Some of my readers and social media followers aren't pleased with my analysis of the latest developments on the Russia controversy. That's fine. My job, as I view it, is to report on and analyze American politics, relying on my own moral compass and critical thinking in an imperfect pursuit of intellectually honest and insightful truth. Sometimes, those tools will lead me to different conclusions than some of the people who consume my work. Other times, my core audience will agree with me wholeheartedly. That's the way things go in this business, and I'm entirely at peace with that. But there's been something about the (limited but fierce) backlash to my coverage of the Trump/Russia story that has felt especially grating, so I aired some of those thoughts on Twitter this afternoon. Rather than send you there, I'll bring the thread here for your consideration. I began by linking to my latest analysis, reacting to the release of four Donald Trump, Jr. emails:
I'm not going to just ignore shifting goalposts, or close my eyes to new facts re: Trump/Russia. That's not my job. https://t.co/AhuJYetEzE
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
PSA: If you think my job is to exclusively say/write things that you like, or to reflexively defend any politician/party, unfollow me ????
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
Awhile later, I uncorked a more fleshed-out rant:
Another thing gnawing at me today, stepping back from the particulars of the new Trump/Russia developments... 1/
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
Would we accept this from the other side? Oh, HRC may have lied about Benghazi, and Lois about IRS targeting & Obama about healthcare... 3/
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
We'd NEVER accept that! We were furious over the Obama administration's lies and dissembling on those fronts. And rightly so... 5/
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
And if they justified it w/ "well at least we beat awful Romney, so it was all worth it!" (::cough:: Harry Reid ::cough::), we'd flip... 7/
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
If your reaction is 'GROW A PAIR [another obnoxious strain of this mindset], we have to fight fire with fire the way they do,' fine. 9/
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
Last point: It's not "self-righteous" to do your best to abide by the values with which you were raised, or to try to pursue truth. /11
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
Why "conservatives" would attack intellectual honesty and demean standards and thoughtfulness as "weakness" is beyond me. Corrosive. /12
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 11, 2017
Whether one concurs with or dissents from my approach, I hope most conservatives will reject safe-space snowflake-ism and continue to pursue work that doesn't perfectly align with their own worldview. Echo chambers cultivate mindless tribalism and lazy thinking. If nothing else, the above tweet storm was an effort to be transparent about how I try to ply my trade. Thank you for reading, and away we go...