If you pay any attention to the blogosphere, you’ve noticed that
numerous bloggers (see
here,
here, and here, for
example) have called Paul Krugman to task for his Tuesday column in
which he excused the anti-Semitism of Mahathir Mohamad, prime
minister of Malaysia. I was one of those calling Krugman on this,
and Glenn Reynolds, a.k.a. Instapundit, linked to the post on my
blog. Thus began the “Instalanche” of hits to
my site, and the inevitable discussion of my post, both in my
comments section and on other blogs.
Here are some random thoughts on the ensuing fracas:
Missing the Forest for the Trees: Over at the
blog The Daily
Rant, both Jane Finch and Jay Caruso, whom I respect
enormously, took issue with my characterization of Krugman as
excusing anti-Semitism. Jane wrote, “I missed the excusing of
anti-Semitism. [Krugman] was explaining the domestic politics of
Malaysia and why a politician would say what he did. If [Mahathir]
has to pander to certain interests in his country that have been
inflamed by American actions in Asia (which is what Krugman is
saying), how is that excusing anything?” Jay responded, “Well,
perhaps ‘excusing’ is a bad choice.” Merriam-Webster defines
“excuse” as “to make an apology for, to try to remove blame from.”
Krugman argued that Mahathir’s anti-Semitism was part of a
“domestic balancing act” designed to “ward off ethnic tensions” in
Malaysia. This diverts hostility from Malaysia’s Chinese minority,
and “to keep the economy growing, Mr. Mahathir must allow the
Chinese minority to prosper.” If suggesting that Mahathir’s remarks
are calculated to keep a good economy going is not excusing
anti-Semitism, what is? If savvy critics like Jane and Jay miss
this, I have to wonder exactly how effective Krugman is in his
deceptions.
Blame Bush No Matter How Stupid the Underlying
Argument: Bush hatred among the left, as exemplified by
Krugman, has become so pathological that even the most inane
arguments are taken seriously. Krugman blames the supposedly
“rising tide of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism among Muslims in
Southeast Asia” on the Bush Administration’s “war in Iraq and its
unconditional support for Ariel Sharon.” The assumption underlying
this argument is that Bush is responsible for the reaction others
have to his policy. Does the left really want to tread this ground?
Was the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s responsible for
rising racism in the South, or was the Allies’ decision to go to
war with the Axis powers responsible for a rise in anti-Semitism in
the Third Reich? Furthermore, the reductio ad absurdum of that
argument is that Bush needs to consult every little malcontent in
the world before formulating policy. Surely they can’t mean that,
can they?
Creeping Anti-Semitism Among the Left: Andrew
Sullivan, among others, has noted that anti-Semitism has recently
found voice on college campuses and among the anti-war protesters.
Krugman’s column, and the willingness of his defenders to give him
a pass, suggests that this disturbing trend is increasing.
Double Standards: Krugman let slide Mahathir’s
“carefully managed cronyism that holds his system together.” Funny,
but crony capitalism has been one Krugman’s consistent themes in
his relentless condemnations of the Bush Administration. In fact,
“Crony Capitalism, U.S.A.” was the title of one of his columns. So
why does Mahathir’s cronyism excused? I can only imagine.
More Double Standards: Some lefties in the
blogosphere argue that the media is making much of few words in
Mahathir’s speech and overlooking the remainder which criticizes
Islam. Indeed, Krugman states, “It’s worth reading the rest of last
week’s speech, beyond the offensive 28 words. Most of it is
criticism directed at other Muslims, clerics in particular.” Would
that the media had applied the same standard to Bush’s State of the
Union speech back in June! In that case it was only 16 words.
Even More Double Standards: Rush Limbaugh lost
his job at ESPN for arguing that “social concern” in the sports
media was responsible for hyping the abilities of a black
quarterback. As Don Luskin asks, “Will this finally be the issue
that forces the New York Times to rein in America’s most
dangerous liberal pundit?” I won’t hold my breath.
Indeed, other than the criticism from the blogspehere and an
open
letter from the Anti-Defamation League, Krugman is likely to
get away with it. Just another indication of how far the
Times has fallen.
