Niall Ferguson's reply to Leftist lynch mob

[Jerry Biggers]

The liberal bloggers and likeminded media critics went berserk (gross understatement) after reading Niall Ferguson's cover article in Newsweek on the failures of the Obama Presidency. Here is his devastating reply. This is how to deal with smear attacks from the Left. Only the late Christopher Hitchens could match this.

http://www.thedailyb...s-bloggers.html

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Jerry,

I like the way Ferguson handed it back to a few of the more prestigious bloggers, but he has totally missed one point. That point is so petty in a sinister way, I don't think a man of his character would believe it if he thought of it, although he hints he might be considering it.

Here is how he ended his article:

... there comes a point when you have to ask yourself: has the American public sphere so degenerated that it is now impossible to make the case for a change of president without being set upon in cyberspace by a suspiciously well-organized gang of the current incumbent’s most ideologically committed supporters?

What would happen if he realized that most of his main bashers--the ones who ignore his arguments, nitpick and bash with abandon--are paid (like in Soros money) to trash critics of progressivism and/or progressive leaders? That they are advised dishonesty is OK so long as they get the job done? (Otherwise, no paycheck.)

I think he would be appalled. He hints at a conspiracy, but the only thing he will find if he digs is prostitutes.

And I think he would be more appalled to know that, money aside, his bashers are totally unaffected by his facts. They just don't care. They are sold on the progressive story. I once read a communist talk about arguing with a Jehovah's Witness. He said you can win the argument, but you won't change the JV's mind. Ditto here.

I don't think there is anything worse intellectual-wise than a band of true-believer prostitutes. But that's what Ferguson is up against.

Michael

[Jerry Biggers]

Michael,

What I found fascinating about the rapidity - almost a media blitz - of critics, wolfpack-like, joining in the attacks and resorting to quoting.

each other as evidence against Ferguson's article, As he remarked, it certainly looks orchestrated. but that does not mean a conspiracy in the sense of one leader issuing marching orders (although George Soros does fund many of these media outlets and expects them to further his own ideological agenda).

As for whether it was orchestrated, it is interesting that Newsweek has long been a water carrier for Obama. That was true when it was owned by The Washington Post and did not change when Tina Brown, of The Daily Beast, purchased it for $1.00 (!!!) about a year ago. At this point in time, they are in danger of ceasing publication in printed format and becoming just another internet page of the online-only The Daily Beast.. But the interesting fact here is that Tina Brown and certainly all of her staff at The Daily Beast/Newsweek would have been hostile to Ferguson's article. They quite likely told outside media sources about the forthcoming article by Ferguson and may have even "leaked" advanced copies to the wolfpack in waiting. That might help to explain the rapid onslaught of angry blogs at its publication.

Another interesting aspect is the degree of anger expressed by these people, as in the response of a Berkeley professor, "Fire his ass!" Not to refute but to demand that Ferguson be fired both from his occasional role as a Newsweek essayist, but also from his faculty position at Harvard. The ferocity is also an indication of how high Ferguson rates as a scholar and as a public intellectual. A man of his high reputation must be destroyed for daring to criticize the liberal party line which holds that Obama is above criticism.

When the critic attacked Hitchens for daring to speak the truth about Islamo-fascism, they hoped to silence him. As they learned, to their regret, Hitch responded in kind and they left to lick their wounds. I think it is quite likely that Ferguson will also best them and end up being even more read and influential than before.