Rising Above Principles

James Wolcott has a very good post up devoted to a solid tweaking of Joshua Green's asinine dismissal of Air America Radio. The conclusion is especially relevant, as it applies to not only Green's idiocy, but to "moderate" criticism of liberal-left political views in general:

See, when rightwingers talk garbage and go over the top, they're called "entertainers," "showmen," "deliberately outrageous." Only liberal broadcasters are expected to bear the lamp of truth and foreswear the "anger-laced polemic" that offends Green's tender buds. It's similar to the crap handwringing by Nick Kristof that environmentalists need to be less alarmist and more nuanced, which is effectively a disarmament policy in the teeth of conservative Blitzkrieg tactics. The other side doesn't want compromise or negotiation, it wants surrender and annihilation. The right wing considers the emasculated NPR too liberal, indeed even borderline traitorous. (When an NPR report accurately stated that Hezbollah was an important Shiite political entity in Lebanon, Roger L. Simon sloppily slapped the label "objectively pro-fascist" on the broadcast.)

Oh--as an aside, here's what the dauphin NOW thinks regarding Hezbollah.

It isn't that Air America can't be improved. Some of its shows get too dorm-room bull session-y, veering off into trivial tangents; a few of its hosts still don't carry authority behind the mike (as if they can't find their comfort level); it could use more comedy, less obvious sarcasm. Changes are already being implemented, some of them maladroitly (such as the abrupt, unexplained departure of Lizz Winstead from Unfiltered, which made her look as if she fell through a trapdoor). But Air America won't succeed by heeding Green's prophecies of doom anymore than environmentalist will by listening to Kristof's snivellings, or Democrats will by following Al From and Joe Lieberman into the marshes.

Whenever a Voice of Moderation addresses liberals, its sole purpose is to stomp out any real sign of life.