Boycott WND?
Jon Henke wants to boycott WorldNetDaily. I think he’s on to something, though I’m not sure a boycott is the answer. How about Republicans start pressing their leadership to quit acting crazy and to quit giving the nod to crazy people like Corsi, Bachmann and Beck? Or is that totally unrealistic?
Kudos to the Henke and Ruffini and the others at The Next Right for talking sense in the midst of all the noise that is coming to define Republican politics these days.
I’m of the mind that sensibility is more sustainable than faux outrage, but also that we are going to have to watch the self-destructive wing of the conservative movement fully implode before we see anything from the sensible crowd really come to fruition. Not only are heads planted firmly in the sand, but the trenches have been dug, the positions firmly staked out. They’re running without any heed to policy or the questions of governance, though, so at the end of the day – when all is lost – where else will they turn but to the people who spent the time thinking rather than shouting? Those who devised policy rather than cultivated their anger? This is a waiting game, but you can’t sit idle while you wait. Smart, thinking conservatives are the keepers of Plan B.
The question, as always, is how long will this farce last?
I would also note that David Frum and others at the New Majority blog have spoken out well before the group at the Next Right.Report
Actually I now write at New Majority so yes, I’m aware of this. Hey, we at the League were saying this stuff ages ago! 🙂 Also, Joyner et al at Outside the Beltway; the boys (and girls) at The American Scene; and a handful of others.Report
My $0.02:
While the claims of Corsi et. al. are certainly not pleasant or the stuff of civilized discourse, it seems to me many reformers like David “Axis of Evil” Frum (who has more to do with the GOP’s downfall than team WND) are more concerned with the public image of “conservatism” (whatever that means nowadays) than with actually putting forward a vision of where they want to go from here. You can argue the tinfoil hat crowd gives conservatism a bad name, but this has a lot to do with them being in the arena rather than sniping from the sidelines.
A poster at Next Right mentioned that there are much better criticisms of government-run healthcare than LOLZ ZEKE EMMANUEL WILL CIRCUMCISE JUNIOR EUTHANIZE GRANNY AND EAT EVERYONE ELSE. He’s right!, but people aren’t making them to the extent that the death panel crowd is and the best way to combat this is to put forward a competing vision rather than criticize Obama birthers more than Obama himself.
I’m not saying moderates have done nothing but taken potshots at birthers, but it’s what they have become best known for in the current political landscape.
In the 1960’s, William F. Buckley denounced the John Birch Society leadership for being “so far removed from common sense” and later said “We cannot allow the emblem of irresponsibility to attach to the conservative banner.”
Henke’s use of the Buckley Purge parallel is an interesting one. It could be argued his motives had more to do with their opposition to the Vietnam war than their “extremism”.
One last thing. It it just me or are Town Hall Maniacs concerned that Obama’s healthcare won’t be socialist enough? Cue Michael Steele promising to keep his government hands off their medicare.Report
It it just me or are Town Hall Maniacs concerned that Obama’s healthcare won’t be socialist enough?
It’s not just you. When Obama says “hey, this will eventually cut costs!”, the Town Hall “Maniacs” (from what I’ve seen, the average age of the average “maniac” is a little younger than Eugene Debs at the time of his death) seem to think that “cutting costs” *REALLY* means “telling old people to stuff it”. They argue with the fervor of someone who fears being told to stuff it.Report
I stopped reading WingNutDaily a long time ago. Long before the Birthers came around, I was dismissing the looney toon Christian Nation crowd.Report
For the record, I was very critical of Jerome Corsi last year – http://www.thenextright.com/jon-henke/jerome-corsi – and of the general Idiotarian wing of the Right for as long as I can remember. The Right descended into the fever swamps in the 90’s, too, and that kind of thing only serves to discredit the legitimate criticisms.Report
Thanks for stopping by, Jon. It’s interesting – there’s this constant tension between the so-called “elites” and the “base” but I just don’t buy it. I don’t think you have to be an elite to be sane or to make coherent arguments. I think the real divide is between the cynical, opportunistic wing of the GOP leadership and punditocracy which manipulates people through fear and outrage, and the reasonable types who think it’s unethical and self-defeating.
