June 13, 2020

"There is little or no liberal space in this revolutionary movement for genuine, respectful disagreement, regardless of one’s identity, or even open-minded exploration."

"In fact, there is an increasingly ferocious campaign to quell dissent, to chill debate, to purge those who ask questions, and to ruin people for their refusal to swallow this reductionist ideology whole. The orthodoxy goes further than suppressing contrary arguments and shaming any human being who makes them. It insists, in fact, that anything counter to this view is itself a form of violence against the oppressed. The reason some New York Times staffers defenestrated op-ed page editor James Bennet was that he was, they claimed, endangering the lives of black staffers by running a piece by Senator Tom Cotton, who called for federal troops to end looting, violence, and chaos, if the local authorities could not. This framing equated words on a page with a threat to physical life — the precise argument many students at elite colleges have been using to protect themselves from views that might upset them.... In this manic, Manichean world you’re not even given the space to say nothing. 'White Silence = Violence' is a slogan chanted and displayed in every one of these marches. It’s very reminiscent of totalitarian states where you have to compete to broadcast your fealty to the cause. In these past two weeks, if you didn’t put up on Instagram or Facebook some kind of slogan or symbol displaying your wokeness, you were instantly suspect. The cultishness of this can be seen in the way people are actually cutting off contact with their own families if they don’t awaken and see the truth and repeat its formulae.... If you argue that you believe that much of this ideology is postmodern gobbledygook, you are guilty of 'white fragility.' If you say you are not fragile, and merely disagree, this is proof you are fragile. It is the same circular argument that was once used to burn witches. And it has the same religious undertones...."

From "Is There Still Room for Debate?" by Andrew Sullivan (New York Magazine).

116 comments:

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

It is a revolutionary movement largely made up of toddlers.

narciso said...

how does a student of oakeshott not know this, the fire rises, as ras al ghul would say,

Some Seppo said...

I don't engage in other people's religious rituals.

rhhardin said...

The problem is HR departments. They're the enforcers.

Tommy Duncan said...

The Overton window is closed.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Liberalism had the advantage of being liberating in its essence: free speech, equal rights, democracy, whiskey, sexy.

Leftism is a mental illness bent on creating a perfect world by ruthlessly eliminating human nature, an impossible endeavor, always bloody in execution, thus it attracts commies and tyrannical types.

Conservatism was rooted in Classical Liberalism, endeavoring to preserve the rights and privileges of America by working within the framework of our constitutional republic, rejecting direct democracy as too likely to allow mob rule.

Progressivism is Leftism disguised as Liberal and advocating for fundamental transformation while pretending to work within our constitutional republic to silence any conservative voice and liberal not woke enough to shut up and let them rule.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

It's your party, Andrew.

robother said...

Of course, Sullivan's essay is immediately followed by an Orange Man Bad screed (as Taibbi's is preceded by). Literally the equivalent of the Czech green grocer's "Workers of the World Unite" placard that Sullivan quotes Pavel as illustrating the need to grovel, however insincerely, before the Deep State pieties.

Taibbi and Sullivan both hope that their intellectual heresy will get a pass from the Left, as long as they show bottom line, they are down with the Cause. Neither can acknowledge the obvious fact that this Terror is occurring in the midst of a Presidential election year, and is obviously designed to further the national election chances of Democrats.

Tommy Duncan said...

Let me restate that: The Overton window has been broken and boarded up.

Fernandinande said...

Again, if witches are to be tried by the Inquisitors, it must be for the crime of heresy; but it is clear that the deeds of witches can be committed without any heresy. For when they stamp into the mud of the Body of Christ, although this is a most horrible crime, yet it may be done without any error in the understanding, and therefore without heresy. For it is entirely possible for a person to believe that It is the Lord’s body, and yet throw It into the mud to satisfy the devil, and this by reason of some pact with him, that he may obtain some desired end, such as the finding of a treasure or anything of that sort. Therefore the deeds of witches need involved no error in faith, however great the sin may be; in which case they are not liable to the Court of the Inquisition, but are left to their own judges."

That's something we can all agree on.

Marty said...

Trig Palin was unavailable for comment.

Lance said...

+1 for Andrew. The man has courage.

narciso said...

He didn't cite his own prediction from nearly four years ago, he's still trapped in the cave surrounded by rubble,

Michael K said...

The left, like the Palestinians, always seems to miss an opportunity by over reaching.

Inga said...

