The Current Crisis
Bill Kristol’s Departure
The Slim balls at the New York Times prove both predictable and controversial.
WASHINGTON — Let us put an end to the dark murmurings over why the New York Times did not renew its contract with its lone conservative columnist, Bill Kristol. Some say it was a matter of politics. Kristol is a Republican. The Times is Obamist. For a certitude, the political disagreement was there, but politics was not the ultimate cause of Kristol’s departure.
I can now report on copper bottom authority that the New York Times let Kristol go owing to public health concerns. As the Times’ financial condition has grown fragile the publisher of the Times, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr., has become apprehensive that Kristol’s conservative views could endanger the health of some of the newspapers’ neurotic liberal readers. Over the past year, readers unexpectantly encountering Kristol in the otherwise lenitive company of Paul Krugman and Bob Herbert have complained on the correspondence page of various discomforts. None appeared life threatening, but what if an aged environmentalist or an infirm McGovernite lost in reveries of 1972 actually suffered a coronary? The trial lawyers would move upon the Times in an instant. Mr. Sulzberger might not survive.
Of course, the Times might not survive anyway. It labors under $1.1 billion of debt. So precarious are its finances that it recently had to accept a $250 million loan from a Mexican with the unlikely name of Carlos Slim. Whether he really is a Mexican is not clear, and the Times’ team of investigative reporters is now so tiny that executive editor Bill Keller has not been able to spare even one reporter to inquire. So far as I have been able to ascertain, no reporter has even googled to verify Mr. Slim’s nationality. He might be Portuguese. He could be dangerously overweight. Actually, I am told that investigative reporters at the Times now, in an effort to economize, rarely leave their offices and conduct many of their investigations on the telephone. Mr. Sulzberger likes them to call collect.
Yet, to return to Kristol’s departure — frankly I shall miss him. Over this past year, he rarely filed a boring column, which doubtless offended many of his colleagues on the op-ed page. “Boredom is a virtue,” is their motto, and the only other Times columnist who regularly breaks with the general tedium is that perpetual high school rowdy, Maureen Dowd, who often mistakes a cackle for a syllogism. Moreover, Kristol’s conservatism is usually sound, solidly reasoned, and often amusing. This has led to charges from unnamed journalists in a Washington Post column by Howard Kurtz that Kristol was “predictable.” This is a charge liberals often file against conservatives, giving us still more evidence of their double standard. The adherence to principle that renders a conservative “predictable” in the eyes of liberals is exalted as “highly principled” and even “heroic” when exhibited by a liberal.
Another charge against Kristol from unnamed journalists is that he has been cavalier about facts. Kurtz writes that Kristol “had to correct three factual errors,” presumably over the past year. What the errors were Kurtz does not say, but the Times’ “Corrections” section overflows daily, rarely with Kristol’s name. Once a Times reporter had to interview me in an attempt to correct errors in a news story that I had broken in the New York Sun. When the “correction” appeared is was still inaccurate.
Kurtz also reports that Kristol — at least when he has written in the Washington Post — has been “controversial.” Well, at least he was not predictable, or was he? Kurtz reports that in the summer of 2007 Kristol wrote that the presidency of George W. Bush “will probably be a successful one.” On that judgment I would side with the herd of unnamed journalists, though by using selective criteria Kristol can make a case. Elsewhere Kurtz — apparently in consultation with the herd — adjudges “controversial” Kristol’s 2007 observation that “military progress on the ground in Iraq in the past few months has been greater than even surge proponents like me expected.” I cannot find anything controversial about that.
This is not the first time Kristol has departed the mainstream media. In the late 1990s he was a regular with George Stephanopoulos, Cokie Roberts, and Sam Donaldson in a round-table discussion on ABC’s This Week. He left amid rumors that ABC thought him too involved in politics. After a period of reorganizing, ABC put Stephanopoulos in charge of the whole show. Stephanopoulos had been a Democratic political apparatchik all his adult life before joining ABC as a “political analyst.” What prepared him for journalism at ABC? In his 1999 autobiography he admitted that while serving as a senior adviser to Bill Clinton he would “spin” the press, beginning with the Gennifer Flowers tape. Looking back on his years of spinning, Stephanopoulos lamented that “I have been willing to suspend my disbelief about some of his [Clinton’s] more suspect denials.” Suspension of disbelief — there is the mark of a great American journalist!
Kristol simply does not measure up.
About the Author
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator. He is the author of The Death of Liberalism, published by Thomas Nelson Inc. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller Boy Clinton: the Political Biography; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton; The Liberal Crack-Up; The Conservative Crack-Up; Public Nuisances; The Future that Doesn’t Work: Social Democracy’s Failure in Britain; Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House; The Clinton Crack-Up; and After the Hangover: The Conservatives’ Road to Recovery.
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Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 1.29.09 @ 6:26AM
Speaking as a genuine conservative (no "neo-" prefix, thank you very much), I think William Kristol was a horrid little man, one who has been wrong in almost every public utterance or writing he's ever issued. I'm not real fond of the Liberal Douche Brigade over at the NYT either, but I salute them vigorously for dumping that godawful clown.