I just don’t buy these caricatures.Report
Henke, quite being part of the problem and become part of the solution. Your santiminous, self-gratifying drivel is disgusting. In fact, since I’ve never heard of you before (hope to never again) and don’t know your history in the conservative movement, its quite possible you’re nothing but an Obama plant trying to cause discord with those opposed to the liberal agenda in this country. But if you’re not, then you are not nearly the superior, high brow “intellectual” you believe yourself to be.Report
Henke was one of the guys from the website Q&O. If the “blogosphere” has an “old school”, he’s from it. He’s more of a libertarian than a conservative. If you’ve never heard of him, it’s probably because you hung out on sites that explained how Bush’s big-government conservativism was a good thing and a necessary evil rather than on the sites where the people who argued for smaller government and fiscal conservativism hung out.
Those types were persona non grata in the early oughts. It’s probably not much of a surprise that people who consider themselves “real” conservatives haven’t heard of folks like him.Report
One more post before I go: I couldn’t stand Bush. He did as much to sell out our country to foreign interests as any other president that came before him. Only Obama is doing more to destroy this country as envisioned by the founding fathers than him. I don’t agree with Ron Paul on many of his social and foreign policy positions (too libertarian for my taste), but I agree with his take that the Federal Government has run roughshod over our Constitution.Report
Why not stick around? You can type, you can spell, and you’ve demonstrated a mastery of grammar.
Why not teach the pinkos and hippies on this site how the world really works, explain to the libertarian libertines how society would fall apart if we did whatever we wanted, and explain to the so-called “conservatives” that they’re nothing more than squishes who weren’t even twinkles in their daddy’s eyes when you were helping maintain the social norms that do the *REAL* heavy lifting of society?
If you can keep the namecalling to a minimum (which isn’t non-zero, let me assure you), I’ve no doubt that you’ve got insights you could add to the discussions and make them better by their inclusion.Report
Er, *IS* non-zero, let me assure you.Report
Yeah, stick around. Anyone welcome as long as they don’t call names and hurl insults.Report
E.D., our friends on the Left will never forgive Corsi for his “Unfit for Command,” a delightful book that literally destroyed the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry by by exposing his lies.
By the way Senator Kerry served in Vietnam.
Unless I’ve missed it here at the League, I’d really like to see one of you gentlemen inquire into the actions and philosophical make up of sundry advisers and czars of the POTUS, and the radical Democrats in congress who are currently f*cking up your country.Report
Bob, that’s actually a very good idea. Got any leads?Report
E.D. the LOOG is pregnant with talent; that’s one reason why I stop by. I never fail to ‘learn’ something, or to pick up a tidbit or two, or be amused by some rather brilliant ‘comment’, consequently, I’m more than sure that someone among the paid ranks can eagerly spring forth with an objective analysis of the Enlightened One’s epigones, their policies, bona fides, and statist objectives. And, why would you be surprised that “that’s actually a very good idea”…..ah, humph!?Report
I’m not surprised. Did I act surprised? I’m surprised you’d think that I was acting surprised. Ah, humph indeed! 😉Report
Who said any of us were getting paid? 🙂Report
The word’s out that the heavy lifters are knocking down 50 big ones, the lesser lights about 35K….but I can’t figure out who’s who?Report
IMHO, the reason the “fever swamps” get so nutty is precisely because they get slapped down consistently by the party establishment. That, in turn, makes them distrust the more mainstream Republican voices, turning them more conspiratorial. Bob Dole, the two George Bushes and John McCain have all been disastrous for the conservative movement, which did far better as the opposition party during the Clinton years. Also witness Harriet Miers, David Souter and Anthony Kennedy for the Supreme Court.
As long as the GOP establishment is dominated by limousine liberals looking down on the great unwashed, there will always be distrust of that establishment. Try for responsive and representative leadership, rather than attacking your own troops.Report
As a “birther” and proud “right-wing extremist” and daily reader of World Net Daily I take great offence at all attempts at boycotting WND- they are doing the work that all so-called conservatives should be doing. I am proud of the title “burther” and will continue to support WND, Glen Beck, Michelle Bachmann and their advertisers. If so-called conservatives had the stones Joe Farah and Jerome Corsi, Glen Beck has . If anyone has their head in the sand it is people like you and Jon Henke. This is how Obama got where he is now-gutless Republicans who are closer to Dems than true conservatives and Constutionalists. Get on board girly boys or get left behind. You should be thanking WND for doing the job you are to weak to do. I really hate sniveling cowards like this!!Report
Give it to ’em, Junkyard!
Yoo, Yoo, Yoo!!!Report
You tell ’em, Junkyard!Report
Huh. World Net Daily was one of those sites that occasionally popped up when I listened to Coast to Coast about six years ago. I had always considered it in the league of Prison Planet and the Survivor Mall. Seems odd to see it getting mainstream play.Report
Chad,
“Coast to Coast,” Dude, bro, …..what’s your favorite X-Files episode?Report
Favorite was the Jose Chung episode.
