I Like Michelle Malkin
In a recent column, Michelle Malkin argued that Mitt Romney is being naively civil in calling President Obama a “nice guy”. Malkin decried “disastrous, bend-over bipartisanship” and wrote, “it’s not nice to delude the American electorate in the name of comity, politesse, and simpering civility.”
What I find endlessly impressive about Michelle Malkin is her ability to condemn supposed incivility on the part of the left while championing incivility on the part of the right. Accusing the left of sexist attacks against the Right while demeaning progressive women as “femme-a-gogues”. Bemoaning racist smears against her own Filipino heritage while labeling Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren “Fauxchahontas”. Labeling Barack Obama a bully while mobilizing her own website of aggressive Internet trolls who nastily attack anyone who disagrees with her. You’ve got to respect a woman who can so blatantly misrepresent the actions and intentions of her opponents in an attempt to disguise from her own bad behavior.
I respect Mitt Romney for not going after President Obama personally and for saying, in as many chances as he gets, that Obama is a nice guy. I hope Mitt Romney believe it, but it’s clearly also the wise political move to sway an independent electorate that strongly likes the President but may be questioning some of his policies. But the larger point is that, with a very few Hitler-esque exceptions, I don’t believe and I hope that no one in politics or public life believes that those who disagree with us are fundamentally evil. I believe Michelle Malkin is a smart person, a loving mother and a patriot who wants the best for her country. And while hysterical hyperbole may get Ms. Malkin mouse clicks, the fact of the matter is that progressives are also smart people, loving parents and patriots who, despite her outcries to the contrary, value America’s free market economy and simply think that it could work better for more people. That does not make us evil. It makes us different.
On both sides of the aisle, we have spent too much time demonizing our opponents, distracting ourselves and the broader public from the substantive issues at stake in politics and further driving a wedge between red and blue America. According to a new poll, our nation is more politically polarized than ever.
As I see it, punditry and political discourse are like a highway of information exchange and debate. Most of us try our best to obey the rules of the road — no name calling, no personal attacks, no lies or even intentional distortions. But just like individual drivers can get away with speeding and reckless driving to get to their destination faster, there’s a perverse incentive for pundits to make outlandish, offensive statements in order to rise above the fray. And the “they started it” accusations of which Ms. Malkin is fond are no excuse for equally or worse behavior.
The problem, of course, isn’t just the one off effects of such insults but the broader damage done to our discourse. After all, if everyone were to start breaking the rules, it would be bedlam — both on the highways and the airwaves, with nastiness reaching such a level that spectacle would completely drown out information and the original purpose of punditry to thoughtfully air important political debates which is essential to preserve our democracy.
Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “Be civil to all, sociable to many, familiar with few, friend to one, enemy to none”. Let us be vociferous enemies of each others policies and ideas. But can we at least recognize the common humanity and good intentions of our fellow countrymen and women? Has that become too much to ask?
If you like it, share it!
91 Responses to I Like Michelle Malkin
Leave a Reply
NEW YORK TIMES PROFILE
SOCIALIZE WITH ME!
TV DOESN’T PAY THE BILLS
Make a tax-deductible contribution via our fiscal sponsor, the Grassroots Policy Project
I believe Michelle Malkin is a smart person, a loving mother and a patriot who wants the best for her country.
______________________
I believe Michelle Malkin is a psychopath.
I agree completely.
Michelle Malkin is truly in a league of her own.
I’m not sure the even has a category for her yet.
That should have read “I’m not sure the DSM4 even has a category for her yet” but I’m sure you got the drift!
Alex, you are soooooo clever.
“I believe Michelle Malkin is a psychopath.”
–So are you.
I find it interesting, all of you supporting Sally’s rant against Michelle’s name-calling and uncivil discourse, while you are spewing hate, calling names and generally proving that you are most proficient at self-intercourse…so go do it!
I find it disappointing that you consider this article a ‘rant.’ Please, open a dictionary.
Amazing to me that you consider this article a “rant”. Please read complicated (for u) words in a dictionary, before using them.
“to disguise from her own bad behavior ” Typical left – the left can be pointed and specific but if the right decides to meet the assault (I mean civil discourse) point to counter point the exchange is considered bad behavior.. typical LOL!!
Creating false equivalencies. Distorting a differing opinion into a violent act (“assault”) upon your ideology. While never attempting to engage in meaningful dialog. Far easier to dismiss something with a convenient generalization (“typical Left”) than expend actual thought or effort debating the substance of the article.