The same sort of extremism is seen by Trumpists who “cancel” or destroy Never Trumpers or even the fellow conservatives who dare to question Trump or Trumpism. Such push back by Trumpists is no less destructive and all encompassing. I see what has happened to those conservatives here and in the general public who have dared to veer from the Trumpist narrative. It’s the same phenomenon.

bbkingfish said...

Yes.

Those who disagree are called RINOs. If past experience is any indicator, it will take about 20 years to root out all the RINOs and send them packing.

Mark O said...

Cults are, by definition, authoritarian and promptly punish heresy against the cult's doctrine.

Sebastian said...

"The cultishness of this can be seen in the way people are actually cutting off contact with their own families if they don’t awaken and see the truth and repeat its formulae."

The commies were good at that too.

Sullivan recognizes the "revolutionary movement," to his credit, but what he and Althouse have yet to acknowledge fully is that the cultish prog quasi-religion is a political project: the cleansing of the culture smooths the path to power and the transformation of the system.

These are not silly errors of liberals gone astray. The closing of "liberal space" is a key maneuver in a struggle.

Good for Sullivan to fight the good fight just a bit longer.

Tim Wright said...

So, Andrew, along with Matt Taibbi, having promoted communists in their journalism, now discover that these people actually are communists. Good luck, fellas.

Mike Sylwester said...

.... editor James Bennet was ... endangering the lives of black staffers by running a piece by Senator Tom Cotton ... This framing equated words on a page with a threat to physical life — the precise argument many students at elite colleges have been using to protect themselves from views that might upset them ...

The intellectual justifications for the suppression of free speech are being developed at our universities and then are being distributed to our larger society.

The universities have enrolled far too many students who cannot and will not read at the university level and who therefore fail academically. Instead of correcting its foolish enrollment practices, however, university administrators blame the academic failures on micro-aggressions. Supposedly, marginal students fail because they are too traumatized by micro-aggressions on campus -- which include building names, statues, Halloween costumes, sombreros at fraternity parties and guest speakers who are politically conservative.

In this situation, too much free speech endangers marginal students and therefore must be suppressed.

University graduates are taking these university teachings out into the larger society and are imposing the teachings into institutions that hire them.

Sebastian said...

It's interesting, isn't it, how "mainstream" progs like Taibbi and Sullivan now come around to the diagnosis many commenters here have been making, ad nauseam by Althousian standards of variety and amusement, for years.

They realize that the left targets them too, that the transvaluation of values is for real, and that the culture they and Althouse once prized is about to be destroyed. They are just as deplorable as the rest of us.

These are cries of despair. I'm afraid they come too late to make a difference.

Jupiter said...

"The reason some New York Times staffers defenestrated op-ed page editor James Bennet was that he was, they claimed, endangering the lives of black staffers by running a piece by Senator Tom Cotton, who called for federal troops to end looting, violence, and chaos, if the local authorities could not."

I don't think that is quite right. What they argued, as I recall, is that the "minority staffers" -- not just the black ones, the only ones whose lives matter -- would "feel unsafe", not that there was any actual threat to their safety.

narciso said...

we laugh at these never trumper idiots, we have no power to ban them, like the board of the sirius cybernetic corporation 'who were the first up against the wall, when the revolution came'

wild chicken said...

"universities have enrolled far too many students who cannot and will not read at the university"

No reason for social promotion to stop there eh?

narciso said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big Mike said...

The universities have enrolled far too many students who cannot and will not read at the university level and who therefore fail academically. Instead of correcting its foolish enrollment practices, however, university administrators blame the academic failures on micro-aggressions. Supposedly, marginal students fail because they are too traumatized by micro-aggressions on campus -- which include building names, statues, Halloween costumes, sombreros at fraternity parties and guest speakers who are politically conservative.

As a former hiring manager, I assure you that there are students who graduate still unable to read at a university level. How a company is supposed to use such people is beyond me. A college degree has become a useless credential because the fact that someone has a degree doesn’t even necessarily mean that the individual can function above a high school level. The hiring manager must evaluate that himself.

Howard said...

Live by popular pseudointellectualism, die by popular pseudointellectualism.

Francisco D said...

It insists, in fact, that anything counter to this view is itself a form of violence against the oppressed.

Left wing politics today is mindless cultism.

These infants are otherwise useless to society. They do nit have the wherewithal to organize a game of dodgeball.

Otto said...

I am confused. What do black people want? A good paying job? A family with a private house? A good retirement plan? Raise kids that excel in education and go on to a better life? Live in a great community? Maybe they don't even consider those thoughts. Maybe they want whites to be slaves to them. Maybe they want reparations. Has any black leader asked these questions of their community? I am totally at a loss as to what they want.

Francisco D said...

