I think that Bedouin has asked honest questions and expressed honest opinions and doubts that need to be treated in an open and honorable manner. Some other members have acted in a somewhat less honest manner and have instead regurgitated leftist nonsense that probably started as talking points from Howard Dean and Moveon.org. An honest disagreement is the start of a healthy and enlightening debate from which all parties can emerge better than they started. A clash of cant and talking points is just a waste of time. I have some good friends that are liberals, in the old sense. Hubert Humphrey, George Meany type of liberals who, like me, believe in American exceptionalism and the honest, if spirited, exchange of ideas and philosophies. We fight and argue all the time, but we also give each other the benefit of the doubt.
A certain amount of leniency and goodwill toward your domestic political opponents is required to make democracy work in the long run. We must assume that our domestic political opponents also believe in our system unless they prove otherwise. We hope that our political adversaries make that same assumption. Recently that goodwill has broken down. Some parts of Americas political system have gone off the deep end. No longer believing in the basic goodwill of their opponents, they are willing to say and believe that even the most rabid enemies of democracy, Western civilization, and America are no worse than members of an opposing political party.
Mel Gibson is a piker compared to some political partisans. As soon as he sobered up Mel realized how outrageous and disgusting his remarks had been. Some bloggers and political operatives need to come to the same realization.
I think that conservatives need to take the high road in this debate. We need to avoid making ad hominum attacks on the opposition and zero in on the absurdity of their policies and the probable outcomes of following their policies. The more rabid and shrill our opponents are, the fewer people they will convince and fewer votes they will receive.
On the other hand, we need to treat honest questions and criticism with respect. There will always be those who honestly disagree, question or just don’t see things the way we do. They should be treated the way we would want to be treated in their place.
