[ back ]
Criticism need not be partisan
(by Dave Lange - April 13, 2012)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Criticism need not be partisan
"Sometimes you surprise me. Just when I thought you went off the deep end into liberal never, never land, you seem to have been stricken by a sudden stroke of sanity."
It was my old pal, Mush Limburger, on the line. Gee, Mush, I don't know whether to thank you for the compliment or wonder where I went wrong.
"Well, last week you stood up for former Solon Mayor Bob Paulson, who's a Republican, and you criticized former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul, who's a Democrat, and the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who also was a Democrat. That was a step in the right direction."
I didn't intend that column to be a defense of conservatism or an indictment of liberalism, Mush. I just wanted to point out what I saw as an inequitable application of justice involving political campaign funds.
I realize that conservatives are supposed to be tough on crime, which could explain why the law came down so hard on a Republican mayor, and that liberals are perceived as soft on crime, which may explain why a Democrat sheriff got off easy and a Democrat in Congress got no punishment at all. Personally, though, I think there's dishonesty in both political parties.
"Speaking of dishonesty, I liked the way you came right out and said that liberal Democrat U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, of Toledo, is a liar. Usually, it's us honest-to-goodness conservatives who have to point out how the Democrats are a bunch of liars."
I'm glad you picked up on that, Mush. You know, so much has been made of the negativity going back and forth among the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, I found it noteworthy that Democrats can be mighty nasty in their primary campaigns as well. The fact is that Ms. Kaptur made a number of patently false allegations against her Democratic primary opponent, even though she had the nomination in the bag. Lying seems to be taking over the political landscape these days.
"When I saw your recent explanation about letters to the editor, I had to go back and reread some of them myself. I thought you routinely picked out the letters from liberals to print in the paper and just tossed out the ones from conservatives. But, sure enough, there were more letters criticizing that socialist President Barack Obama than letters defending him."
As I explained, Mush, we print as many letters as we can from our readers, regardless of their points of view. As you probably noticed, most of the letters we get focus on local matters, not national politics, and about half of them have no political viewpoints whatsoever. I think certain strong opinions tend to stick in readers' minds, though, which sometimes can create a distorted impression of things.
"Nonetheless, we conservatives, who happen to believe in the Constitution, have to keep our eyes on you liberal media types."
I believe that all Americans should support the Constitution, Mush, including the preamble, its very essence, which calls upon the people "to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare ..."
"Welfare? Tranquility? Perfect union? I can't believe our Constitution says that."
It's a wonderful document, Mush. You ought to read it sometime.
[ back ]