Blogger Inga said... The same sort of extremism is seen by Trumpists who “cancel” or destroy Never Trumpers or even the fellow conservatives who dare to question Trump or Trumpism. Such push back by Trumpists is no less destructive and all encompassing.

You should cite some examples, Inga.

RichardJohnson said...

Inga
The same sort of extremism is seen by Trumpists who “cancel” or destroy Never Trumpers or even the fellow conservatives who dare to question Trump or Trumpism.

Your "woke" friends at the NYT forced James Bennett out of his job. Please cite similar consequences for NeverTrumpers or "fellow conservatives who dare to question Trump or Trumpism."

Inquiring minds want to know.

Otto said...

I am confused. What do black people want? A good paying job? A family with a private house? A good retirement plan? Raise kids that excel in education and go on to a better life? Live in a great community? Maybe they don't even consider those thoughts. Maybe they want whites to be slaves to them. Maybe they want reparations. Has any black leader asked these questions of their community? I am totally at a loss as to what they want.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Wrong, Inga.

There is no equivalence to the radical left's speech-crime, mind crime, and thought crime neo-Marxist Soviet ideal.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Sorry Jupiter they really are that dishonest and brazen.

“Senator’s ‘Send in the Troops’ Op-Ed in the Times Draws Online Ire.” “Running this puts black @nytimes writers, editors and other staff in danger,”

Marty said...

Trying to engage Inga is an exercise in self-flagellation. But, hey, it provides entertainment for the rest of us.

Michael said...

Inga
Don’t think you know what cancelled means in this context. You embarrass yourself again. I can name a number of lefties who have lost their jobs because of wrong thinking but cannot think of a single conservative fired from a conservative organization for opposing Trump. Newspapers in Philadelphia and NY have lost editors for a wrong headline or for publishing an opinion piece the news staff considered non conforming. Academics at UCLA and the University of Chicago and Cornell are being given the heave ho because of their ideas. All liberal institutions. People have lost jobs at Facebook, Twitter, Bob Apetite (yes, really) for saying the wrong thing or failing to say the right one. The sainted Megan Markle threw her friend of years under the bus for Mulrooney’s crime of criticizing a black influencer. It takes a heart of stone not to laugh.

You cannot name a single example of what you claim. Not. One.

Michael K said...

Such push back by Trumpists is no less destructive and all encompassing. I see what has happened to those conservatives here and in the general public who have dared to veer from the Trumpist narrative. It’s the same phenomenon.

Yes, look at those cities burned down by "Trumpists." The Tea Party rallies left the grounds cleaner than before they arrived.

I am so looking forward to the DNC convention in Milwaukee.
You are as silly as ever, Inga,

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Hey Russia Russia Inga - Leftwingers will destroy the LIVLIHOOD of anyone over thought-crime.

Care to give us an example of someone who isn't Trumpy enough who lost their job over it?

dig dig dig.

Inga said...

“Your "woke" friends at the NYT forced James Bennett out of his job. Please cite similar consequences for NeverTrumpers or "fellow conservatives who dare to question Trump or Trumpism."

Inquiring minds want to know.”

OK, you gave one example, I’ll give another and more. In Milwaukee there was a very well known conservative commentator on a prominent conservative radio station, Charlie Sykes, who because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail. He was cancelled and his credibility as a conservative destroyed by Trumpists.

There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives.

So to be legitimately aghast at the extremism on the left, you need to take the beam out of your own eye.

Gk1 said...

Oh Boy, Pastor Andrew Martin Niemöller just noticed they cancelled his neighbor in the middle of the night and is now beginning to pee his pants.

Michael said...

Andrew Sullivan and Matt Taibbi are now the voices of reason. I am expecting a blood-red moon tonight.

h said...

What Taibbi and Sullivan appear not to understand is this: Over our history there have been times when the struggle against racism required soaring rhetoric, times when it required legislation, times when it required legal argument, times when it required political activism. But today what is needed most urgently is symbolic gestures -- the yard sign, the clenched fist, the tee-shirt, the shaven head, and most importantly the public excoriation of those not performing the symbolic gestures correctly or with enough enthusiasm.

Craig said...

Inga, I see your point. But nobody is going to cancel Chuck or Ken B for disagreeing with Drago. Drago might get insult them on a message board, but someone like Drago does not have the left's power to take away livelihoods, careers, and job opportunities for wrongthink -- power that, if you look around, they are all too willing to use.

hawkeyedjb said...

Out: Silence = Violence

In: Thousands march in Seattle — in silence — to show support of Black lives

narciso said...

watch for kaiju, at moontide,

Sydney said...

