[Clive]

-

[hopespringseternal]

As I understand it, Stephen Harper's strategy is mostly a negative one -- to avoid getting demonized in the hope that Chrétien and Martin and the rest of the gang will eventually turn on each other in some Quentin Tarantino-like bloodbath. Then he'll be left standing and he'll be able to institute his extreme conservative agenda of, er, holding the tax rate under 60%.

I don't know the situation in Canada, but he certainly described the GOP strategy to a "T."

The GOP offered up Bob Dole in 96 in the vain hope that Bill Clinton would die of herpes before election day.

[ken5050]

I only wish Steyn would take after Maureen Dowd....even ONE paragraph....

[ClearCase_guy]

I only use the word "liberal" when discussing early 19th century English philosophers. I call folks like Stalin and Tom Daschle "left-wing extremists". In casual conversation with family and office mates, I'm apt to say, "Well, you're a left-wing extremist, so of course you see it that way."

It startles people, but sometimes it makes them think (which is a new feeling for them).

[maica]

So supporting "internationalism," "multilateralism," abortion and racial quotas means you're "moderate" and "nonideological"? And anyone who feels differently is an extreme ideologue? Absolutely. The New York Times is rarely so explicit, at least in its "news" pages, but the aim of a large swathe of the left is not to win the debate but to get it cancelled before it starts. You can do that in any number of ways -- busting up campus appearances by conservatives, "hate crimes" laws, Canada's ghastly human-rights commissions, the more "enlightened" court judgments, the EU's recent decision to criminalize "xenophobia," or merely, as the Times does, by declaring your side of every issue to be the "moderate" and "nonideological" position.

---

Beautiful writing, as usual. It should be used for instruction in classes on writing. Note the Italics around the word "news" pages, relating to the NYT. Now that is a proper use of italics!

[Taliesan]

Fortunately, in Burlington, Barnes & Noble opened up on the edge of town, and the small personal bookstore attuned to the needs of its customers closed down almost immediately. So now, instead of the allegedly charmingly quirky independent bookseller with his idiosyncratic tastes, everything's ordered by some computer in New Mexico or Bangladesh or wherever the hell it is. Result: not only is the gay and lesbian section much bigger but you can get Rush and Dr. Laura, too.

Steyn.

[fporretto]

Mark Steyn is truly amazing. He reminds me of Joe Hardy from The Year The Yankees Lost The Pennant, the novel that gave rise to the musical Damn Yankees. He can't even waggle his bat without knocking the ball clear over the fence and into the next county.

I hope the rest of the country appreciates him as we do here at FreeRepublic.

Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit The Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com

[Paradox]

I must confess I'd initially confused Todd Purdum with his near namesake Edmund Purdom, who starred in The Student Prince (MGM, 1954) with his singing voice dubbed by Mario Lanza. Like Edmund, Todd has an uncanny ability to stand there open-mouthed while the old favourites just pour out effortlessly:

Damn, even when he is obscure, this guy is good!

[happygrl]

Steyn BUMP!!!

[NorthernRight]

As Elizabeth Nickson pointed out in her magnificent column on Friday...

Read that EXCELLENT column here. Or read the original at the National Post, Slander is the sum of socialist politics.

[skeeter]

Yet if you're a Bush judicial nominee who's ruled in favour of parental notification you'll be denounced by Planned Parenthood as an "anti-choice extremist." It's you and the rest of your 82% who are extremist and ideological and hopelessly out of step with the moderate, nonideological, pragmatic 18%.

The left better pray that some charismatic individual doesn't come along and rally their opponents. The results won't be pretty.

[Travis McGee]

bttt

[JohnHuang2]

Thanks for posting.

[Constitution Day]

Ping for a great article.

[Constitution Day]

Mark Steyn ping.

[facedown]

BTTT

[Gritty]

I don't know what you'd call a political culture that reduces voters to dependents, that tells religious institutions whom they can hire, that instructs printers on what printing jobs they're obliged to accept, that bans squeegee kids unless they're undercover policemen checking on whether you're wearing your seatbelt, etc., etc. But "liberal" no longer seems to cover it.

How about "Communist"?

[xJones]

Meanwhile, the left has an hilarious bumper sticker: "Celebrate Diversity." In the newsrooms of America, they celebrate diversity of race, diversity of gender, diversity of orientation, diversity of everything except the only diversity that matters: diversity of thought.

The absolute joy of this is that the average leftie reporter would rather suck Drano through a straw than live next to a real Southern redneck, which would be another form of "diversity".

[Billthedrill]

That's all I ask, really. That the left stop pretending all these things have been settled, and anyone who disagrees is a racist sexist homophobe hater.

My favorite sentence. What is most ironic about the modern left is that it simultaneously praises nonconformism, worships diversity, and punishes severely the tiniest deviation from the lockstep party line. The pretense that these issues are settled is the only thing that is keeping this laughable situation tolerable to any lib with the IQ higher than a houseplant. Because they know, deep down they really do know.

[RAT Patrol]

My auto-mode always kicks in after reading a Steyn column. "I love Mark Steyn." It's just my reflexive response. LOL! He's awesome!