Rich Lowry’s Editorial Impotence?

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A communiqué from the regime:

“Needless to say, no one at National Review shares Derb’s appalling view of what parents supposedly should tell their kids about blacks in this instantly notorious piece here.”

Yes, but have you fired him for it, Rich? What the hell kind of “needless to say” bulls–t are you trying to play on us here?

Mind you, I’m not saying you should fire Derbyshire: A commenter on a previous post raised the possibility that Derb was cleverly parodying a black racialist writer’s version of “The Talk.” So I suppose that some plausible explanation or defense can’t be ruled out.

“Needless to say,” however, they don’t pay you the big bucks to waffle in times of crisis, Rich. Your executive authority must be exercised and, with this howling Internet lynch mob demanding Derbyshire’s scalp, you must either satisfy the mob or deal with the consequences.

Obviously, Rich, it would do neither of us — nor Derbyshire, for that matter — any good for me to offer you unsolicited advice. You’ve never taken my advice before, and I don’t expect you to start now.

UPDATE: Vox Day calls Derb’s piece “a calm and perfectly reasonable collection of observable realities of race in America.” Lisa Graas offers, “Things I Don’t Say to My Kids About Black People.”

BTW, have you hit Lisa’s tip jar yet? I did.

UPDATE II: In case you haven’t been reading this blog regularly for three years, I’ve been arguing Lowry should be fired since 2009: “a lot of snotty nancy-boy whining about the uncouth Republican rabble.”

UPDATE III: Dan Collins thought this might be relevant:

Caught on camera — a tourist being beaten in downtown Baltimore and instead of helping him, a crowd laughs and steals his belongings.

Watch the video of the Bad Samaritans:

Has Rich Lowry been to downtown Baltimore lately? Not saying he should get punched in the face, although it might do him a world of good.

UPDATE IV: Leon Wolf accuses Lowry of displaying “an absolute lack of leadership and conviction.” But what else can we expect from “conservatives” who are in the tank for Romney?

BTW, has Mitt denounced Derbyshire yet?

UPDATE V: One of the things that has bothered me for years is the way some people want to treat political journalists as if they were actually politicians, so that anyone who writes about politics must be “vetted,” as if they were themselves candidates for elected office.

My own understanding of my job is write something people want to read, and get paid for it.

Having the “correct” opinion on controversial issues? Nobody’s ever offered to pay me for that, and I don’t expect any such offers soon. My writing therefore must stand or fall on its own merits, without regard for my ability to win any kind of popularity contest or plebescite.

Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin writes about an actual politician:

[Marion] Barry told supporters in D.C.’s Ward 8: “We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops. They ought to go.” Once pushed out, Barry, promised, he would replace the foreign invaders with “African-American business people.” Barry then took to social networking platform Twitter to expound on the perils of “dirty” Asian shops in his neighborhood.

The same people who support Marion Barry nevertheless want us to think the real problem in American race relations is John Derbyshire.

UPDATE VI (Smitty): via The Political Hat, it looks like NRO has parted ways with Derbyshire:

His latest provocation, in a webzine, lurches from the politically incorrect to the nasty and indefensible. We never would have published it, but the main reason that people noticed it is that it is by a National Review writer. Derb is effectively using our name to get more oxygen for views with which we’d never associate ourselves otherwise. So there has to be a parting of the ways. Derb has long danced around the line on these issues, but this column is so outlandish it constitutes a kind of letter of resignation.

107 comments

  3. One wonders what Lowry was thinking: “Here, I will denounce one of my writers, but don’t expect me to actually do anything about it because, needless to say, I’m only the editor.”

    Testicular atrophy.

  4. Is it total ’employment at will’, or, since Derb was on another masthead, would there be a possible wrongful termination lawsuit, were Lowry to can Derbyshire?

  13. Perhaps it hasn’t occurred to Lowry that there is any reason to fire Derbyshire no matter where this article was published. I certainly don’t see any.

  15. The server is overloaded. You can’t even access the article in question. All one can do is read others opinion of the substance. 

  19. You’ve ONLY be in favor of firing Lowry since 2009?  Bandwagon-jumper.

    I always said he shouldn’t have the job until he’s man enough to wear long pants.  Still waiting.

    But how do you fire someone for writing something at another site if you don’t own his exclusive rights? 

    Parody or not, it was no less reasonable a “talk” than the one from Tyler Perry’s Moms, was it?  Maybe Lowry should throw down on Madea?

  20. You’ve ONLY be in favor of firing Lowry since 2009?  Bandwagon-jumper.

    I always said he shouldn’t have the job until he’s man enough to wear long pants.  Still waiting.

    But how do you fire someone for writing something at another site if you don’t own his exclusive rights? 

    Parody or not, it was no less reasonable a “talk” than the one from Tyler Perry’s Moms, was it?  Maybe Lowry should throw down on Madea?