The cultishness of this can be seen in the way people are actually cutting off contact with their own families if they don’t awaken and see the truth and repeat its formulae

This is happening to me, and all I did was suggest my kid go away from that neighborhood by renting an airbnb somewhere until things quiet down. (Oh, I forgot. It's also my fault because I voted for Trump.)

Browndog said...

Blogger Otto said...

I am confused. What do black people want?


They want whatever their white liberal masters say they want. They want it so bad they're willing to burn down their own shit to make sure their white masters get it.

gspencer said...



Yet again we see it. In The Coming of the Third Reich, historian Richard J. Evans explains how, in the early days of National Socialist Germany, Stormtroopers (Brownshirts) “organized campaigns against unwanted professors in the local newspapers [and] staged mass disruptions of their lectures.” To express dissent from Nazi positions became a matter of taking one’s life into one’s hands. The idea of people of opposing viewpoints airing their disagreements in a civil and mutually respectful manner was gone. One was a Nazi, or one was silent (and fearful).

Today’s fascists call themselves “anti-fascists,” and this BLM is just a variant. Just like the Nazis, they are totalitarian: they are determined not to allow their opponents to murmur the slightest whisper of dissent. Forcibly suppressing the speech of someone with whom one disagrees is a quintessentially fascist act.

These fascists will target you for destruction if you oppose any aspect of their plans for destruction of what is generally called Western Civilization. Such plans include for example Islam’s ongoing worldwide jihad against Jews and Christians; the all-out push to socialism/communism onto America of which BLM is simply a recently invented weapon to achieve that end.

n.n said...

Go left. Liberalism is divergent (e.g. generational, factional, sectarian). Never go Pro-Choice. #PrinciplesMatter

n.n said...

It's a chaotic (e.g. evolutionary) movement full of diversity and dissonance.

narciso said...

sykes works for omidyar is it the dinghy or the bulwinkle no matter, he serves doha and tehran regardless,

MD Greene said...

Good for Sullivan for speaking up for honest discourse and against viewpoint enforcement -- and doing so after repeated efforts to deplatform him.

The press has lost its mind. This year we have been told that the coronavirus is a good thing because when people get sick and die it makes Trump look bad. The CHAZ collective has been cast as a high-minded summer camp because if it were an insurrection that would be good for Trump.

Journalists are the new Jacobins. They should be ashamed of themselves.

.

Marty said...

Object example of the Stalinist mindset and practice.

Inga:

OK, you gave one example, I’ll give another and more. In Milwaukee there was a very well conservative commentator on a prominent conservative radio station, Charlie Sykes, who because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail. He was cancelled and his credibility as a conservative destroyed by Trumpists.

From a Politico piece, cited in Wikipedia, on the event:

Influential conservative Wisconsin radio host Charlie Sykes announced on Tuesday that, after more than two decades on the air, he is stepping down at the end of this year to "pursue new opportunities."

"It has been both a pleasure and honor to work here,” Sykes said Tuesday morning. “It has been an extraordinary privilege to be a part of the momentous changes that have taken place in Wisconsin over the last two decades. This is not a decision that I made either lightly or recently and it was not driven by this year’s political season. I made this decision more than a year ago for both professional and very personal reasons. My father died when he was 63, and I will turn 62 this year, so this year has always been circled on my calendar. Frankly, if I was ever going to make a move, it was now. While I am stepping back from my daily radio duties I intend to remain an active voice. I want to write more, travel more and pursue new opportunities.”


Politico, folks, not some rightwing rag. The article quotes Sykes as saying his leaving "was not driven by this year’s political season." But Inga says, "because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail."
Nobody at Pravda could have done this any better.

The Stalinists throw out the Big Lie with such ease you gotta admire their panache. But it's all in service of the latest attempt to create the leftist utopia, which will end up, as all such endeavors cannot fail to, in gulags and collapse.

Gahrie said...

Several of my longtime (former?) Black friends now view me as a probable racist because I don't support BLM.

Kevin said...

Shorter Inga: I’m rubber, you’re glue...

Gahrie said...

The same sort of extremism is seen by Trumpists who “cancel” or destroy Never Trumpers

Cite a single never Trumper who has been destroyed or canceled.

Gahrie said...

What do black people want?

Many of them, and an increasing number,... revenge.

buwaya said...

Kristol, Frum Goldberg Will et al still have jobs.
People just tend to have a lower opinion of them. Their appeal has become more selective.

Frum is still an editor at the Atlantic (he was one who betrayed Kevin Williamson, also anti-Trump, in an earlier case of leftist mob deplatforming, as in kicking him out of a job at the Atlantic).