Why debate a ‘typical left’ ploy that Independents and the Right have discussed to death. If you haven’t had that discussion already, says loads about you.
Dismissing an argument as a ‘ploy,’ and attempting invalidation of debate simply because other groups have presumably discussed this ad nauseum. Followed by by an ad hominem which also projects an baseless assumption upon me. And again, never actually engaging in the matter at hand. Your response says NOTHING about me. Do you not have the patience and/or capacity to debate the subject of the article?
Sally, I like you a lot. If you had written that you liked one of the conservatives who doesn’t spew invective on the air and on the internet on a near-hourly basis, I might have even agreed with you that disagreement isn’t hate. But I’ve been on Malkin’s receiving end, and she is a woman who hangs scalps on the bedpost at night. She has no respect for anyone but herself and her overblown rhetoric.
So I’m sorry to disagree with you on this, but I don’t like Michelle Malkin. I do, however, still like you.
Sally, you are too kind. That’s all I will say.
Agree completely. But I like Sally’s Tai Chi approach. It leaves very little for Malkin to get her blood-drenched claws into.
I think one has to read beyond the title to get Sally’s point here.
Not to put words in Sally’s mouth, but I believe the point is that Malkin and her brand of “dialogue” is anathema to democracy and the public good. I do not think Sally is praising Malkin as much as she is calling her out (and maybe using an olive branch as as a weapon?)
you make no sense but at least you’re
good looking and by the way we live in a republic
What Karoli said.
I just heard Sally Kohn and Michelle Malkin go at it on the Sean Hannity radio show. All I can say is, Michelle Malkin has one more scalp to hang on her bedpost. It belongs to Sally Kohn!
karoli, Sally’s title was sarcastic: she clearly does not like or admire Michelle Malkin.
That much was clear by the second paragraph.
She reinforces what is glaringly apparent: “GOP … The Party of Mean” !
The only exception I would take is that we have developed a segment of punditry whose existence and audience depends entirely on vitriol, invective and complete destruction of persons rather than ideas. This is how they make their living and sensibility would render them worthless.
Perhaps Jesus had the right perspective in “turning the other cheek” but He was predated by God, who gave us “an eye for an eye”!
I think Michelle represents her party well. Truly hateful people, in my opinion, and once again Sally like our President are trying to take the high road. That admirable, but it’s time to call some of these people out. I agree with Karoli and especially the quote: “I believe Michelle Malkin is a psychopath!”
How many times do you get bitten by reaching across the isle until you stop reaching and take care of your backyard? I’m done being nice! These Republicans are not playing nice and neither am I! Friggin idiots is what they are!! Gaaahhhh
I think everyone has missed that Michelle Malkin has actually attacked one of her own for being TOO NICE for calling Obama a “nice guy”.
Romney is trying to take the high road, and is being attacked by conservative media. One of them is the person who added Ann Coulter to the list of enemies in the War on Conservative Women for speaking honestly about Sarah Palin.
I’ve yet to hear an intelligent thought come outa that pretty little empty head.
There are none so deaf as those who will not hear.
I applaud your clarity at this time! I just can’t seem to be as tolerant as you when all that comes out of thei far rights mouth are malicious lies.
Stupidity is a *progressive disease.
Thanks Keith. You just made Sally Kohn’s point.
No, that’s cancer, heart disease and diabetes. All of which will be covered under Obamacare. Stupidity is a choice made by those who desire to remain uninformed. Thanks Keith for highlighting Michelle’s shortcomings as they harmonize with your own.
Let me ask you . . . how did McCain being nice to Obama work out for his campaign?
Sally, your readers didn’t seem to get the point of your column…they are being meany-pants and calling Michelle names. Maybe you need to dumb it down a little so they can understand. Karoli obviously didn’t read past the title lol!!
since when did Communists start taking the “high road”?
*laughing hysterically*
Do you have ANY grasp of the differences between Communism, Socialism, and Fascism? Have you bothered to read Marx? Or any other political manifestos or treatises to glean even a scintilla of understanding of the words you’re throwing around?
I’d laugh hysterically at your response, if it didn’t speak to the issue of Americans being too lazy to do some basic homework & formulate individual opinions, despite the bounty of information we have at our fingertips.
Don’t over-exert yourself using big words like Communism, stick to watching Fox and listening to Rush.
