Goldberg Piles On With An Update

I see Goldberg piles on with an update but doesn't, like some others, acknowledge or address my reply himself. I'm starting to think he actually is a jerk, ... or maybe just an insulated coward at heart.

People can ignore the disconnected Inside the Beltway elitism of some pundits at NRO and elsewhere on the Right if they want, but it will only serve to leave the Right in the minority over the longer haul. As a leading outlet for allegedly conservative thought, most of them sat by for eight years while Bush spent and grew government like a good Democrat and mainly cheered him on. 

Two defenses have emerged for Goldberg's swipe at me. Both are intellectually inconsistent and indicative of problems on the Right which make it hard to cobble together a majority to govern in America.

Blagojevich is a tragedy on two levels and a jaded mindset that can't appreciate that only results in America getting the bad government it deserves, and or, an emotionally vapid Right that doesn't really value "Life" at all.

Is the Blagojevich story a political tragedy? How anyone who believes in an oath of office, or good government can say it isn't is indicative of a jaded mindset only too willing to accept the bad government we usually get from elected officials. Contrast it with the ideals Senator Coburn outlined for government service in a conference call yesterday and it most certainly is tragic.

And one of the two reasons for finding humor in it, which I do, also speaks to how tragic it is. The humor is dark, or sardonic. As I wrote in a comment:

As for getting amusement out of it - read around. I did in my previous post. I'm not judging that. It's dark or actually sardonic humor. And I like it myself. It laughs because there is tragedy involved, not due to the lack of it. And that's precisely what Goldberg wrote - that there is no tragedy, (were) no victims.

The second defense commenters made for Goldberg is that he was referring to Blagojevich on a personal level, so it isn't tragic. But look at what Goldberg, who is pro-Life, wrote:

It's just good stuff. There's no tragedy here. No wasted potential.

Ah, so I guess because it's politically expedient to be "pro-Life" as a right-side pundit, Goldberg's down with that. But apparently " a life" is only important enough for concern when it remains in the womb? So what if someone with the energy, determination and at least enough intellect to be elected governor of a large state squanders said "life" in greed, dishonesty and corruption - no tragedy, no lost potential there?

Give me a break. The reason that tracks to political problems for the Right is because for years they have been all about preserving "a life" while it's in the womb, but have shown too little policy concern for those who, for whatever reasons, get broken or busted along the way and end up unable to make it alone.

Like it or not, there is a level of society that requires at least some level of government support. And the Right has come up short on offering solutions for them over the years, allowing the Democrats to hold power for a long time and then sweep right back in as soon as issues turned to domestic concerns.

I can laugh at Blagojevich with the best of them and intend to keep on. Perhaps the difference between Goldberg, some others and me is that I'm not ignorant of, nor afraid to acknowledge why I'm laughing and as a conservative remain determined to fight for principles that should matter at least enough to inform a joke.

Comments

[mcg]

Oh for goodness sakes. You really are being an unbelievable twit about this. Turning a single blog post into a full-blown indictment of a person's intellectual and political makeup? Step away from the computer for awhile.

[Levans]

And, to repeat for emphasis:

Oh for goodness sakes. You really are being an unbelievable twit about this. Turning a single blog post into a full-blown indictment of a person's intellectual and political makeup? Step away from the computer for awhile.

[Vinman]

All right, Ok, , ,

Can we get back to focusing on dismantling Illinois politcs now?

[BumperStickerist]

Dan,

... I'm not ignorant of, nor afraid to acknowledge why I'm laughing and as a conservative remain determined to fight for principles that should matter at least enough to inform a joke.

"The key to humor is determination to fight for principles that matter."
Mark Twain

"Brevity, and a determination to fight for principles that matter, is the soul of wit."
Shakespeare

"A joke is a very serious thing"
Winston Churchill

[syn]

"there is a level of society that requires at least some level of government support"

Perhaps this is true however, at what point will society give up its addiction to Golden Entitlement Coins; for example, looking at the last election results clearly 54% of Catholic voters served Social Justice far more than they served their faith so if 'government support' requires such abandonment of belief in principle who the heck is left to care about society.