Will is still at the WaPo.

Goldberg is still at National Review and the LA Times.

Kristol and Sykes found that they had many fewer readers/listeners than they used to. Kristols magazine went bankrupt, as, effectively, did Sykes show.

Yancey Ward said...

Inga, your willingness to lie continue to amaze. Sykes quit his program, he wasn't fired or otherwise forced off the air. Google it if you don't believe me.

Every other person you listed weren't fired either, or removed from a platform for being NeverTrump. No one has tried to silence any of them.

Gahrie said...

There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives.

How have any of these people been cancelled? Their articles and opinions are published on a regular basis, and they all appear on television more often then some commercials.

Inga said...

“Shorter Inga: I’m rubber, you’re glue...”

Shorter Inga: I’m not impressed by your concern about extremism. I’ve heard too much of it that has been coming out of Trumpists’ mouths to be.

I Callahan said...

There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives.

They all still have their jobs.

None are so blind as those who will not see.

Inga said...

“The same sort of extremism is seen by Trumpists who “cancel” or destroy Never Trumpers

Cite a single never Trumper who has been destroyed or canceled.”

In Milwaukee there was a very well known conservative commentator on a prominent conservative radio station, Charlie Sykes, who because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail. He was cancelled and his credibility as a conservative destroyed by Trumpists.

There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives.

Drago said...

Marty: "Politico, folks, not some rightwing rag. The article quotes Sykes as saying his leaving "was not driven by this year’s political season." But Inga says, "because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail."
Nobody at Pravda could have done this any better."

Inga does indeed know that Sykes was purchased by a lefty billionaire, Omidyar, to support the lefties policies, which he now happily does on a daily basis at the Hoax "Conservative" site The Bulwark.

We've discussed Sykes often here. In fact, we discuss the FakeCon Sykes often because Inga keeps cutting and pasting from him...all the while claiming Sykes was "cancelled".

Think about how obvious and moronic a liar you would have to be to claim a "conservative" commentator was "cancelled" yet his stuff keeps getting published across the Lefty-sphere for a solid salary.

That's Inga for you.

Inga said...

“Politico, folks, not some rightwing rag. The article quotes Sykes as saying his leaving "was not driven by this year’s political season." But Inga says, "because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail."”

Charlie Sykes was attempting to save face and pave a way for him to stay in the field of political commentating, even if it wasn’t as a Trumpist.

Francisco D said...

Inga said...In Milwaukee there was a very well known conservative commentator on a prominent conservative radio station, Charlie Sykes, who because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail. He was cancelled and his credibility as a conservative destroyed by Trumpists. There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives.

Your examples are false, as most readers here probably know.

If these conservatives lost their audience, it was by a marketplace no longer interested in their ideas NOT by fiat.

rcocean said...

Good to see Sullivan doesn't support Bennett's firing, but he's not really a strong opponent of it, is he? Compare this column to his usual, strong (often hysterical) columns supporting Gay Marriage, legalized MJ, or attacking Trump, Palin or the Iraq War (after he turned against it).

And he doesn't seem too upset at being told to "Stand down" by the New York Magazine during "Riot Week". I get the feeling Sullivan felt he had to tap out a "Pro free speech" column and this is it. After all, he must know he's being "Monitored" by the SJW's who'd love to de-platform him.

Francisco D said...

George Will was a target of conservatives when he criticized Reagan's tax cuts. In Inga's mind, he was cancelled.

40 years later, Will is still playing the role of bow tied conservative. Some cancellation.

Michael K said...

There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives.

All funded by globalists who, in turn, are funded by China. Disney just dropped Tucker Carlson because they are dependent on China. You need someone to explain this to you.

Yancey Ward said...

Inga just lies relentlessly. She does nothing else.

JaimeRoberto said...

Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, and George Will certainly have drawn criticism for their anti-Trump positions, but I can't think of any jobs they've been fired from.

RichardJohnson said...

Inga
In Milwaukee there was a very well known conservative commentator on a prominent conservative radio station, Charlie Sykes, who because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail. He was cancelled ....

He lost market share. Radio stations don't like to run programs that lack- or lose- listeners. Just like TV ratings. That isn't the same as "run out of conservative radio on a rail."

From the LA Times.How a top conservative radio host took on Trump, lost his audience and faith, but gained a new perspective
“Basically the music score of my last six months was ‘We’re not listening to you again,’ ‘What’s up with you?’ ‘Betrayal,’” Sykes said with a small, mirthless laugh.

