At Polipundit today, I respond to Oliver Willis who says that Polipundit's response to Ted Rall's challenge to find vitriol on the left, was lacking. I am cross-posting it below:
In a post titled "Grow a Pair," Oliver Willis says the following about Polipundit's recent response to Ted Rall:
Polipundit goes hunting for "Democratic vitriol" and this is the best that could be found? “This Is One Of The Least Truthful Group Of People I’ve Ever Seen Running The Country … These Guys Are Just Lying Through Their Teeth.” I hear worse in an hour of right-wing hate radio! Heaven forbid when Democrats actually ever really fight back. They'll be running home crying.
Read Polipundit's response to Rall, if you have not already. (I did not supply a link to Oliver Willis because I quoted his post in its entirety above.) Could even Maureen Dowd represent the totality of Polipundit's response to Rall any more inaccurately?
Here is what I found to be the really funny thing -- Willis has a counter at the top of his homepage counting the days since he demanded the resignation of Brit Hume for misrepresenting an FDR quote relating to social security claiming he had "intentionally manipulated" it. How can Oliver Willis read the full response of Polipundit and then misrepresent the excerpt above as "the best that could be found," then criticize Brit Hume for misrepresenting a quote? That old pot/kettle thing immediately comes to mind. And unless Willis has called for the immediate resignation of Dan Rather from 60 Minutes, then the hypocrisy is just over the top, even for a Bush hater.
And finally, Willis writes of Republicans running home crying. What on our side, can compare to, much less top, the Left's perpetual portrayal of President George W. Hitler, the Nazi, civilian-targeting, warmongering, religious fanatic chimp who wants to poison the water, destroy the world's climate and bankrupt senior citizens? (Oops, I forgot to include the words Enron or Halliburton.) Bush hasn't run home crying. He has pretty much ignored the hysterical haters and just kept on racking up political and legislative wins. On the other hand, anytime a Republican points out a Democrat's past opposition to the use of the filibuster in judicial confirmations, or points out a Democrat's past belief that Iraq had WMD and supported regime change when Clinton was in office, or any number of other inconsistent statements they have made, they run crying to "stop it." Harry Reid was one of the most recent to cry "Uncle."
Why can't Willis represent to his readers the full response of Polipundit and address the individual instances he cites, as well as the responses others have provided to Rall, and then let his readers make up their minds? Instead he dishonestly (or perhaps just lazily, to give him the benefit of the doubt) dismisses the responses to Rall as being limited to the one Dean quote “This Is One Of The Least Truthful Group Of People I’ve Ever Seen Running The Country … These Guys Are Just Lying Through Their Teeth” when Willis knows that is one of the tamest of the examples Polipundit cited. Why do so many on the Left (not all, but many) have so much trouble facing the truth about the tone and tenor of so many on their side of the aisle?
