Thursday, June 02, 2005
A Reminder of Pitchfork Pat
Every few months, one gets a timely reminder of why Pat Buchanan is such a loathsome individual. Last May he asked insipidly if opposing Hitler in World War II was "worth it." At the least, one might have hoped that he'd stay quiet for a few months, having vented his spleen.
The revelation of the identity of Deep Throat has once again given Buchanan occasion to remind us what a noxious guy he is. Oblivious to the damage wrought to the foundations of American democracy by the Nixon administration, Buchanan has only scorn for Mark Felt, comparing him to Linda Tripp. Right - using the White House to destroy political opponents is roughly the same as lying about sex. Oh yes, and
I'm willing to say that most conservatives are capable of being right at least once. Even the horrible Jesse Helms eventually came to support Third World debt relief. It beggars belief how consistently wrong Pat Buchanan has been over the years. Over the course of a long career, Buchanan opposed sanctions on South Africa, immigration into America, Vatican II, gay rights, and opposing Hitler and fascism. Oh yes, and the Vietnam Memorial. I will forever marvel that major news networks consider this despicable crank someone to invite over for panel discussions.
There is, I guess, some value in people seeing that folks like him are still out there. Moreover, there is even greater value in seeing Buchanan's frustrations. This country is moving in a direction that he loathes: toward greater tolerance and greater diversity. He is left an increasingly bitter spectator to a world that has largely rejected him.
The revelation of the identity of Deep Throat has once again given Buchanan occasion to remind us what a noxious guy he is. Oblivious to the damage wrought to the foundations of American democracy by the Nixon administration, Buchanan has only scorn for Mark Felt, comparing him to Linda Tripp. Right - using the White House to destroy political opponents is roughly the same as lying about sex. Oh yes, and
I'm willing to say that most conservatives are capable of being right at least once. Even the horrible Jesse Helms eventually came to support Third World debt relief. It beggars belief how consistently wrong Pat Buchanan has been over the years. Over the course of a long career, Buchanan opposed sanctions on South Africa, immigration into America, Vatican II, gay rights, and opposing Hitler and fascism. Oh yes, and the Vietnam Memorial. I will forever marvel that major news networks consider this despicable crank someone to invite over for panel discussions.
There is, I guess, some value in people seeing that folks like him are still out there. Moreover, there is even greater value in seeing Buchanan's frustrations. This country is moving in a direction that he loathes: toward greater tolerance and greater diversity. He is left an increasingly bitter spectator to a world that has largely rejected him.
