The fallout from The New Republic
Scott Thomas Beauchamp is now out in the open. We know him, and who he is. And this story has taken the most bizarre turn in the last 24 hours. Let's recap a couple of things that should have everyone raising eyebrows.
First, he's calling all of his critics "chickenhawks;" using the same tired line that if you don't serve in Iraq than you should STFU.
Second, the way he might have obtained this job is suspicious. Ace smells a possible Plame redux in this episode. It seems to be that he is dating, engaged to, or is married to a staffer at The New Republic. Some have speculated that he might have received this job because of this relationship, and that their editorial checks and balances would have been lessened because of this relationship. Maybe. It's plausible.
Third, Michelle Malkin and Bryan and Allah over at Hot Air take note of the fact that this guy is a Lefty, and an ardent antiwar guy. So why join the military? Because he was an aspiring writer looking for material to write about.
While I love my wife, I have to recognize that she's a little emotional over this issue. If the stories are false, or heavily embellished (by a small minded writer looking for fame), then our soldiers have been slandered, and she takes it personal. Her brother means a great deal to her, and the slander of one soldier is like a slander on all of them. So, naturally, she's ticked.
My thoughts regarding this episode by TNR are simple. They were looking for someone to tell "the bad stories" about Iraq, and possibly in response to the real guys embedded with troops reporting on the success of the surge. I can't back that up, but I call it a gut instinct. the Left is panicking right now because of the signs of success. Something had to happen to bring down such talk by a peg or two. It makes perfect sense for TNR to pull a stunt like this. For the record, follow the link above to Ace's post, and you'll see how worried some people are. TNR sacked one of it's staffers who was communicating with him and a couple of other bloggers. Why? Because behind the facade of TNR, they were admitting that Steve Beauchamp was lying.
Will this incident hurt TNR? Probably not. The Stephen Glass incident didn't hurt them too badly. Yeah, they scraped their way back up to the pedestal it was perched on. They'll be right back up there in a couple of weeks. And let's face it, when we talk about the media and how they keep screwing up, it's due to their own, deep-seeded bias. We can ask them why they screwed up and didn't fact-check this piece, but the spin is meant to cover up the fact that they wanted another "dirty soldier" story.
As for Steve Beauchamp, I hope he enjoyed his week in the sun. I do hope he got his kicks in. This guy's going to be pulled from his company, court-martialed, and will be lucky if he has latrine duty the remainder of his time in the service. When he comes home, he's going to be one of the "darlings" of the Left. They're going to put this guy on the same level the antiwar nutroots put John Murtha. To them, he's a hero. He "told it like it was in the sh*t." The problem is he didn't.
Folks, I don't think the guy lied. I think he embellished the Hell out of his stories. Look, trust me on this because I've been writing since I was thirteen; I'm 35 now. Back then it was fiction writing, and I was pretty good at it. Now, it's politics. But I still have to question the sanity of a man who enlists int he Army so he would have some stories to write. That kind of mindset in a war zone -- where your head isn't where it should be -- can get you killed. If you need to enlist so the military can be your muse, you need help. You also need an imagination; that's something I never had a lack of.
Like I said, people can call him a hero, but we'll keep referring to him as "Private Zero.' That goes to his intellect, his integrity, his honor, and his trustworthiness. There is no excuse he can offer the public that will justify his actions. It's reprehensible, and TNR shares that disgust, as well.
Oh, and about that "chickenhawk" charge? Marcie and I still are members of the 101st Fighting Keebees. Throw all the names you want to, private, but it's not going to stick. At the end of the day, we still have our integrity, and all you have is disdain that's well-earned.
Publius II
First, he's calling all of his critics "chickenhawks;" using the same tired line that if you don't serve in Iraq than you should STFU.
Second, the way he might have obtained this job is suspicious. Ace smells a possible Plame redux in this episode. It seems to be that he is dating, engaged to, or is married to a staffer at The New Republic. Some have speculated that he might have received this job because of this relationship, and that their editorial checks and balances would have been lessened because of this relationship. Maybe. It's plausible.
Third, Michelle Malkin and Bryan and Allah over at Hot Air take note of the fact that this guy is a Lefty, and an ardent antiwar guy. So why join the military? Because he was an aspiring writer looking for material to write about.
While I love my wife, I have to recognize that she's a little emotional over this issue. If the stories are false, or heavily embellished (by a small minded writer looking for fame), then our soldiers have been slandered, and she takes it personal. Her brother means a great deal to her, and the slander of one soldier is like a slander on all of them. So, naturally, she's ticked.
My thoughts regarding this episode by TNR are simple. They were looking for someone to tell "the bad stories" about Iraq, and possibly in response to the real guys embedded with troops reporting on the success of the surge. I can't back that up, but I call it a gut instinct. the Left is panicking right now because of the signs of success. Something had to happen to bring down such talk by a peg or two. It makes perfect sense for TNR to pull a stunt like this. For the record, follow the link above to Ace's post, and you'll see how worried some people are. TNR sacked one of it's staffers who was communicating with him and a couple of other bloggers. Why? Because behind the facade of TNR, they were admitting that Steve Beauchamp was lying.
Will this incident hurt TNR? Probably not. The Stephen Glass incident didn't hurt them too badly. Yeah, they scraped their way back up to the pedestal it was perched on. They'll be right back up there in a couple of weeks. And let's face it, when we talk about the media and how they keep screwing up, it's due to their own, deep-seeded bias. We can ask them why they screwed up and didn't fact-check this piece, but the spin is meant to cover up the fact that they wanted another "dirty soldier" story.
As for Steve Beauchamp, I hope he enjoyed his week in the sun. I do hope he got his kicks in. This guy's going to be pulled from his company, court-martialed, and will be lucky if he has latrine duty the remainder of his time in the service. When he comes home, he's going to be one of the "darlings" of the Left. They're going to put this guy on the same level the antiwar nutroots put John Murtha. To them, he's a hero. He "told it like it was in the sh*t." The problem is he didn't.
Folks, I don't think the guy lied. I think he embellished the Hell out of his stories. Look, trust me on this because I've been writing since I was thirteen; I'm 35 now. Back then it was fiction writing, and I was pretty good at it. Now, it's politics. But I still have to question the sanity of a man who enlists int he Army so he would have some stories to write. That kind of mindset in a war zone -- where your head isn't where it should be -- can get you killed. If you need to enlist so the military can be your muse, you need help. You also need an imagination; that's something I never had a lack of.
Like I said, people can call him a hero, but we'll keep referring to him as "Private Zero.' That goes to his intellect, his integrity, his honor, and his trustworthiness. There is no excuse he can offer the public that will justify his actions. It's reprehensible, and TNR shares that disgust, as well.
Oh, and about that "chickenhawk" charge? Marcie and I still are members of the 101st Fighting Keebees. Throw all the names you want to, private, but it's not going to stick. At the end of the day, we still have our integrity, and all you have is disdain that's well-earned.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 8:13 PM
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