The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Jonah Goldberg Is Wrong

Posted on | December 28, 2010 | 34 Comments

Goldberg celebrates the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell as a step toward the “rise of the gay bourgeoisie.” But what is happening is not the bourgeoisification of radicalism; rather, it’s the radicalization of the bourgeoisie. If the American middle-class adopts more and more the radical-egalitarian worldview of the Left, this cannot be sold as a triumph of conservatism, no matter how cleverly Jonah Goldberg or any other Official Conservative Spokesman frames that argument.

The repeal of DADT was a defeat for conservatives, and it will likely prove the harbinger of yet other such defeats. Conservatives spent 17 years arguing that repealing DADT — a policy which was itself originally a compromise — would have harmful effects on military readiness.

We shall wait and see. But it would be a terrible thing if, when the disastrous consequences of this radical policy change become apparent — as I am confident they will — conservatives are afraid to speak up because our Official Conservative Spokemen have declared the issue off-limits.

(Via Donald Douglas at American Power.)

UPDATE: I’m grateful to see Goldberg respond via Twitter:

Ignoring the “strategic b.s.” retort — because I’m not sure what he means by that — I will adduce yet further evidence of Jonah’s wrongness, namely that any argument which begins by citing David Brooks is inherently dubious.

More seriously, I am reminded of the Battle of Chancellorsville, when Joe Hooker ordered George Meade’s corps – which had fought hard to hold the crest of a ridge two miles east of the key crossroads — to pull back. Meade was furious: “If he can’t hold the top of the hill, how the hell does he expect to hold the bottom of it?”

The Senate Republicans’ lame-duck collapse on DADT is analogous: The abandonment of a defensible position which gives the opponent an advantage that is likely to prove decisive.

But it is all as foretold long ago by a farsighted early critic of feminism: “The fantastical project of yesterday, which was mentioned only to be ridiculed, is today the audacious reform, and will be tomorrow the accomplished fact.”

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Category: American Power, Gays, Jonah Goldberg, Military

Comments

  • http://waxingerratic.wordpress.com/ ECM

    The OCS (epitomized by far too many of the writers at NR and NRO, w/ some admirable exceptions) took one in the jaw on Election Day ’10, just like the left, and their ability to massage the conservative masses w/ their go-along, get-along shtick, is long past its sell-by date.

  • http://dad29.blogspot.com/ Dad29

    Well, it is YOU who baptized Jonah, here, as an Official Conservative Spokesman, just as others have said the same about K-Hammer.

    To us–in the actual US of A (not some coastal enclave), they’re both East Coast blatherers. Fine, if you want a speech for the Rotary Club or something.

    But they ain’t of us.

  • http://twitter.com/dicentra63 Dicentra spectabilis

    the disastrous consequences of this radical policy change become apparent — as I am confident they will

    What do you envision? It seems to me that any consequences will be easily dismissed or covered up; we won’t get One Big Event That Makes It All Clear.

    As if there were such a thing in this country anymore.

  • Anonymous

    One of these days — and perhaps quite soon — some sailor will get a “Massachusetts marriage” to his or her partner, then protest that the partner is not eligible for the military’s spousal benefits. If the egalitarian premise of the argument for repealing DADT is accepted as valid, how can the Pentagon deny that claim?

  • Anonymous

    Or perhaps the difficulities of the battlefield become compounded when you don’t just lose your best friend in a fire fight, but also your lover.

    The argument most chosen for repelling DADT is that “Everything will remain the same.” And if your argument is that nothing will change, then you’re hiding your true argument or goals.

  • Joe

    As Barry Goldwater said, all that matters is they shoot straight.

    The military can completely regulate heterosexual behavior. It can regulate homosexual behavior too. I suspect most gays in the military will not come out, or if they do will remain discrete. Flaming drag queens may like it when it is shore week (Sorry Smitty but your branch has a bad reputation for a reason), but most of them will not dig joining the military.

    Honestly I think this will overtime be a non issue.

  • http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/ Old Rebel

    This is typical of Neocons, whose leftist roots continue to embarrass patriotic conservatives who think support of the military, no matter how it’s used (or abused!), proves conservative intentions.

    In fact, Goldberg, who argues the DC megastate is a “good” empire that should police the world, is just another big-government shill. Preserving tradition is the last thing these people believe in, and the sooner we understand that, the sooner we can begin downsizing an out-of-control central government.

  • Joe

    Well the same applies to the federal government too. Yeah, that is where things are going. Personally I think spousal benefits should be applied to couples with dependent children. The whole concept of benefits for working couples makes less and less sense.

  • Joe

    Working married couples without dependent children.

  • Anonymous

    Well, despite my disagreement with him here, I still prefer Goldberg to Rich Lowry, simply because Goldberg has a more combative temperament. Why he’s going squishy in this particular instance is the mystery.

  • AMartel

    Meh to Goldberg’s argument. There already is a gay bourgeoisie. Has been for some time. Statisics don’t lie. DADT repeal is not a victory for the gay bourgeosie or some sort of symbol of their power; that’s just the way it’s being sold by the media. In reality, it’s a victory for the people who want to divide (gay v. straight, man v. woman, race v. race, ethnicity v. ethnicity, religion v. religion) and conquer the institutions, in this case the military, upon which our society relies. The long march continues. We can only hope that the gay people who are in the military don’t fuck this thing up. I have faith that most people who are in the military get that they’re making a sacrifice. But people being people . . . well, it’s only a matter of time before some a lawsuit gets filed and readiness and strength and unity is sacrificed in some small way(s) to accomodate the potential for hurt feelings.