And please don’t hold the Coast to Coast against me. I was working overnight shift and I needed teh crazy to stay sane, if you know what I mean.
The kind of stuff that has been floating out into the mainstream is sounding more and more like what I heard on those shows. The Birthers seem like the same folks who were calling in about the NAFTA super-highway, HAARP and the Bilderbergers. I remember that George Noory refused to talk with 9/11 truthers. Sometime I wonder how he has been dealing with the Birthers.Report
Who ever heard of this blog??? I suppose if I were a trivial little corner of the web with really nothing to say I’d also want to shut down WND. I think you need to get a life and perhaps stake a name and reputation for yourselves by bringing interesting ideas and thoughts to the public. However, I suppose until you actually get an original thought you’ll have to resort to childish cries of boycotts on others who have established their own success. Good luck little manReport
Here. Let me help. Corrections in italics.
Who has ever heard of this blog??? I suppose that if I were a trivial little corner of the web with really nothing to say then I’d also want to shut down WND. I think that you need to get a life and ,perhaps, stake a name and reputation for yourselves by bringing interesting ideas and thoughts to the public. However, I suppose that until you actually get an original thought you’ll have to resort to childish cries of boycotts on others who have established their own success. Good luck, little man!Report
It’s funny. I wrote that I didn’t think a boycott was necessarily the right idea. You’d think from all the responses that I’d said “Let’s boycott WND!” – when in fact I said “Jon Henke is on to something but I’m not sure a boycott is the right idea.”
Reading comprehension these days. Sheesh.Report
This insignificant, backwater website can’t and doesn’t hold a candle to the work WND is doing to expose the despicable agenda the far left has for this country. It and the regular posters who choose to stick their collective heads in the sand here are not true conservatives in much the same way that RINOs like McCain, Romney and Guilianni are not true conservatives. Rather, this site and its denizens are nothing but a bunch of psuedo-intellectual snobs who’s only disagreement with Obama and his crowd is the exact nature of the tyrrany they want to run this country. Leave WND alone or we may choose to boycott your site. On the other hand, I guess a boycott won’t work since no one visits your site unless they, of course, heard about it on WND and came here to call it out as the sanctimonious drivel it is.Report
Pseudo-intellectual?? PSEUDO???Report
Yeah, “pseudo”. As in:
pseudo – adjective
sham; false; spurious; pretended; counterfeitReport
Zing!Report
Oh, *THAT* pseudo.
I thought you were talking about Phil Collins.Report
If they insult me enough I might have to cry. Oh save me from these straw men!Report
Save yourself. I said what I came to say and now I’m outta here. Good luck and hope you get a clue.Report
You’re funny. Can I get a hug?Report
WND is awesome. And Buckley was, as a “conservative,” as worthless as teats on a boar. He represented the patrician “conservatism.”Report
I really do long for the day when the whole “not true conservatives” meme along with all this RINO, squish rubbish just goes the way of the Dodo. It’s not the implications that bother me – it’s the unoriginality. Such an easy way out. Just pile the straw men as high as possible and light ’em on fire.
I’d really love the exposure a boycott from WND would bring, by the way. Since nobody who frequents WND comes here, I really can’t imagine any averse effects.Report
“pseudo – adjective”
Pseudo is not an adjective. It’s a prefix.
“sham; false; spurious; pretended; counterfeit” – describing your grasp of grammar and an indication of the quality of your other arguments.Report
I don’t mind the term “pseudo-intellectual” actually. I mean, I’m not really an intellectual. I’m just some guy with a computer.Report
This is the age of Twitter. Don’t sell yourself short.
I’m reaching the point where people who don’t need a dictionary to spell “definitely” qualify as an intellectual.Report
Oh defanitely.Report
You see, you really are a pseudo-intellectual. You don’t even know the correct misspelling of definately.Report
Also, this makes you an elitist.Report
You say “elitist” I say “nihilist” ….Report
Well, that goes without saying.Report
I gotta pseudo-coat!Report
Have you read Joe Farah’s article? He linked to this article, it should be in your trackbacks.
Perhaps you would feel an obligation to read the Corsi article and Farah’s response to your article.
Are you now a Soros-sponsored outlet? Media Matters is, you agree with them and argue with similar arguements.
If you want to be considered a trustworthy source, you need to address this issue in a more intellectually honest manner.Report