Rocco| 1.29.09 @ 7:06AM
Amen, Kevin. BTW, Carlos Slim is very much a Mexican, unlikely name or not. He is from a family of Lebanese extraction, hence the unusual name which might be a hispanization of his family's Arabic name.
Although I do appreciate Mr. Tyrrell's humor, there are a lot of ignorant Americans who think all South Americans look like Mexicans, and that all Mexicans look like their Indian forebearers. Not so. In many countries, from Mexico to Argentina, there are significant numbers of descendents of Lebanese, Palestinian Arabs, Italians, Germans, Slavic Eastern Europeans and Greeks living there. For all of her German name, Gisele Bundchen, the famous model, is as Brazilian as Pele. Many German-descended Brazilian families go back generations. Considered in this light, the government created classification of "Hispanic" is idiotic.
Michigan-Matt| 1.29.09 @ 7:18AM
"Don't cry for me BillieKristol"... I'm sorry that Kristol was too expensive for the NYTimes; how will Billie pay for that 8th or 9th summer home now? Maybe there's something for him in the Obama-Democrat spending spree package?
I have never found Billie boring --wrong, often, sure. Frankly, his schtick didn't fit the NYTimes any better than Jerry Rivers' schtick fits FoxNews.
Why news organizations try this "unnatural" pairing nonsense to attract readership is a puzzle. It'd be like AmSpec hiring DeeDee Myers to gossip about inside-the-beltway happenings... it just doesn't pass the sniff test.
BillieKristol at the NYTimes? Something was foul smelling from the start. I hope he soaked 'em good for a 6 figure salary.
Robert Rosencrans| 1.29.09 @ 7:27AM
A line has been drawn in the sand of public discourse. Even light hearted attempts at semi-critical remarks directed at the American equivalent of the Wizard of Oz, Barack Obama are not welcome or wanted.
If someone asks you to take a lifeboat from the Titanic it's not really insulting. The liberal left have defined their own poison, and it's collectivism of thought.
As paper after paper in this country racks up debt because no one buys them anymore, and liberal Obama mirrors like MSNBC suffer plunging ratings, the management of those stations stay the course, offering nothing but liberalism 24/7, seemingly indifferent to the final consequences.
Ryan| 1.29.09 @ 7:35AM
Kevin is correct.
I don't understand why he was fired to begin with. Kristol fits right in there with Judith Miller and the other disinformation specialists the NYT has on ins payroll. He did his part to start the Iraq invasion just as Miller and some other "reporters" of the Times did.
As for him being fired for being a "conservative", I find that hard to believe. While he probably does make the hard core leftist ideologues upset, still, on issues of importance to the Times Kristol was quite reliable. Amnesty for illegal aliens is a case in point. Kristol and the Times both support that. And like the Times, Kristol is a internationalist when it comes to America.
Of course, when it comes to Israel, Kristol will do the exact opposite. I don't think that would upset too many Times readers.
No, I think the Times made a mistake. If you want to discredit was little is left of conservatism in the GOP and promote globalism, you can do no better than to use Kristol as one of your columnists.
If the Times really wants a conservative point of view they can do no better than hire someone like Pat Buchanan or Paul Craig Roberts, but both of them would probably refuse as not to sully their good names.
Jeremiah| 1.29.09 @ 7:53AM
Tyrrell, you have to try to wrap your mind around this concept.
Krisol's columns were not engaging. They were sloppily written, in constant need of factual correction, and frankly, they were loaded with cliches and well-worn arguments.
EVERYONE was surprised by the lack of quality in what he wrote. We (the liberal's hard core) were expecting a good fight. What we got instead were limp, half-hearted repeats from Fox News the night before. People found whole sections of columns were simply transcriptions from comments he'd made on the air the night before.
Kristol clearly has writing ability. But his prose was lame, and he just didn't put much thought into it.
You forget, clearly, that the Times was the home of William Safire. Perhaps it was unfair of us to expect another Safire.
But Kristol didn't live up even to his own reputation.
Howard| 1.29.09 @ 8:55AM
Hey HA, gargle on some razor blades. I'm sick of aholes like you. If you said someone is a Moslem or Catholic or anything else, I'm sure you would be shown the door. So I guess it's ok to say what you say. Not for me you. clown
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 1.29.09 @ 9:11AM
With all due respect, Howard, if there existed an extremely powerful political faction comprised almost entirely of Irish Catholics, which succeeded in making the unification of the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland the cornerstone of American foreign policy, despite the fact that so doing caused great damage to the authentic national interests of the American people (by ruining our relationship with the United Kingdom), I think everybody would readily acknowledge they were a bunch of ethnic partisans who were manipulating this nation for their own, narrow, non-American interests. Yet somehow, when Zionist Jews do the exact same thing with regard to Israel, via neo-"conservatism," no one is allowed to point out that a bunch of Jewish political operatives in Washington, and the national press, seem to care more about what's good for Israel, as opposed to what's good for this country. Noting William Kristol's Jewishness is entirely legitimate, since it is, obviously, his Jewishness (and that of 14 out of 15 other neo-"conservatives") that drives their hugely disproportionate zeal for putting Israel first, and America a distant second, at best. Many Jews are doubtless exemplary citizens of this republic, but the neocons are not. Their activities are next of kin to treason, quite frankly.
