Demagogue

Michelle Malkin wants everyone to know she's outraged. This week, on her blog, she writes:

Former president Bill Clinton says gay Republican (media) operative Arthur Finkelstein may be "self-loathing."

Imagine the outcry if President Bush said that about a gay Democrat.

I'm trying hard to imagine it, but I can't.

If Bush called a gay Democrat "self-loathing," there would be no "outcry." People would probably just take such a statement as additional evidence that the president has a poor grasp of vocabulary and word choice.

Whether you think Clinton's statement was appropriate or not, it is at least a plausible contention. After all, the "self-loathing" label only makes sense when applied to someone who has voluntarily associated with and worked on behalf of an organization that demonizes his or her ethnicity, race, religion, or sexual orientation, for example.

The Democratic Party tends to espouse views that are far more affirming of gay citizens, and its presidential ticket last year publicly opposed efforts to constitutionally ban gay marriage. Indeed, some political observers contend that this opposition may have contributed to the Kerry-Edwards ticket's defeat.

To be gay and to associate with such a party can be called a lot of things. But "self-loathing" isn't one of them.

The fact that Finkelstein recently married his same-sex partner in Massachusetts strongly suggests that he is not self-loathing. He is, instead, a lower form of life than pond scum. After all, Finkelstein has benefited from a legal process that was made possible by the relentless efforts of gay organizations -- organizations that Finkelstein attacked as Jesse Helms' media consultant.

PS: On a slightly catty note, is it just me or has Malkin's "look" morphed over the past year from a Geisha girl-in-training to a J-Lo knock-off?