...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...
It's funny. i first learned about the verb "to Moby" by reading Andrew Sullivan.
As i understand it, Mobying is when someone posts something on a conservative forum, pretending to be a conservative, but saying liberal things in order to confuse and promote disillusionment among conservative voters.
Like for instance, this recent Andrew Sullivan post, where he actually suggests that John Kerry might be obliged to be strong in the War on Terror, simply because he's a Democrat. (An interesting theory, which requires one to ignore our last two Democratic presidents in order to keep from laughing uncontrollably at it.)
Says Andrew Sullivan:
Sometimes, a Democrat has to be tougher than a Republican in this area - if only to credentialize himself. I can certainly conceive of Richard Holbrooke being a tougher secretary of state than Colin Powell. I'm not yet convinced and want to hear much more from Kerry. But I'm persuadable.Sullivan just lost a lot of credibility in my book with that statement. There is no way in hell that Kerry would not be a complete disaster on any national security issue you can name. The man hates the military and they hate him. He's made a career out of undermining and betraying our Armed Forces and our Intelligence Services. And Sullivan is "persuadable" on this? i think AS has let his anger over the Marriage Amendment thing cloud his judgment and common sense.
Sometimes Sullivan also really has a talent for revealing his own ignorance through his comments. Richard Holbrooke would have almost certainly been Al Gore's Secretary of State; if the two of them were running things, we'd still be negotiating with the Taliban.
Posted by: Dave J on Mar. 20, 2004I have valued Sullivan's opinion for some time now. I'm in favor of gay marriage, but God Almighty- Andrew has gone over the edge about it. I've idly wondered how his health is. Is he getting sicker, and worried he might die without making a full contribution to the gay marriage cause?
I've heard Sullivan speak biographically, and read some too. In his life, he has consistently staked out contrarian positions on a number of issues. It has been a habit for him-- since childhood almost, to be holding unpopular ground. I've wondered if his Kerry flirtations are almost an unconscious fulfillment of this lifelong predilection?
Whatever one's problems with Bush, Kerry is an almost unimaginable ass for a Presidential Candidate. Kerry is arrogant and unstable- witness his latest exaggeration-- the "flying acrobatic dog" story. One has to go through agonizing logical gymnastics to justify supporting Kerry. I KNOW Sulliven must know better. Which is why I formulated my wild psychotheory about Sullivan's support of Kerry.
BTW, if he can keep things moving forward in the War on Terror, I think Bush may go down as one of our greatest Presidents. I do hope, once he's re-elected, Bush can stop creating those damn entitlement programs. That's my biggest gripe with him.
Posted by: gcotharn in Texas on Mar. 20, 2004I agree that AS is losing credibility with comments like "I'm persuadable." I haven't been able to bear reading him regularly in almost a year. I think he gets so hung up on his own issues (like gay marriage) that he can't work his way back around to a clear perspective on everything else. It's a shame, really, because he has such a broad reach...
Posted by: Rich on Mar. 20, 2004Long time no visit......interesting: A creative conservative!
You, my lady , are a rarity!
Anyway, asking old contacts to check out my 'new concept' blog (Warning: I, like so many creative people, am a liberal!
Posted by: OLDCATMAN on Mar. 21, 2004Sullivan seems to have written off his War on Terror support for Bush over his passion for the gay marriage issue. At various times he written in much the same way about Edwards and even Dean.
He seems to have taken an anybody but Bush position.
Posted by: Stephen Macklin on Mar. 21, 2004i agree with Sullivan on gay marriage. i wish he would see it as i do and stop worrying. Bush can't stop it from happening and there's more important things to worry about. Then again, Sullivan is gay and i'm not, so i understand why he would take Bush's opposition harder than i do.
Hey OLDCATMAN, what happenned to the all caps?
Posted by: annika! on Mar. 21, 2004