Curly Smith| 1.29.09 @ 9:13AM
It seems pretty simple to me. Kristol was hired as the paper's Big Government "Conservative" since he had long championed the cause of Big Government "Conservative" John McCain. If McCain won then the Times was in the proverbial catbird seat with long-time McCain advisor and spokes-weasel Kristol. But, Obama won so Kristol wasn't needed. Besides, in these tough economic times you need to streamline and eliminate redundancy. You gain nothing by having Liberals and Big Government "Conservatives" arguing on the same Big Government side of every issue. Sure, the plan was to fool actual Conservatives into reading the Times but, like all great plans at the New York Times, that failed. Why doesn't the EPA step in and clean up the biowaste that is the New York Times?
Michael Roush| 1.29.09 @ 9:20AM
Mr. Tyrrell,
A big "shout out" to Kevin, Jeremiah and others who offered greater insight into why Mr. Kristol is no longer writing for the NYT than you did. For neo-conservatives and reactionaries, I know that David Brooks does not qualify as "conservative," but as he once observed Americans like for their politics to be played between the forty yard lines. You, Mr. Tyrrell, along with Mr. Kristol, are clearly in the right wing "red zone." (Sometimes sports analogies lead to awkward linguistic constructions. Sorry about that).
Mike M| 1.29.09 @ 9:22AM
Mr. Krystal might be crying in his milk this morning, but soon he will see this as great fortune.
Similar to the man who was stranded in Germany holding a ticket to Lakehurst on Hindenburg, Bill Krystal will now have an outside view of the impending disaster that awaits the New York Times, and the Obama administration as well, I'm afraid to say. "Oh the humanity"
J. Mackey| 1.29.09 @ 9:25AM
The entire Neo-"Conservative" agenda is for the benefit of Israel, at the expense of the American soldier and taxpayer. It is quite clear that Kristol's only loyalties are to Israel and his tribe.
I.L. Ragno| 1.29.09 @ 9:56AM
Let us now bow our heads in agitated observance of Kristolnacht, as the orchestra plays Nick Lowe's "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass".
C Bowen| 1.29.09 @ 10:58AM
I know, I know...and after the current crisis passes, we can get back to proper work, but what a sad fate to have to ditch and slur Mencken and write in favor of Bill Kristol.
bluecollarbytes| 1.29.09 @ 11:03AM
Canning Kristol, selling it's property....these are not long term solutions to the NYT shrinking fortunes.
Where's George Soros when they need him? Maybe he has a plan to beat down NYT stock to the point where he can swoop in and buy the name.
reads1| 1.29.09 @ 11:15AM
I do not believe in all the comments on any article I have read on this web site, have I witnessed more "Jew Hatred." These comments are entirely uncalled for and certainly diminishes the character, (if they ever had any) of those guilty.
Howard| 1.29.09 @ 11:36AM
Dear Mr. Kevin Riley O'Keefe. Interesting observations indeed. So if you are for Northern Ireland you are merely an interested American looking out for the independence of your kith and kin. But if you are Jewish and not a self-hating Jew and stand for Israel , you are unAmerican, part of a Fifth column, and most certainly part of an international cabal or conspiracy. No anti-antisemitism of course. Forgive me for my stupidity.
S.L. Toddard| 1.29.09 @ 11:59AM
Poor Bill Kristol. His political philosophy has proved a failure. His neocon comrades have brought the party they hijacked to ruin. That party, in adopting Kristol's neoconservatism in place of conservatism, has failed in every respect in running the country, and leaves America less prosperous, less safe, less respected, in financial ruin and with our military over-extended and under assault over a wide swathe of the Middle East. It's nearly impossible to envision a failure more spectacular and all-encompassing. The American people, forced to suffer the brunt of the consequences of Kristol's allies' iredeemable failure, have rejected Kristol's philosophy and rejected the party that adopted it and brought our country to ruin. And now, his once-lauded reputation being smothered and crushed under mountains of failure, with shame added to shame as the country heads deeper and deeper into the ruin his philosophical comrades have led us, he is subject to a new shame: he is being let go from the NY Times.
Conservatives should be happy - there were no conservative voices at the NY Times during Kristol's tenure, and there are the same amount there now that he's gone. But Kristol was a domestic enemy of the constitution, a man whose loyalties lied elsewhere, who hated the American way of life and the Republic of laws which safeguarded it.
