Loitering at the Corner so you don't have to...
Others have been following the multifaceted Sully versus Ponnuru cagefight with more alacrity than I. I've only half-heartedly observed their fracas as I might such a one between that Idiot Dog guy and the probably-not-syphilitic Debbie Schlussel -- ie, with occasional disgusted fascination interspersed with long stretches of boredom.
Lucky for me, however, the debate has finally reached its inevitable destination, one we privacy, choice, and suffrage advocates have anticipated with curiousity tempered by horror: Just what, in the nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts end, should be the penalties for women who secure the procedure, and doctors who perform it?
Has our favorite right-wing barebacker misrepresented Ramesh's and Bob George's position -- setting up so many straw men -- for the sake of supporting his own watery pro-choice stance? Yeah, probably a few times. After all, that's pretty much the Right's stock-in-trade when dealing with critics and opponents, so it stands to reason they'd use it in internal spats.
One reason, though, that Ramesh can so easily make this accusation against Sully and make it stick, is that Ramesh himself has achieved almost Goldbergian levels of doughbabyhood: you punch, only to be forced to extricate your fist with your foot, which in turn becomes mired, and so on. To this end, Ramesh almost never says what he means -- even after everyone else has folded, he refuses to lay his cards on the table.
But it can happen to even the most circumspect Strauss- and Rand-tinged modern conservatarian: he rushes too fast to the Corner to make his point, and accidentally exposes a generous length of his slip.
For one thing, he inadvertantly reminds us that, to the right-wing mind, morality is not so much that which informs our sense of right and wrong, and that which helps us codify the rules by which we live in accord with our fellow man, as much as it is a cudgel with which to brain perceived opponents -- moreover, a cudgel to be used one moment, renounced the next, then used again when the opponent isn't looking:
Take the case of a man who performs an abortion out of compassion for a pregnant woman in distress. Because George and I believe the fetus has an equal right not to be killed as an adult, we would judge that compassion misplaced and seek to prohibit the abortion. But we would also judge that act as less culpable, and less blameworthy, than, say, the murder of a business rival out of greed.
Do I even want to know how this jibes with his stated opinion on harsher sentences for hate crimes? Probably not. I've been doing this for far too long for Republican hypocrisy to make me even twitch an eyebrow.
Slightly more outrageous is his accidentally reminding readers of that which should best be kept behind the curtain: namely, that the will of the people (and indeed, the law) are not with him and his fellow flying monkeys on this one:
For example, too-tough penalties on abortion might make it hard to get juries to convict, and thus defeat the purpose of anti-abortion laws.
In other words, "Most juries would not convict if they knew the sentence would be as harsh as that handed down for, you know, actual murder. So in order to secure punishment for women who dare assert autonomy, and the doctors who help them, we have to start small -- it may be up to ensuing generations to get on with the public stonings."
And if it's hilarity you're in search of, look no further than Ramesh's inflated sense of self-importance [emphasis mine, bantam-scratching in the original]:
...Both George and I have said that if abortion could be deterred, and the injustice of abortion communicated, by removing medical licenses from abortionists and fining unlicensed abortionists, we would not wish to go further.
...The fact that these views are widely held in our society does not, in our view, strengthen the moral case for legal abortion, but it does, again, make us judge an act of abortion less harshly.
Yeah, from your simpering, stretched lips to Dobson's and Scalito's ears, big-shots. I'm sure your opinions are gonna carry a hell of a lot of weight when those gavels start coming down.
The reason you're stuck doo-wopping on the Corner, brainiacs, is that you're not important enough to be let inside.
[ back home ]
Comments for Unborn Slippy
RP is the kind of guy that would incite a riot, then melt away and claim they were only words. He is the bully on the Corner, without a doubt.
- Posted at 11:43 AM | By
I'll buy that. I've noticed that when he wants to laugh with pity at an opponent who in fact has struck a deep nerve, he tends to go a little off the deep end -- vehemently repeating charges of "stupidity" and "idiocy" in a quite vicious, jabbing manner, all the while feigning amused disdain.
Ramesh can be far nastier than any lefty critic of Sully's, as he tends to ignore any ideas (however poorly formulated) put forth, and go for the person himself. All without even a hint of the playfulness and "kidding-on-the-square"-ness you'd find at S,N! or WoC.
Ramesh can be far nastier than any lefty critic of Sully's, as he tends to ignore any ideas (however poorly formulated) put forth, and go for the person himself. All without even a hint of the playfulness and "kidding-on-the-square"-ness you'd find at S,N! or WoC.
I didn't really read that whole post. I just wanted to tell you that I like your new profile picture.
It seems every time I wade into the corner Ramesh is constantly degrading someone. I have no doubt whatsoever that he is a fluffy f*cker. And he probably goes all S/M with Teddy Ruxpin too.
- Posted at 5:46 PM | By
as an indian, i am disgusted that our ancient and wise society has produced a piece of shit like ponnuru
wlpqzaf: the kind of blur RP would see when i am using chuckles' whale on him
wlpqzaf: the kind of blur RP would see when i am using chuckles' whale on him
- Posted at 9:01 AM | By
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