To date, I’ve kept my thoughts on the Carrie Prejean controversy to myself. However, after reading a dozen or more articles and blog posts over the past few days, I’ve got a few thoughts to share – from a broader view.
Carrie Prejean: one of the new Icons of the Right.
First: Perez Hilton did the gay community zero favors in his treatment of Prejean after the pageant. He asked a question for which the majority of Americans would give conflicted answers. The proper course of action, as a gay professional, would have been to take her ignorant, bigoted answer in stride (perhaps politely mocking her for a moment would have been acceptable). Instead of taking the high road, Hilton dove right into the mud and started slinging, presenting the majority of his viewers with an image of gay professionals that is unflattering at best, and damaging at worst.
Second: The NOM and Maggie Gallagher are completely made of fail. Every single thing they’ve done lately has been turned around and used to slap them in the face. Case in point: the video they created to turn Prejean into a new conservative icon garnered them a C&D letter from the Miss Universe organization, and was removed from YouTube after Perez Hilton asserted a copyright infringement claim. Just as entertaining are the conservatives attempting to contrast Prejean’s ill-judgment with the Chappaquiddick incident. Somehow they seem to think that the foolish actions of one family over a quarter-century ago are illustrative and representative of the entire liberal, progressive population in the U.S.
Third: I believe that the NOM, the Republican Party, and conservatives in general are losing their grasp on reality. Someone explain to me how Carrie Prejean, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Steele can be construed to be even half-way-decent role models for the Republicans, let alone leading thinkers and icons. You have a bimbo-cum-stripper who doesn’t even pretend to understand the opposition’s point of view, a war hero who can barely hold his temper let alone hold his own in a real debate, one of the most dishonest and unexperienced state governors in a century who accepts a nomination for Vice President, a blowhard controlled substance abuser who never even bothers to debate an opposing argument (he just hangs up), and one of the most ineffectual, wishy-washy party chairmen in memory. To be honest, I can’t say that I’m losing any sleep over this, but still!!
Apparently, this is the new face of the Right.
