Rich Lowry, The Silly Little Schoolboy Of NRO

In this comment on Sherrod, Lowry is no better than some silly little schoolboy. Why is the Editor of what professes to be the leading publication of conservatism spewing such utter pap?

Its politics aside, her full speech is heartfelt and moving. It's the tale of someone overcoming hatred and rancor when she had every reason not to. 

That, for a woman who just called every Republican and every conservative a racist in the very speech Lowry claims to have reviewed and to have been so moved by. Where is the intellectual honesty in that? He's either an idiot, or a coward, I have no idea which. He should be charged with malpractice as a serious political thinker of the Right.

source: You know, I haven't seen such a mean-spirited people as I've seen lately over this issue of health care. Some of the racism we thought was buried. Didn't it surface? Now, we endured eight years of the Bush's and we didn't do the stuff these Republicans are doing because you have a black President.

What a disgrace. Sherrod says, you conservatives and all you Republicans are racists. And Lowry responds, I'm touched. It's pathetic, given his position at NRO. He should be running a Sunday school newsletter, instead.

Comments

[Ragspierre]

But when asked by CNN Chief National Correspondent John King what she would say to Breitbart, Sherrod did not dance around the question.

“I’d tell him he’s a liar. He knew exactly what effect that would have on not only – he knew what effect that would have on the conservative, racist people he’s dealing with. That’s why I started getting the hate mail. And that’s why I started getting the hate calls. He got the effect he was looking for,” Sherrod said on John King, USA.

Yep. She's an open-minded, non-racist, non-hater alright...

[memomachine]

Hmmmm.

What is it with these "conservatives"? There seems to be some sort of need to be continually pummeled by the Left. I don't get it. I don't understand it. Is it because they all go to the same parties? Have all these beltway boobs been co-opted?

Shirley Sherrod might be, in a strictly legal sense, be a victim because she wasn't given due process. But as a political appointee that works at the pleasure of the POTUS isn't she largely exempt from all of those laws? Can't she be fired for any reason, or no reason at all, because she works at the pleasure of the POTUS?

Even with all that there is no excuse whatsoever for the ridiculously idiotic allegations Sherrod has made against conservatives, Republicans and FoxNews. And the utterance of any single part of what she has said already by a *white* person would have not only resulted in the firing of said white person but the expulsion thereof from polite society.

Honestly I'd trade every last Republican and so called "conservative" in Washington for one single conservative version of Ted Kennedy. Not fat, drunk and stupid with a virtual murder for a background. But someone who is willing to fight tooth and nail, draw blood every single time and leave nobody uncertain that any action whatsoever will be met with a hard fought battle right to the bitter end. Someone willing to turn Congress into a cage match from Hell.

Seriously. Where did these "conservatives" hide their testicles?

[Pasadena Phil]

I would extend this criticism to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. Breitbart had the courage to storm the beach and create a beach head for the rest of us. Are conservatives afraid of winning? Is it more about "feelings" than substance? It's like listening to John McCain admonishing conservatives on the floor trying to end spirited debate with calls for "comity". Do we want to win or not?

[Reaganite Republican]

As long as "conservatives" like Lowry dance at gunpoint for anybody who might want to call him a racist, we will continue to have these situations... until it doesn't work anymore.

Lowry's crime here is one of [b] cowardice- he comes across as ashamed to be a Republican, like he's bought into the libs' narrative or something... but is too dumb to realize that they just define us in ways that serve their purposes.

And he's not helping anybody... the hard Left smell weakness and guilt complexes and exploit them fully, as a child of divorced parents would to get what they want.

[Jeff]

come on Dan, don't hold back ... how do you really feel about Lowry ...

I'll admit I was ashamed that I had thought of her as a racist based on the original tape when her extended remarks about the white farmer came out later ... then the rest of the tape showed her to be an unrepentant racist and my shame was wiped away to be replaced by even more certainly that she in fact still holds racists views about whites ...

since then, everytime she speaks in public she has reinforced that belief ...

[Xiaoding]

Buckley was always a surrender monkey, and so are his friends.

[Cubachi]

Amen to your post Dan. Glad we have fighters like you on our side.

[Mrs. Peperium]

For fun, see the guy that has Buckley's genes in him, Brent Bozell's take on the full speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4k5JH9XnXs

[King Simar Shabazz (D-black panther)]

Where my cracker boy 2cent at?????? Come on now 2cent cracker, let 'em have it, tell 'em real good cracker boy,, tell 'em all real good!!

[Neo]

Sherrod has had her 15 minutes
She would have done better if she had just shut up, but NO !
She had to go the "I never said nothin' bad about whitey" route.

[Chisum]

Let her keep talking.

