Hitchens vs. Cole isn't "right vs. left." Hitchens is left, himself. He's anti-authoritarian, which is why he is against the Islamic regime in Iran, and was against the Saddam regime in Iraq.
This conversation takes us well down into the innards of a debate that's not worth having. But, one comment, nonetheless. As you know, Hitchens has dropped is ties, quite publicly, to the left. He definitely will not be welcome at The Nation any longer.
I'm not at all certain precisely what his politics are at the moment but he seems to take great pleasure in his signature shots at the left. And, my guess is, if you divided up his recent work, say the last two or three years, into some sort of arbitrary left/right thingie, it would be very heavily right.
But a couple of summary points. The Hitchens/Cole debate is definitely not a left/left debate. By any stretch of the imagination. Hitchens started this with a gotcha personal attack. The continuation of personal attack rather than serious discussions of the issues does great disservice to the political culture/rhetoric.
As for the personal accusations. Hitchens started this. Cole is responding. |
