Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs says he’s parting ways with the right because people who disagree with him are fascist, racist, homophobic, white supremacists. And he names names.
In fact, this is just another attention getting ploy to get back at people who have criticized Johnson. Go to The Other McCain for some background. Jules Crittendon and JammieWearingFool have good take-downs of Johnson’s tactic, and James Joyner refutes Johnson’s accusations in great and glorious detail.
All you need to know about this is to read what Johnson posted when the story broke that the Seattle cop killer suspect, Maurice Clemmons, had been granted clemency by Mike Huckabee. That decision has come under criticism from law enforcement and others, including conservative bloggers.
The criticism is not universal, as some have noted that at the time of the clemency the shooter already had served 10 years of a 65 year sentence for a series armed robberies he committed starting at age 16, and many people considered the sentence excessive for someone of that age when there had been no murder. (I’ve also heard some people refer to a 100-year sentence; regardless, it was the equivalent of a life sentence.)
No matter, I did not read of anyone on the left or the right attacking Huckabee’s decision from a religious angle. Except Johnson. Here is what Johnson wrote as to the motivation behind Huckabee’s clemency decision:
You have to wonder why Huckabee would grant clemency to someone like this, despite strenuous objections from prosecutors.
One possibility: Huckabee is a fanatical fundamentalist. Was it because Clemmons’ pretended to “get religion” in order for his sentence to be reduced?
This says it all. Johnson is obsessed with attacking his opponents not on their ideas, but making everything very personal so as to demonize those who are not to his liking. Huckabee was not just wrong, he was a “fanatical fundamentalist.”
And the evidence that Huckabee relied on Clemmons finding religion? Charles don’t need no stinkin’ evidence. And would it be the first time someone seeking clemency, or parole, or a pardon, faked finding God? And would that make every Governor who fell for the fake a “fanatical fundamentalist”?
Here’s the NY Times’ account of the clemency scenario:
Mr. Clemmons had been convicted for a series of burglaries and robberies that began in 1989, and would not have been eligible for parole until 2021. He applied for clemency in 2000, writing in a petition to Mr. Huckabee that he had simply fallen in with a bad crowd in a bad neighborhood as a teenager, and that he “had learned through the ‘school of hard knocks’ to appreciate and respect the rights of others.”
Johnson’s announcement that he is “parting ways” is an obvious attempt to get attention so that people who do not normally read his blog will get his message putting negative labels on those with whom Johnson disagrees. Johnson will be embraced by the left-wing blogs both for his supposedly selfless act, and his verification that right-wing bloggers are demons.
Johnson will get attention, and will redirect some traffic.
But so would someone who jumped off an overpass onto a crowded highway.
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