Good riddance, failure. You will not be missed.
megapotamus| 1.29.09 @ 12:05PM
Israel is a democracy under assault by savages. As such she is a natural ally of any American worth living in. Did Kristol every say anything more than that? And no, pukes. I am not Jewish. I just object to jew murder. That's crazy talk, huh? Scum.
bluecollarbytes| 1.29.09 @ 12:14PM
megapotamus, I call it convenient lunacy- blaming the victim so that the evil doesn't need to be confronted.
Israel is about as pure an 'ally' as we have.
loulou| 1.29.09 @ 12:23PM
I agree with Kevin O'Keefe. Kristol is no conservative. He supported amnesty for illegal aliens. He supported McCain for years. Kristol is a RINO.
loulou| 1.29.09 @ 12:30PM
O'Keefe. Oh, please. Cut out the Jew-bashing. Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain and has been for centuries. Ethnically, Northern Ireland is not Irish. I seem to recall a lot of IRA terrorist support in the Senate, thanks to Teddy Kennedy. IRA supporters put the IRA first, the USA second. And wasn't the media full of nonsense about ridiculous hunger strikes in some prison. Gag me.
S.L. Toddard| 1.29.09 @ 12:34PM
"He supported amnesty for illegal aliens. He supported McCain for years. Kristol is a RINO."
So did George Bush. It's not that Kristol is a RINO, he is, sadly, very representative of what the GOP stands for nowadays. The problem is that the GOP is CINO - Conservative In Name Only. Kristol worships at the altar of FDR and is a proponent of Wilsonian internationalism. That alone would have him drummed out of any truly conservative organization. And witness the near-religious worship of George W Bush by Republicans in general - this man spent money like a drunk, vastly expanded the size and scope of the federal government, enacted massive and expensive social programs, kept the borders wide open and pushed to grant amnesty to illegals. There is no yardstick which can measure George W Bush as a "conservative".
The problem is that people confuse "conservative" with "hawk".
S.L. Toddard| 1.29.09 @ 12:36PM
loulou - name any policy advocated or enacted by these fantastical people who "put Ireland first" (?) that benefited Ireland at the expense of the United States, and please note in which way the policy advocated or enacted was detrimental to the security or prosperity of America.
Howard| 1.29.09 @ 12:48PM
I am sorry that this whole line of "conversation" is going . My own opinion is that Kristol is smug and arrogant. I am probably a neo-con in that I was a former Democrat who saw the light. I have never been a Neanderthal conservative, but I believe the GOP and conservative thinkers are stronger proponents of freedom and liberty than liberals. That being said, there are a lot of Jew haters who think that Neo-cons are slaves to Israel . A thoughtful Neo con will not automatically do Israel's bidding. That the Jew haters automatically assume this says more about them than about Neo-cons.
S.L. Toddard| 1.29.09 @ 12:59PM
"I believe the GOP and conservative thinkers are stronger proponents of freedom and liberty than liberals"
"Conservative" thinkers, sure. They by-and-large defend the Constitution and the Rule of Law and abhor measures taken by the GOP to subvert and/or destroy them. Neoconservatism is a radical and utopianist philosophy, which categorically excludes it from being "conservative". Conservatives by definition oppose radicalism and jacobinism, especially as exemplified by the neoconservatives.
READ THE MAP| 1.29.09 @ 1:22PM
Bill Kristol was a Neo NAZI, a member of the Neo Con's. He was every thing of what the word CON means, to con people or in simple terms to fool the masses. The Americans are not a people that is difficult to fool, 300 million people with 2% with basic education, let alone any understanding of world history.
99% of American society perhaps don't even know who Bill Kristol is, or what he does. Some Americans think the State of Texas is a foreign country, and they are a TERRORIST STATE that should be attacked.
Ask the average American where is Afganistan on a map 100% don't know.
Ask them where is Iraq on a map they can't find it. Ask them if Germany is a Terrorist state they say yes, do you know where Germany is they don't know. One in an interview said France should be attacked by America, because it is a TERRORIST state. These people should not even be allowed to vote because they don't know what they are voting for. America is a STATE OF ABSOLUTE IDIOTS.
HA| 1.29.09 @ 1:30PM
@Howard: Muslims and Catholics don't control the US media. Jews do. "Conservative" Jews like Bill Kristol, "liberal" Jews like Tom Friedman, makes no difference, Israel first every one of them.
Fred McRomliani| 1.29.09 @ 1:49PM
Gentlemen,
Wars just don't start themselves. It takes brave men like Bill Krystol to start them for us, by any means necessary. Bill Krystol was among the leaders in making the Republican Party the party of Wiretapping, Waterboarding and War. He is a great Israeli and he will be missed.
Irish Guy| 1.29.09 @ 2:02PM
Begorra, I thought Barry O'bama was Irish. Saints preserve us.
