To: Neocon who wrote (3946 ) 8/21/1999 11:46:00 AM From: chalu2 Read Replies (2) | Respond to
I think you are being over literal today, and didn't recognize the use of hyperbole as a humorous device. Of course, jallen and I agree on certain things. We are both attorneys, and neither of us can see anything in the Constitution providing a Constitutional "right" to an abortion. We agree also on a strong military defense, on penalties for violent crime, and on the need for leaders who will be some sort of moral example.will have its answers, or they will hound the candidate to death. In a sense, the Republicans bring this on themselves by moralizing. Thus, anything that smells of less than Simon-pure conduct takes on a man-bites-dog quality. Why is the proverbial man-bites-dog held up as an example of something newsworthy? Because it is ironic--it is different from the outcome we might otherwise expect from appearances. Thus, affairs by Newt Gingrich, Dan Burton, Bob Livingston, etc. take on a special aura because the "malefactor" has spent much of his career as a moralizer. A story that a Republican who builds a career on moral rectitude is an adulterer, a perjurer, or a drug user is so much more interesting than a story that says a liberal Democrat acts that way. Put aside politics--this is why Jimmy Swaggart's true private life drew headlines, while a reporter could hardly be aroused from his catnap to cover the exact same allegations against ACLU head Norman Siegel.
