> At 10:44 AM 11/12/2009, SA wrote:
>> Doug Henwood wrote: > Dem voters are far more likely than Reps to
>> favor social programs, > oppose foreign wars, support civil rights
>> for ethnic and sexual > minorities, etc. Haven't you ever read an
>> opinion poll? People on this list are some of the most erudite I've
>> known, yet basic facts about the political world that are treated as
>> elementary "out there" are received as shocking, surprising, or
>> wildly contrarian in here. Unfortunately, The Truth ≠(Conventional
>> wisdom) * (-1) SA
>
>
> last i knew, part of being a leftist means questioning these "basic
> facts about the political world" as not "elementary" at all.
>
> "This is what passes for a left now in this country. It is a left that
> can insist, [...snip]
I'm all for questioning. But why should we question facts like "Dem voters have markedly different opinions than GOP voters," or "politicians care deeply about public opinion," when anyone acquainted with the world outside can see these facts corroborated day after day? At FAIR, we spent all our time explaining how the NYT didn't tell the truth - but if the NYT wrote, "Senator Jones said XYZ at a press conference yesterday," we didn't ask whether the Times had made up the press conference or whether there is no such person as Senator Jones.
There's a wide distinction between "questioning conventional wisdom" and "adopting whatever set of facts is most comforting for your analysis." The latter isn't just lazy, it's dangerous. You can end up like one of those forlorn Trotskyist splinter groups that still insists WWII can't be over because if it is, that would prove Trotsky's predictions wrong.
As for the BAR excerpt, I agree with all of it. I don't see what one has to do with the other.
SA