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The Spectacle Blog
For all those who think I intended to compare, in the sense of come anywhere close to equating, Newt Gingrich with David Duke, I hereby insist that such was neither the intent nor in any sense a fair reading of the carefully constructed argument I made. But for those who read between the lines to see something not intended, I apologize, because the impression is a noxious one. But think about how arguments often are constructed: One pulls something that is both near to one’s own experience and also known to the public — and one chooses the most stark example to make one’s point. The VOTER response to Duke was such an interesting phenomenon, and such a stark example of the voter equivalent of “jury nullification,” that I thought it made THAT point (about voters focusing on what they see personally above all other info) better than anything else I could come up with — ESPECIALLY because it was an example I was so personally familiar with, having spent so much time fighting against Duke and dealing with just that phenomenon. Frequent readers of this site will have noticed that I have on a number of occasions used examples from the Duke experience in the course of making other, broader points. To use a favorite Gingrich word, I frankly thought I had made a more than ample effort (two long paragraphs on what I was describing with Duke, plus another of the exact sorts of things — none of them racial — I said voters are discounting about Gingrich) to explain quite precisely what I meant.
On a purely logical level, I still think I constructed a solid explanation of what I meant.
On the other hand, there was another time here that I did almost the exact same thing, but with Mussolini rather than Duke serving as an example, in terms of the economics pushed by Barack Obama. My explanation there was exhaustive, even quoting extensively from Wikipedia to show the generic nature of my point. In that case, Chris Matthews went ape on me, as did other lefties — and most readers of this site rushed to my defense, recognizing exactly that I had not tried to portray Obama personally as a murderous thug, etcetera, but that I had made a very careful point that by logic was entirely valid. What I guess this shows is that how one reads something depends on where one’s sensitivities lie: If one is feels inclined to defend the subject being criticized, one sees more evil intent in every part of the criticism itself.
It is a normal and decent human reaction, and one I ought to have considered before making the situational analogy. If there was a misreading originally, it was a misreading I left myself open to, and, again, I apologize.
On the other hand, for those who read my earlier explanations and still insisted that I had INTENDED to do what I said I did not intend — including fellow bloggers — that is an entirely unmerited insult not just to my intentions but to my integrity. It is not acceptable.
View all comments (20) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Quin Hillyer
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/12/07/clarification-no-newt-is-no-du
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Dan| 12.7.11 @ 5:28PM
Your attempt at a "clarification" is not accepted.
You deliberately, knowingly and intentionally sought to smear a man who is now likely to garner the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
And you did it all because you lost control of yourself, lost sight of the wider political battlespace, lost track of what's at stake and in a fit of sheer bitterness that the empty suit Romney is going down once again to defeat, let loose a spew of snide smears entirely unworthy of this publication.
Appalling.
Utterly appalling.
And you KNOW it, and there was a voice in the back of your mind while you were typing all of this garbage that you warned you as much. Yet you ignored it!
Simon Templar| 12.7.11 @ 6:07PM
Thank you, Dan. That is exactly what he was doing. He also has had the nerve to sit there and write that these debates are not worth much while he has held them up as a litmus test all through this primary attacking all of them on their misteps, mistakes, and mispoken answers as if it were the end of the world for these candidates.
Jack in Wi| 12.7.11 @ 6:57PM
When I see some apologies for the smears of Ron Paul by those slime buckets Jeff Lord and Arron Goldstein I might think better of some of the writers here. If you think we are ever going to vote for some freak like Neuter you are crazy. He is unelectable and unacceptable to most sane Americans.
Trinacria| 12.7.11 @ 5:49PM
Carefully constructed argument? Is that how you see it? Really?
Rather tells us all we need to know then, doesn't it?
Clint| 12.7.11 @ 5:50PM
" The New Hampshire Gazette
The Chickenhawk Hall Of Shame.
name:
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich
rank:
Chickenhawk First Class with Distinguished Fleeing Cross
date-of-birth:
June 17, 1943
home state:
Georgia
missed opportunity:
Vietnam War
preferred activity:
Attending grad school
occupation:
Congressman
A virtuoso in the art of hypocrisy, the former Speaker of the House now claims the Vietnam War was a splendid idea, but at the time he opposed going himself. Newtie also speaks highly of morality, but as a serial adulterer he doesn't want to get too close"
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Dai Alanye | 12.8.11 @ 10:55AM
Ron Paul, conscripted into the Air Force during Vietnam, is regularly presented by his supporters as an amalgam of Albert Schweitzer and Curtis LeMay. Isn't this similar to how John Kerry made his mark? The two have a degree of exaggeration in common when it comes to military records.
I look forward in horror to Ron Paul getting the nomination, because I'll be forced to vote for him simply because he isn't B H Obama. That's my vow, to vote for anyone but Obama, including Hillary or Joe Biden if it comes to that. But Ron Paul! Rather even Jon Huntsman than that.
Wayne| 12.7.11 @ 5:51PM
But I have no trouble comparing Quin to the Democratic smear artists. We can make up our own mind, and we do not need Quin smearing every candidate running for President (accept perhaps his guy). I for one am tired of this crap.
Simon Templar| 12.7.11 @ 6:08PM
I second that!
