Warren Kinsella, cheap shot artist
Babble on.
For a guy who decries bloggers playing to type, Kinsella sure plays to type. Today he's cobbled up the latest in a string of unsolicited campaign slogans: "President George W. Bush - just another drunk driver."
Pardon me for playing to type, Warren, but wouldn't that make John Kerry just another Vietnam war criminal?
I thought lawyers were trained to avoid ad hominem attacks. Oops, I guess that would be playing to type too, and we know how much you hate that.
Babble off.
posted by Babbling Brooks @ 5:56 p.m.
6 comments
6 Comments:
Indeed. I wonder if he knows that the "fascinating little yarn" was exposed about 3 days before the 2000 election, making his clever slogan about 44 months late.
Tune in tomorrow, when he makes fun of Preston Manning's voice and haircut!
Everybody makes mistakes. I could be called "just another drunk driver" as well (although I was never caught or convicted). Now that I've got 12 years of distance (and growing) between myself and a bottle, that description bothers me less and less.
It's not the mistake that matters, it's whether or not you learned from it.
-- Sean (www.polspy.ca)
Those in glass houses . . .
I seem to recall you linking favourably to posts referring to:
- "addlepated douchebag"
- "blabbermouth"
- "Daughter of Frankenstein"
- "Fried Hedy"
As well as referring to the Liberal Women's Caucus as "idiots" before the Parrish fiasco.
I'm not saying those weren't funny - but they aren't so different than Kinsella's "red-necked, mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging, troglodyte"
I've considered that last comment to see if I'm really being a hypocrite on this one, and I don't think I am. If someone wants to call Bush "Shrub" or something like that, no problem. In fact, I think that's kind of funny. "Bushitler" is stupid, but it doesn't get me mad. I guess this particular insult pisses me off because I know some alcoholics pretty well, and I know how hard it is to kick the bottle for good. If he was still driving drunk, or even still getting drunk, I don't think it would be a cheap shot. But when it happened thirty years ago, and the guy has successfully put drinking behind him, the comment becomes petty.
When Kinsella talks about some twit using his dad's death to make a cheap rhetorical point, I cringe too. I wonder what his own personal set of rules are, though. Making fun of a guy's religion is OK (Stockwell and the dinosaurs), making fun of a guy's alcoholism is OK (Bush), but making fun of a guy's grief isn't?
I just find the line cheap.
Fair enough. I unfairly read a little more into your post than you had written by assuming that you were referring to the last few Kinsella posts, not just the final one. There have been a lot of people foaming at the mouth over the "troglodyte" line, while seeming to forget their own comments, but you were not one of them. Apologies.
All in all, it worth remembering that all of these politicians are serving the public, and that they are all under far greater scrutiny, for far less money, and far less job security than any comparable private buisiness position. Whether you disagree with their ideas, approach, or whatever, they all still deserve some modicum of respect.
Having said that, when they do something clearly stupid they should be called on it (Hello Carolyn, are you listening?).
"If he was still driving drunk, or even still getting drunk, I don't think it would be a cheap shot. But when it happened thirty years ago, and the guy has successfully put drinking behind him, the comment becomes petty."
Bingo - you've nailed it. However, I hope you'll understand if I don't buy you a drink for this one...
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