I did. I commented on it before. I will repeat it.
There is no one more fervent than a recent convert. Witness David Frum. Or, for the other side of the coin, David Mamet.
It’s not so much about the individuals that make up the party, but the movements and ideals of the party, holistically. The crazy has been whipped up into a fine lather this past decade, and the GOP has done nothing more than to encourage it while everyone else would be laughing if it weren’t so damn tragic and embarrassing.
They’re cutting off their nose to spite their face. Unfortunately, it’s our face too.
But Frum isn’t a convert. He’s still a Reaganite. He has problems with the hardliners in his party trying to crash the country’s economy.
You don’t get to decide that.
That’s simply a comment that shoots the messenger. You could have said that without even reading the article (and indeed, friend Shodan did just that).
Any comments on the substance of the article?
No, he says his views on some issues do not represent the “consensus conservative view.” And there is no “conversion” here, that is, there is no admission at all that Frum has changed his mind about anything; the party seems to have moved around him, which does happen a lot.
Michael Lind is an example of a commentator who is not a conservative any more.
In politics, the messenger determines the substance. Once you know who/what Frum is, the substance is just run of the mill Democrat complaints about Republicans. Big whoop.
The only thing that would prove that is if you had a quote from Frum saying directly: “I am a liberal now”. Since such a thing does not exist, all you are doing is showing the incredible twists that happen in a conservative mind when people he used to respect change their views. Your cognitive dissonance would be comical, if it wasn’t so sad, to watch as you have to change gears to decry someone who you once probably admired.
I’m going to try a little game:
The right wing thinks Obama’s liberal. Ok, fine, let’s go with that. I disagree with many of the things Obama’s doing. Am I conservative?
Not what you think he is.
You don’t get to decide what he is for me.
You do not get to decide that Frum is a “convert” from conservatism or something when he is not. Or, rather, you do, of course, but not in any sense of which any one else is obliged to take note. I could decide that Herman Cain is a secret Communist, but that’s my problem, not his nor yours.
Cite?
The only one I remember was Jon Stewart, who remarked that the dude he knows (intimately for years) has “more Anthony and less Weiner” than apparent in the pix.
For those who cannot bring themselves to actually read the article (or for others who seem confused, and think it is from the New Yorker or the New York Times or whatever), David Frum himself seems to have anticipated that some would think that he had changed:
He indicates clearly how the party has moved away from him and others, and now embraces
Another choice quote from the article:
I would add to that conservative alternative knowledge system:
Outside this alternative reality, people read political articles and debate the pros and cons of the content. Within the system, they refuse to read, and dismiss any criticism of their alternative world view by shooting the messenger.
If you ever try lurking alternately on Democratic Underground and Free Republic . . . they’re both partisan echo chambers, of course, but there the resemblance ends. The DUers at least appear to be living on the same planet as the different-thinking, the moderate, and the apolitical; the Freepers do not.
Glad you recognize that.
You really can’t read for comprehension, can you? Or perhaps the issue here is not comprehension but honesty.
I realize you only changed a comma to a period, but in the future, don’t change text inside of quote boxes. It creates a misleading impression of what the other person said.