Paul McGrath| 12.7.11 @ 6:13PM
Reminds me of the famous "correction" section in the old National Lampoon:
"In last week's article we referred to Ted Kennedy as a fat, inarticulate, moronic, alcoholic, retarded, stupid, ignorant, addled, philandering, grotesque, selfish, inane imbecile. This is incorrect. We deeply regret the error."
How you decided to put pen to paper to compare in any way Duke to Gingrich is incomprehensible, unless, of course, you loathe Gingrich. You've certainly made that clear.
teflon93| 12.7.11 @ 6:22PM
Compare Romney to Woodrow Wilson and we'll call it even.
Diogenes| 12.8.11 @ 3:10AM
Herbert Hoover would be closer. Since Obama's New New Deal turned out to work just as well as the original, what we obviously need next is Smoot-Hawley 2.0
Clint| 12.7.11 @ 6:36PM
" Public Citizen’s Craig Holman said this was the first time he’d heard the “ambiguous term ‘strategic consultant’ replaced with an academic term ‘historian,’” but that regardless of the terminology, Gingrich “was hired as a lobbyist for his rolodex built while being a public servant.”
Gingrich, Holman told TPM in an email, “represents the worst of revolving door abuse. Gingrich cashed in on his status as a former public official, taking in $300,000 in salary from Freddie Mac to promote the lender’s business model one year as a ‘strategic consultant’ rather than a registered lobbyist in order to avoid disclosure, and then switched sides when the winds of political opportunity shifted.”
Holman continued: “This clearly shows that those who swing through the revolving door to promote the business interests of whoever can afford their price tag rarely do so on principle, but merely for self-profit and opportunity.”
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here & In Iowa.
Clint| 12.7.11 @ 7:02PM
" Newt Gingrich Would Name John Bolton Secretary Of State If Elected
Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that he would appoint John Bolton as secretary of state if he is elected in 2012."
" The New Hampshire Gazette
The Chickenhawk Hall Of Shame
name:
John Bolton
rank:
Chickenhawk First Class with Distinguished Fleeing Cross
date-of-birth:
November 20, 1948
home state:
Maryland
missed opportunity:
Vietnam War
excuse:
None whatsoever
preferred activity:
Weekend Warrioring
occupation:
Mustache Cultivator
This belligerent flamer actually had the nerve to write in his Yale 25th reunion book, "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost."
Offensive as that is — who the hell did you think wanted to die like that, John? — he managed to top it with this: "by the time I was about to graduate in 1970, it was clear to me that opponents of the Vietnam War had made it certain we could not prevail, and that I had no great interest in going there to have Teddy Kennedy give it back to the people I might die to take it away from."
Try selling that line to Vietnam Veterans Against the War."
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa And In New Hampshire.
Dai Alanye | 12.8.11 @ 11:06AM
Has Clint informed us of his military record, including commendations and decorations? I seem to have missed that.
Any one conversant with it, including Clint himself, please go to my website and contact me directly by email. I wish to publish a comparison between Clint and Pappy Boyington, Audie Murphy, or Machinegun Kelly, whichever might be more apt.
Clint| 12.7.11 @ 7:10PM
Newt Gingrich: Mitt Romney could be 'on the list' for vice president.
Gingrich told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he finds Romney a “very formidable opponent” whom he’d even consider having as his vice-presidential nominee."
" The New Hampshire Gazette
The Chickenhawk Hall Of Shame
name:
Willard Mitt Romney
rank:
Chickenhawk First Class with Distinguished Fleeing Cross
date-of-birth:
March 12, 1947
home state:
Michigan
missed opportunity:
Vietnam War
excuse:
None to speak of
preferred activity:
Trying to talk people into becoming Mormons
occupation:
Climbing ambition's greased pole
When your daddy's a Governor and a Cabinet Secretary, it's amazing how your odds of being drafted diminish."
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa And In New Hampshire.
Margaret| 12.8.11 @ 3:50AM
Newt is a true visionary who recognizes that there is some truth on both sides of the most polarized issues in our country today. He uses his knowledge, experience, imagination, and boldness to offer many creative ideas ( like brainstorming) in search for the best solutions that could transcend the usual adversarial approaches to address the problems.
Unfortunately, you Mr. Hillyer can offer nothing but your criticism, therefore I must conclude that Newt and people like him are part of the solution and you and people like you are part of the problem.
Mimi| 12.8.11 @ 9:00AM
APOLOGY WEAK....You can MAN-UP better than this!
Article was GROSSLY unfair....No GOP candidate deserved the mean - spirited deluge of nasty negatives.....The glee of it after you wrote it should have given you a signal.
Dai Alanye | 12.8.11 @ 11:13AM
Let's face it -- what we like about Newt is that we think he'll be able to make hash of Obama during a debate. Let's hope so, at least. But even if Gingrich were as great as he thinks he is, are we ready for a President called Newt, or a First Lady named Callista? What a bizarre twofer.
Paul McGrath| 12.8.11 @ 1:40PM
We currently have a president named Barack Hussein Obama. Enough said.
Oldefarte| 12.9.11 @ 10:19AM
I think I understood mostly your original thesis, but again I think Newt may be in fact closer to the anti-Duke [or Edwards if you may], in that he may end up being the one/only Republican capable of defeating/debating etc the Duke-like [but in an opposite/seperate sense] current office holder [and his selected DOJ office HOLDER as well in the process]!!!!!!!!