Replying to this whiny anti-Bush post, commenter Rae notes (in part), “It matters not what a president does, those who are of his political party are going to excuse and justify any behavior no matter how despicable whether Republican or Democrat” — a tepid observation, and hardly one you’d expect would draw the ire of Allen Brill, a progressive Christian so convinced of his own righteous standing among the heavenly elect that he boasts about it in his blog title, the pretentiously-dubbed The Right Christians.
But draw his ire she did. Quoth Brill:
Rae,
I appreciate your openness about your weblog address and see that you’re as much a Republican as I am a Democrat. You should be congratulated on being 5th on a Yahoo search for “spring lipsticks 2004.” It was no particular surprise to me that “Confessions of a Shopaholic” was what beautiful young Republican mothers are reading these days.
The Repub talking points seem directed at this rather desperate point at making this into “Repubs say, Dems say” instead of a serious inquiry into whether, or rather how our government failed us. Few are buying here or nationally, I think. Also, we’re all rather used to the “blame Clinton” routine, but I haven’t heard “blame JFK” too much yet. Perhaps you’re ahead of the curve there.
Excuse my being really horrible, but are you real? This particular excerpt is so far out of the range of my reality that I have a little difficulty accepting it as legitimate blogging:
Book shopping is next to shoe shopping in the thrill of the hunt. There are so many similarities. So many choices, styles, colors. Some are comfy, some aren't so comfy but look so damn good you have to wear them! Some are for going out in and some are for stepping out in. Some are quick and easy. Others are a little more challenging.
So this is the female vote in the Republican party? Seems too stereotyped to be real. Maybe I’m just in a mean mood.
But it didn’t stop there: emboldened by the sizzling sounds of his own smug elitism, Brill turned Rae’s comment into a “diary” entry which found its way to Daily Kos:
Bloggers “meet” interesting people electronically. Over the past several weeks, I’ve had a persistent commenter at my blog, The Right Christians, who first appeared as an antichoice advocate. Today, she expanded her dissent when I attacked the Bushies as people who never had to say they were sorry.
She left her weblog address and it turned out to be fascinating. At top is her disclosure that she’s currently reading “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” Then she exults in the fact that she’s #5 on Yahoo’s search engine for “spring lipstick 2004.” Earlier, she agonizes over shoe shopping versus book shopping. Frankly, I began to think this must be a parody.
There are some voters you should not try to attract. Let Bush have them.
Wow, good thing Jesus loves us, eh? — ’cause evidently Lutheran Ministers like Brill are too busy doing earthly things like honing their sanctimony or engaging in serial snottiness to take into account a woman’s feelings before publically ridiculing her for observations she made unrelated to his post. But forgive him we must, because bigthinkers like Brill have the greater good to worry about (no small responsibility, that) and to live in his world is to subsume individualism to grand and glorious collectivist abstractions. Which, of course, defines “progressivism” these days.
Anyway, I added a comment to Brill’s thread, but moments after I replied, the comment was deleted — inconvenient history effectively whitewashed with the click of a mouse. Because dissenting opinions, you see, need only be tolerated when they’re shouted by swarming progressives carrying colorful signs linking Bush to Hitler. Of course, tune into his site next week and you can bet your ass you’ll find Brill and his lefty echo chamber bemoaning the “lack of debate” in this country. Because that’s what hypocrites do.
Luckily, though, I have my own site — so here’s my take, safe from the Reverend’s bowdlerizing: Brill and his ilk are all for the people so long as “the people” remains a theoretical and idealized category. When it comes to actual people, I suspect Brill can’t stand the vast majority of them, his religious bona fides nothwithstanding. He’s an ersatz sophisticate and a snob, to boot. And, judging from his response to Rae’s rather benign comments, he’s also a mean-spirited and condescending partisan flack with a grubby little smudge where his soul should be — proof positive that an advanced education doesn’t guarantee one a fair mind or a particularly charitable heart.
That he’s afraid to have anyone tell him so on his site makes him a coward, too.
I have to say, it was worth breaking the first rule of Fight Club to ream this bastard.
I saw a bumper sticker last summer that would be perfect for this guy:
“Jesus Loves You……..The Rest of Us Think You’re an Asshole!”
Jeff- come down off that white horse so I can properly thank you.
Geeze, what a dipstick. Who shoved a planet sized stick up his rump? The Right Christian? More like The Wrong Dork.
Myria
I’ve corresponded a few times with Rev. Brill. He’s always been quite friendly. This surprises me more than a bit. I mean, I knew he was pretty far out on the left wing, but seemed reasonable.
I see it as all symptomatic of what’s happened to Democrats as a party. They’ve gone stark raving bonkers, and hate’s all they’ve got left.
What they need, very badly, is a spanking. A radioactive-glow ass-whupping, actually. It appears that nothing else will bring them back to sanity or decency.
The party of Jack Kennedy has become the party of Howard Dean–and it is Dean’s party, you know. Even though he lost the nod, Kerry has swilled the Dean Kool-Aide deeply.
I have faith that the Democratic Party will come to its senses and become a decent mainstream party again. It’s just going to take some time–and an electoral drubbing is probably what it’ll take.
I’m not optimistic that they’ll get one. But it’s what they need as a party.
Because Republicans are never hateful, arrogant, elitist, ignorant, vicious, censorious, cowardly, hypocritical or moronic. (I’ll leave “dishonest” and “venal” to the various investigative commissions.) And yes, it is a good thing Jesus loves.
“I tell people don’t kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus
Me: Reverend Brill unfairly attacked a commenter on his site, then deleted my comment in defense of said commenter, because he’s cynical and cowardly.
Frank: Oh, yeah? Well, here’s some stuff Republicans said historically.
Brilliant, Frank. You can cut and paste. Tell you what: I’ll print out your comments and affix them to my fridge with one of those little magnets shaped like a strawberry. Will that make you happy?
I’m sure he can send you a set of those magnets from his own fridge. Each time he has to comment somewhere he just rearranges the magnets and his comment is done.
All Frank pointed out is that both parties have their idiots… and any quote can be pulled out of context to make a point.
Personally, I’m ready to become a hardline Independent!
“Quit looking at the symbols. Get out and get a job. Quit shooting each other. Quit having illegitimate babies.”
not sure about you Frank, but the above sounds like some damn good advice.
I also left a brief comment, gently pointing out the childishness of such an ad hominem response. Interestingly, within a few hours, my comment, Rae’s comment, and anything referring to this whole dust-up had disappeared from the comments.
Allen sure is heavy on that delete button…
Looks like he’s made the correction and everything has reappeared.
Well, except for my original comment. Still no sign of that.
I think perhaps he found such strong language offensive, Jeff? Maybe it didn’t quite fit the nature of the site….
Sorry, my facetiousness got the best of me here.
Well, I was careful not to use profanity. No, I think he’s just a coward.
>
The racism inherent in these remarks is self-evident. As if black people—or even just the black people who have the nerve to be offended by the Confederate Flag—are all shooting each other and having illegitimate babies! Or that because there are social problems in some black communities, the concerns of any black person about that flag are somehow misplaced! How insulting. Sorry, A., I can’t agree with you or the congressman that such “advice” is an appropriate or even relevant response.