She's the gift that keeps on giving.

[Ragspierre]

"I would extend this criticism to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh."

You weren't listening to Rush, Philly.

[spartacus]

"Shirley Sherrod might be, in a strictly legal sense, be a victim because she wasn't given due process." umnnn... like. you do realize her father was killed with THREE eyewitnesses and the murderer was not even indicted, right? and you do understand that 150 years ago it was black people who were slaves and sixty years ago it was black people who were legally and extralegally discriminated against and forty years ago... well, her father was murdered and no one was held to account?

Oh wait. sorry. apparently black people have been keeping you down too long, and uneducated, and unable to vote. sorry.

honestly, though, how would you feel if a a black person murdered your father with three eyewitnesses and no one was held to account? and you grew up in a segregated school and people of your skin color were legally discriminated against? and afterward, when the law was officially changed, the people who discriminated against you considered themselves victims? and later, when someone ripped a speech you gave about racial reconciliation entirely out of context to make you out to be a speech about being racist and discriminating against the opposite race and you were fired... and then basically didn't even admit that they had totally distorted what you said.

well, apparently you are all sooo much better than her, and more angelic. I wish I was y'all. i mean, context, and history, just sort of slides off your back, doesn't it?

[memomachine]

Hmmmm.

@ spartacus

1. Don't be a bigger fool than your mother made you.

2. me: "Shirley Sherrod might be, in a strictly legal sense, be a victim because she wasn't given due process."

She was a victim because she wasn't given due process FOR HER RACIST STATEMENT for which she was unceremoniously fired. You complete tool.

Reading comprehension: Fail.

3. "umnnn... like. you do realize her father was killed with THREE eyewitnesses and the murderer was not even indicted, right?"

Which has what to do with this situation? What she has absolute moral authority to make any racist statements she wants?

What about white victims of black criminals? Do they get a free pass?

4. "and you do understand that 150 years ago it was black people who were slaves and sixty years ago it was black people who were legally and extralegally discriminated against and forty years ago... well, her father was murdered and no one was held to account?"

And 100 years ago it was legal to murder, rob, rape and enslave Asians in California. Why? Because California passed a law, that was approved by the California courts, that precluded Asians from bearing witness in a court against whites.

The Chinese Exclusion Act specifically forbid Asians from immigrating into the US until it was repealed in the 1940's.

I don't see anybody bending over backwards for me. And for your information nor do I.

5. "Oh wait. sorry. apparently black people have been keeping you down too long, and uneducated, and unable to vote. sorry."

Sounds like you're an ignorant asshole who is making way too many assumptions. But you know the old saw about assumptions right? Ass-U.

6. "honestly, though, how would you feel if a a black person murdered your father with three eyewitnesses and no one was held to account?"

And that has what to do with any of this?

7. "and you grew up in a segregated school and people of your skin color were legally discriminated against?"

You mean like Asians were, have been and *are* in college admissions?

8. "and afterward, when the law was officially changed, the people who discriminated against you considered themselves victims?"

Why don't you pull out that magic pen and illustrate for everyone where the poor white farmer claimed he was a victim.

And let me point out: how about white victims of black criminals?

9. "and later, when someone ripped a speech you gave about racial reconciliation entirely out of context to make you out to be a speech about being racist and discriminating against the opposite race and you were fired... and then basically didn't even admit that they had totally distorted what you said."

You didn't even bother actually watching the video clip put forth by Breitbart did you? You didn't even bother to read his article.

His clip *shows* that moment, momentary moment, of redemption and Breitbart even goes out of his way to point to it in his article.

You fool.

10. "well, apparently you are all sooo much better than her, and more angelic. I wish I was y'all. i mean, context, and history, just sort of slides off your back, doesn't it?"

I am better than her. I am not a racist, she is. I am not a Marxist, she is. I don't refer to people of a different race as "other", she does. I don't refer to people of a different race as "your kind" or "their kind", she does.

So how f**king admirable is that? How admirable is it for someone to use terms like "other" or "kind". Why don't you prove how forward thinking it is and how admirable it is by going up to a black person and asking them about "other" and "kind".

Her father got murdered? That's terrible. But that doesn't change or excuse her the situation or her behavior. It's called a civil society. There are rules to that society and we're all expected to follow those rules. We may have terrible things in our past but that doesn't excuse current misbehavior.

If it does then the millions of Vietnamese Boat People betrayed into robbery, privation, rape, murder and slavery by Democrat tools such as John Kerry might want to have a private word with said Senator Kerry.

--------

[memomachine]

Hmmmm.

Revising point #4:

"I don't see anybody bending over backwards for me. And for your information nor do I."

should read:

"I don't see anybody bending over backwards for me. And for your information nor do I want them to."

