How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Politics is generational. Consider the thuggery practiced by the Democrats recently in Wisconsin. Force, intimidation, and openly partisan, unprofessional conduct on the part of judges, civil servants, physicians, and policemen became on the part of left-liberals the order of the day, and no one on the left stood up to denounce this conduct. Now, thanks to our President’s admiration for the tactics of Saul Alinsky, others in other states are imitating the deportment of the Wisconsin left-liberals – not only heckling Republican candidates but attempting to storm the platforms on which they speak.
I remember when left-liberals insisted on civility. I remember when they condemned the tactics of intimidation championed by the New Left. I remember when progressives insisted on impartiality on the part of judges, civil servants, policemen, and those who purported to be reporting the news (as opposed to espousing opinion). There were always exceptions to the rule. Dan Rather was playing tricks as early as 1963. But, when caught and exposed, these exceptions took it on the chin. Today they rarely even apologize.
I remember when liberals sported on their automobiles bumper stickers reading, “Hatred is not a Family Value.” Then, back in 2003, in The New Republic, Jonathan Chait wrote an essay explaining why it was legitimate to hate George W. Bush, and the dam burst. Civility is no longer a liberal ideal. And now – as yesterday’s armed attack on the Family Research Council in Washington, the five-hour delay in President Obama’s condemnation of the act as he calculated whether it was in his interest to comment or not, and the mainstream media’s initial reluctance to report on the event, much less highlight the activist LGBT connections of the shooter suggest – left liberals are willing to wink at violence. It may be regrettable, they think, but, like stealing elections, it is all in a good cause – and before figuring out how to respond to an outbreak of violence on the part of their allies, they pause to calculate the political consequences. You will not hear liberals arguing for a crackdown on the use of force by animal-rights activists, environmental activists, union thugs, and the Occupy movement. Instead, you will find in them a desperate hankering to pin on the Tea Party responsibility for conduct the Tea-Partiers abhor and a willingness to engage in race-baiting and talk of class warfare on a stunning scale.
The truth is that it is a short distance from the hatred preached by Jonathan Chait to assassination, and five and six years ago there was a great deal of open, public fantasizing along these lines by left liberals.
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Comments:
May '10
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
The Left is capable of anything if their leaders give them cover. The more brazenly liberal politicians like Obama and Reid break the law, the more lawyers like Holder and law enforcers ignore their duties, the bolder the rabble at the bottom will become.
All that's holding this nation together is fear. If liberal leaders stop fearing legal and political repercussions, it's over. The Left's leaders in the media obviously don't fear marketplace repercussions anymore, which is why their words have become ever more detestable.
Feb '11
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Paul A. Rahe
.....
Be careful with this argument, Paul. That's exactly how they tie white supremacists, militia movements, and such around our necks. Of course incitement, hatred, opening doors, etc. are subjective terms and you don't need genius level intelligence to draw a plausible series of lines.
Jan '11
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Paul A. Rahe
When you incite hatred -- and that is exactly what he did -- you open doors, and people went through those doors and began publicly fantasizing about an assassination. No one on the left came down on Chait for what he did, and no one on the left denounced those exercising their imaginations as they did. The "respectable" left makes free use of the unrespectable left.
Prof. Rahe,
Do you blame the pro-life movement for inciting Scott Roeder to murder Dr. George Tiller in 2009?* If not, why not?
* For the record, I do not.
May '10
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Tom, anger is not hatred. The pro-life movement encourages justified anger (and mercy). The Left regularly targets people, rather than views ("racist", "homophobe", etc). The Left preaches hatred.
It's not a fringe movement for the Left. Hatred is mainstream. It's rare to meet a liberal who does not participate in demonization.
Jan '11
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Aaron, I understand what you're saying -- and happily agree that the Left is more prone to ad hominen attack -- but I invite you to re-read your post to see how self-serving it would sound to someone on the other side ("They hate; we, however, are justifiably angry.").
I also point out that you didn't answer the question.
