The Ugly Conservative Tactic of Brutally Attacking Individuals, Even Kids...

[Carl]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026159864

Sat Jan 31, 2015, 07:33 AM

xchrom (108,573 posts)

The Ugly Conservative Tactic of Brutally Attacking Individuals, Even Kids, Instead of Ideas
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/ugly-conservative-tactic-brutally-attacking-individuals-even-kids-instead-ideas

One of the more unfortunate trends of the 21st century is the increasingly ugly right-wing strategy of singling out individuals—usually those who have somehow offended them by having liberal opinions—and subjecting them to grotesque smear campaigns and a deluge of abuse. Recent examples include Michelle Malkin's smear campaign against a 12-year-old who testified in favor of SCHIP; the bizarre multi-year campaign to discredit climate scientist Michael Mann; and the relentless haranguing of feminist video game critic Anita Sarkeesian. The goal often seems to be to “take out” the target by making the price of continuing to speak out in public so high that they quit entirely.

These kinds of harassment campaigns aren’t just immoral, but illogical. For one, the targets seem to be chosen almost at random. Plenty of people agree with Sarkeesian about video games, but she gets exponentially more abuse for it than most of her comrades. The malice conservatives aim at their targets would suggest that they think by eliminating the person, they can somehow take out the ideas the person promotes, but there’s no reason to believe that. Climate science will still be around if Mann retires tomorrow. Sarkeesian’s feminist videos are good, but if she quit making them, there are plenty of other smart women critiquing sexism in video games. No matter how successful Malkin may be at publicly humiliating a sixth-grader, she can’t change the fact that millions of children get necessary healthcare coverage through SCHIP.

So why do they do this? Michael Mann published a paper titled “The Serengeti strategy: How special interests try to intimidate scientists, and how best to fight back” that examines this question for the January edition of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Using his own experience as the punching bag conservatives hit when they want to take potshots at climate scientists, Mann argues that attacking individuals while leaving the larger group intact doesn’t seem to make sense initially, but there is a purpose to it.

“This is a classic ad hominem attack, consisting of innuendo and obfuscation, often focusing on irrelevant items, whose net effect is to direct attention away from the merits of an argument and instead to the character of the person making it,” Mann writes. “This approach appeals to feelings, emotions, and prejudices rather than intellect—exactly the point when the attacker is on the wrong side of the facts.”

The Palin family was apparently unavailable for comment. 

Only a few comments and since only those primitives that might have a job are up this early 2 of them see the irony.

Response to xchrom (Original post)

Sat Jan 31, 2015, 07:37 AM

hack89 (29,056 posts)
1. We are lucky we never see that here on DU. Nt

Response to xchrom (Original post)

Sat Jan 31, 2015, 08:06 AM

Donald Ian Rankin (12,059 posts)
3. By no means unique to conservatives.

It's just that people often don't see the ugliness when the target is someone they themselves despise.

Response to xchrom (Original post)

Sat Jan 31, 2015, 08:23 AM

Bluenorthwest (34,251 posts)
4. So all those on DU who do this to LGBT people are now 'conservatives'? You need to tell them that.

And that's not snark. I am saying sincerely that the Straight Community on DU needs to step the **** up and stop allowing that bullshit. I see a smug OP like this, so self righteously blind to what is done by and to our own and I want to puke.

Uh oh,the gay brigade senses the Klams and Caucasian blacks at the DUmp have worn out their welcome so they need to be the preferred "oppressed". 

[jukin]

Pure projection.

Accuse others of what you are doing. Forget if that is Lenin, Stalin, or Alinsky but it was a leftist.

[HawkHogan]

I don't take anything climate scientists say seriously, especially when he's bitching about special interests.  It's likely he's funded by Soros or someone else who will profit by carbon taxes.  That's why climate scientists were caught skewing data.

As for the gamer gate critique, why are conservatives being singled out?  Gamers of all politics called out that fraud since she wasn't even a gamer but had the audacity to pretend to be one and lecture the community on sexism.

[freedumb2003b]

Pure projection.

Accuse others of what you are doing. Forget if that is Lenin, Stalin, or Alinsky but it was a leftist.

Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals:

* RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”

[Donpeyote]

Borked ?

[SVPete]

Why do I have this feeling that searching DU for "Track Palin" would yield "entertaining" results?

And "Bristol Palin".

And "Sadie Robertson"?

[txradioguy]

Why do I have this feeling that searching DU for "Track Palin" would yield "entertaining" results?

And "Bristol Palin".

And "Sadie Robertson"?

DU got very ugly during the John Roberts confirmation hearings speculating on their adopted children.

[Donpeyote]

Justice Thomas confirmation hearings were a hoot too ...

[SVPete]

DU got very ugly during the John Roberts confirmation hearings speculating on their adopted children.

Excellent example!

Believe me, that was a quickie, off-the-top-of-my-head list! I just remembered the Duggar family, and I'll bet DU-folk have been drooling at the prospects of some moral failure on the part of a Duggar child. It's in DU folks' DNA ... and probably in some conservatives' though I haven't seen it (I must hang out in the wrong circles). Where Lib/Prog kids are concerned, that is.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Fun to watch them eat themselves apart for hypocrisy within the DUmp. opcorn:

[Karin]

The Palin family was apparently unavailable for comment. 

I left your comment over at Alternet.   

The article is by that loon, Amanda Marcotte.  She's just mad she gets mocked on twitchy. 