There were nine months between Sykes's initial confrontation with Trump in March 2016 and his resignation in December. The LA Times article notes in both the headline and in the article that Sykes lost listeners. Bennett lost his job within days. No market share involved for Bennett.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

No sale- Inga.

None of the people you mentioned were pushed out. Kristol left on his own. Jonah still has a job at NR..

etc..


It's you leftwing mind-crimers who destroy livelihoods.... over thought- crime and anyone who wanders off the leftwing plantation.

Inga said...

“If these conservatives lost their audience, it was by a marketplace no longer interested in their ideas NOT by fiat.”

How disingenuous. Their ideas were cancelled because they weren’t on the Trump train. The conservative marketplace was taken over by Trumpists.

Inga said...

“You need someone to explain this to you.“

Ah the Trumpslainer...no thanks.

Inga said...

“Think about how obvious and moronic a liar you would have to be to claim a "conservative" commentator was "cancelled" yet his stuff keeps getting published across the Lefty-sphere for a solid salary.”

Sykes was cancelled in the rightosphere he use he didn’t sign up for Trumpism. He was a prominent conservative commentator in Wisconsin. He found another niche, despite being cancelled, that must chap some asses.

Mary Beth said...

In Milwaukee there was a very well known conservative commentator on a prominent conservative radio station, Charlie Sykes, who because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail.

Sykes' reasonI made this decision more than a year ago for both professional and very personal reasons. for quitting his broadcasting job.

Are you calling him a liar? He is still getting work. Maybe he was ready for change after 23 years in the same job. Please provide evidence for "run out of conservative radio on a rail". The internet isn't providing me with any sources to back up your statement.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Inga is confusing ordinary criticism with the full throttled cancel culture on the left.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Inga not only lies, she's a shallow thinker. Does Russia Russia Inga address anything Sullivan says here? no way. Instead it's more lame "I hate Trump, you Trumpists" BS day in and day out.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Inga gets her brains from the wimin at The View.

effinayright said...

Inga said...
“Your "woke" friends at the NYT forced James Bennett out of his job. Please cite similar consequences for NeverTrumpers or "fellow conservatives who dare to question Trump or Trumpism."

Inquiring minds want to know.”

OK, you gave one example, I’ll give another and more. In Milwaukee there was a very well known conservative commentator on a prominent conservative radio station, Charlie Sykes, who because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail. He was cancelled and his credibility as a conservative destroyed by Trumpists.

>>>Wikipedia says Sykes left the station for personal reasons. Do you have better information than that? Ya think the sex scandal he was purportedly involved with ---according to DailyKos, anyway---had anything to do with it?

There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives.

>>>None of those "many others" lost their jobs because of their political opposition to Trump. They are ALL still publishing their views and are politically active. "The Bulwark" is their current project (and Sykes is part of it).

>>>So...who has been "canceled"?

MD Greene said...

Funny how the comments here have turned into a discussion about some conservatives being cancelled when the entire Seattle CHAZ thing has been largely ignored by newspapers large and small and, when the situation is mentioned, the lede has been the Seattle mayor telling the president to "go back to his bunker." Curious, that.

So far the city mayor and police chief have denied ordering the abandonment and boarding up of a downtown police precinct, which in a serious country would be a major story five days ago.

The thing is, press bias isn't just a matter of reporters larding their posts with opinions but also decisions made about which stories merit coverage.

Have we ever seen a pharmaceutical turned into a political hot potato, as hydroxychloroquine was by the NY Times after Trump mentioned it in a couple tweets? That's editorializing parading as news.

I do not care for politicians, but I do regret the loss of even the pretense of even-handedness in straight reporting.

Andrew Sullivan is right. Matt Taibbi is right.

Rick said...

Inga said...
So to be legitimately aghast at the extremism on the left, you need to take the beam out of your own eye.


Note what Inga has to pretend is equivalent to justify her beliefs:

1. Sykes is employed in explicitly political media. The NYT pretends it is not solely political.

2. Sykes and others are uniformly anti-Trump, twisting even unrelated issues into anti-Trump screeds. Brennan published a single OpEd not anti-Trump.

Remember when Inga and the other left wingers pretended Whataboutism was wrong? Too funny. But it's not like she hasn't contradicted herself a thousand times since. That what happens when you have no principles but are retro-fitting your justifications solely to support your partisanship.

But I agree with her that the NYT is as extreme left as any conservative radio is right.
This includes not just their ideological rigidity but also their invention and support for conspiracy theories, outright fabrications like the 1619 project, and absurd misinterpretations of essentially everything.