Jun '12
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
There are whack jobs on both sides, but only the left has embraced moral relativism as its gospel. Once truth and right/wrong become flexible options, anything can be justified and will be, eventually. This is especially true when you have an Alinskyite framework that starts from the premise that mainstream U.S. society is essentially evil. If you begin from the premise that your opponent is categorically evil, and no rules apply to dictate your behavior, anyhting goes. It is going to get worse before it gets better. I sound like a broken record, but if you all havn't seen the film "Generation Zero" yet, please do. Some of its commentary is directly on point.
Jan '11
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Just to be clear -- and as much as I strenuously dislike the FRC -- they are innocent of the "hate group" libels the SPLC has made against them. I simply do not think that their awful behavior is responsible for this shooting.
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Ed G.: Paul A. Rahe
.....
Be careful with this argument, Paul. That's exactly how they tie white supremacists, militia movements, and such around our necks. Of course incitement, hatred, opening doors, etc. are subjective terms and you don't need genius level intelligence to draw a plausible series of lines. · 56 minutes ago
We do not embrace white supremacists and militia movements. We condemn them. We criticize our liberal opponents, we oppose their policies, we seek to unseat them in free elections, but we do not preach hatred. Chait did so, using the very word, and he did so in The New Republic of all places; and soon thereafter, uncondemned by Chait or anyone on the left, the assassination fantasy began. We need to expose the problem, not ignore it.
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Tom Meyer
Paul A. Rahe
When you incite hatred -- and that is exactly what he did -- you open doors, and people went through those doors and began publicly fantasizing about an assassination. No one on the left came down on Chait for what he did, and no one on the left denounced those exercising their imaginations as they did. The "respectable" left makes free use of the unrespectable left.
Prof. Rahe,
Do you blame the pro-life movement for inciting Scott Roeder to murder Dr. George Tiller in 2009?* If not, why not?
* For the record, I do not. · 54 minutes ago
No, I do not. They never preached violence; they never preached hatred; and they condemned him for what he did. Jonathan Chait openly preached hatred, and he had the sanction of the leading left-liberal journal. Let me add that on the liberal left the assassination fantasizing was widespread. It was treated as amusing.
Jul '10
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Not just fantasizing. There was a British film called Death of a President explicitly about a fictional assassination of W.
Jan '11
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Paul A. Rahe
No, I do not. They never preached violence; they never preached hatred; and they condemned him for what he did.
Just as 25 major LGBT organizations condemned Corkins yesterday, including GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, and GLSEN:
One may accuse -- and I might join you in accusing -- these groups of unethical and uncivil behavior toward marriage traditionalists. But they could not have condemned this violence in clearer terms.
Edited on August 17, 2012 at 12:08amFeb '11
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Paul A. Rahe
Tom Meyer
Paul A. Rahe
When you incite hatred -- and that is exactly what he did -- you open doors, and people went through those doors and began publicly fantasizing about an assassination. No one on the left came down on Chait for what he did, and no one on the left denounced those exercising their imaginations as they did. The "respectable" left makes free use of the unrespectable left.
Prof. Rahe,
Do you blame the pro-life movement for inciting Scott Roeder to murder Dr. George Tiller in 2009?* If not, why not?
* For the record, I do not. · 54 minutes ago
No, I do not. They never preached violence; they never preached hatred; and they condemned him for what he did. Jonathan Chait openly preached hatred, and he had the sanction of the leading left-liberal journal. Let me add that on the liberal left the assassination fantasizing was widespread. It was treated as amusing. · 15 minutes ago
OK. Was any of that responsible for a lunatic going in to shoot up this organization?
Feb '11
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Again, I'm increasingly convinced that "progressivism" is simply Fascism for those who consider themselves intellectuals.