[98ZJUSMC]

Amanda Marcotte

    

[Delmar]

Sat Jan 31, 2015, 07:33 AM
xchrom (108,575 posts)

The Ugly Conservative Tactic of Brutally Attacking Individuals, Even Kids, Instead of Ideas


http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/ugly-conservative-tactic-brutally-attacking-individuals-even-kids-instead-ideas

One of the more unfortunate trends of the 21st century is the increasingly ugly right-wing strategy of singling out individuals—usually those who have somehow offended them by having liberal opinions—and subjecting them to grotesque smear campaigns and a deluge of abuse. Recent examples include Michelle Malkin's smear campaign against a 12-year-old who testified in favor of SCHIP;

It was Dingy Harry that trotted the kid out for use as a prop.  The left never seems to do a very good job of vetting their political props.  The kid's family lived in a big house, had more than one property, they had multiple cars, the kids went to private school, and the dad was living a life of leisure years before Stretch Pelosi made following your dreams and being creative or a musician or whatever a thing.  This was Dingy Harry's fault, not Michelle Malkin's.  The doddering old fool should have picked a truly needy kid for the SCHIP prop, not the son of a grifter.

Speaking of smear campaigns and Michelle Malkin:

40. Another shout out to the right wing comfort girl!

Bluebear  Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore   Tue May-15-07 03:41 PM
Response to Reply #40
46. 'right wing comfort girl'
No, you didn't say that.

Yes you did.  :thumbsup:

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x889625

mitchum  Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore   Sat Mar-10-07 08:29 PM
Response to Original message
24. Right wing comfort girl Michele Malkin trots out that call to arms in her latest column

http://betterment.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x384188

mitchum  Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore   Tue Feb-20-07 08:58 PM
Response to Original message
42. What? She's ashamed of being a right wing comfort girl?
Edited on Tue Feb-20-07 09:01 PM by mitchum

noamnety  Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore   Wed Feb-21-07 03:22 AM
Response to Reply #46
55. "There's a strong sexist strain among my liberal critics"
slam her one in the jaw
Oh yeah---she's a beauty queen.
psychotic bitches
comfort girl
Shrill

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x253611

mitchum  Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore   Fri Nov-11-05 09:32 AM
Response to Original message
35. Right wing comfort girl Malkin is lying again

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5330701

84. But Michelle Malkin IS a $5 right wing comfort girl...
just in case that loony bitch is browsing this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2265799

A racist and sexist smear.

Mann writes. “This approach appeals to feelings, emotions, and prejudices rather than intellect—exactly the point when the attacker is on the wrong side of the facts.”

And the prejudice runs deep at democrat underground.

[98ZJUSMC]

One of the more unfortunate trends of the 21st century is the increasingly ugly right-wing strategy of singling out individuals—usually those who have somehow offended them by having liberal opinions—and subjecting them to grotesque smear campaigns and a deluge of abuse.

Only someone who has lived under a rock for the last 20 years would fail to be dumbfounded by that little pearl of projection.

Or, a (D)Ummie.

The Palin family was apparently unavailable for comment.

Et tu, RINOs?  I'm beginning to hate them as much as these idiots.

[Delmar]

I'll let Malkin defend herself:

As for accusations about “smearing” and “Swiftboating,” I’ll repeat what I said on my blog: “When a family and Democrat political leaders drag a child down to Washington at 6 in the morning to read a script written by Senate Democrat staffers on a crusade to overturn a presidential veto, someone might have questions about the family’s claims. The newspapers don’t want to do their jobs. The vacuum is being filled. If you don’t want questions, don’t foist these children onto the public stage. Fight your battles like adults and stop hiding behind youngsters dragging around red wagons filled with your talking points.”

http://moneyrunner.blogspot.com/2007/10/michelle-malkin-pushes-back-schip.html

[Mr Mannn]

just a definition.
when a conservative tells the TRUTH about a democrat, it is smearing and swiftboating.

when a democrat tells a LIE about conservatives, its just feisty banter.

[Ptarmigan]

DUmmies/Libtards are just angry people who rage at the world. 

[SVPete]

"RWCG"? Michelle Malkin's fingernail parings have more class than those DU folk ... in fact, they have so little class that I won't dignify them with my customary three exclamation points. Geesh

[Skul]

I left your comment over at Alternet.   

The article is by that loon, Amanda Marcotte.  She's just mad she gets mocked on twitchy.

I saw that. Got a couple of rude comments, and off they went, again.   

[SVPete]

"RWCG"? Michelle Malkin's fingernail parings have more class than those DU folk ... in fact, they have so little class that I won't dignify them with my customary three exclamation points. Geesh

Looking at this again, it occurred to me that the Korean women held as sex slaves for the WW2 Japanese military (and probably a few decades earlier) were called comfort women. I double-checked to see if that was a typo on my part. It wasn't. So even calling Michelle Malkin a CG is racist, by Lib/Prog speech standards!

[docstew]

Looking at this again, it occurred to me that the Korean women held as sex slaves for the WW2 Japanese military (and probably a few decades earlier) were called comfort women. I double-checked to see if that was a typo on my part. It wasn't. So even calling Michelle Malkin a CG is racist, by Lib/Prog speech standards!

Especially since she's Asian.

[miskie]

One needs to remember the rules of racism do not apply if the minority is a conservative. Then one can call the minority whatever they want without consequence.

According to the left, these cartoons are neither racist nor sexist;