions?

[Arrowhead1952]

Great questions MoJo.

I bet you will get every question answered by Mr. Perlstein. < /heavy sarcasm>

[carton253]

Your post to The IceMan Cometh in post #96... it's not an answer...

[Arrowhead1952]

He has seen my posts

Kind of hard to miss.

He just can't think of the Spin yet.

Tonk, did Rick answer any of your posts? Bet he is squirming in his pants after seeing all the truths here. Snicker, snicker!!

[Taliesan]

No, he shouldn't. Which question, of course, has absolutely nothin to do with whether or not your METHOD is a constructive way to carry on this sort of thread. That you can't tell the difference between a criticism of your METHOD and and a rejection of your CONTENT simply means you don't belong in this sort of discussion.

[Taliesan]

The purpose of the thread is to ask the liberal questions and engage him in debate. Posting cartoons with one sentence, semi-literate, added captions simply is not part of WHAT THIS CONVERSATION WAS INTENDED TO BE. Is that really so hard?

I'm sure arm-pit farts are still funny, too. At certain times.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..the purpose of the thread is to ask the liberal questions and engage him in debate...

It never worked that way, bub. Read the thread.

PS if you're this touchy at 5:00AM, what are you gonna be like by the end of the day?

[Paved Paradise]

It's hard to take this guy seriously when he has typos and gframmar errors in his writing (unless you just re-wrote his stuff, Dead, and accidentally put the typos in yourself).

[Taliesan]

Well, we can certainly agree it never worked that way. Bub.

[Turbo Pig]

RP wrote: "Mr. Sunday's is the first ignorant post. The process whereby people argue to trust our man and not yours is called an "election."

Would you disagree with the statement from many on the right that the Dems election argument against President Bush is based largely on "Our man is not Bush"? That the Dems have given little if any in way of substantive argument for the election of JFKerry? I would go as far to say that a large part of Kerry's campaign has simply been, "I would do the same thing, only better." Seems to me that in the context of that sentiment BSunday's statement about the the left putting their faith in a man, and nothing else, is right on the mark.