An interesting blog to learn how some Prince William/Northern Virginia squishes are thinking.
When I was at Hampden-Sydney College (a men's college), there was a lot of graffiti on the bathroom walls. All of it was unsigned. Most of it was scandalous, but a lot of it was just hateful. There was the one about a student who was called a "raging papist" because he said something supportive of the Catholic position on abortion in an ethics class. How "raging"? Well, now he's a Catholic priest. Then there was the virtual campaign against a classmate, challenging his manhood. He's now a correspondent on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show," does the wise-a** "Mr. Goodwrench" commercials, and has a wife and two children.
To be sure, people have a First Amendment right to anonymity. But just because one has the right to say something doesn't mean it's appropriate or wise to do so.
And when we're talking about political commentary, history and context matter. I put my name on these little missives because you, Gentle Reader, have a right to judge my rhetoric against my record. If I've been inconsistent, I deserve to be called on it.
But then, there's the cowardly anonymity of the posters on the aforementioned squishblog. What do they fear? That the conservative majority in Prince William County will exact retribution? Or deny them when they want something from us? Or simply recognize them for what they are when able to attach identities to those who might put on a different public face? Might it be because they want to wax demagogic in anonymity, and attack as "mean-spirited" those who throw similar rhetoric in their faces?
Maybe their pretensions to wisdom will be measured against their dismal electoral record. Some of my critics like to make note of the fact that I was twice unsuccessful in bids for public office. And while it might be so that the reader can take note of my personally dismal electoral record, it all too frequently comes off as just hateful. But how about them? They certainly want to claim to be Conservatives and Republicans, but how do we know that they are? They sound a lot more like lefties who just want to sow dissension in the GOP. And even if they aren't, I'm willing to bet a fair number have been supportive of a series of GOP candidates who haven't had any more success than I at the polls.
It's no wonder they maintain anonymity. They make vile, vicious, peurile, and sophomoric attacks upon the elected (note, "elected," as in, got the most votes) leaders of the County GOP --- you know, the ones who took Prince William County from where it was in 1990 to unarguably dominant status in 2005 --- and do so behind a cloak of anonymity so they can't be held responsible. They responded to this post with a personal attack.
Like I said. Cowards.
3 comments:
Pretty much spot on for the Connaughton wing here in the county. It's amazing the amount of spin they put on his actions when those action are diametrically opposed to his promises. What's more telling is their attitude toward both Supervisor Stewart and Supervisor Stirrup, rife with references to them being backstabbers merely for opposing Lord Connaughton and maintaining the promises they made to the constituency that elected them. If you remove their veil of anonymity, I wonder how many of them would have ties to developers, planning office or school board that appear de facto to run the county while filling Lord Sean's campaign chest. The funny thing about campaign promises, especially those made most stridently, is that some of us remember them and are able to quote them at innoportune times for the pragmatic chair.
RE: your last sentence -- Yeah, that's what they hate and fear. You know. That awful and illegitimate conservative tactic of using a candidate's own words against him. Anonymous blogs are made for cowards and the inconsistent whose primary motivation is the pursuit of power (which means: they'll say anything) and who despise anyone with principles.
Agreed, what's most troubling is that the attitude they demonstrate is typically found at lower levels of elected government, midlevel bureaucratic staff meetings or DNC presidential campaigns. Thus the reason no-one trusts small town government (Hazzard County), bureaucrats (nuff said) or liberals in general.
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