As my colleague Tim Graham has noted before, Newsweek's "Conventional Wisdom Watch" is a reliable weekly rehash of liberal conventional wisdom. Indeed, as Tim noted in a March 25 blog entry:
It really would be more honest for Newsweek to call it "Newsweek Consensus Watch." Or "What We Say To Each Other Over Lunch."
It looks like not much has changed in the past six month, as the crew at CW tapped into left-wing blogger outrage over conservative bloggers who smelled something fishy with the Democratic poster family for SCHIP, the Frosts of Baltimore, Md.:
M. Malkin
Heartless right-wing blogger attacks 12-year-old brain-injury victim over insurance. Sick.
As I noted earlier today, Newsweek's competition at Time magazine has been bellowing similar outrage. Indeed, Karen Tumulty's "Swift-Boating of Graeme Frost" October 10 article title sounded like rhetoric slung around by registered commenters on the liberal Think Progress blog two days earlier:
I may have missed it in the confusion, but did any of our resident trolls address the actual point of the thread? Do they have anything to say about the manner in which right wing bloggers have attempted to smear a 12 year old kid and his family for purely ideological purposes?
[...]
No, gummitch. It’s just a different version swift boating for them. Scoring points on the misfortunes of others by lying about them if they don’t toe the line.
Michael J. Fox - phony
Injuried vets - phony
12-yr-old kid hospitalized for 6 months - phonyI’m still looking for an expose from Malkin, et al on those snowflake babies that peppered the stage with W when he vetoed stem cell research. Hey, when you allow yourself to be used, you’re fair game.
[...]
I’m really shocked that Michelle Malkin has sicced her goons on a 12 year old boy suffering the effects of a car accident.
Malkin and her Swiftboaters are pond scum.[...]hterrya, I have written to my Congressman (Doggett, D-TX) so that he’s aware that the righties are shamelessly swift boating this boy and his family.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Pond Scum Malkin
October 15, 2007 - 18:19 ET by Lame CherryIf Michele Malkin is pond scum, I would like 2 brain helpings of her intellect and to covered in her as she is a babe times 10. Of course many will jump on that sexist line, but Malkin is sexy in the brainiest of ways.
This little sure irks the hell into these liberals by just typing away on a keyboard. America is the greatest of places when 5 feet of babe can invoke such reactions from the left.
I personally am glad she is "ours".
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
She's Not Pond Scum!
October 15, 2007 - 21:56 ET by heldmywShe just failed to recognize the 'complete moral authority' of the Dems patsy, and roll over and fawn quickly enough...
That's enough to get you branded 'heretic', and burned at the stake!
Is a 12-year-old really
October 15, 2007 - 18:22 ET by balboaIs a 12-year-old really "fair game" in this situation?
Why don't you ask the
October 15, 2007 - 18:24 ET by Chris NormanWhy don't you ask the Democrats, Balboa? They're the ones who put him on the field in the first place.
I mean, if the Dems are
October 15, 2007 - 18:25 ET by balboaI mean, if the Dems are shallow enough to use a child (which both sides have done at different times), is that child then fair game?
You can criticize
October 15, 2007 - 18:30 ET by Chris NormanYou can criticize the political tactic of a child without criticizing the child. Now, the parents are another story...
Absolutely 100% agree.
October 15, 2007 - 18:30 ET by balboaAbsolutely 100% agree.
I don't agree with Mark
October 15, 2007 - 18:32 ET by balboaI don't agree with Mark Steyn though: If a political party is desperate enough to send a boy to do a man’s job, then the boy is fair game.
I wonder if he meant that
October 15, 2007 - 18:37 ET by Chris NormanI wonder if he meant that literally. It's pretty frustrating that the Democrats try setting up these situations so they can deliberately misconstrue any criticism as personal attacks.
"I don't agree with Mark
October 15, 2007 - 20:51 ET by ckc1227"I don't agree with Mark Steyn though: If a political party is desperate enough to send a boy to do a man’s job, then the boy is fair game."
I do agree with him. Once you bring this child into the public arena, his situation becomes fair game. That doesn't mean it's okay to resort to name-calling, to attack him directly or other such nonsense(and I don't think Mark is calling for this), but analysing his situation is more than fair. Ultimately, there is no point in directly attacking the kid. It's not his fault he's in this situation, it's his parents. That's where any attacks should be aimed, them and the Dems.
The dems got caught with their pants down on this one, and they know it. The faux outrage directed at the "evil, child hating" Republicans is just an attempt to divert attention away from the main issue. Dems used to get away with this kind of crap. Today, blogs make it harder to do so, and they can't stand it.
I must've missed something
October 15, 2007 - 21:07 ET by curiousI must've missed something here: how did the dems get caught with their pants down? It's my impression that all sides in this issue come off looking stupid and/or mean spirited: from the dems using a child to push their agenda, to the Senate Minority Leader's office prematurely pushing this as an issue, to Rush and Malkin falsely dragging the kid and his family through a swamp of their own preconceptions. The whole issue smells bad. Why keep it alive?
Just curious
Mark Steyn
October 16, 2007 - 04:24 ET by danybhoyMark Steyn is correct, the kid & his idiot parents are fair game. They knew damn well what they were doing, & so did the Dems who put them in the political arena. This is a textbook example of what Coulter said about the types of people the left puts forward & hides behind, like the "Jersey Girls". This 12 year old is another version of that, in attacking the message, you must go after who is delivering it. The fact it is a 12 year old means nothing, he should know right from wrong, & his parrents should as well.
