Arguing with a liberal *UPDATED*

‘Cause we’re all reading of the same stuff, I suspect many of you are already familiar with the fact that, when journalist Phelim McAleer asked Al Gore an inconvenient question about climate change, his fellow journalists turned off his mic.  After all, the best way to deal with inconvenient facts is to ignore them.

I got a dose of this myself this weekend when one of my facebook friends opened up a discussion about Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize.  Even those who most strongly approved had to concede that he really hadn’t done anything yet.  Nevertheless, they posted mountains of obfuscatory, polysyllabic words about his promise and his symbolism and his goodness and the intelligence of the American people in voting for him.  They were also all adamant that the objections to Obama’s win “were political.”

I made two simple points.  First, I said that the Nobel Peace has traditionally been given to people who have actually done something already, so that, even if people objected to the prize on “political” grounds, there could be no complaint about accomplishments.  I politely suggested, therefore, that it made the award less meaningful to give it to someone who, as they themselves acknowledged, hadn’t done anything.  I was resoundingly, almost aggressively ignored.  Second, I pointed out that if it’s sufficient to get the Nobel Peace Prize just because one hopes for peace, we all should get one.  Again, silence.

I found it interesting that no one even bothered to attack my points.  I felt as if my mic was cut off.  I was the snake in their little Garden of Eden, and if they covered their ears and their eyes, maybe I would just go away.

The flip side to ignoring substantive arguments, of course, is to engage in personal attacks.  Even Politco has noticed how incredibly crude Obama’s supporters are.  This doesn’t come as a surprise to us, of course.  Already back in 2006, I did a post noting the Democrats’ vocal scatalogical obsessions.  If you’re the Party of Poop, that’s what you’re going to fling when your back is against the wall.  And, after only nine months in office, the Party of Poop is, almost impressively, squeezed tightly against the wall.  The only thing left for a trapped rat is attack.  Heck, even Kruschev knew this:  When all us fails, pound the table.  And when you’ve cut off the mic and ignored the facts, and people are still arrayed against you, it’s time for fecal material to fly.

UPDATE:  Although sometimes, and rather amusingly, the obscenities come from the other side.