----- Original Message ----- [WS:]
I also happen to think that the rule "an enemy of my enemy is my friend" is not necessarily a very useful one. Conservatives tend to attack academics because they need scapegoats to make good impression of themselves as fierce warriors for conservative causes, and by the very definition of the term a scapegoat is someone without real power and teeth, for otherwise scapegoating would turn an actual fight instead of mere posturing. If they went after people with real power, they would risk getting their asses kicked.
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Good point. Yes academia is pretty powerless and attacking them is a way of burnishing your populist credentials.
Joanna