Malkin is right to have dug up the dirt on this kid & his scumbag parrents, the left is just pissed that the truth got out, AGAIN. Keep up the good work over at Hot Air Michelle, it's a great site. I recomend people hit it daily.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
You really think a
October 16, 2007 - 23:52 ET by balboaYou really think a 12-year-old has any idea he's being used?
his parents should be
October 16, 2007 - 23:56 ET by botghis parents should be ashamed
"Television is where you watch people in your living room that you would not want near your house." Groucho
bal, who has criticized the
October 15, 2007 - 19:09 ET by motherbeltbal, who has criticized the boy?
I don't know. I was reading
October 15, 2007 - 19:46 ET by balboaI don't know. I was reading that statement from Steyn over at Michelle Malkin.
"D'OH"..."I don't know"
October 15, 2007 - 21:03 ET by BlondeI just post random thoughts.
And expect you all to interpret them, and not kick my ass for them. Cause I'm "Bal"...the sweet lib.
Sheesh...spare me!
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Oh great. It's Blonde. I
October 15, 2007 - 21:16 ET by balboaOh great. It's Blonde. I read at Michelle Malkin the statement Steyn had said, and was asking people if they agreed. I know my opinion. I'm "discussing" the issue with others. You know "discussion," don't you? It's where you "discuss" a topic. d, i, s, c, u, s, s. dddiiiiissssscuuuussssss.
Hello BAL!
October 15, 2007 - 21:23 ET by BlondeWhat?
We're supposed to "infer" something by your "discussing" something elsewhere? Is that about right? Does that cover it?
Try again, Bal.....Banal doesn't even begin to cover it tonite.
And don't even GO THERE with Gay Sex (oops...or was that Gay Marriage?) & Horses. Which you attempted to do last night. It was kinda rediculous....but really very pathetic and stupid.
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Wow. How...prescient.
October 15, 2007 - 21:26 ET by balboaWow. How...prescient.
Conservative bloggers have
October 15, 2007 - 18:30 ET by Ken ShepherdConservative bloggers have not attacked the kid, but rather his parents and Democratic leaders who put him up to this. None of the criticism of the Frosts I've seen has been directed at Graeme or his sister Gemma or anyone else but the parents, who put themselves out there as the hapless victims of the Bush administration.
It sounds like this was a
October 15, 2007 - 18:22 ET by Chris NormanIt sounds like this was a all an attempt at a set-up.
Of course it was. They
October 15, 2007 - 19:11 ET by motherbeltOf course it was. They sent a kid out to deliver the message so that when the message was attacked, they could say they were attacking a child.
They're really feeling
October 15, 2007 - 19:15 ET by Chris NormanThey're really feeling their oats, using this tactic. It's getting so obvious, it's pathetic. Of course, the willing media continue to eat it up...
Malkin...keep up the great
October 15, 2007 - 18:34 ET by bigtimerMalkin...keep up the great work for us out here!
I love it when she gets the dems crazier than usual.
I do not know of any that could out wit her.
One of my fav's she is.
Is this Alter's work again?
October 15, 2007 - 18:40 ET by SMGalbraithIs this Alter's work again? Or has Newsweek picked another lefty from their bottomless pool of talent to compose the CW?
Sure sounds like Alter. Of course, they all sound like Alter.
Which is why we have Newsbusters.
SMG
Hang in there Michelle!
October 15, 2007 - 20:16 ET by River CityThe left has come after Michelle with their guns blazing. The Repulicans in congress have wimped out. Where are they on this issue? Where are they on requiring means and asset testing for SCHIP?
The left puts up their child shields, old lady shields and disabled child shields any time their want to pull moral superiority. Then anyone who has a contrary opinion and wants to discuss the issue is attacking the human shield. Hurray to Michelle for calling their bluff. The lefties are calling her all sorts of names on the web today. On ICN they were slamming her for her heritage and her given name. The huffington post was linked to ICN today for something unrelated to this issue. I'm so glad they took the high road.
Keep up the GREAT work Michelle. You are doing the work that needs to be done.
"We are going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." Hillary Clinton, 6-28-04 San Francisco
Looks as if the dems have
October 15, 2007 - 20:37 ET by drillanwrLooks as if the dems have tossed the Frosts under the bus, as it were. Meet the new "poor" family waiting in the dem wings:
When The SCHIP Hits The Fan
http://bluecrabboulevard.com/2007/10/15/when-the-schip-hits-the-fan/
Offense
October 15, 2007 - 22:18 ET by Aetius728The Dem's recent behavior and the media's coverage of it is pathetic, but so is our reaction. We need to go on offense. Believe it or not, there remains a frighteningly large percentage of the American population that is exposed only to the MSM's left-wing drivel. I know many otherwise intelligent people who believe that Rush Limbaugh called veterans who disagree with the war phony soldiers, and buy the Dems line on SCHIP. Aggressively and affectively refuting the left's claims is something that none of our so called elected leaders seem to have the stomach or ability to do, so it falls on us.
A "Rush" to Judgment
October 15, 2007 - 23:25 ET by KpajI don't think Rush dragged the family through the swamp. I listened to what he was saying about them and their financial situation/assets and revealed to his audience that the family was actually eligible for the Schip program in its current state. However, the dems used this family in a ploy to explain their agenda to greatly expand the program.