More to the point, serving Social Justice has basically ended protecting life in the womb; in fact, in the last election 'life in the womb' was never mentioned.

The tragedy of the Chicago whorehouse situation is that Justice will not be served; the guy is a Democrat, the Party of Lawyers are Democrats and the Lawyer in Chief a Democrat.

This is the great achievement of 'government support'.

Seems to me that 'government support' no matter how benevolent sounding will eventually become a free-for-all full of greed and lust for Golden Entitlement Coins..in which case does this not require worship of Government? Isn't this the meaning of Serfdom-required worship of the overlord in order to eat?

[Splashman]

+1 to both of the above. Mountain, molehill -- sound familiar?

Somebody needs to relax a sphincter or two.

[Splashman]

(Whoops, was too slow -- I meant +1 to the first two posts)

[cdog]

Sanctimonious bullshit. Nobody feels bad for Blago. Move on...you're losing this one.

[Allswell]

Came here via Hotair. Can't believe that you think this is important. As for the pro-life jab it makes you look unserious. So you can't care about the unborn if you don't also think that Blago is a tragedy of shakespearean proportions? Kind of a reach. I would let this one go and write it off as hyperbole in a blog post that was trying to be humorous. If you've forgotten what humor is you can go check Iowahawk.

[andrew]

This has nothing to do with being pro-life. The conflagration is quite the bridge too far.

Unborn babies have made no decisions for which they need to be held accountable. Adults that have been elected Governor...are responsible for the decisions they have made and should be held accountable.

[Bro]

Sheesh, get off the "Blagojevich is a tragedy" thing! It's not a tragedy. It's a situation where a self-important, arrogant, corrupt governor tried to sell a Senate appointment. Man is fallible, and any amount of hand-wringing is not going to change that. It happened before and it will surely happen again. Citizens private and public alike succumb to these things.

Who cares if Goldberg gets some entertainment out of it? The important thing is that Blagojevich will likely realize some serious consequences for his actions...not every nation can ensure the same. With this comes the luxury of political schadenfreude.

America "loves" stupid criminals. It doesn't mean they love crime or graft.

[Charon]

Umm, you do realize that Goldberg is just messing with you, right? He's seen how you react to anything posted on NRO, and is simply toying with you in order to elicit a response that he (and ceritainly other readers of NRO) find humorous.
To quote a great man, why so serious?

[DNJ]

An obviously corrupt-to-the-core thug of a politician acts like a corrupt-to-the-core thug of a politician, and because Goldberg sees no personal tragedy for Blago, he's betraying his "pro-life" principles? That's one of the most idiotic things I've read in punditry in the last month. Blago is a crook; he acted like a crook; from what I can tell, he never had the potential to be much other than a crook. I see nothing to indicate he didn't get a "fair shake" along the way somewhere, so that turned him bad. He's just a crook. Personally, I like to see crooks get what crooks deserve.

Aren't you, by the way, the one who started this whole half-brouhaha by whining about the "rule of law"?

[DNJ]

Charon: (the fictional character of) The Joker is a "great man"? Priority check.

[John]

Lighten up, Francis.

[Sean Bannion]

Dan, I am not defending Goldberg here, he can do it on his own. But I think you are wound a little too tightly on this one.

I agree with Bro, America "loves" stupid criminals in an "America's Stupidest Criminal" videos sort of way. It absolutely doesn't mean they accept or tolerate crime or graft.

Sure, Blagojevich represents a wasted life and a tragedy. But Blago's problems are 100% of his own making. I thought it was the conservative view to support the acceptance of personal responsibility? No? Has Blago accepted any responsibility? Did I miss something? At least John Harris has the good sense to resign quickly.

Since, due to his narcissism, Blago hasn't accepted personal responsibility in any meaningful or heartfelt way, he richly deserves every second of every minute of every hour of the public mocking and ridicule he will get.

Conservatives in general accept that there is such a thing as human nature. Americans in general tend to be forgiving and very open to the idea of personal redemption. But that redemption comes with an expectation that the transgressor will accept responsibility.

