The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’

Posted on | November 4, 2013 | 32 Comments

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna employs that evocative phrase for the unwillingness of many people to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Diana West’s American Betrayal. He has written a quite literary and erudite examination of the problem, tending toward a conclusion that I am reluctant to endorse, i.e.: Are exaggerated fears of anti-Semitism at the root of this ugly uproar?

It is a shocking thing to consider whether ethnic sensitivities that polite people hesitate even to acknowledge could be behind all this. This is a retrograde step toward the dueling paranoias of the Cold War: On the one hand, anti-Communists feared there was a cover-up of Soviet infiltration, in which powerful establishment forces were unwilling to confront the extent of subversion, while on the other hand, there were those who feared that anti-Communists were secretly anti-Semites who hated Reds as a socially acceptable proxy for hating Jews. Baron Bodissey suggests we might be reverting to that era:

Can there be a fear that a full and open discussion of the number of Jews among communist infiltrators would awaken latent anti-Jewish sentiments?
And is this fear strong enough to mobilize major Jewish donors against American Betrayal?

You can read the whole thing and make up your own mind. As I say, I am reluctant to endorse this conclusion, because Occam’s Razor suggests such a motive is unnecessary. There are simpler explanations for the conflict — including issues of personal temperament, professional rivalries, and honest differences of opinion — without touching on the subject of anti-Semitism (or the fear thereof). And I would not even have mentioned Baron Bodissey’s comment, were it not for the stark irrationality of the reaction toward Diana West’s book.

When we behold irrational behavior, we must suspect an irrational motive, and if there were fears that somehow American Betrayal would inspire anti-Semitism, fears that no one wanted to express in so many words . . . Well, I’ve heard crazier theories.

Let’s hope everyone calms down and this unfortunate feud can be forgotten, because there’s too much craziness in the world already.

 

 

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Category: Books

Comments

32 Responses to “‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’”

  1. MrEvilMatt
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:29 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’: Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna employs that evocative phrase for the u… http://t.co/CaOiu5xl22

  2. CHideout
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:29 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’: Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna employs that evocative phrase for the u… http://t.co/8UuKWPpSj7

  3. Lockestep1776
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:29 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’: Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna employs that evocative phrase for the u… http://t.co/zmzMQDC8I5

  4. Resista38176897
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:29 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’: Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna employs that evocative phrase for the u… http://t.co/2qdJCubNeo

  5. Citzcom
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:29 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’: Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna employs that evocative phrase for the u… http://t.co/i9XrgtLHL3

  6. jwbrown1969
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:29 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’: Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna employs that evocative phrase for the u… http://t.co/mLHJ8x5PeM

  7. IBumbybee
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:31 pm

    RT @smitty_one_each: TOM ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’ http://t.co/hBzsC7WnyZ #TCOT

  8. rsmccain
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:35 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’ http://t.co/Z1DzH79YAd | @diana_west_ @GatesofVienna @AndrewCMcCarthy

  9. exposeliberals
    November 4th, 2013 @ 4:35 pm

    RT @rsmccain: ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’ http://t.co/Z1DzH79YAd | @diana_west_ @GatesofVienna @AndrewCMcCarthy

  10. Dianna Deeley
    November 4th, 2013 @ 5:21 pm

    I’m quiet because the book’s nearly unreadable. I also am of the opinion that West overstates her case, and misreads some of the evidence. The Venona material, in particular, I have, and I find her references…not quite what I’d like to see.

  11. Richard Reed
    November 4th, 2013 @ 5:27 pm

    Richard Reed liked this on Facebook.

  12. ‘Overpromise’: The New Scumsucking Lie | Regular Right Guy
    November 4th, 2013 @ 5:52 pm

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  13. GulfDogs
    November 4th, 2013 @ 6:02 pm

    ?‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’?http://t.co/MzWS0isFJC

  14. LeatherPenguin
    November 4th, 2013 @ 7:33 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’ http://t.co/cxCXR5oDCs

  15. thatMrGguy
    November 4th, 2013 @ 7:56 pm

    ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’ http://t.co/FXCeTreXNW

  16. aquinas215
    November 4th, 2013 @ 9:00 pm

    I suspect that most who peruse these erudite pages will find most of this a rehash of the obvious, but I’ll post it anyway for those who may be temporarily visiting.

    The point of my two points below is that we begin a thorough and honest discussion about Western and non-Western ideology so that we can fight back strategically, tactically, and effectively. Here goes:

    The (perhaps uncomfortable) truth is that the core “big idea” of Marxism is the notion that a self-proclaimed group of the uber-enlightened, a “chosen people”, are somehow magically entitled to consciously direct the future of mankind. That’s the whole point of the counter-Christian religion of communism.

    In addition, Marxism arose as a direct reaction against Christianity in 19th century Germany. Furthermore, the anti-Christian position is, today, openly echoed by neo-marxist liberals like the Memphis Trotsky:

    http://youtu.be/1WcM3P-Gmh8?t=28s

    In sum, the driving force of liberalism, socialism, communism, and marxism seems to be a quasi-religious force centered around a hatred for Christianity and, by extension, the Western civilization which rests upon it.