Inga said...

Conservative commentators and public figures have been cancelled by the Trumpist world. They are no longer welcome in the CONSERVATIVE public realm. Conservatism meant a lot to them, it was what they identified with. I’ve heard for the last 4 years from conservative people here and elsewhere how gjey wholeheartedly reject anything that comes from the people I’ve named and didn’t name who were similarity cancelled by Trumpists. You can look at the way that Chuck, Ken B, Tim in Vermont, Mockturtle and Gadfly are treated right here on these threads, as an example. Before Trump and before Covid in the cases of Ken B, Mockturtle and Tim in Vermont their fall from grace.

You people acted as extremely as the people on the left who you are criticizing when it comes to cancelling those you disagree with.

The Crack Emcee said...

There is no room for debate when I'm fighting Nazis for my money and asking you guys to retweet my message to help.

Other than that, we can debate anything.

Michael K said...


Blogger Inga said...
Conservative commentators and public figures have been cancelled by the Trumpist world.


Repeating lies does not make them true.

JaimeRoberto said...

Sure, some commenters here are subjected to ad hominem attacks, but have they doxxed? Have their employers been threatened? Have they lost their jobs? There's a difference between criticism and cancellation.

Michael K said...

40 years later, Will is still playing the role of bow tied conservative. Some cancellation.

It is pretty funny that Tucker Carlson lost his bow tie quickly once he was on TV. Maybe it was just Fox.

I used to wear bow ties when I still wore ties. Some of my students gave me some. They hang in my closet,.

curiosity said...

"Liberalism is not just a set of rules. There’s a spirit to it. A spirit that believes that there are whole spheres of human life that lie beyond ideology — friendship, art, love, sex, scholarship, family. A spirit that seeks not to impose orthodoxy but to open up the possibilities of the human mind and soul. A spirit that seeks moral clarity but understands that this is very hard, that life and history are complex, and it is this complexity that a truly liberal society seeks to understand if it wants to advance. It is a spirit that deals with an argument — and not a person — and that counters that argument with logic, not abuse. It’s a spirit that allows for various ideas to clash and evolve, and treats citizens as equal, regardless of their race, rather than insisting on equity for designated racial groups. It’s a spirit that delights sometimes in being wrong because it offers an opportunity to figure out what’s right. And it’s generous, humorous, and graceful in its love of argument and debate. It gives you space to think and reflect and deliberate."

This is a beautiful paragraph. I have always been drawn to this "spirit", but I see it so infrequently in those who call themselves liberal now. Sad!

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“It's your party, Andrew”

And this is why I delight in, not fear, the current moment. For those who are usually indifferent to politics, things have to be seen to be understood. And the Democrats are doing absolutely everything in their power to make sure the apolitical and the LIV see and understand who the Democrats are.

Browndog said...

Libs: I don't like what you said. I demand you be banned so no one can hear you.

Cons: I don't like what you said. I'm changing the channel.

Cuntface: It's the same thing.

Drago said...

Inga is now going to simply keep screaming her newest version of Boogaloo!!NobodyknowswhatMuellerknows!!RussiaRussiaRussia with her fingers in her ears.

Because of course she is.

Inga is very very very upset that everyone noticed when all of these FakeCon's started endorsing democrats and democrat policies and democrat political goals and attacking actual principled conservatives while defending every democrat in sight on every issue.

Inga is like a child in that way.

Drago said...

Inga is now going to simply keep screaming her newest version of Boogaloo!!NobodyknowswhatMuellerknows!!RussiaRussiaRussia with her fingers in her ears.

Because of course she is.

Inga is very very very upset that everyone noticed when all of these FakeCon's started endorsing democrats and democrat policies and democrat political goals and attacking actual principled conservatives while defending every democrat in sight on every issue.

Inga is like a child in that way.

Francisco D said...

Inga conflates criticism with cancellation.

Unsurprisingly!

Jim at said...

In Milwaukee there was a very well known conservative commentator on a prominent conservative radio station, Charlie Sykes, who because he didn’t support Trump lost his job and basically run out of conservative radio on a rail. He was cancelled and his credibility as a conservative destroyed by Trumpists.

There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives.


It has been pointed out - multiple times - you're full of shit with this statement. And yet you keep repeating it.

mikee said...

Andrew, "debate" has been replaced by "conversation," in which a cadre leader tells everyone else what they think, or else.

mikee said...

I remember when the commentariat came for John Derbyshire, put him in a tumbril, and hauled him off to the guillotine. Eff u all, pundits, and start with Sullivan.

RichardJohnson said...