Mark J. Goluskin | 1.29.09 @ 2:05PM
WOW! The comment thread here is very strange. This is why we are in the minority. We refer to those that are not a hundred percent as "neo" conservative as if we are calling them mother f---ers. THEY ARE CONSERVATIVES! Hello?! Just because we do not agree on everything, we need to grow our base, not shoot down those that we can agree with say 80% of the time. Yes, I do not agree with Mr. Kristol on illegal immigration. But there are a helluva lot of conservative Republicans that have a different view than myself. Sorry folks, I just do not buy into the conspericy theories on this thread. Except that I can not wait to see the NYT fail!
Nick| 1.29.09 @ 3:00PM
HA,
Thanks for giving us the Klan's worldview on the subject.
Darn, if only I could have been born a Jew, I to could be controlling the media.
Oh well, as a Roman Catholic, at least I'm a spiritual semite.
Nick| 1.29.09 @ 3:03PM
"I TOO could be..." that is.
Jay Pitsby| 1.29.09 @ 3:11PM
"Horrid little man...!" What about the horrid little paper he was writing for? Is it still being published? I thought it was already defunct!
Jeremiah| 1.29.09 @ 3:23PM
Jay Pitsby --
If you were a reader and more intellectually curious, you'd know the Times was still up and running, and still putting out the best newspaper in the country.
Jay Pitsby| 11.25.09 @ 1:48PM
Best newspaper my ass! Maybe for wiping myself.
Jeremiah| 1.29.09 @ 3:27PM
I did NOT object to Kristol's political philosophy, and I welcome a "neo-conservative" voice at the Times.
(Brooks is a little too complicated to classify as a neo-conservative. He shares some of their views; others he dismisses.)
I'm all for neo-conservatives have a column, paleos and social conservatives having a column.
Bring em on!
The problem with Kristol was that his prose was lazy and predictable, his attitude was cynical and cavelier, and he just failed to make any fresh contribution to whatever discussion he was entering.
Maybe he was just over-committed. Happens to the best of us.
As for the anti-semitic comments popping up here and there, there's no place for that sort of thing in a decent and honest political discourse.
Trotter| 1.29.09 @ 3:41PM
Jeremiah:
As poor as Kristol's "prose" might have been, it was still light years ahead of anything put forth by the likes of Dowd and Krugman. If those gasbags are your idea of what makes the NYT the "best newspaper in the country", I believe that a caged parakeet might have a more defined newspaper taste than yourself.
Michael L. Hauschild| 1.29.09 @ 4:40PM
I did not care for Kristol simply because has been a mouthpiece for McCain. Journalists with an agenda are only hired and fired when they either serve or no longer serve a purpose.
Waking up are we| 1.29.09 @ 5:27PM
What are these people trying to prove that they have sense after all, and they knew who Bill Kristol was and what paper he wrote for? Hey, I am shocked!. There is hope for these dumb ass after all.
jax| 1.29.09 @ 5:39PM
Political leanings be damned...Kristol was a hack writer whose time had run its course. If he were bringing anything fresh, original or substantive to the discourse he'd still be at the paper. He wasn’t, so they fired him. Look for him on Fox in the next week or two.
jax| 1.29.09 @ 5:44PM
p.s. the fact that you nor your fact checker are familiar with Carlos Slim indicates that you too are step or two behind. If nothing else, you could have cheated and watched the profile they did on 60 Minutes.
Michael L. Hauschild| 1.29.09 @ 5:45PM
and more........
Jeremiah,
I started a fairly monumental project in 2005 using QSR software to search newspaper databases. That software is a rather complicated “word search” that “detected” phrases and word sequences to denote opinion. The conceptual design allowed you to search (without actually reading) published text of Editorials found in various newspapers to determine prevailing opinion, opinion that would than be linked to the geographic extent of the periodicals circulation area. Six newspapers from each state were selected, two deemed liberal, two deemed conservative and two academic (one from a liberal arts university, one from a agricultural or military institution). The coverage was selected to cover spatially as much of the state as possible and the various topics were selected to denote mapped “change of opinion” over time.
Bottom line, I had to give it up. My databases were folding up faster than I could update them. Trust me, Jeremiah, the newspaper industry is dying and the NYT’s demise is just a matter of time.
P. S. Kristol, the egotistical buffoon he is, will probably attribute the Grey Lady’s demise to his departure.
Jim Treacher | 1.29.09 @ 6:18PM
Carlos Slim is Mexican. You might be thinking of ICEBERG Slim... although there's not much difference between their employees.
Stephanopolous's suspension of disbelief has now been cured. Or at least that's what I was told during our daily conference call with Rahm.
C Bowen| 1.29.09 @ 6:22PM
Bill Kristol used his magazine to lie his country into war, and violated the law when he ran Doug Feith's memo. If he had honor, he would have committed suicide.
He is the lowest sort of scoundrel. Hiding behind the anti-Semite charge of critics just reveals the feminization of the phony establishment apologists.
It's the Treason Stupid.
jax| 1.29.09 @ 6:30PM
Try to keep up...Iceberg Slim is dead.
