Michael

One of the most annoying aspects of being an internet personality is that your enemies make stuff up about you, phrased in vague terms, that then gets passed around telephone-style on the internet so now half of twitter thinks I’m best friends with Richard Hanania.

Have you ever noticed that many of the same people insisting that we forgive, release, and give “second chances” to convicted murderers, rapists, and armed robbers will insist you be fired and relegated to the fringes of society over a 15yo text message that they find offensive?

I've literally been reading racists right-wingers (notably Samuel Francis and Pat Buchanan) since Yglesias was in kindergarten. It's a big part of the work I do. Yet I somehow manage to avoid praising them as interesting parts of the discourse even as analyze their work.

I've literally been reading racists right-wingers (notably Samuel Francis and Pat Buchanan) since Yglesias was in kindergarten. It's a big part of the work I do. Yet I somehow manage to avoid praising them as interesting parts of the discourse even as analyze their work.

Don't flatter yourself, Yglesias doesn't avoid the far left because he thinks you are beyond the pale, he (correctly) thinks you are stupid and counterproductive to his political goals whereas amplifying Hanania's ramblings helps him dunk on conservatives.

The key thing here is that Yglesias thinks of the revanchist & racist right as part of his universe of discourse, people who are wrong on some stuff but worth engaging with. By contrast, for him left & left-liberals beyond the pale.

The key thing here is that Yglesias thinks of the revanchist & racist right as part of his universe of discourse, people who are wrong on some stuff but worth engaging with. By contrast, for him left & left-liberals beyond the pale.