May '10
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Sam is right. Here's the Wiki. To save you time, here's how it was received:
From the Wikipedia: The film won a total of 6 awards including; the International Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) from the 2006 Toronto Film Festival,[22] the International Emmy Award for the TV Movie/Mini-Series category in the (UK), the RTS Television Award in the Digital Channel Programme category from the Royal Television Society, the RTBF TV Prize for Best Picture Award from the Brussels European Film Festival for director Gabriel Range, the Banff Rockie Award from the Banff Television Festival for the film, and one for director Gabriel Range. The film also received a nomination for Best Visual Effects from the British Academy TV Awards in 2007
Edited on August 16, 2012 at 11:49pmFeb '11
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Keith Preston
Sam is right. Here's the Wiki. To save you time, here's how it was received:
From the Wikipedia: The film won a total of 6 awards including; the International Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) from the 2006 Toronto Film Festival,[22] the International Emmy Award for the TV Movie/Mini-Series category in the (UK), the RTS Television Award in the Digital Channel Programme category from the Royal Television Society, the RTBF TV Prize for Best Picture Award from the Brussels European Film Festival for director Gabriel Range, the Banff Rockie Award from the Banff Television Festival for the film, and one for director Gabriel Range. The film also received a nomination for Best Visual Effects from the British Academy TV Awards in 2007 · 48 minutes ago
Edited 48 minutes ago
OK. Was any of that responsible for a lunatic going in to shoot up this organization?
Jul '12
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
I hesitate to bring this up and, if I my memory is faulty, please correct me but didn't an article in one of the British papers, The Guardian perhaps, actually call for Bush's assassination right after the '04 elections?
Personally, I think post-Chait Liberalism in America is an umasking more than anything else. Committed leftists are violent people and they always have been. Maybe ruthless is a better word.
Here's a link about the article:
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2004/10/trendy-european-leftists-call-for
Here's the Guardians retraction:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/oct/24/tvandradio.theguide
Edited on August 17, 2012 at 12:52amJun '12
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Eric Voegelin: Personally, I think post-Chait Liberalism in America is an umasking more than anything else. Committed leftists are violent people and they always have been. Maybe ruthless is a better word.
· 47 minutes ago
Edited 39 minutes ago
Just look at Bill Ayers and his Weathermen.
Violence has always been endemic on the left. It comes from all the Righteous Indignation about the idiots standing in the way of them Saving The World... oh, and grabbing totalitarian power too.
Oct '10
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Ed G.
Paul A. Rahe: .....
The truth is that it is a short distance from the hatred preached by Jonathan Chait to assassination, and five and six years ago there was a great deal of open, public fantasizing along these lines by left liberals. · · 24 minutes ago
Let's get a grip everybody. We hate it when the other side politicizes the actions of lunatics so we shouldn't do the same; as the saying goes, "two wrongs don't make a right". There are plenty of legitimate topics on which the left/Obama/the media are deserving of criticism, including hypocrisy, but we should steer clear of this particular accusation. · 5 hours ago
Paul Rahe's observation has the great merit of explaining why there was a mock documentary on the assassination of Bush in 2006.
A friend of mine said, "I just think if Bush were elected he would have to be assassinated." There are anecdotes of high-society liberals saying similar things.
So no, I don't buy your attempted rebuttal.
Apr '12
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
The Right generally condemns folks who transgress-- be it sexual or threatening folks.
The Left tends to attack those who attack folks on their own side.
It's common enough that talk show hosts mention it out the ears, how Republicans "eat their own" when they jack up.
This carries down to the operation level; not a single one of my liberal Facebook friends have said "wow! This is horrible, that psychopath!" about this shooting, not even to the level of "random crazy dude" attacks. It hasn't shown up at all.
Contrast, the guy who murdered an abortionist was condemned the second those who oppose killing small people for no fault of their own heard about it.
Jul '12
Re: How Hatred Became a Liberal Value
Expanding on foxfier's point, why should we condemn someone who kills a killer? It was the job of the state to stop this abortionist but the state abdicated. What should a virtuous citizen do in such a case? Moreover, if life is so cheap that killing unborn children is allowed, what's all the fuss about killing the abortionist? These are all questions that would literally ask themselves and be debated in a straightforward way were we not a seriously or, quite possibly, a fatally disordered society.
Another thing is that those on the right who commit political violence are very much outside of the mainstream of the conservative movement. Leftists who kill do so because they are leftists.
Edited on August 17, 2012 at 3:12am