Beware of Doug
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 09:40AM 
You try to say what you mean. You use whatever words or technique suits the subject matter or the audience, or the thrust of the editorial. Sometimes you wander off the reservation. But you must always be prepared to stand behind it, defend it, or correct it if it turns out you got your facts wrong. And you always accept the consequences. Doug Lambert said something, and now he’s dealing with the consequences. I’ve got nothing to say about Doug. He’s a big boy and he can handle his own fallout, but some of the spin from the left on the matter (the fallout) is ripe for picking.
Let’s start with the NHDP grand Poobah—the object of Mr. Lambert's unscripted comments. Today’s Union Leader quotes him as saying that Doug’s comments are…
"not about me," but a larger problem with the GOP.
OK. Then we have this from the same article.
Mo Baxley, executive director of the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, said at a Concord news conference that Sununu should personally denounce Lambert's comments. But, she said, his "silence comes as no surprise" since, she charged, Sununu has used rhetoric "not dissimilar from the hateful things Lambert said on his show."
Baxley said that while "99.9 percent" of the state does not know of Lambert, "he's a player and an activist in the Republican Party and it's up to the Republican Party to denounce this.”
So a guy that 99.9% of the State (according to Mo) does not know, is representative of a larger problem in the GOP? And The GOP Chairs silence is therefore telling? Did you know that 99.99% of New Hampshire has no idea who Mo Baxley is, but what Mo knows is telling?
Lets connect some dots. I guess Keith Olbermann, being more widely known is not representative of a larger problem with the democrat party. How about Carol Shea-Porters political boy-toy Alan “K-Street Whore” Grayson. How about Rosie O’Donnell? How about the entire staff of Air America? And let’s not even begin on the party wide assault on the former Governor of Alaska, which was not only orchestrated from the leadership on the left (including here in NH) and delivered by a willing media devoid of fact checking or apology, but spoon fed into the electorate and replicated ad nauseum by hacks throughout the liberal progressive firmament. Based on Mr. Buckley and Ms Baxley’s comments I must then infer that the failure of any member of the democrat party, prominent or otherwise, to denounce public comments (outright lies, some of them vicious) is a passive form of substantiation? No apology needed? Do I have that right?
Does that make the entire left a bunch of radical, two faced, lying, hypocritical, hate mongers? I think it does.
It’s also called free speech, and much like freedom and liberty, speech has consequences. It’s not tidy. It’s not always fair. But you have to be willing to defend it, even when you hate it, not necessarily the words themselves, but the right to them. And when people go outside the rules of decency there could be consequences. But history shows us that more often than not, few if any on the left has to apologize for anything they say. That they all accept what others in their party say without ramification. They are never complicit in the choice of words or the language used by others of their ilk. So being a liberal progressive means never having to say you’re sorry.
I’m not complaining about that. I find it interesting. Engaging. That’s how the game is currently played. So let’s play the game shall we?
Over on the Granite Grok blog, the response to Doug’s written apology is quite revealing. Chaz Proulx took the opportunity to roll out the old “this is the kind of hate that is going to someday lead to violence” chestnut. This is of course not to be confused with union members beating up a black man who quietly objected to Health Care Deform and got pummeled for the pleasure of his own opinion by democrats.
Actual violence is not to be confused with the kind you are looking for. Move along. Nothing to see here.
Another commenter pointed out that not all gay’s are Pedophiles. I’d agree. I have plenty of gay friends who hate pedophiles (gay and otherwise) and would just as soon perpetrate some of Chaz’s anticipatory violence upon them as not. (Gays bashing gays—film at 11:00!) Not sure of the relevance but it came up in the thread so it’s worth noting that since not all Gay’s are pedophiles, then Doug Lambert can't possibly speak for the GOP, pre-apology, post apology, or anywhere in between by their rules. But if we use the lefts rules of engagement, no one needs to apologize for anything Doug does or says, including Doug. Doug’s a free man. He’s free to make mistakes and learn from them. Neither the Republican party, the Chairman, nor anyone else has to apologize or distance themselves from Doug. This is between Doug and Ray. And I don’t think Ray even cares.
He's got thick skin, why would he? He’ll just spin what he’s been given. That’s his job. Or he’ll let others spin the party rhetoric for him. They just want traction. To try to trick voters into seeing this as some reason to buy back into their party’s tax and spend big government agenda. Like they are even related. What did Ray say? "It's not about me." It's about a larger problem with the GOP. Yeah, sure Ray. I see it now.
I think it comes down to is this. I’ve been called worse by worse. I don’t really care. I’m not offended by what people say to me. It’s not hate speech. It’s free speech. It’s politics. It’s not personal. It’s just more material to work with. So I think you are all being a bunch of whiners trying to score political points. A chance to stop someone else from speaking out against your party because they made one mistake. A mistake you revere and elevate in your own party as speaking truth to power. This is all an exercise in spleen venting on the left, bloviating for political points. A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
You are all a bunch of hypocrites. So if you want to make a public display of your hypocrisy, knock yourselves out.