Glad to see your admitting that you’re a ‘radical.’ No question about that. The rest of the liberal loons should be that forthright and then maybe we could have an honest conversation.
You did it Sally. You managed to invoke Hitler in your article against Malkin, one of the rules for the left wing.
“..liberal loons..”?!? is that like buffoon repubes or tea-orrist t-baggers?? the difference between sally and moochelle is the same as a golden retreiver and a rapid pit bull.
What’s a “rapid pit bull”? A pit bull that runs fast?
Neil…….sounds right ! TOO FUNNY !!!!!!!
Just heard you on Hanity. You are a troll.
SallyKohn is very smart. Her problem is, she is not smart enough to avoid mixing it up with Michelle Malkin. Don’t feel bad Sally. You are not the first and you won’t be the last to have gone through the Michelle Malkin buzz saw.
Bet your Hannity interview just bumped your SEO. Did you server crash? Michelle Malkin is a tireless warrior in the fight against the Lefty media. You’d just as soon stop all speech — oh! It all has to be FAIR and CIVIL. Paa-lleeessseee.
Civility = Right-wingers shutting up about what liberals are doing.
You hit that one on the head. Every time we here the left call for civility, the next day they are back spewing insults and deomonizing. This is all too typical Saul Alinsky.
Now, now girls … let’s not prove why you are so often accused of being “catty”. It seems to me that both of you stand up well for your respective side of the political spectrum. But anyway, it was a fun fight on Hannity today. =)
Just heard Sally Kohn and Michelle Malkin go at it on the Hannity show. I have to say I agree with Malkin. Ms. Kohn did attack Malkin on this piece, yet she came off as lacking the courage to defend her own words when confronted. She hid behind generic, sugar-coated words of “civility” but had no substantive replies to give.
Earth to Kohn- you don’t have a shot at Michelle.
Enjoyed listening to Michelle own you on Hannity. She’s right you know. You really should be more prepared. I can’t even imagine how frustrating it much be when asked to defend your side. They don’t make it easy for you but you’d find it much easier engaging some intellectual honesty. The vile attacks from your side are truly indefensible and don’t compare to joking about a 1/32 Indian politician. It has been comical but hardly vile.
This somewhat conservative fellow can’t help but notice that Michelle Malkin can be a rather rabid nasty at times. I forgot how to spell the “B” word.
I dont know what your agenda is , but read the comments which you’ve inspired . You’re a liberal magnet .
You are wrong . Libs spew the worst hate imaginable – how many times has the word “Bush” and “Dead” been posed in the same sentence by “the people we have to get along with”?
Michelle is right . You CANNOT say that you are not vetting the comments , when one side says the President should die , or the V.Pres. is
evil , is Darth Vader , how can you be so – I dont want to insult you , but if
you dont comprehend the concept of degree , and that it matters , you are beyond this discussion -
“LET THEM BRING THEIR KNIVES ,
WE’LL BRING OUR GUNS” – you dont get it?
Apparently you’ve never imagined visiting freerepublic.com or nicedoggie.net
If you want to have this argument, I will escalate from the ‘hate spew’ straight to the body count. As in listing off Conservative zealots who have murdered innocent people under the auspices of ‘defending Democracy’ and ‘resisting government tyranny.’
Occasionally on the way home from work I’ll listen to different stations to hear perspectives different from my own. Today I listened to about 15 minutes of the end of Sean Hannity’s show. Maybe I live under a rock but, though I’ve heard Michelle Malkin’s name before, I don’t know much about her and I’d never heard of Sally Kohn until today when she was a guest on Hannity’s show. Malkin actually mentioned Sally’s website on air so that’s why I came here to comment. Michelle Malkin is SCARY. Who is she? I can have conversations with thinking, rationale conservatives and see their perspective even though I disagree but Malkin is a different animal altogether (based solely on those 10-15 minutes that I heard). It seemed clear to me that Hannity and Malkin weren’t really interested in dialogue; it’d be interesting to know how they got Sally Kohn to go on the show. If I were a Republican I’d be embarrassed to have people associate me with Michelle Malkin.
Michelle ROCKS! LOL!
Sally spent all her time dodging questions about HER comments and that is what you took from the segment? I certainly would not come out and call you some name but I will think long and hard about the ability to think discriminately.
You got your head handed to you on Hannity.
It was a fun listen.