Until Blagojevich does that, I really think Goldberg has the better argument here. Sorry.

[Steven Den Beste]

He's linked to you again:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDM3NjA4N2UwZTk5MzYzZWIyNzQ5YWIyZjFjYmQxMDM=

I think his ending "...you can tell me what it's like in the big leagues" smacks of Dan Rather's "Do you know who I am?" arrogance. Frankly, I don't think Goldberg is showering himself with glory here.

[Nagarajan Sivakumar]

I think you are taking this too seriously - Chicago has always been like this. If Chicago was an acronym, the first C would stand for corruption - and the second C would also stand for corruption, just so that you remember that Chicago politics is essentially a corrupt and criminal enterprise.

Blagojevich was stupid enough to have phone conversations about the horse trading when a dogged and overzealous prosecutor like Ftizgerald was going after him. Every man, woman and child who knows something about Illinois politics knows that Fitzgerald was already building a case against the Guvner. It is the height of hubris to have talked about deals so openly on the phone.

Does any one think that Blago or for that matter any other Governor from any other state is simply going to hand over the Senate appointment without cutting a political deal or favor? It is too naive to think that way.

Chicago Democrats have long ago internalized that corruption was an essential feature of their party.For God's sakes, the Daley family has been in control of City Hall for almost half a century! If that doesnt give you a clue about how nonchalant people are about this issue, what else will ?

Republicans didnt do themselves any favor by having their own corrupt leaders like George Ryan. As such the GOP gets only a few chances to govern in IL - and they went around throwing it away and behaving like Democrats.

Also, the pro-life jab was definitely uncalled for, not to mention waaaaaay off base. Your call to help people out to me is Democrat-lite. There is already a party which does just that. We dont need two parties to compete on who is the best "help". And goes way beyond merely helping too. The looming entitlement crisis of Medicare and Social Security is the best example of Government "help" going awfully bad.

[cliff]

Are you actually as big of an a$$hole as you seem to be?

It must really be depressing.

[zombyboy]

Firstly, the whole pro-life connection is just bizarre--I'll let Andrew and Allswell speak for me on that one.

This affair is not a tragedy. The only thing that could really make it a tragedy at this point would be the failure to punish the folks who played along. To have so much evidence of corruption--for the citizens to see it and know that the man is guilty--and then to see him unpunished would be tragic and harmful to our political system. On the other hand, when a corrupt politician gets nabbed with loads of evidence, prosecuted for his crimes, and punished heavily for his political sins (which is, of course, what I hope happens), then it isn't a moment for wailing and woe. It's a moment for celebration that the system worked in this instance.

There are no dead bodies, there are no male prostitutes and piles of blow, and there's no wide stance in the bathroom, so this doesn't even rise to the level of the absurdity of most current political scandals. Instead we get the truly hilarious machinations of a man using his political clout as a blunt instrument for his own and his family's gain. What isn't funny about that?

[Nagarajan Sivakumar]

Steven,
You are right. Frankly, Goldberg is behaving like a jerk. He could have let this one go.

I actually agree with what Goldberg says. But i am not sure that this back and forth is needed. Riehl has his own views on this matter and Goldberg does not agree with it. fair enough. but this now seems to have become a personal fight rather than a political argument.

Riehl, take the high road and please dont respond. The last thing that we want is conservative infighting when the most liberal politican to be elected President is about to take office in a little over a month.

It would be better to focus on Obama's role in this matter and how he essentially remained silent even though he knew that his Senate Seat was being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Instead we have Goldberg and Riehl taking personal slights.

Sad.

[memomachine]

Hmmm.

1. Frankly there are many reasons to not read NRO. Just as there are many reasons to not read WSJ. While they are generally conservative, under a very wide and loose definition IMO, they do support a political attitude that I do not. In short their hold on principles is based entirely on whether or not it'll help in getting elected and has little to do with the reason -for getting elected- in the first place.