Jim Treacher | 1.29.09 @ 7:03PM
Have his books all been destroyed? No? Then perhaps you can explain what your non sequitur has to do with anything.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 1.29.09 @ 8:03PM
"Dear Mr. Kevin Riley O'Keefe. Interesting observations indeed. So if you are for Northern Ireland you are merely an interested American looking out for the independence of your kith and kin. But if you are Jewish and not a self-hating Jew and stand for Israel , you are unAmerican, part of a Fifth column, and most certainly part of an international cabal or conspiracy. No anti-antisemitism of course. Forgive me for my stupidity. "
No, Howard, that is the precise opposite of what I actually said. I pointed out that a group of powerful Irish-American Catholics who sold this country down the river in favor of Irish interests would be scum, and thus noted there is no reason we should regard a group of powerful Jews doing the exact same thing with respect to Israel any differently. And I don't forgive your stupidity, because I believe it is entirely insincere. I believe you are trying to put words in my mouth you know to be false, in order to slander me. And I'm frankly not a bit surprised.
DON'T HIDE TRUTH| 1.29.09 @ 8:58PM
There are people who hate people who have a mind of their own, especially if you don't lean towards ZIONISM, a group of people who has ruined the world, and if any one speaks out they are called anitsemetic, low and behold have no concept of who are really semetic, because they see the world through tinted coloures glasses, and expect that all in the world look up to them and their twisted truth. Some would attack you for even having the faintest idea of what they are up to. But we are learning, some of them reminds me of the attack dogs in the OMEM, protecting the devil.
G| 1.29.09 @ 9:07PM
Watch FREE porn movies involving Jeremiah, Bob, Interloper, Darek, Crusader and S.L. Toddard! Lots of gay sex and liberal nonsense @InternetSurfshack.com
Jim Treacher | 1.29.09 @ 9:47PM
Who's worse, the spammer or the Jew-hater?
jaywhite| 1.29.09 @ 11:01PM
For all you very low IQ Nazis. Are non-Jews little children that the big bad Jews can force into a war , they are against. ?? You sound like the idiots . Israel doesn't need US money . The US gov't chooses to give Israel money to have control over Israel and to keep Israel from finishing off it's enemies , as the recent Gaza campaign proves. This shows the Arabs, especially the camel jockeys ,the Saudis ,the US has "juice" over the joos in Israel Get it !!!
jaywhite| 1.29.09 @ 11:09PM
Did the bad Jews ruined the world for the little baby "Hide the Truth"?. Your screen name should be "Hide the IQ"!! If it weren't for Jews, you would be living in a cave worshipping your hundred Gods.
Noam Sayin| 1.29.09 @ 11:54PM
Those attempting to deny or downplay the peculiar ethnicity of the large majority of prominent neoconservative figures are only fooling themselves- that cat was let out of the bag, as it were, long ago. It is incumbent upon good men to see to it that as many as possible are made aware of this association, especially now as the rotten fruit of neocon-artist policy is being found so distasteful by so many.
Pete the Mediocre| 1.30.09 @ 12:46AM
I am dismayed at the number of anti-semites posting here. I am a strong conservative. I do not wished to be associated with you. Please go to your true home in the Democrat party.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 1.30.09 @ 1:00AM
"For all you very low IQ Nazis. Are non-Jews little children that the big bad Jews can force into a war , they are against. ?? You sound like the idiots . Israel doesn't need US money . The US gov't chooses to give Israel money to have control over Israel and to keep Israel from finishing off it's enemies , as the recent Gaza campaign proves. This shows the Arabs, especially the camel jockeys ,the Saudis ,the US has "juice" over the joos in Israel Get it !!!"
You call us "Nazis" because we happen to criticize a foreign state (Israel), and one of its most prominent cheerleaders (Kristol), but of course, criticism of France, or China, or Germany, or Canada, or South Africa, or, gosh, just about any other nation on Earth, is just find and dandy, and very, very commonplace in the writings of such miscreants as Mr. Kristol and his ilk. What's so special about Israel? Are Jews the Master Race, or something? Can they do no wrong, by virtue of their (supposedly) Divine status as The Chosen People? Meanwhile, we're "Nazis," and you're the one flinging around a racial slur like "camel jockey." Why one standard for Jews (or is it just Israeli Jews? Or all Zionist Jews? You tell me.), and another for seemingly everyone else on the planet? Of course, you won't explain it, nor will you even acknowledge it. But you'll just keep right on dishonestly applying it, much like that buddy of yours who recently became unemployed.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 1.30.09 @ 1:18AM
"I am dismayed at the number of anti-semites posting here. I am a strong conservative. I do not wished to be associated with you. Please go to your true home in the Democrat party."
As usual, all you neo-"conservative" types try to hide, like the miserable, slandering cowards you are, behind the skirts of Big Mama Anti-Semitism. How very boring. And if you really, sincerely think all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, then you you should probably go hang out with "Corky" from "Life Goes On." Don't forget your Depends!
A true American conservative does not obsess over the interests of a tiny, barren, tyrannical statelet in the Middle East. He puts America first, always, and in all things.