Sally, just heard you on Hannity…You need to read up on your American history. You stated that you wanted us to be more like our Founders who took the high road and didn’t use personal smears. Seriously? You might want to read up on the presidential campaign of 1800 between Adams and Jefferson, but here’s the condensed version complete with what their campaign ads would be like today using their actual words.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20021237-503544.html
This is just all part of living in a free world. There are going to be nasty things said. You have the right to think we need to be more civil, but this is human nature. All through time, politics has been a nasty business. You can’t change that. As long as we are free, people will speak their minds. If you take away that freedom, you get the kind of political discourse allowed in China. So celebrate our first amendment rights instead of lecturing us.
I took a look at the sources for this gimmicky video, which tries to make it look as if the founders themselves continually used derogatory language to describe each other. Several of these seem to be from pamphleteers, the equivalent of your average trash talking trolls on the internet.
It was not at all “typical” for the founders to trash talk each other. Gentlemanly behavior was their standard, and a model they tried to uphold for each other, and for the new American citizens they knew were watching and listening. This is well-documented by Pulitzer-prize winning historian Gordon S. Woods, and others.
This argument (again) that the American political dialogue has always been in the gutter, and as bad as it is now, it just inaccurate. On rw talk radio, on a regular basis, stereotyping, scapegoating, and dehumanization of opponents can be heard. This is more typical of extremist propaganda than it is democratic dialogue.
She IS exercising freedom of speech BY lecturing you. You contradicted yourself. You must be a Republican.
Well said! I am a conservative Republican and completely respect your position. I do, however respect Michelle Malkin, as well as she is very insightful and passionate about issues that are important to this country. Again…thank you for your opinion!
This is the problem with liberals. When Obama calls for civility and transparency, he can do just the opposite. Because he’s a Democrat. Of course, Sally, you failed to mention all of the attacks from the left, like that masogynist Pig, Bill Maher, Ed Schultz and Keith Olberman; racists like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. You can talk about civility all day, but should conservatives just sit back and not respond to these vicious attacks? If you want to talk about who’s driving a wedge between Americans, you need to look no further than the socialist running the White House and his Bill Ayers cronies! Barack Oloser could learn a few things or two from Bill Clinton!
Well said
[...] response to my back and forth with Michelle Malkin in which I asserted that incivility on the part of conservatives is (at least) [...]
Here is correct link for Schopenhauer in my previous comment.
Heh. Look who just wrote a sanctimonious insulting piece to get mouse clicks. #caring
@snarky_basterd I’m Twitter
I like Sean and Michelle. It disturbed me tremendously that Michelle did not accept your apology–it sounded sincere to me. I was heartened that Sean did ask Michelle to reconsider your apology as offered. I will let Michelle know how I feel
We can disagree on the issues of our time without resorting to childish name calling.
Michelle did not accept your apology because she is familiar with the tools of passive aggressive left wing female tactics of perspective and position. Where does it have to stated an apology must be accepted? The typical left can give you the finger and then say they are sorry so that in the future the finger can be re-used over and over again. Michelle position – no need to accept an apology all you have to do is show me your apology, prove your words and deeds and demonstrate your apology.
Well said. They just don’t see past their own egos.
Michelle was right to reject the fake apology. Kohn is trying to present herself as above-the-fray, as if that somehow is some sort of asset that we should admire (when in reality it is smugness and condescension). As if the character of people is somehow off-limits in a political discussion, and as if Kohn doesn’t trip over herself every which way in double-standards and hypocrisy, as she was unable to acknowledge that her messiah, Barry, has regularly engaged in the very type of political discourse that she is oh-so-frustrated with. Listen to Hannity ask her to comment on Obama’s criticisms of his political opponents, which essentially amounted to character assassination (which is fine), and Kohn just evades and evades and evades.
I think mean people suck, and we should skull-fuck all mean people with screwdrivers wrapped in barbed wire.
That would show how tolerant we are and what hateful psychotic sadists all those mean people are.
How much traffic did Michelle Malkin send to this website?
Nobody’s ever heard of Sally Kohn, and we’ll all forget about her in another few days. She essentially volunteered herself to be a rag doll to be chewed up by folks that actually pay attention to politics and have solid careers, thinking that somehow she might claw her way into the limelight. This was a desperate attempt to gain fame which just resulted in a political beatdown. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.
I’ve never heard anything except that conservatives are bad and are the reason for all of the countries problems and are the reason the president can’t do his job, even though he had house and senate control for two years. If liberals are “taking the high road” I can’t imagine what the low road would be. All this is is a liberal being passive aggressive because their vitriol is backfiring.