2. In general I'd agree that Campaign Spot is good and Mark Levin is the best along with Mark Steyn. Otherwise I pretty much ignore NRO as I do the WSJ.

3. I think you ran yourself head-first into a brick wall with this one. Seriously. It's nice that you think Blagovich has ruined his life, he has. But he ruined his life because he chose to do so. A choice that we all have. However when someone decides to laugh at a fool like Blagovich it doesn't have anything to do with whether or not that person is "pro-life". Being pro-life means giving everyone the opportunity to be born and have a chance at life. That's it. If your definition is different then you need to express it ... and then explain it because it doesn't make much sense to me.

People ruin their lives all the time by accident or carelessness. Deliberately ruining his life because he deliberately chose to doesn't rise to the level of anything.

Frankly if you're going to adopt that point of view then you might as well consider the tragedy that Jews have suffered since rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. If they had embraced the Lord Jesus Christ back in 32 AD then at least they wouldn't have been persecuted all these centuries as Jews. Sure they might have been persecuted as Christians, but not as Jews.

Do you see the ridiculous nonsense in that previous paragraph? I hope you do.

[Siberian Khatru]

Dan, when did you become Andrew Sullivan?

Switch to decaf.

[gm]

NRO is a joke.

[mark l.]

"People can ignore the disconnected Inside the Beltway elitism of some pundits at NRO and elsewhere on the Right if they want, but it will only serve to leave the Right in the minority over the longer haul."

circulation is 155,000. People aren't even bothering to ignore the disconnect, as they would have to be aware of the National Review's existence before they choose to ignore it.

I couldn't find a list that would provide a ranking for that low a number, but I would imagine that it is somewhere between 'Incontinent Feline Monthly' and "The Salty Slug Recipe Guide".

it's one thing to have thin skin and be in the public eye, but it is something special to have thin skin and exist in relative political anonymity, while believign otherwise.

goldberg needs to step back, realize that his mag's pulpit is shrinking, and ask himself why...

to borrow from revelations:

"Since you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth."

The initial piece that started this, was the disconnect produced by a conflict of visceral disgust and an allegedly conservative author providing the lukewarm rxn and rationale. I hope this debate ends soon, but I have far more faith that the resurgence of the conservative movement will come from people with strong feelings about the very nature of govt, versus the pundits who evoke the memory of a famous Bobby Knight quote:

'If you are getting raped, you might as well sit back and enjoy it.'

(paraphrased)

[daniel]

The more I read Riehl World re the Goldberg column, the less I believe I'm in the real world. You are making no sense, Dan. And the Blago corruption is not tragic. The entire situation is part of the human comedy that our imperfections naturally create. I do think you have confused tragedy and comedy and suggest you re-read Shakespeare and Dante and Sophocles, for starters.

[Lala]

Mark, I thought the rape quote was from Dr. Weatherbee. Or, maybe there's a lot of dopes around.

[reliapundit]

right on!

[Lala]

I am happy to see that I am not the only person confused by this Riehl/Goldberg thingy!

[mark l.]

"The entire situation is part of the human comedy that our imperfections naturally create."

Illinois, particularly Chicago, is a place that up until now, has provided a situation where honest officials were driven out or into obscurity and irrelevance. When criminals are put in charge of policy and can gather in the brightness of day, one has to ask themselves where Fallujah (pre 11/04) ends and Chicago begins.

(I love the liberal tact of pointing out the failure in Iraq based on how 'corrupt' the new govt is, or obsess about missing funds, with Chicago style corruption being performed behind their backs as they pontificate.)

Is it the norm? The press has been fervently pushing that meme'-if I see another citation of 'conviction rates' of public officals being far lower in Illinois than other states, it suggests that even the press is arguing for the 'nothing to see, move along' defense.

Chicago is the third largest city in our country, and it is an emabarrassment.

"CHICAGO (WLS) -- At least 37 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend. Eight of the shootings were fatal."

http://current.com/items/88913927/chicago_in_the_lead_for_murder_capital_2008.htm

this city/state isn't just another example of human tragedy, it is a caricature of all that is wrong with govt AND the apathy that afflicts us all.