  21. Maybe I should have a talk with my children about nancy-boys.

    Beware of associating yourself with cowards, whose first instinct in any conflict is to abandon their friends. One reason I always stick up for Dan Riehl, Pamela Geller, Jeff Goldstein and Michelle Malkin is that they’re fighters, and when you’ve been in a few fights, you appreciate sheer pugnacity.

  22. Maybe I should have a talk with my children about nancy-boys.

    Beware of associating yourself with cowards, whose first instinct in any conflict is to abandon their friends. One reason I always stick up for Dan Riehl, Pamela Geller, Jeff Goldstein and Michelle Malkin is that they’re fighters, and when you’ve been in a few fights, you appreciate sheer pugnacity.

  25. As you know, Stacy, I used to agree with the idea of Jonah Goldberg staging a coup to replace Richie Twinkle-Toes Lowry, but Jonah’s abandoned John, so I think that idea is moot – we have to find someone else to urge [maybe, Andrew McCarthy?].

  26. As you know, Stacy, I used to agree with the idea of Jonah Goldberg staging a coup to replace Richie Twinkle-Toes Lowry, but Jonah’s abandoned John, so I think that idea is moot – we have to find someone else to urge [maybe, Andrew McCarthy?].

  29. One has to hope , for Derby’s sake, that it is a parody.

    The second page of his article was something right out of the slave owners’ (rationalization) playbook.

    Certainly, it puts his other writing in question (not that it wasn’t already questionable).

  30. One has to hope , for Derby’s sake, that it is a parody.

    The second page of his article was something right out of the slave owners’ (rationalization) playbook.

    Certainly, it puts his other writing in question (not that it wasn’t already questionable).

  31. Here’s the  thing about Baltimore. You can get your butt beat there at any time. Go into the Irish neighborhood and wander into a locals only bar and you can get hurt. Be very respectful or you can get messed up in the Polish neighborhood or the Italian one too. And if you’re stupid enough to go into the black section drunk or looking for trouble  you will get damaged if not killed. B’more is the town without pity.

  32. Here’s the  thing about Baltimore. You can get your butt beat there at any time. Go into the Irish neighborhood and wander into a locals only bar and you can get hurt. Be very respectful or you can get messed up in the Polish neighborhood or the Italian one too. And if you’re stupid enough to go into the black section drunk or looking for trouble  you will get damaged if not killed. B’more is the town without pity.

  34. I have certainly seen a lot worse in Europe.

    Doesn’t make the Bmore situation any better, however.

    Ultimately, you always have to be careful, no matter where you go, particularly if you are going to get completely drunk (and likely to say or do something stupid to somebody you don’t know). 

  35. I have certainly seen a lot worse in Europe.

    Doesn’t make the Bmore situation any better, however.

    Ultimately, you always have to be careful, no matter where you go, particularly if you are going to get completely drunk (and likely to say or do something stupid to somebody you don’t know). 

  36. Stacy, I’m sure you’re aware, and probably don’t give a flying crap, but the Lizard King is lumping you in with the White Supremacists again.

  37. Stacy, I’m sure you’re aware, and probably don’t give a flying crap, but the Lizard King is lumping you in with the White Supremacists again.

  42. You can link it from Twitchy (they screen capped it).  http://evilbloggerlady.blogspot.com/2012/04/john-derbyshires-talk.html  I have a link in the first paragraph.  Scroll down through the tweets

  43. You can link it from Twitchy (they screen capped it).  http://evilbloggerlady.blogspot.com/2012/04/john-derbyshires-talk.html  I have a link in the first paragraph.  Scroll down through the tweets

  44. No public controversy is complete until Charles Johnson and James Wolcott make fools of themselves.

    If this controversy involved “gender issues,” I’d add Amanda Marcotte to that list, but there doesn’t seem to be a particular feminist angle on the Trayvon case yet. Maybe Marcotte will invent one, though.

  45. No public controversy is complete until Charles Johnson and James Wolcott make fools of themselves.

    If this controversy involved “gender issues,” I’d add Amanda Marcotte to that list, but there doesn’t seem to be a particular feminist angle on the Trayvon case yet. Maybe Marcotte will invent one, though.

  46. Screw that halfwit. His best days are so far behind him he can probably barely remember them himself. The likelihood that he will ever achieve any kind of prominence of that magnitude ever again is about as good as the chance of Bob Dole getting the GOP nomination at a brokered convention.

  47.  sniff

    Caught up in a world of uphill climbing

    The tears are in my eyes

    And nothing is rhyming, oh Mandy

    Well you came and you gave without taking

    And I sent you away, oh Mandy

  48.  sniff

    Caught up in a world of uphill climbing

    The tears are in my eyes

    And nothing is rhyming, oh Mandy

    Well you came and you gave without taking

    And I sent you away, oh Mandy

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