Jones Alley
so much for that
I have hitherto supported John Edwards candidacy for president. Not because I thought he was the best of all possible nominees, but that I thought he was at least the most candid and forthright of the bunch. Over the weekend, it was announced that Edwards had caved to the right-wing feeding frenzy instigated by the vile and repugnant William Donohue and that recently-hired bloggers Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan of the blogs Pandagon and Shakespeare's Sister, who had been engaged by the Edwards campaign to coordinate the Edwards internet presence, had "resigned" from Edwards' staff as a result of complaints spearheaded by Donohue, complaints that they used bad language and were disrespectful of the insane superstitious precepts of Donohue and his fascistic ilk.
As a result of this act of blatant reversal, I no longer endorse John Edwards' campaign. Yes, it can be construed as a victory for the right that people like me have been driven away from what could easily have been a good and progressive presidency. However, that isn't enough. The president of the United States has to be able to look his enemies in the eye unflinchingly. He has to bring the full force of his personal integrity to the office. He has to have real ideals and must be able to stand for those ideals under the withering fire of people who hate him simply because of his positions. He must offer his full and unflagging support to the people who back him even under the threat of the most malicious personal attacks.
John Edwards failed miserably.
The agents of superstitious intolerance, in only a couple of days, managed to force Edwards to kneel before them, to sacrifice people that believed in him enough to put themselves on the firing line with him, and to appease their irrational and petty bigotries.
Mr. Edwards has irrevocably compromised his integrity to satisfy those who would never have voted for him in the first place and who will now only attack him more vigorously, in the knowledge that they can easily force him to knuckle under and bend to their will.
I will support no coward who desires to be president.
As a result of this act of blatant reversal, I no longer endorse John Edwards' campaign. Yes, it can be construed as a victory for the right that people like me have been driven away from what could easily have been a good and progressive presidency. However, that isn't enough. The president of the United States has to be able to look his enemies in the eye unflinchingly. He has to bring the full force of his personal integrity to the office. He has to have real ideals and must be able to stand for those ideals under the withering fire of people who hate him simply because of his positions. He must offer his full and unflagging support to the people who back him even under the threat of the most malicious personal attacks.
John Edwards failed miserably.
The agents of superstitious intolerance, in only a couple of days, managed to force Edwards to kneel before them, to sacrifice people that believed in him enough to put themselves on the firing line with him, and to appease their irrational and petty bigotries.
Mr. Edwards has irrevocably compromised his integrity to satisfy those who would never have voted for him in the first place and who will now only attack him more vigorously, in the knowledge that they can easily force him to knuckle under and bend to their will.
I will support no coward who desires to be president.
posted by Milo Johnson at 9:31 AM
1 Comments:
Well, Bush is sure doing that--standing up to his enemies and critics and doing what he wants anyway.
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