Will plagiarizes himself

Remember aristocrat George Will on last week's edition of This Week? Read his latest column, derived from said appearance? Conclude, as I did, that he simply ignored Katrina vanden Heuvel's clever deflection of his cheap attacks on liberalism, as if it never happened, and proceeded to repeat himself? In case you didn't, and sorry, I don't have a link, he attributed the "fact" that conservatives are more "happy" than liberals largely to self-reliance, to, for instance, paying no attention to that Big Bad Global Warming in the quest for self-gratification. Here's the response I submitted to my local paper:

I could write an anti-conservative screed based on caricatures, clichés, stereotypes, half-truths, misconceptions, and condescending parody.

Instead, I'll cite the proud and anything-but-angry Garrison Keillor, from his satirical song, "We're All Republicans Now": "I've got mine; now you go get your own." Or, as I'm fond of saying, I'm fine; what's your problem?

See? Liberals can play encapsulate the other side in one simplistic slogan as well as George Will can define us in pithy sound bites. And if the components of conservative philosophy yield greater "happiness" than liberal concern for family, friends, neighbors, utter strangers, the community, foreigners, and the environment - if greed or self-absorption enables contentment while compassion impedes it - so be it.

Mr Will has spent his career afflicting the afflicted while comforting the comfortable. To those singularly focused on a shortcut to happiness, he might as well have written: Be born lucky. Stay that way. And never mind your negative impact on the rest of the world.

For a brilliant scribe, Mr. Will certainly is obtuse about liberalism. The only question is whether his cluelessness is a defense mechanism against his long-submerged charitable instinct.

•  Jeebus

  American conservative ARE happier than liberals, because they believe all the lies, such as:

  1. The very general BS of American exceptionalism
     
  2. The so-called "American Dream"
     
  3. Everything is peachy because there is a Christian in the White House.
     
  4. The US is winning the war on terror.

  I could go on and on, but I need to be productive with the rest of my day.
  

  by Super Pretzel on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 02:56:50 PM PDT

•  Not only is Will getting lazy

  but it's getting harder and harder for him to defend "Bushism" in general, or the notion that somehow he represents the apotheosis of "conservatism."

  My gripe with the "get happy" column was the amount of valuable biofuels feedstock consumed in the making of straw-man arguments. Wasteful, George, wasteful!

  If you watch him on "ThisWeak" on Sundays, though, you can see the strain is getting to him. Methinks that he's the one who's not as happy as he ought to be entitled to these days....

  by Xan on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 02:58:44 PM PDT

•  re

  Ignorance is bliss.

  Being a Bush supporter after all this time must be heroin x 100...

  by cookiesandmilk on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 03:01:05 PM PDT

•  Wait a minute here

  Will is a Cubs fan.

  How does that make him happy?

  by jackinthebox4 on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 03:01:56 PM PDT

•  $Exactly!

       George Will is a pompous ass snob of the highest order. His nose is so high in the air that he fails to smell the stink of corruption in his beloved party. The criminals in his party have made a mockery of his ideology, of me, mine, and the hell with the rest of you peasants.
     I have always known that he is a secret William F. Buckley Jr. "wannabe" but never quite making the cut. William Buckley' mastery of the english language was a gimmick and a trademark, but with Will, its self delusion.  Katrina Van Heuvel, spoke truth to elitism and he squirmed in his suit and chair. Even George ste... no longer looked at her and he tried to rescue George W from humiliation.  George's latest comments on the conservative viewpoint, is fallacious and superficial as the corruption of power is driving his party down in flames. He has avoided the label of "wing nut" through his prideful perception of being a member of the ivory tower elite. In the prison system there is an ivory tower , called club med, but don't fool yourself, the republicans lining up for membership will prove, that being a punk is an inalienable right of passage.

  by Blue Generalist on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 03:34:58 PM PDT

  •  Thank you

    How eloquent. Would you like to send a letter to my paper?

    by elouise on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 03:44:44 PM PDT

•  Will can't play baseball

  He writes like he does...like he is the God of baseball intellectualized but the fact is the man cannot hold, throw, or catch a baseball.  

  Also, everyone else knows it.

  Putz!

  by Jay Severin has no penis on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 03:38:27 PM PDT

•  George Will? The hack who ...

   ... gathered up this intellectually dishonest poorly argued swill-pot in justifying mass murder?  That George Will?

  by Yellow Canary on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 03:49:40 PM PDT

•  Have you ever noticed

  really dumb people are happy most of the time and have fewer worries?

  by melvonator on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 04:18:27 PM PDT

•  I sent this to old Georgie this morning...

  
  Dear Mr. Will,

  Actually I've been what you term as liberal for most of my life. I do smile and I must share one story that goes to the heart of your example.

  You mentioned poor liberals and the faded Kerry-Edwards bumper stickers. I suppose conservatives find that humorous.

  I have made a similar observation about conservatives I'd like to share. You mentioned conservatives and fast cars and how liberals react. But you didn't mention the bumper stickers or yelow magnetic stickers that I've see on most huge gas sucking, pickup trucks, SUVs such as Escalades, etc.

  It's the bumper sticker that reads "Support Our Troops."

  That's the way to send a message not only to our troops, but to Middle East oil producing countries that really don't care for us as a going concern. We support our troops, but are willing to support their economic base at the same time.

  I rather think I am a happy person  for many reasons you probably would find fault with from you high position as chief judge of all you dislike. But I am mostly happy and one reason is because I am not a hypocrite when it comes to my country or support of our troops. Yes I do drive a fuel efficient car and my ego is still pretty healthy.

  Oh and I have a bit of news for you. Lots of conservatives, the ones who work in blue collar and white collar jobs, love those guys you label angry conservatives as if to dismiss odious examples of your beliefs. And they are happy when they can bash liberals because of what "Rush said today..." or what "Ann wrote today on Town Hall..."

  I think you may find that you are happy because you are insulated from real people who are not part of the rarified environs you move about in. Like most stuffy editorial writers you would rather write about something based on a study than go find out for yourself.

  Much like the "armchair anthropologists" of the last century. And you know what happened to their take on the profession, right?

  Oh, I think I'm smiling!

  In the best of humor, I remain,

  Mike
  Avowed, yet happy, Liberal at Large

  P.S. Have you ever noticed that there are very few good conservative comedians? Well, with the exception of Ann Coulter.
  

  by pogo possum on Thu Feb 23, 2006 at 06:02:29 PM PDT