[daleyrocks]

Dan - I think you need to make the connection to Blago's positions on FISA and the war on terror to really close the loop here.

[Andrew X]

I'm gonna sorta take Goldberg's side here in that I think more is being made of his column that it deserves. Something worth mentioning is that I think Goldberg was, consciously or unconsciously, reaching back to two absolute pinnacles of his columns, ones written about the Dan Rather fiasco.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2NkOWI4ZWYzMzliMTMxZmFhZjMxOTg2MmYzYWJhMjI=

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDJlOWNmZDEwYmJiOGI0MmMyYjY4NTc5MWM4YTJlMTE=

The fact is, these two columns are rollicking in hysterics, and they are about the exact same themes of hubris, blindness of the self, and outright unfathomably stupid and hypocritical behavior on the part of people at the very top of the food chain. And Goldberg, whom, like us, is NOT at the top of that chain, spares no opportunity to point and laugh at those who are, who are ostensibly responsible for their own actions, and do things that lead them over a cliff.

Maybe it's not right for every one of us to react with knee-slapping over this kind of thing, but Goldberg has a witty knack for it, so, like Saturday Night Live, he's only doing his job when he does it. Nothing to gripe about, and the humor is there. (And read those Dan Rather columns, they are really really funny, and so well-deserved.)

[SAM]

I've read your blog and The Corner for years, and I can't quite figure out why you've blown Jonah's comment out of proportion. I've read all of your posts, and I've read Jonah's.

It seems to me you went over the top to personally attack Jonah when he was merely making fun of Blagojevich's stupidity and hypocrisy. I live in Illinois, and I didn't take offense to Jonah's comment because it's obvious he couldn't believe how pathetic Blago actions were given the fact that he's been under investigation for years.

To take his comment and twist it into an inability to relate to regular people (and call him an ass-clown) was bizarre, and I suspect is the reason he used his biting sarcasm to mock you.

In your posts you've shifted your reasons for attacking Jonah multiple times. First it's because you think Jonah's an elitist, then there's an issue with him being or not really being pro-life, then it's because NRO gives a voice to Kathleen Parker, then it's because NRO supported Bush's spending spree? C'mon. They've been irritated by Bush's spending from the beginning. At least don't misrepresent NRO's positions. And I'm not going to get into why giving people a voice, like long-time wrtier Parker, makes them a problem or has anything to do with Jonah or his purported elitism.

I get that you might have thought that Jonah's comment about there being no victims of Blago's crimes somewhat out of touch. But that argument only makes sense if you hadn't read all of Jonah's post especially this line, "It's like when you watch "Cops" and the idiot burglar tries to hide beside a tree in the dark, even though he's wearing light-up sneakers."

Clearly, Jonah gets that the people of Illinois have been ill-served by Blago (I don't think there's anyone out there who doesn't) but that shouldn't preclude Jonah from making jokes about Blago's stupidity and his making light of it doesn't make Jonah or any of the other writers at NRO elitists.

[McGehee]

This is either a great way for Dan to keep getting linked from NRO, or for NRO to keep getting linked from RWV. Which has more traffic under normal circumstances?

[mark l.]

"And the Blago corruption is not tragic. The entire situation is part of the human comedy that our imperfections naturally create. I do think you have confused tragedy and comedy and suggest you re-read Shakespeare and Dante and Sophocles, for starters."

The vestibule in the Divine 'Comedy':

"It is the place where those who would make no choices in life, "who lived a life but lived it with no blame and no praise", are condemned to spend their eternity. This includes those too self-absorbed to make choices, those who were neither warm nor cold on important matters, those who were neither believers nor blasphemers. They run about the hills of Ante-Hell forever having no hope of truly dying, chasing banners they will never catch, and being stung repeatedly by hornets and wasps. An example of such a person who refused to make decisions in his life would be Pontius Pilate, who refused to pass sentence of Christ.