‘If liberals are “taking the high road” I can’t imagine what the low road would be.’
Free Republic.
I remember when Michelle Malkin was livid about a young boy being used to defend S-CHIP, and when she was being hammered for hounding the boy and her family, she said liberals were not interested in good-faith arguments. Then Ezra Klein offered to debate her “anywhere, anytime” on S-CHIP, and Ms. Malkin declined. So that’s who Michelle Malkin will always be to me…the woman who was too chicken to debate Ezra Klein.
Wow, Michelle Malkin destroyed you. You must’ve been ecstatic at the opportunity to be given some time on Sean Hannity’s radio show, considering nobody’s ever heard of you and it might amount to your five minutes of fame. Turned out to be five minutes of humiliation. Have you listened to yourself? You couldn’t even answer a straightforward question asked to you, and just evaded and dodged. Malin pegged you as smug and sanctimonious and self-aggrandizing, thinking that your veneer of polite demeanour is somehow a substitute for your lack of substance. You really are a pathetic political hack. Enjoy the rest of your political life in obscurity.
Just noticed something…. this Kohn lady is abusing tax-exemption status from a charity that is essentially pimping out its charitable status. I’ll send an email to the IRS straightaway. It’s so typical of a leftist who can’t get a voluntary customer base to simply steal from the taxpayer. The left is always claiming charitable-status for its political hackery, when there is absolutely nothing charitable about this tenth-rate blog.
Sally Cohn one second…
“Labeling Barack Obama a bully while mobilizing her own website of aggressive Internet trolls”
Sally Cohn, a few seconds later…
“Most of us try our best to obey the rules of the road — no name calling…”
Like most lefties, Kohn is a fatuous halfwit and a blatant hypocrite.
And, you can take your phony calls for civility and stick ‘em where the sun don’t shine, sweetheart. We “trolls” don’t believe in the kind of civility you practice.
So, you’re saying the people posting highly incendiary comments on Malkin’s various websites are actually being genuine. You want us to believe that makes it better?
I consider President Obama’s policies to be socialistic and I think his tenure in the White House has been detrimental to this country. I also often find Sally Kohn to be incredibly smug. Since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area I constantly hear how much the folks here love diversity, but the truth is the left here hates diversity of opinion and tries to silence it at every opportunity. That has been my experience living in CA for last 25 yrs.
Yet you continue to live there, right teabagger?
Which policies?
Sally Kohn=Lucky Ned Pepper
Michelle Malkin=Rooster Cogburn.
Michelle is the one with True Grit.
Sally, you liberals just cannot take your own medicine. I recall when GW won for a second term, a liberal friend of mine sat before me, completely depressed, and staring through me, said, “If George Bush were standing in front of me, I would kick him in the teeth.” Remember those good ol’ days, Sally? No, I didn’t think so.
Ww saw what mess a 2nd term of George Bush brought us. A mess we are currently trying to clean up.
I remember those heady days well, when righties reminded me on a regular basis that it was 100% wrong to show disrespect to the Commander in Chief. Those people send me a deluge of anti-Obama emails these days.
[...] http://sallykohn.com/2012/06/i-like-michelle-malkin/ [...]
While really admire you very much Sally I am just F**cking pissed that you let her get away with her non sense. The only way to deal with people like Malkin is to ask her to shut up every time she tries to interrupt you… Next time would u put on your gloves and be a little bit more aggressive? I wish most progressive were like Anthony Weiner.
I just heard about this controversy and found it interesting. Scanning the comments I didn’t notice anyone mention that Elizabeth Warren, referred to as “Fauxchahonits” in the piece has been determined by genealogists and the 3 legitimate tribes of the Cherokee Nation to not be Cherokee, a claim she appears to have built a carreer on. National Journal has an article citing the Tribes themselves,( http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/is-elizabeth-warren-native-american–20120521?page=1 ) yet Sally seems to still support Mrs. Warrens false claim. Why not at least note the objections by Cherokees themselves to Mrs. Warrens claims? As far as I know they have no political bias either way. Seems silly to avoid the facts in this matter.
If Warren built a career on her claim of Cherokee blood and that claim is false she should be called out.
So if I claim to be of African descent and Michelle calls me the N word its OK?
[...] liberal commentator for Fox News, making her the right’s own example of affirmative action) notes the irony in Malkin “bemoaning racist smears against her own Filipino heritage while labeling [...]