Doug Lambert, Ray in Democrats, First Amendment, NH, NHDP, The Press, Thugocracy
Reader Comments (11)
This is about balance. Dare I say equality? So Doug can be as mad as he wants. And while I'm a big fan of the inside voice (I have three kids under age 14), and I'm an opponent of just shouting at the darkness, there is always room for sarcasm, and these are times that try mens souls; sometimes getting mad is what you need to bring attention to what you think is important.
But anger is an addiction. It can consume you. Make you do dumb things. It, like everything else, must be used in moderation if at all.
Actually Doug's last statment was very human and fit the occasion. I urged him to take the time to reflect and return. I noted that perhaps some good can come out of this.
We all over-snark it in the blogosphere. ( Except Jim Splaine who that is). Snark and hatred aren't necessarily the same thing, but the line is so blurred right now in this country that we could all use a little reflection.
So I would urge all blog writers to stop spinning this and try to find a silver lining. That will take time. Hopefully Doug will have more to say himself after a few months.
In the meantime, I'll always throw punches here , but will try to keep my toungue in my cheek at the same time.
Resentments kill your spirit.
It's no way to live.
I try to direct my anger at campaigning. That's how democracy works. We get heated--we work harder.
First,Doug is a grown man and will face the consequences of his actions.I think they are a little steep,but I'm not in charge of doling out the punishment.
That being said,are'nt people getting sick of Democrats crying about every insult,real or imagined,hurled thier way while at the same time ignoring the tidal wave of hate on thier side?It seems nothing crosses the line if your a lefty,while a dirty glance from a conservative is reason for multiple apologies.
I know our resident lefties won't take my word for it but just google"code pink halloween protest" or research some of the things one of thier most popular bloggers(Markos Moulitsas,of the Daily Kos) has said about his fellow Americans and then get back to me on the ragemeter in regards to what Mr.Lambert has said.Oh,keep in mind that Mr Moulitsas is an honored guest at Democrat rallies/protests.And yet Dems want every Republican in the state to grovel at thier feet/condemn Doug for something which he has already apologised profusely for.
Dead on description of how the double standard works.
Doug Lambert knows his responsibility and the moonbats know their next step which is to ride the pony until it drops and try to attach any other enemy they have to Doug.
Its always harder to deal with the hate on the left without it attaching itself to you than it is for the lefties to blame, accuse, label, and lie.
Name of the game. We expect more from ourselves than our hard left hate-filled opponents and that is the way it should be.
I'll continue to pray for you.
Wilber
Notice how the "Doug Lambert" scandel has extended is life to a Fosters article on the 21st?
Ride that pony boys, ride!
Maybe they can squeak another week out of it.
And yet,here the moonbats are,wailing about the words of a man whom 95 % of the people of NH would not know.Who also happened to apologise for what he said.But as you say,they will ride this pony to its death.
The rabid victim-response team never sleeps. The peruse the internet hoping for some slight they can claim was made on behalf of all those evil conservatives - like we have meetings and plan stupid remarks to get publicity.
Come to think of it.
Since that is what liberals do it comes as no surprise.
In NH, the Democrats voted by write-in ballot to elect one of the most embarrassing examples of a lonely, needy, attention-starved, scab picker, who happens to be a homosexual and they use him as bait to lure people like Doug into responding to him.
Kinda puts our liberal Democrat friends in perspective.
Do you remember our 2nd Amendment discussions recently?He was constantly trying to get someone to threaten him personally.It is one of the reasons I hold Democrats in such disdain.They refuse to debate on the merits and just play "gotcha"politics.
That's why these people can't get elected on thier own platform.Hell,they would be destroyed if there was a truth in campaigning law because they would'nt be able to pretend to be fiscally conservative.(It would also save us from those Repubs who lie about being small Gov.fiscal cons).That's why they are constantly renaming themselves and thier pet causes.First it was Dem,then lib,now its progressive.How many names have they floated out for this latest monstrosity?And did'nt it used to be called "global warming"?
Yes,it seems the only thing they do exceptionally well is lie,cheat(notice how silent the MSM is on all those ACORN investigations from last election,This should have been the #1 issue in Minn.,and it should definitely be looked into for NY-23,oh and what about those 40 or so politicians and thier friends from Jersey)spend other peoples,and play the victim card.Unfortunately,this seems to be enough to get them elected.I know they are so proud of themselves.
I took this gig to teach conservatives what I have learned about the thin playbook of the Left.
Some of the moonbats that respond to my well placed bait become weary at times but I have to work with what shows up on the screen.
I have the following liberal followers:
1. "Power by" proximity hanger-on who desperatly seeks the privilidge of debating me - as though he has earned it. And I know him to be a liar.
2. Raybo in many forms of anonymice names.
3. Openly Stuart Smalley.
4. A cadre of drive-by haters.
5. Concerned conservatives that actually understand the issues.
6. A ton of people who stop me on the street and at events, like at the Wedneday Meeting in DC, who read but never comment.