And I just LOVE the way you sycophants have all so totally bought in, hook-line-and-sinker, to this whole the-Democratic-Party-is-anti-Semitic meme. Its freakin' hilarious! That's just some goofball lie concocted by David Horowitz in the pages of his imbecilic little rag, Front Page, back around 2002 or '03, as a way of trying to blunt that portion of the criticism of the Iraq War which emanates from the left. And yet you all accept it as if its the Gospel truth, just like a bunch of good little citizens of Oceania, all of whom believe they've ALWAYS been at war with EastAsia. You people are a sad joke.
Michigan-Matt| 1.30.09 @ 7:46AM
Kevin, you're single-handily bringing down the collective IQ of all Irish-Americans with your silly, nattering posts. As a proud I-A myself, I'm asking you to stop.
As for the Democrats being anti-Jew... just ask Democrat leader Jesse Jackson when he next visits "Himey town". Or ask former DNC Chair HowieScreaminDean what he meant when he said "no, and the Jews aren't running this Party" anymore. It's always been so: just ask Uncle Joe Kennedy... the biggest-mouth, Jew-hating Democrat in the last century.
Yeah, gotta love those Palestinian-toting Democrats like JimmineyCricketCarter... they're the best when it comes to 21st Century hatemongering of Jews. It's nearly an artform.
Thanks for reminding us all, Kevin-me-boy-o.
jaywhite| 1.30.09 @ 9:04AM
"You call us "Nazis" because we happen to criticize a foreign state (Israel), and one of its most prominent cheerleaders (Kristol), but of course, criticism of France, or China, or Germany, or Canada, or South Africa, or, gosh, just about any other nation on Earth, is just find and dandy, and very, very commonplace in the writings of such miscreants as Mr. Kristol and his ilk. What's so special about Israel? Are Jews the Master Race, or something? Can they do no wrong, by virtue of their (supposedly) Divine status as The Chosen People? Meanwhile, we're "Nazis," and you're the one flinging around a racial slur like "camel jockey." Why one standard for Jews (or is it just Israeli Jews? Or all Zionist Jews? You tell me.), and another for seemingly everyone else on the planet? Of course, you won't explain it, nor will you even acknowledge it. But you'll just keep right on dishonestly applying it, much like that buddy of yours who recently became unemployed. "
Kev me boy, admit your hatred of Jews: neo-con, Bill Kristol (who was a speech writer for Dan Quayle the famous Israeli politician), "Chosen people", "they think they are special" , you hit the right buttons which IMHO shows your hatred of Jews.
I will admit Jews and Israel are special in one category. The attention and hatred that one country of 7 million (20% are Arabs) receives from the media and from people who really have nothing to do with the Middle East. Hundreds of thousands were .murdered in Rwanda, 100x more attention is focused on the IDF because they killed 100 or 200 "civilians". On another topic, you are perceptive that you were able to tell George W. Bush is my close "buddy" . Very good.
Noam Sayin| 1.30.09 @ 9:34AM
Michigan-Matt, like most Freepers I'd assume, has either never heard or conveniently forgets the Nixon tapes, among other examples of "anti-semitism" among Republicans. Go figure.
Michigan-Matt| 1.30.09 @ 11:13AM
Noam offers up 40 yr old snottiness from a guy who was defined "political paranoid" (aka Dick Nixon) as proof the GOP is anti-semitic?
I give you contemporary Democrat Party leaders like Jesse Jackson and ScreaminHowieDean and JimmineyCricketCarter as proof redundant.
Nice try Noam... but you get a D- for effort and substance.
Michigan-Matt| 1.30.09 @ 11:15AM
And HA? Your brown shirt is showing. Get thee to a neo-Nazi Party meeting, ok?
Nick| 1.30.09 @ 12:31PM
Noam (chomsky) Sayin,
Yeah, Nixon was so anti-semitic he picked Kissinger as his Secreatary of State and one of his closest advisers.
Roy| 1.30.09 @ 7:47PM
Re: "Neoconservatism": I suggest reading some of Norman Podhoretz's books before buying into any of the stereotypes.
1) If he's good enough for the late Richard John Neuhaus, he's good enough for me. They disagreed on plenty, but were friends and allies and knew it.
2) You can't come away from his books thinking he doesn't love or care about America. As far as whether he "puts Israel first", that's not really a question that ever arises for him, since he sees their true interests as in sync. In fact, the main problem I have with him is that the minute anybody criticizes anything America does he goes for them like a bat out of hell as "anti-American", which is a bridge too far for this pro-lifer.
3) Relatedly his turn to the right came about mainly because he thought the Left was wimpish about the Cold War(70's) and was getting more anti-American.
I'm not saying you wouldn't disagree with anything he says after that. I know I do. He grew up in a neighborhood that "worshiped President Roosevelt" and he never completely got away from that. But he's one of the good guys.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 1.31.09 @ 1:06AM
"As for the Democrats being anti-Jew... just ask Democrat leader Jesse Jackson when he next visits 'Himey town'."
