Smarmy

I've resisted the temptation to join the blog pile-on of Ben Domenech this week, just because it seemed a bit overkill (the NYT has a nice summary for those who missed it - or, if you want the full effect, scroll back through Eschaton for a few days). Yeah, he's a partisan hack. Yeah, he obviously doesn't know the rules for proper citations and what constitutes plagiarism. Yeah, he's a privileged kid who obviously hasn't been challenged to understand the insidious natures of racism, sexism, and other forms of inequality. He's an overly-bright, under-educated 24 year old who made good because of family connections and being a team player. All true, but the tone of the Ben bashing was a little cruel for my tastes.

That is, until I read this quote from Ben, taken from his not quite mea culpa at Red State:

To my enemies: I take enormous solace in the fact that you spent this week bashing me, instead of America.

So, he is, in fact, a smarmy prick who got everything he deserved. What is it with those on the far-right and their Jesus complexes? You are not a martyr. You are a HACK.