Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

Warning! this post is going to contain rank Speculation! I will mark it when I come to it.

The exchange on the Patterico/McCain business continues and has spilled over to other blogs, some that I like but don’t read daily such as Little Miss Attila, some that I only read once in a while such as Protein Wisdom and some that I’ve never seen before but I think I’ll read more often such as South Texan (thanks for the link btw).

I like a good debate as much as the next guy and tend to enjoy it. This debate is trickier than others because a person’s reputation is at stake, so here is what I think concerning this.

I think that both Robert Stacy and Patterico are acting in good faith. I don’t think this is a question of a grudge although there is the potential for one two develop. I think that would be a shame.

Ok here comes the totally unsubstantiated speculation because I’m talking about other people’s motives without asking them. This is my opinion and guess and is based on nothing except that:

I personally think that Patterico is not concerning himself with reputations or anything like that. I think he found a statement and a contradiction and was curious. I don’t think it is a topic of obsession for him. I think his method of trying to get an answer was consistent with his regular blogging and I’ve seen nothing in it that has been unfair and he has taken positive steps to be fair. He wants a direct answer to a direct question and I think the only dog he has in this hunt is to satisfy his answer. In my reading of his posts he has not called Robert Stacy a Racist (and I disagree with his take on the statement in context) or anything else but does press for the answer one way or the other.

…End rank Speculation, more to come..

As for the quote in question, my long post on the subject was written with the assumption that Robert Stacy wrote the passage attributed to him. I stand behind my post and maintain that the long post was not racist but that a reasonable person reading it would conclude the author is not a racist. My only dispute was with the capitalized conclusion, lets touch it once more since Miss Attila brought it up:

For the record, I do not buy Pat’s argument that anyone who has hangups about interracial dating and marriage is racist. For one thing, if one is going to concede that, then one has to concede that there are a lot of black racists out there. A lot.

By definition a judgment based solely on race is a racist judgment, I’ll happily concede that the race of the person making that judgment is not relevant to that judgment’s racist status. What people failed and seeming still fail to see that this judgment was not claimed by the author as his own opinion. The only opinion given was he considered that the judgment in question was not a racist one. Little Miss Attila agrees that isn’t not a racist judgment, I don’t. That disagreement doesn’t mark either any of the parties in that disagreement a racist and I think it is wrong and frankly slanderous to suggest it does.

Now for Robert Stacy He is a person who clearly has a love of history a strong faith, he and I share a respect and reverence of our ancestors who worked much harder than us so we could live a better life. He is a first rate shoe leather reporter and has become a strong and effective voice for the principles of conservatism. He is also a person who makes his living as a freelance reporter that means his ability to support his family is directly related to his ability to sell stories. Just as the baseless ethics charges against Palin were an attempt to hit her in a weak pocketbook If you are on the left and are looking to silence a Robert Stacy McCain, the ability to get work in anything resembling a mainstream journal is the weak point to attack.

(Warning! Remainder of post is Rank Speculation!)

This is what I think has happened. I think the Alan Colmes attempted an ambush interview. He took a quote out of context and dropped it on Robert Stacy on an interview that was supposed to be on another topic. Maybe he should have seen it coming, maybe not, but being much more worldly than me he recognized it for what it was. Yet another attempt to discredit him and paint him as something he is not.

As has been demonstrated by the initial Patterico post and as I state in my own previous post out of context a reasonable person could certainly conclude that the author was racist. McCain is media savvy enough to see that Colmes is looking for a chance to discredit and destroy him out of context in his own voice that can be recycled by the left endlessly. This would directly impact his ability to fulfill his responsibility to support himself and his family So he denies it to then in general and to Colmes in particular.

If he did not then we would see a non comedic repeat of the the Famous SNL sketch staring “The Other McCain”:

Sen. John McCain: That’s a mischaracterization. Look, Tim.. we’re on the brink of a war. I think the American people would rather we discuss Iraq.

Tim Russert: I understand. It’s a awkward subject. Let’s talk about Iraq. Most would like to see.. a new regime there. Would you consider running for the Presidency of Iraq?

Sen. John McCain: No, Tim.

Tim Russert: The presidency of Iraq is on the table! does John McCain take the challenge?

Sen. John McCain: I do not want to run for President of Iraq!

Tim Russert: So, you’d be willing to accept the draft?

Sen. John McCain: Tim, I don’t want to be President of anywhere!

Tim Russert: Alright. Senator, I want to read you a quote.. from the Washington Post.. October 2nd, 1999: “I am a candidate for President of the United States.” Your word, Senator.

Sen. John McCain: Well, Tim, that’s from the last election, when I was a candidate.

Tim Russert: So, you’re flip-flopping?

Sen. John McCain: I’m not flip-flopping, Tim.

Realize that this represents the BEST CASE SCENEARIO he could hope for.

Now here is what Founding Bloggers actually had to say:

We spoke at great length with RS McCain today, and we are satisfied with what he had to say about the above comments. To sum up, here is what he told us:

1) The quote about interracial marriage is taken out of context, and is more about ethnographic-genetic philosophy than race (our conclusion). While we personally do not accept the premise being discussed in the quote, to the degree which we can divine intent, we do not feel that McCain’s motive was any kind of overt racism. It is possible to be wrong on issues related to race without being racist. Some people will probably disagree with that conclusion but there you are.

Rather than accepting the answer from Founding Bloggers he is interested in getting his answer first hand and publicly. In this he channels the 9th doctor in terms of the situation:

like the Doctor the results of that desire is not Patterico’s problem, but it still remains Robert Stacy even more than before because he has become an even more effective voice with millions of hits yearly on his blog, he understands his responsibilities and in what order they take precedence and acts accordingly.

This is not sufficient for Patterico he plays George Kittredge to My C.K. Dexter Haven except he is likely in better shape than me:

I think Patterico actually has his answer but wants it his on his terms. That’s not unreasonable but he is not entitled to it by divine right. I think Robert Stacy would be a damn fool to give him what he wants and if he asked my advice (Which he hasn’t) I’d advise him against it. I think the question has been answered sufficiently and he should let it sit where it is. If this drops Mr. Patterico and some of his readers opinion of him, so be it. He can attend my Christmas open house instead of theirs.

There is danger here: Mr. Patterico might decide to continue to press the issue and Robert Stacy if he perceives it as an attack will respond in like fashion. This could lead to a blog war and bad feelings all around. I see absolutely no reason for that. I think the wisest thing is for everyone to look at the exchanges as they stand and draw what conclusions they may accordingly.

Update: Or Robert Stacy might just explain things himself without me. That’s why he is a pro and I am simply a plump guy who blogs from his couch.