Commentary - Representing the Left
As a "companion view point" to WMD, our good friend Eric has opened up Right to be Left. I personally support and applaud Eric for jumping in and getting his viewpoint out there. If you sensed a "but..." coming, here it is.
I don't mind the obviously doctored photo of Bush that is prominently displayed on the site. I do wish the photo had some sort of disclaimer on it or some sort of photo credit attached because it is clearly intended to make it look as if Bush were some sort of Nazi fascist, which couldn't be further from the truth. Contrary to "popular" belief, conservatives DO have a sense of humor...I don't mind a good, honest poke at somebody for fun, but there has to be some sense of taste at some point.
I don't mind the lists of "facts" if in fact they were indeed facts. We on WMD clearly label our commentary as such and don't try to misrepresent our comments as anything else. Do we have a slant on things? You betcha...but we're not going to slander (or falsely portray) anybody just because we "don't like him." For being on the side of victims everywhere, the liberal viewpoint seems to be filled with as much venom and hate as they accuse the conservatives of harboring.
I encourage dialogue and the exchange of ideas. I can even support calling to task a politician on their record using facts and quotations from reputable sources. Responsible debate on the issues is a healthy and patriotic thing to be engaged in. For the liberals, it appears to be quite personal and they appear to have lost focus on the issues. And that is really too bad...because I do believe that their hearts are in the right place, they just can't find an expression of their intent in the current political climate. Bush bashing is every bit as popular amongst the liberals as Clinton bashing is amongst conservatives...the difference in the bashing that I have seen is that the conservatives hold up Clinton's record and find it lacking; liberals seem not to be able to apply the same courtesy. I can admit that Bush isn't perfect; he's made mistakes and definately isn't the greatest president our nation has ever had. I don't recall a liberal making a statement about Clinton other than the equivelent of him being the best thing since sliced bread.
By all means, it is his blog, and I support his right to post whatever he wants there. And I know that if I am truly offended, that I don't have to go to the site. But I really do think it is important to have the liberal viewpoint out there. A difference of opinion and viewpoint isn't a bad thing. My greatest hope is that there can be an exchange of ideas and that the best of both worlds can be brought to reality. My greatest fear is that the dialogue between us will continue to crumble and that progress will come to a screeching halt.
I encourage all visitors to WMD to check it out and decide for yourself.
Matt
Mark weighs in: I agree with my friend Matt, and I encourage Eric to vent his frustrations on Mr. Bush. I am seeing no logical argument or alternative to Bush in his thoughts, am seeing no ideas. All I see is "I hate Bush". This proves what we have been saying all along, so I have no problem with the blog, other than the photo, and the fuzzy facts. So, I agree with Matt, but seeing the content, I hold out little hope for the logical dialogue.....
Mark