(touch pad moved the cursor and broke my train of thought.)

[syn]

This all reminds me of the NR reaction to the New Republic's 'Beauchamp Winter Soldier Tales' (2006) in which a soldier was hired by The New Republic to make-up 'horrific' stories about serving in Iraq. Turns out the guy never even made it out of Kuwait while he wrote about his experience in Iraq.

Jonah's reaction was basically 'I know the editor, he's good people, went to university with him...I can't image him doing anything like this'

This Sherrod fiasco, as well as, the Journolist disaster-are further examples of The Ruling Class protecting their Guild.

NR offers so many words yet most all are worthless; results prove Cult of Buckely are failures at 'Standing Athwart Washington Liberals Yelling Stop'

[Fred Beloit]

Spart say: "honestly, though, how would you feel if a a black person murdered your father..."

I don't think the man OJ killed had any children, spart.

[memomachine]

Hmmmm.

"Jonah's reaction was basically 'I know the editor, he's good people, went to university with him...I can't image him doing anything like this'"

Frankly I've always thought of things in a liberal vs conservative divide so I never really gave much credence to even the possibility of an elitist vs regular struggle. But now I see that things are divided more in terms of self-styled elitist vs regular people. The elitists ensure that each other are supported and defend one another as necessary. While there might be blood spilled within the group, based on interior divisional struggles, as a whole they work together to ensure continuation of the system that supports them.

Thanks Dan for opening my eyes.

As for terminology: the "self-styled elitist" or simply "elitist" is already a term that can be used for that side. But what to call our side? Something that won't be construed in a derogatory way like "Tea Baggers" has?

Regular? Common? Average? Do we need to be concerned about derogatory insinuations? Or is being common something to be embraced; daring these elitists to use these terms in naively derogatory ways that would evoke a response in somnolent watchers?

Hmmmm. How about "Majority"? After all, that is what we are.

[Landru]

Why do fools like spartacus always have to go back in time decades or even centuries to try to support their ridiculous arguments? Maybe they should restart WWII to settle old scores against the Germans, right spartacus? Or maybe people should start blasting Mongolians for all the discrimination by the Mongols 800 years ago? I mean, really, what is it with liberals and their impulse to start dredging up every conflict in history with their "how would you like it if so and so did this, eh!" bit. It's a constant litany of victimology with these idiots. As if the whole world should act like a bunch of Sardinian clans out for revenge.

[spartacus]

@memomachine "You didn't even bother actually watching the video clip put forth by Breitbart did you? You didn't even bother to read his article." and, you actually didn't watch the whole video, did you? oh wait:"FOR HER RACIST STATEMENT" ... you clear as day have not watched the whole video. instead you've been misled by Breitbart who acted with reckless negligence at best with his article and context-free video, until days later he finally admits: “I grant her that she had her redemptive transformation" in the context of still defending his actions. "It's called a civil society. There are rules to that society and we're all expected to follow those rules. " I agree wholeheartedly. Go watch the whole video, be a bit more civil, and come back and let me know if you've changed your mind. To respond to the rest, I don't think the horrific treatment of asians 50-100 years ago somehow justifies the horrific treatment of black people during that same time. And, honestly, as far assuming goes, do you have any idea if I am Vietnamese or not? Asian?

@Fred: Spart say: "honestly, though, how would you feel if a a black person murdered your father..." I don't think the man OJ killed had any children
So clearly your not that man's child, so thanks. But how would you feel if you were? It would be awful, no? And think about it: OJ murdered people with 0 eyewitnesses. and he was indicted, and put on trial. He should have been found guilty too, but there was a national outcry over the miscarriage of justice with the verdict in his trial. Shirley's father was murdered with three eyewitnesses, and there was not even an indictment. Was there any national outcry over that injustice? Any outcry? Do you even care?

but your weird one-bad-turn-deserves-another logic finds it's perfect expression in @memomachine "umnnn... like. you do realize her father was killed with THREE eyewitnesses and the murderer was not even indicted, right?"
Which has what to do with this situation? What she has absolute moral authority to make any racist statements she wants?
What about white victims of black criminals? Do they get a free pass?" No. I believe in equal justice, regardless of race. And I believe in civil discourse. Seriously, you all, if you want to pop off about this, need to go watch the whole video. Let me know if you do.

[spartacus]

PS-Regarding history, for a controversy entirely around the problem of viewing something entirely out of context, this is almost funny to complain about it. History is how we got where we are. So, if you wouldn't care about your father being murdered forty years ago because it was so long ago... well, you have an odd relationship with your father. As a great Southern writer put it "The past isn't history. It's not even past."