Inga
You people acted as extremely as the people on the left who you are criticizing when it comes to cancelling those you disagree with.

You people? Not very nice, Inga.
"You people acted as extremely as the people on the left." NBA Announcer Grant Napear Lost his Job for Saying ‘All Lives Matter.’ Yup, dose awful wing-nuts acted just as as extrreeeemly as dose lefties. Tell me another one, Inga.

Howard said...

Inga, Inga, Inga

You're missing their point. The Trumpian juggernaut is too weak and powerless to effectively cancel anybody in power. They can only cancel little people like George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, etc.

The objections are rooted in jealousy. If they had the power, they would bring in the 82nd Airborne to cancel all opposition. Fortunately there's limits to power. Generals like Mark Milley are in the way of #bunkerbitch becoming the second coming of Chairman Mao. This is very very frustrating for the deplorables.

Lexington Green said...

Sullivan is dishonest. He claims to be concerned about this, but he supports the Democrat party, which once it’s in power again he’s going to cram down all of the things he professes to be against with the full power of the Federal government.

Phil 314 said...

" There are others like Bill Kristol, David Frum, Jonah Goldberg, George Will and many other conservatives."

Speaking as a "not so hot on Trumper" but perceived as a never-Trumper here I can say that none of the above have been cancelled. They've continued on but without the support of strong Trump supporters (and always with the opportunity to appear on MSNBC as the "conservative viewpoint")

PS: You forgot David French

PPS Take the plank out or your own eye before you pick at the right's speck

bbkingfish said...

Where the heck are all those RINOs?

They haven't been cancelled, have they?

Michael K said...

They can only cancel little people like George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, etc.

You sure love you some "gentle Giants" there, Howard.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"They can only cancel little people like George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, etc."

Ah, yes, Howie and Inga's (aka Dumb and Dumber) little brown mascots.

Inga would have called 911 if any of those men came anywhere near her property.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

To Inga, criticism of the left by the right equals censorship of the right by the left.

Ah, poor little Inga. Sobbing because people here call her mean names.

Admit it, Inga, you're a masochist who secretly loves the abuse. If you move to CHAZ you'll have no problem finding a pallid leftist SJW or an actual criminal to slap you around, so you won't have to settle for the next best thing online.

Inga said...

“Ah, poor little Inga. Sobbing because people here call her mean names.”

I didn’t refer to myself at all since I am a liberal and have never presented myself as a conservative. My comments were how you treat your fellow conservatives who don’t belong to the Trump Cult, not how you treat liberals who comment here. You, in your haste to spew spittle and vomit bile, completely missed my point about the cancel culture toward fellow conservatives because of Trumpism. I’m not concerned with what people here say about me. If I did, I wouldn’t still be commenting after all these years. I have no secret desire to be abused, you strange woman, but I am stubborn enough not to be silenced by preternaturally vicious people like you. Your odd “insights” make me wonder about what made you the way you are. Abusive childhood?

Krumhorn said...

From one of the comments below Sullivan's piece:

The leftist True Believers think they are now ascendant. They thirst for vengeance, they long for destruction, they ache for power, they lust for self-righteous purification, and they burn in religious ecstasy.

Wish I'd written that.

- Krumhorn

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"Silenced"

Who's silencing you, Inga? You come here, make a clown out of yourself, and the rest of us accurately call you a clown. Except you're not just a clown, you're a heatless, phony liar.

I feel perfectly fine mocking a clown and a heartless, phony liar. All decent people should do so.

Michael K said...

You, in your haste to spew spittle and vomit bile, completely missed my point about the cancel culture toward fellow conservatives because of Trumpism.

It doesn't exist you idiot. Nobody cares if you are "liberal."

'TreHammer said...

As long the argument of “false equivalence” is not best back, debate is futile.

'TreHammer said...

As long as the argument of false equivalence is allowed to be used, debate is futile.

Inga said...

“It doesn't exist you idiot.”

Senile makes one brain not work so well, poor Michael K, still thinks he’s barking out orders.

“Nobody cares if you are "liberal."”

I didn’t say anyone did or should care, you senile coot.

Inga said...

Exiled, blah blah blah, I’ll say again that I’m very glad you never raised a child.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Well, you raised idiots so it's unfortunate you did.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Do your children lie? Are they narcissistic, virtue-signaling bitches and hysterical Karens who blame other people for all their problems? Are they unable to grasp basic logic?

If so, cograts, they're chips right off the old blockhead.

n.n said...

As long as the argument of false equivalence is allowed to be used, debate is futile.

Political congruence (PC).