Jesse Jackson? Why not bring up Hubert Humphrey and Adlai Stevenson, while you're at it? Jackson is a real blast-from-the-past, and hardly representative of the Democratic Party twenty years ago (when he mattered), as opposed to today (when he doesn't). Jackson is a buffoon, and the amount of mileage people have gotten out of one stupid thing a stupid man said 25 years ago is, well, stupid.
"Or ask former DNC Chair HowieScreaminDean what he meant when he said 'no, and the Jews aren't running this Party' anymore."
So tell me, which would have been considered MORE anti-Semitic; if he'd said Jews weren't running the Democratic Party, or if he said they were? Its always a catch-22 when the ol' anti-Semitic canard is employed in order to shut down criticism of Israel. And have you seen that beautiful Jewish wife of his? Yeah, I'm sure they've got a little shrine dedicated to Julius Streicher down in their basement.
"It's always been so: just ask Uncle Joe Kennedy... the biggest-mouth, Jew-hating Democrat in the last century. "
Well, Hell, what about Grover Cleveland? Or James K. Polk? Give me a break. Suffice it to say the Democratic Party of 2009 is not the same Democratic Party of 1936. Caroline Kennedy is married to a Jewish man herself (and she's not the only member of that clan so hitched), thus clearly Old Man Kennedy didn't manage to impose his views on that subject. I suspect you know that, however.
Mickey| 1.31.09 @ 5:36AM
What is a neo-con: a new conservative; or a conservative with a new view?
Bill Kristol was con light. His written word was tempered, conciliatory, mainstream middle of the road less offensive insider don't rock the boat too much keep my position in Washington and on TV kinda guy.
dk| 1.31.09 @ 12:34PM
The Times is on life-support and may not survive. When a network or newspaper decided to become unobjective and lean toward one side or the other, this is what happens. Journalism is dying. Journalism is about reporting the news not manufacturing the news.
Interloper| 1.31.09 @ 4:30PM
I suspect Kristol was let go mainly because of conflicts of interest. Through much of last year, Kristol persuaded Sarah Palin to vie for the vice-presidency, acted as her major contact with the GOP, advised her before and after her selection, may even have written some of her material. Throughout, he claimed his interest in Palin was only journalistic.
With Palin's utter and abject failure, I doubt that conservatives, other than those from the far Right, bothered to lobby for Kristol to keep his job with the NYT.
Actually, the most controversial, and most respected columnist at America's most revered newspaper is Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman. He also draws rock star sized crowds wherever he speaks.
Carlos Slim, recently down to the second richest man in the world from being the most wealthy, need not worry about racial slurs from a certain old curmudgeon.
Nick| 1.31.09 @ 6:19PM
Don't you mean Paul Crudman?
Nobel Prize? What kind of an effete snob do you have to be to still think the Noble Prize is due any respect, if it ever did?
Don't you mean Crudman draws nazi sized crowds?
Interloper| 2.1.09 @ 12:48AM
You appear to be jealous of Mr. Krugman, Nick.
Nick| 2.2.09 @ 2:28PM
Jealous of just another Jason Blair at the NYT?
I think not.
Lemmy| 2.26.09 @ 12:02AM
Perhaps the NYT let Kristol go because the editors simply concluded -- based on mountains of irrefutable evidence -- that Kristol is a moron.
Seems like a better explanation than the one offered in this editorial.
limma| 3.30.10 @ 11:46AM
Toi sun äärialueiden näön heikkeneminen -->niin sanottu putki näkö ps. ei tunnu olevan paha kun ei ajokorttia ei viety ;) Kaverille tehtiin silmäleikkaus vähänaikaa sitten ja toista operoitiin enemmän siten että tuloksena toisessa oli hyvä lähinäkö ja toisessa kaukonäkö -->(jos ei olis operoitu niin olis tullu sokeaksi lähiaikoina) Lääkäri totes että käytä toista silmää lukiessa ja toista kun katsot kauenmas ja aivot tottuu ajanmyötä :o Kaveri sano vaan että hullulta tuntuu :P
jim rumbaugh| 10.26.09 @ 6:49PM
Mr. Tyrrell; yours is an off beat magazine which I enjoy. But, wow! The crackpots you seem to attract! Left wing loons. Right wing conspiracy nuts. Just read through the "comments(?)" above on this page.
Who are these people? Unfortuantely they are probably all around us on the streets and next to us in men's rooms. I'm put in mind of an old Don Rickles story. he said that he could handle most hecklers but it was difficult to respond to some one who stood up and screamed "jar pota gah har fnamt!"
Best wishes
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Offenbach| 5.29.12 @ 11:41PM
Emmett Tyrrell is a pathetic "goy" apologist for the pro-Israel lobby. Yet another one that should be held accountable after zionist thugs like Kristol manage to "convince" U.S. leaders that another war in the middle east fought on behalf of Israel - but costing american blood and treasure - is in our "best interest." Kristol a "Republican?" That is the biggest laugh of all. And the biggest lie.