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My blog buddy Instapunk took a few shots at me, Hugh and Mitt Romney this morning.
Taking them in order of importance, his attack on Romney is weak and I’d say offensive stuff. It’s the kind of attack that’s likely to make people more likely to support Romney rather than less likely. In response to my mini-post yesterday on Romney’s fund-raising success, Instapunk wrote:
Mormonism is the most absurd form of Christianity by, say, a million parsecs, and I, personally, am getting tired of American conservatives who believe the American people can be sold a bill of goods on the say-so of well connected (Look at me being influential!) bloggers.
I'll say what no one else will at this point: Mormons are untrustable idiots…Mitt Romney will never be president. He's a Mormon. Therefore he's a loon, regardless of how blazingly intelligent you have to be to make a half billion dollars in this country. The American people aren't going to buy this particular pig in this particular poke.
The only explanation I can think of for this bizarre and off-putting rant from the normally appealing Instapunk is that he's auditioning for a role with the Edwards’ campaign. Regardless, this kind of invective reliably has the opposite of the effect intended. With enemies like Instapunk, Romney hardly needs friends.
As pertains to Instapunk’s personal shots at me and Hugh, I’ll let Hugh defend himself if he’s so inclined although I bet he’ll consider the whole posting not worthy of a response. As Instapunk’s remarks pertain to me, here they are, mercifully condensed for your convenience:
Barnett is an intelligent, well-meaning man. So is Hugh Hewitt. But they've both been bitten by the power bug. They think they can play a role in who gets elected President of the United States in 2008. In their infinite wisdom, they've decided that should be Mitt Romney and that we will be taken in by their assurances based on the respect they earned for honesty before they became campaign functionaries. The sad fact is, we can't trust them anymore.
This is a borderline serious argument, so I’ll give it a borderline serious response even though I was planning on taking the day off from blogging.
Bloggers who lack a fundraising mechanism like many on the left have are only as powerful as their latest arguments. If I stopped blogging today, I highly doubt I’d get a single letter begging me to guide the writer on how to vote in the ’08 election. The only power I have is that people read my stuff. If said stuff is weak, it will be instantly forgotten. If it’s strong, it may have a longer shelf life. While I’m often prone to ego trips, I don’t do power trips, at least insofar as my blogging is concerned.
Regarding Mitt Romney, I’ve been convinced since I got to know him in 1994 that he would be an amazing president. Now that he’s seeking the office, I’m a staunch supporter. And I mean “staunch” as the word is typically understood, not how Chris Bowers uses it. I think I’ve been pretty explicit regarding my feelings on this matter. I’ll support whoever the Republican nominee is, but I would greatly prefer that it’s Romney.
I probably get 20 letters a day asking me, “What should I think about Romney doing thus and so…?” I always respond to these letters basically the same way: You’ll get to know him over the next year. You’ll have ample time to make up your own mind. That’s why I don’t spend every day talking about Mitt. I've spent a lot more time and blog-space talking about John Edwards and Barack Obama over the last few weeks than I did about Mitt Romney. It’s his campaign – he’ll have to win the votes.
For those of you who think my embrace of Romney labels me as a moron whose stuff is no longer worth reading, sorry. You’ll live without me – I guarantee it. As a consolation, I can tell you that are roughly 6 million other blogs out there. Chances are one of the other 5,999,999 will fill the gap.
Compliments? Complaints? Contact me at Soxblog@aol.com.
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