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October 21, 2004

Guardian Angle

Last week, the UK's lefty Guardian newspaper urged its readers to write letters to voters in Ohio.

Bad idea:

Terry Brown had received a letter from a Scottish Guardian reader. The navy veteran and retired lorry builder was "offended" as he read the polite note, from Nicola Smith of West Lothian, with its denunciation of the Iraq war as a "farce", and closing plea to remove from power "the parties responsible for this war".

Springfield News-Sun
The Clark County press has not taken kindly to the letters

Mr Brown looked out at his front garden, decorated with a US flag on a tall pole, a giant carving of an American eagle and a wooden cross marked: "September 11, 2001".

"I feel very strongly that this was an invasion of my privacy," he said. "The right of my wife and myself to decide whom to vote for should not be affected by any other country. That was a freedom we fought for many years ago. It was 1776."

Quick, Le Monde - start your own campaign!

Posted by Mitch at October 21, 2004 05:48 AM | TrackBack
Comments

There's more on the Grauniad's assessment of their stunt's "success" here:

Ian Katz, Good-Humoured Guardian Editor: In Denial?

http://dailyablution.blogs.com/the_daily_ablution/2004/10/ian_katz_goodhu.html

Posted by: Scott Burgess at October 21, 2004 07:44 AM

I don't understand why it's so offensive for anyone anywhere else in the world to express an opinion to an eligible voter.

I would suspect that you wouldn't object to Arthur Chrenkoff expressing his support of President Bush to the undecideds.

Why don't neoconservatives write to the editors of conservative publications abroad in order to initiate a similar effort? If nothing else, it would be fun to see if you could find half as many apoplectic, inarticulate xenophobic haters on the liberal side of the fence.

Posted by: lindstrom at October 21, 2004 11:27 AM

"I don't understand why it's so offensive for anyone anywhere else in the world to express an opinion to an eligible voter."

But do you understand why the elegible voter might take offense anyway?

"I would suspect that you wouldn't object to Arthur Chrenkoff expressing his support of President Bush to the undecideds."

He does. Every day. But he's a private citizen operating through a blog, not a major media conglomerate. And he doesn't send mail directly to private citizens.

"Why don't neoconservatives write to the editors of conservative publications abroad in order to initiate a similar effort?"

Because it's a stupid idea, and I'd expect American lefties to react the same way the people in Ohio are to the Guardian's action. I'd also expect the major media to *cover* any such action by US and foreign conservatives...

"If nothing else, it would be fun to see if you could find half as many apoplectic, inarticulate xenophobic haters on the liberal side of the fence. "

Have you read Democrat Underground? Atrios? RushLimbaughtomy? Daily Kos? Have you followed the AFL-CIO's thuggery at the various Bush/Cheney offices?

Liberals have exactly *zero* reason to feel smug about their lunatic fringe's intelligence and open-mindedness.

Posted by: mitch at October 21, 2004 11:33 AM

"If nothing else, it would be fun to see if you could find half as many apoplectic, inarticulate xenophobic haters on the liberal side of the fence."

You got a point sport.

American Lefty's keep their hatred reserved for their fellow Americans and for the United States as a whole; all the while singing viva la France and Deutchland Uber Alles, right?

As that great American, Bugs Bunny said:

"What a maroon!"

Posted by: swiftee at October 21, 2004 11:40 AM

Maybe it's being bred, or institutionally removed from, Americans. But Americans don't generally take kindly to being told what to do by outsiders. I would be upset if any foreigner told me who to vote for, even if it was Bush.

I think comments like lindstrom's indicate the effect modern liberalism is having on America. Why shouldn't we take into consideration what foreign nationals think before casting our own votes? Probably because they're not freaking Americans!

I'm glad that John Howard won reelection in Australia but I wouldn't think of telling an Australian how to vote. Though I do think it would be mildly ammusing to write Guardian readers and urge them to vote for Tony Blair. See how they like it and if they take my international perspective into consideration.

Posted by: jarhead at October 21, 2004 09:34 PM
hi