World-Class Civility Trolling

A commenter notes this gem from Mark Bauerlein, last seen whining that Naomi Schaefer Riley’s knowledge-free race-baiting was not being addressed with the appropriate civility. Obama, says Bauerlein, is undermining America’s “civic virtue” because “he has shown a thin-skinned attitude toward his adversaries, an inability to sit down comfortably with the other side.” Yes, Obama is simply unwilling to sit down with the other side. Wait, stop laughing! Bauerlein has some compelling examples of Obama’s murder of civility and civic virtue. Make sure to get your smelling salts ready:

“When people talk about repealing health care reform, they’re not just saying we should stop protecting women with preexisting conditions; they’re also saying we should kick about a million young women off their parent’s health care plans.” (April 6)

“So we are going to have a big, important debate in this country and I cannot wait because we have tried what they are selling. It’s not like we didn’t try it. We have tried what they’re peddling and it did not work. And we have been spending the last three years cleaning after some of that mess. And I don’t want to have to do it again.”

Let’s see. So Obama made a statement about the effects of stated Republican policy — to repeal the PPACA — that is unassailably true. Repealing — or striking down — the PPACA would mean that women (and men) with pre-existing conditions could be denied coverage, and a significant number of people would lose the coverage of their parent’s health plans. The second statement involves a statement of fact — we have tried the Republican model of upper-class tax cuts — and an easily defensible judgment stated in a perfectly civil manner.

Bauerlein, in other words, seems a true believer in the “Mediscare” school of fake civility, which holds that stating facts about the effects of Republican policies is the height on incivility. It also fits within the “Borking” tradition in which it’s the height of incivility to describe a Republican’s stated positions. I dunno, I think I prefer Riley’s straightforward wingnuttery to this “how dare the president take the unprecedented step of mildly making the case for his own policy preferences” nonsense.