  17. BobBelvedere
    November 4th, 2013 @ 9:09 pm

    RT @rsmccain: ‘Silence of the Conservative Lambs’ http://t.co/Z1DzH79YAd | @diana_west_ @GatesofVienna @AndrewCMcCarthy

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  19. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    November 4th, 2013 @ 10:40 pm

    What I do not get is the personal attack against West (and I can agree with RSM on that issue). But I have not read the book and if you are saying it is that poorly written…it makes me a lot less likely to drop the money to go read it. Because I trust your judgment Dianna.

  20. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    November 5th, 2013 @ 2:37 am

    Do I think FDR was spied on? Absolutely. By Nazis, Soviets and the British. And FDR was not exactly hard to spy upon.

  21. Keifer Wynn
    November 5th, 2013 @ 3:36 am

    I want to point out if I may that it is interesting that one of the reasons proffered for the overheated responses to Diana West is the fear of reawakening antisemitism and the comment page is littered with ridiculous remarks about “the Jews” and “the Jewish influence.”

  22. Quartermaster
    November 5th, 2013 @ 10:02 am

    Yes to all of that. FDR was also an easily influenced patsy from the left side too. It worsened as he was approaching death. His behavior at Yalta in regards to east Europe was unconscionable, but I think his brain was so addled by his rapidly declining health that the pinkos around him were able to influence him to do what he did quite easily.
    As for unreadability, that’s a personal opinion. I’ve read things about which I had that opinion, but a friend who read the same thing thought it was quite well done. That, however, is not the issue with Radosh, Horowitz or Black. Those three are looking at their rice bowls being withdrawn and they are scared.

  23. Quartermaster
    November 5th, 2013 @ 10:06 am

    I’ve never seen anyone holding that position, but Marxists certainly hate the Church. That is beyond debate. Marxists are collectivists, and Christianity is actually quite individualistic in that each person has eternal value. So much so that Christ died to pay the penalty for sin for each person.

  24. Quartermaster
    November 5th, 2013 @ 10:08 am

    You can’t control the people that comment, but attributing that to West would be as ridiculous as me accusing Horowitz and Radosh of wanting to set up a clone of the NKVD here.

  25. aquinas215
    November 5th, 2013 @ 1:04 pm

    The origins of Marxism are anti-Christian, primarily. I’ve long maintained that we need to be treating it as a counter-Christian religion with various sects that include socialism, communism, liberalism in America, and progressivism.

    To various degrees, each of the marxist-derived sects is built upon the core idea of Marxism – the notion that a self-proclaimed group of the uber-enlightened, a “chosen people”, are somehow magically entitled to consciously direct the future of mankind.

    At the heart of it, this is a religious war. As are all the others.

  26. aquinas215
    November 5th, 2013 @ 1:04 pm

    The origins of Marxism are anti-Christian, primarily. (Reference Kolakowski’s Main Currents of Marxism) I’ve long maintained that we need to be treating it as a counter-Christian religion with various sects that include socialism, communism, liberalism in America, and progressivism.

    To various degrees, each of the marxist-derived sects is built upon the core idea of Marxism – the notion that a self-proclaimed group of the uber-enlightened, a “chosen people”, are somehow magically entitled to consciously direct the future of mankind.

    At the heart of it, this is a religious war. As are all the others.

  27. Eric Ashley
    November 5th, 2013 @ 1:25 pm

    I’ve heard Communism described as a Christian heresy, with the added point that the Eastern religions could not have come up with such because Marx is more ‘individualistic’ than they are.

  28. aquinas215
    November 5th, 2013 @ 1:45 pm

    Kolakowski’s Main Currents of Marxism is a tough slog, but it provides a very good basis for understanding the root ideology of marxism and it’s various derivatives.

    There’s also Igor Shafarevich’s work on the topic, from the Christian Russian perspective; it’s an easy intro:

    http://www.savageleft.com/poli/hoc.html

  29. Keifer Wynn
    November 5th, 2013 @ 6:52 pm

    I don’t attribute it to anyone. I think you’re exactly right in pointing out that attributing dumb comments to Diana West’s writing is fallacious. That isn’t my point though, I was merely commenting that it was ironic in a sense that a post addressing the issue had these odd comments under it. Does that make more sense?

  30. aquinas215
    November 5th, 2013 @ 10:13 pm

    Jewish influence within the ranks of the Bolsheviks is very well documented.

    Obviously, that’s not to make the claim that all Jews are communists; most are certainly not. In fact, I think we’re starting to see more and more Jews break out of the ideological ghetto of liberalism.

    That said, within the intellectual vanguard of neo-Bolshevism, the most influential urban intellectuals include the likes of Cass Sunstein, Ezekiel Emanuel, and Mark Potok.

    Those three individuals, in particular, harbour an ideology that is both foreign to Western civilization and openly hostile to the ideas and institutions upon which it rests.

  31. Keifer Wynn
    November 5th, 2013 @ 11:17 pm

    I see what you’re saying

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