David "Brock" Frum

Epistemic Closure Watch

By way of Andy "don't call me Andy" Sullivan I learned of this John Hawkins/David Frum kerfuffle.  “ Hawkins runs the conservative blogads hive. When FrumForum applied for entry, Hawkins refused. He gives an explanation here  of his reasons. [T]he mainstream media loves “conservatives” and “Republicans” who will trash whomever the Left hates most. So, if you’re willing to talk about how Sarah Palin is a hick, Glenn Beck is a crank, Rush Limbaugh is bad for the country, and the Tea Party is bad for  democracy, the mainstream media will reward you  –  and because conservatives pride themselves on being open minded, they’ll all too often give you a pass for your atrocious behavior — especially since the MSM doesn’t insist you play their game all the time. As long as you’re willing to say what they want about the people they hate the most, they’ll reward you with a cover story at Newsweek and then in your off time, you can churn out a few articles to point gullible conservatives towards while you’re trying to guilt them into taking you seriously by crying   “epistemic closure!” ” Frum has a too cute by half response. I don't know what happened to David Frum.  He was tapped to serve in Dubya's White House as Special Assistant to the U.S. President for Economic Speechwriting.  I forget the details, but it seems to me his wife let slip some indiscretion that embarrassed Bush, and Frum went into the dog house.  In any event it seems David came down with a case of  David Brock disease.  Going here and simply scrolling  through the headlines pretty much makes Hawkin's case.  I rule in favor of the defendant.