If a Blog attacks a position or statement,past or current,from Sarah Palin from a non-Republican point of view-that's fine. Rational debate is what principled conservatism is all about.If the strong discussion or opposition comes from within the Republican party,and especially from a candidate for office,should that arise,then...all well and good. If we can't defend her and support her policies then they are not worth holding.
The Palin Purity Blog Test (PPBT) is not based on ideology,religious purity,support of Teabaggerism or a rigid conservativism. The very last thing it is,is some sort of rigorous examination of non-deviating support of all and everything Palin without the slightest swerve from a binding orthodoxy.
The Palin Purity Blog Test is based on the following five principles;
1.Adherence to the truth
2.Dignified replies (however vigorous) to posted responses from the public
3.No personal attacks-ad hominems.
4.Not holding positions in respect of Palin which border on madness.
5.No cynical postings playing to readers ridiculous jealousies/neuroses.
Rick Moran's " Right Wing Nut House" blog fails on points two and three.His anti-Palin positions are, by the standards above, infuriating coming from a supposedly right of centre blogger.Further his anti-Hillary stand vs Obama in the primary battle leads one to question where exactly he is at politically-including a possible misogynistic streak.Thus, his conservatism, is open to debate but his gross rudeness to posters in reply to criticism is obvious and unacceptable.
Charles Johnson at " Little Green Footballs" ,whose shift in ideology is readily apparent also fails points two and three.The redoubtable Stacey McCain at "The Other McCain" and the widely praised Dan Reihl at "Reihl World View" have dealt with this in depth in their usual dogged way.
From a right wing position which only exists in his head (going on the Joy Behar show of all things) Andrew Sullivan fails point four. The "Bree Palin" blog, all the "Trig Truthers" and mad bloggers in Alaska who are neither right nor left-just bonkers fail (badly) points four and five. The leftist cynics list who fail point five include, par excellence, the Huffington Post and Shannyn Moore.
How to deal with these and their ilk? Moran admits his readership has dropped substantially-as has Johnson's.The best way to enforce the Palin Purity Blog Test is to simply ignore these blogs.It is tempting to want to check in with them from time to time,especially when a major crisis arises, to see how they react. Morbid curiosity tempts too (like a visit to Bedlam) but these impulses should be resisted.Note, ignore not ban-they musn't be given the chance to shout "undemocratic impulses on the right".
No more views too of Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, Wonkette,Gawker. Let them froth and gibber in their echo chamber. We have better viewing and more importantly better work to do. It may be satisfying to fire off a rebuttal to a ridiculous statement but you are just feeding the beast. Sarah Palin represents the New Person,lets make an aspect of that an always positive, always constructive state of mind. One path to this state of mind is to free it from all negativity-and ignoring hostile bloggers is one of the steps.
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