Riddle of Steele
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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March 11th, 2009 at 10:33 am
I’d be careful before I labeled his change in stance as hypocrisy, as Mr Hofmann does. I’m a staunch defender of people’s right to be smarter today than they were yesterday, and if Mr Steele has seen the light, who are we to denigrate him for that?
In my mind, this is a far cry from Mitt Romney suddenly becoming an NRA Life Member and staunch supporter (snort!) of gun rights when he’s in the heat of a primary battle for the Presidential nomination.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
I agree with Boyd. People have and do change their opinions for several reasons, and when they change their opinion to be more in line with ours we should encourage that, not mock them and call them hypocrites. I do not see how that helps our cause at all.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Politicians never change their basic opinion, which is they are smarter, more deserving and ought to control all the rest of us. If they must say some things that appease us in the short run, they will. But they never actually abandon the thought that they are supreme over us.
I have no trouble believing Mr. Steele to be a hypocrite.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
straight: maybe he did change his opinion for political reasons. Either way, right now he is advocating for the position we hold, whether he truly believes in it or not. Now, do you think that the way to keep him advocating our position is to mock him, or to encourage him? We’re never going to get anyone to vote with us if we denigrate them whenever we believe they’re voting with us for political expediency instead of because they’re true believers. That’s a sure way to marginalize and fracture our political support.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Also, to add: I see politicians a bit like I see defense attorneys. It doesn’t matter if they believe their defendant is guilty or innocent, it is their job to represent them in a court of law and do the best they can to exhonerate them or at least get them the lowest sentence. Whether or not you think that defense attorneys are ethical because they might defend someone they think is innocent, it is part of their job to do it. Indeed, they’d be committing malpractice NOT to give their clients the best defense possible.
Politicians are the same way. I don’t give a rats ass if my representative is truly pro gun in his heart, so long as he VOTES pro gun. It’s his job to represent his constituents, not to ignore their will and vote however he feels. And if politicians are assured that voting pro gun will win them elections and that signing gun bans will get them kicked to the curb, they will vote pro gun, whether they believe in it or not, and that’s all that matters.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Dangit. That should read “Whether or not you think that defense attorneys are ethical because they might defend someone they think is [b]guilty[/b]…”
I really wish blog comments allowed you to edit comments.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
…and later, when we vote the party of fiscal responsibility, sunshine gun laws, and getting government off your back; back in to power, is he going to be still pulling for us?
The GOP has, as far as I am concerned, a long way to go to get me to believer in their brand of BS again. Not impossible, but not a cakewalk either.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
I guess Straightarrow would prefer everyone were against us, not just the Democratic party leadership. Apparently you get no credit for learning from your past mistakes and changing your position on the gun issue for the better. I for one am glad to see Steele’s position evolve. Has he really changed his position, I don’t know, but I know we’d be in a lot worse shape if he publicly held to his old position in support of a ban.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Seems he thinks they already are.
March 12th, 2009 at 3:39 am
I don’t know, but I can guarantee you that he WON’T be if our response to him supporting our causes is to metaphorically slap him and call him names.
It’s like teaching a puppy. If you tell it to sit, and it sits, you reward it. You don’t hit it on the nose with a newspaper, as that would send the wrong message and prevent the preferred behavior from developing.