15 October 2001
(Liberal) Politics Returns
If today's Washington Post editorial page is any indicator (and it's usually a very good indicator), 15 October marks the day that liberals have decided it's safe to return to politics as usual. It's almost as if they've been saving their nonsensical best stuff for a month! To wit, we have:
Of Horses, Rabbits and Trade, a post editorial on trade promotion authority that reads like a press release from leftist Charlie Rangel's congressional office.
Parallel Propaganda, in which Jackson Diehl decries a Russian and Jewish conspiracy to quash self-determination movements in Chechnya and Israel respectively under the guise of counterterrorism. Now there is some truth to this in terms of Russia, but it's a real laugher to anyone who has carefully studied the "Palestinian" problem for any period of time -- and it's a little hard to blame Sharon for turning to ANY allies he can find, since the U.S. announcement regarding a Palestinian state (which marked the first time a U.S. President had so forcefully advocated such a policy).
Don't Sacrifice The Poor, in which the Presidents of the National Urban League and NOW (surely avoiding "sacrificing" the poor is the primary concern of women, yes?) revive very tired class-warfare arguments about tax-cuts, including this great line: "tax cuts that shrank the federal surplus bypassed low-wage earners." (no mention of the fact the only people "bypassed" were those who paid no INCOME taxes in the first place!)
The Stimulus That Could Depress, in which columnist Sebastian Mallaby, whose economic credentials are curiously omitted (perhaps because nonexistent?), declares authoritatively, "The mistake is that, along with some sensible measures, the House Republicans are pushing economic stimulus ideas that won't stimulate the economy." Whew. I'm glad he cleared that up for me.
And finally, Suspect Thinking, the least offensive of the lot (but still plenty offensive), in which the occasionally sensible William Raspberry rambles on and on about his fears "of American action so brutal and arrogant and indiscriminate" as to do... something. Never mind the fact that the Bush Administration has shown OVERWHELMING restraint in its approach thus far (which some on the right and left have criticized).
That amounts to the return of partisan leftist political thinking in five of the six editorials run by the Post today. And even the other editorial -- on Virginia's gubernatorial race -- is in line with the enlightened liberal worldview presented in the others, authoritatively noting (in criticism of both candidates) that "Taxes will have to be increased or even in the short run the quality of public services can be expected to decline."
For over a month following the terrorist attacks, partisan politics and partisan political writing both were surprisingly absent, despite a flare-up here and there. Mark 15 October as the day that partisan political writing, at least on the left, returned in a big way.
[Posted @ 12:17 PM CST]