  • http://theundergroundconservative.wordpress.com The Underground Conservative

    Krauthammer lost me with the nonsensical elitist bashing of Sarah Palin, repeating lefty talking points, and finished himself off by urging the Republicans not to de-fund ObamaCare.

  • Huggy

    I think a backlash is coming. Obama will throw gays under the bus. The military will suddenly say it needs to go back to asking and discharging gays who tell.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6OOPHMPLPN4PBGSMYIAETYM72Y Doug

    so what happens when the inevitable gay scandal occurs?

  • Quartermaster

    Goldberg is a whiny idiot. I had a 3 day running email “discussion” with him while I still lived in Ohio. The man’s intellect is nothing like he likes to portray it, or as he likes to come across on NRO. Bluntly, any paper that prints his mush has rendered perfectly Valuable paper and ink worthless.

    The only real difference between Goldbery and Lowry is Goldberg is more narcissistic and louder with his stupidity than Lowry is. Both are pretty much worthless when it comes to doing anything conservative. Both are leftists trying to get by as conservatives.

  • Anonymous

    Cat fight!

    http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
    “Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive”

  • Joe

    Me too. Jonah can get scrappy. But of all things to go squishy on, this is the least important.

  • Pingback: Libertarian News Roundup: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly » American Glob

  • http://dad29.blogspot.com/ Dad29

    Another consideration is the agonizing problem the Catholic church has undergone by admitting homosexuals to the priesthood, which is (or at least WAS) a ‘band of brothers.’

    The homosexuals demolished the bond, not only through their pedophiliac problem, but in the relationships between priests and priest/bishop relationships.

    It was subtle, not too visible, but destructive, and remains so today.

  • http://dad29.blogspot.com/ Dad29

    The military can completely regulate heterosexual behavior.

    Who are you trying to kid, Joe? Have you seen the stats on pregnancies in the armed forces (particularly the Navy) since they put babes into the mix?

  • Quartermaster

    Goldberg’s column is linked over at Hot Air. It’s more idiotic than Mr. McCain described it to be. The Goldberg “airs” are the same as I remember. The man is as bad as Obama in his narcissism.

  • Serfer62

    I found his mother’s site too PC to look at anymore. Guess the kid is going the same way.
    Hey, McCain, how about a sabatical on DC commenters for a couple of months?

  • Anonymous

    Why not make sure they remain discrete by keeping DADT?

  • Anonymous

    Why? You do know he supports gay marriage?

  • Anonymous

    We lost DADT precisely because we conservatives thought it wasn’t important. If one side is indifferent and the other side is passionate, who do you think will win?

  • Anonymous

    Nothing to see her folks.

  • Anonymous

    This is why we should exile GOProud. RSM, you say you want to be a big tent, then you’re surprised by Goldberg’s attitude towards DADT? What did you think would happen? And where is commenter ‘Angela’? Is this what you had in mind when you said socons ruined the party?

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/EU5DQWQTTHTPO4A4ZYSL3AAV2U Adjoran

    Goldberg over Lowry?

    But I thought you liked girls?

    Nope, not asking, don’t tell me . . .

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/EU5DQWQTTHTPO4A4ZYSL3AAV2U Adjoran

    I’ve never forgiven Goldberg for his role in legitimizing Andrew Sullivan, Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias and the other leftist propagandists he and the Short Pants Brigade at NRO sold to us as people “we can have an honest debate with” . . .

    As to DADT, one survey showed over 40% of enlisted men would not reenlist if it is implemented. That’s pretty darned significant in an all-volunteer military.

  • Anonymous

    Joe, it isn’t just a question of who will join the military, but of who will cave just to stay in.

  • Tennwriter

    Of course, this was a defeat. The Libertarians and the Liberals imposed their morality on Reality with the help of the RINOs.

  • Tinytim

    He went squishy for the same reason lots of conservatives have gone squishy on the issue: the pro-repeal forces framed the debate, using techniques that from “After the Ball” to equate opposition to the homosexual agenda with being bigoted or intolerant. And it has worked beautifully. People’s opinions on the subject are being manipulated just as that book advocated and foretold back in 1989, and people like Jonah don’t even realize that they are being manipulated. Society is being manipulated into the mainstreaming of homosexuality, just as it has been manipulated over the last 21 years. This of course begs the question that if homosexuality and homosexual conduct are not problematic, why would we as a society need to be manipulated into believing that?

  • Amazed

    With respect Mr. McCain, since you, or anyone else, can’t change a gay person to straight, one would have to conclude that they deserve the same rights as anyone else (even you). And I resent a bit the concept of “Official Conservative Spokesmen”. We can all speak for ourselves and have not anointed anyone to speak for us, thank you very much.

  • Anonymous

    Conservatives attacking each other, McCain attacking the military and wishing it ill…. Wow these are strange times on the right, a crackup ‘right before our eyes’

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