Some people, such as self-absorbed agnostics, end up trapped in a bronze jar in the Vestibule. These jars, of varying sizes, are scattered about the field of dirt; the voices of those trapped inside can be faintly heard through the walls of the jars."

http://www.wolfram.demon.co.uk/rp_dante_hell.html#ante_hell

interpret the implication as you wish.

[conservative pilgrim]

What's wrong with disagreement and discourse? Oh that's right--Gestapo conformity. Because conservatives don't disagree, don't engage in ideas, don't provoke and prod one another in our blind spots, we just listen to the elites in our movement who know better, who can enlighten us little ones and show us the way. Plueeeze.

Dan, it seems that what irked you with Goldberg's particular comment is something that has been brewing with you for a while: his "in the closet" elitism, something rampant at NRO. It's a symptom of the problem. Well, you are not alone. Frankly, I don't read NRO anymore. They've been sucked into the Beltway-NY corridor thinking unknowingly. Sadly, they don't recognize their attrition and blast others, like yourself, that call them on it. Now that blogs give voice to the people (and cut into their readership and influence), they don't like it. I say to continue engaging in ideas and the direction of Conservatism. (Just stick to the ideas and avoid personal attacks.)

I understand where you're coming from with the "pro-life" argument, but I think you might want to rephrase it. Are you taking Goldberg to task for his dismissal of Blago's actions, i.e., who cares it's par for the course? That's not really a pro-life issue, but a moral and ethical standard issue, one that should be the same for everyone--politicians, Democrats, Republicans, and everyone else.

What's going on with Balgojevich happens in other places. Because Obama happens to be from Chicago, campaigned for Blago, is directly involved with this scandal (although he denies it), and this pay-to-play deals with Obama's vacant Senate seat, people are up in arms. The MSM and others are pushing this story into "tragedy" like levels. If Obama wasn't involved, nobody would know about it. Blagojevich is a self-aggrandizing individual and a Chicago-machine politician. Why are we surprised? (Read John Kass's Thursday editorial in the Tribune.)

Continue to engage and push the Conservative movement forward by giving voice to people outside the NY-WA corridor. If you feel strongly and passionately about it, don't be bullied or silenced.

[Charon]

DNJ:
1. The quote works nicely for this situation.
2. It was another joke and attempt to get people to try and take things a little more light-heartedly. Really, humor is NOT a prevailing trait in today's society.

[Charlie]

Not to pile on here, but for me Goldberg pitch-perfectly captured the absurd bathedy of the latest round of Chi-town politics.

He writes with a touch of levity, for heaven sake. It's as though you are attacking him for his ability to focus on the absurdity of the situation and put it into useful, if not wholly sobersided, perspective.

[Gene]

Goldberg has a duty to respond substantively to your blog post? His failure to fulfill that is evidence of cowardice?

You're allowed to joke about Blago, but he isn't? What does abortion have to do with this? Growing up and becoming a crooked politician is the same evil as chopping up a baby before birth?

Why did you bring Palin into it in the other post? The idea that we only read Goldberg because of who his mother is, also from the other post, is equally strange.

I've occasionally read this blog when other blogs link to something interesting here. I have no reason to stop, but how can I avoid thinking "Here's another post from that weird guy"?

[Dan R.]

What's the frequency Kenneth?

Courage.

[ClemondNFlinch]

I couldn't agree more! The tragic wasted potential of Blago trivialized by the Right disgusts me. I will never understand how these "conservatives" can't show compassion towards their fellow man. We live in a world where people bribe, they rape, they murder, yet these conservatives would rather have their hearts bleed for the innocent unborn than the corrupt wastes of life who willing decide to self destruct. Wait...I forgot what point I was making.

[mountainaires]

Honestly, Dan: Who are the freaking victims here? The people who voted for Blago? Give me a break. They're the very same people who voted for Ryan, Daley, Obama, Rahm Emmanuel....and George W. Bush. Americans are a lot of clueless rubes, who vote for show over substance every damn time. The tragedy is that you can neither admit that or even get some gallows humor out of it.

