Ah, Powerline. Evidence that even a progressive state like Minnesota harbors nests of right-wing morons. I always appreciate seeing their foolishness exposed, although I rarely have the stomach to read them. Happily, yes, Sadly, No has troubled himself to read The Smart and the Stupid and taken it apart. The bulk of their case against local columnist Nick Coleman requires that they selectively parse his words, throwing up partial quotes and hiding the things he said that nullify their interpretation. Just a suggestion, Gavin: this is a familiar practice in the creationist wars. It's called "quote mining". The Powerline crew are creationist sympathizers, so I guess it's not surprising that they should adopt their dirty habits, too.

As a further example of their remarkable cluelessness, though, look at this PowerLine argument:

The smart, in this case, is David Riggs, a Ph.D. in applied economics with whom I became friends when he worked at the Center of the American Experiment, a Minnesota-based think tank on whose board of directors I served for some years, and of which Scott is currently a member. David's specialty is environmental economics, and, generally speaking, he advocates free enterprise solutions to environmental issues.

On its face, this is a sound perspective. Where have environmental catastrophes mostly occurred in the world? Where governments have been all-powerful--Eastern Europe under the Communists, for example. And where people are poor; as in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Where have societies best dealt with environmental issues? Unquestionably, where economies are prosperous--that is to say, free--and where government is limited. So one could say that being a free-market environmentalist is almost a redundancy.

I know more than a few environmentalists. Let's just say that none of them vote Republican (the corpse of Teddy Roosevelt weeps dusty tears), and I think Mr Hindrocket accidentally wrote "almost a redundancy" where he should have said "oxymoron". Free markets are fine things, but the rabid opportunism of an unregulated free market is an extremely destructive force opposed to the environment.

As for his claim that our free, rich countries are best equipped to deal with environmental disasters…hmmmm. Rich countries are able to afford to export some of their disasters to poorer countries (does Union Carbide and Bhopal ring a bell?), and it's not as if the US hasn't had disasters of its own: Love Canal, the Downwinders, Three Mile Island, a long list of Superfund sites, and now, of course, Hurricane Katrina.

If we're going to accept Hindrocket's premise that wealthy, small-government nations are environmentalist countries most effective at dealing with environmental disasters, the lesson of Katrina must be that we are a poor country afflicted with a corrupt and excessive government.

Yowling from the Fencepost, a fine Minnesota weblog standing contra the example of Powerline, exposes this remarkable claim from Hindrocket:

Here's my point: whatever you think of the mechanics of a particular poll, the direction of President Bush's poll numbers is clear. And it seems clear that Hurricane Katrina, and the outrageous attacks that the Democrats have pursued over the past week, have dealt him, and the Republican Party, another blow. I see no evidence that the Democrats are paying a price for their dishonorable tactics. And they won't pay a price, unless the Republicans start defending themselves and attacking the Democrats the way they deserve to be attacked. The "turn the other cheek" approach that the administration has followed for years--don't respond to attacks, no matter how unfair, just try to ride out the news cycle and move on--has resulted in one needless wound after another, and cumulatively they have now damaged President Bush's standing with the public, likely beyond repair.

See? That's why I can't read Powerline myself—the irony and hypocrisy levels are just way too high for my fragile constitution. Moses must have the strength of ten to be willing to delve into that kind of painful stupidity.

This is the party for whom the term "swiftboating" was invented, and the administration whose campaign tactics are dictated by Karl Rove, that master of slander, and that comment was made on a weblog that is one arm of the right-wing character assassination machine. How delusional must these guys be to portray Bush Republicans as forbearing, suffering saints of tolerance?

I guess if you're willing to overlook a bloody war of aggression fought on false premises, criticizing a president for mere incompetence does start to look a little unfair.