In her latest “Mad Voter” diary, my friend and colleague Jessica Corry launched a witty and skillful rebuke of Michael Huttner’s radical gutter politics, which she cites as demeaning to the women she has invited to join her “Blonde Republican Activists” club:
Indeed, the vast majority of women live in an incredible era of limitless choices. And it is men we should be pitying, especially those like Huttner who dream of building their power base by promoting hostility, self-victimization and rage.
I won’t suggest that Huttner “hates” women. He just believes we’re so stupid and so incapable of thinking for ourselves that we need men to stand up for us. Perhaps he can explain himself at BRAs first organizational meeting.
She ably concludes:
Some lucky activists, like Huttner, have garnered financial support from wealthy political contributors. These individuals gladly make the investment, eager to see their policy agendas positioned as mainstream; with their opposition forced to fight back from being labeled as “extreme.”
It can be a sophisticated and effective political tactic, if done correctly. If based on a difference of ideas, it’s also ethical. If Huttner were identifying differences of opinion on contentious policy issues – like compulsory unionism, socialized health care or small business taxation – he’d be initiating a legitimate debate. In the case here, however, his unfounded attack had nothing to do with ideas.
I won’t dare ask Huttner to apologize. He wouldn’t mean it. Besides, getting caught for his hypocrisy is punishment enough. At least it should be. For those of us who would like to see a kinder, gentler and more honest political arena, we can only hope so.
Read. Make your own judgment. Stand up. Think for yourself. Debate the issues. Don’t get fixated on the phony slime. It will drive Huttner’s ilk of gutter-politics practitioners crazy.
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