Well, here's what H.L. Mencken said about George W. Bush--and the American people's "great and glorious day" in January, 2001:

"On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

[jdb]

This isn't your finest moment, Dan. The only tragedy here is that someone like Blago gets into office in the first place.

[SacTownMan]

"Continue to engage and push the Conservative movement forward by giving voice to people outside the NY-WA corridor. If you feel strongly and passionately about it, don't be bullied or silenced."

Well said Pilgram!

Dan's site is a forum where EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE has a voice.

I recall Dan once saying the reason he lets even the most psychotic Daily Koz loving moonbats post with impunity here is so he can drop in every now and then and Bitch Slap em a little.

It's great that all of you defenders of conservatism have chosen this moment in time to visit "little, lowly" Dan's website. By this time next week most of you will disappear into the woodwork likely to never return. That is too bad because you will not find a more open, free wheeling forum.

We spent months here discussing the Chicago graft machine and Barry's links to them. Why, because the MSM types refused to cover Barry and his neverending connections to a long list of slime balls. Dan's site allows for an open and fair discussion that often includes a cadre of "Astroturfers" earning their keep. For Jonah to "poo pa" the treachery of this corrupt pal of Barry's is laughable and Dan called him on it. The elitist conservatives have influenced the actions of the party for far too long, time for the "little" folk like Dan to call them out for it!

Keep up the good work Dan, maybe some of these closet conservatives will show up every now and then to share their infinite wisdom with we "little people"

[LOL]

Goldberg and his cronies have to beg on the internet for their bread. I think that right there tells you the worth of their words.

[Donna V.]

A creepy thug doing business as usual in Illinois got caught due to his own stupidity and arrogance. That, to me, is one of the very few bright spots on the horizon these days.

Blago isn't tragic. What is is seeing two conservative writers who fundamentally agree on most issues turn their guns on each other. The right-wing blogosphere has become a depressing place. Wake up, folks - we're facing a massive expansion of government and loss of our personal freedoms and every conservative troop will be needed to fight against the nanny state planned by Obama, Pelosi, Reid and co. Instead, I'm seeing more backbiting and bitchiness then I witnessed in the cafeteria of my all-girl's high school, not to mention the eager embrace of conspiracy theories about Obama's secret Muslim faith and his birth certificate. Hey, remember, we're supposed to be the grownups. Are we so demoralized and frightened that we can't fight the Left's ideas and so are turning our guns on each other?

It's sad to see conservatives act like, well, like lefties. No wonder the moonbat trolls here are delighted. We're sinking to their level of immaturity, heresy hunting, and humorless sanctimony.

[Donna V.]

Goldberg and his cronies have to beg on the internet for their bread.

Andrew Sullivan, of course, has never been known to do this.

And given the current financial state of the NY Times, Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd might be spotted holding tin cups in Central Park soon: "Will snark for food."

[mcg]

"Goldberg and his cronies have to beg on the internet for their bread. I think that right there tells you the worth of their words."

What an idiotic thing to say.

Yeah their donation requests are as unattractive to me as the ones on PBS, and I've donated the same to both. But NRO isn't running a group blog, they're running a dead tree operation as well. They have a little more on their plate than your average blogger, much less blog commenter.

Furthermore, I'll bet that even without the donations they still bring vastly more revenue than our esteemed host here. So what does that say about the worth of his words? The answer is nothing, of course, unless you're just being a prick.

[Brian Garst]

What the hell has Blago to do with abortion? First you miss his point and pick a stupid fight over semantics (what is a "tragedy"), and now are going to make outrageous claims about National Review being insignificant? Yeah, that's real convincing. You picked a stupid fight for no reason, come off like a douche, and are far more what's wrong with the right than NRO.

[Paul A'Barge]

Jonah Goldberg is all clever and glib and slick as ice on a door knob until someone points out his arrogance.

Then he turns into a parody of a simpering, whining geek. Like he's above it all.

Funny though, Goldberg ... you are above it all .... and that's the point that Dan and the rest of your critics are trying to make: you're not part of anything. You're off in a policy corner by yourself, playing with yourself.

Pathetic.