The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

New Statesman – Tory racism: crystal clear.

The link above is to one of many preserved copies on the web (courtesy of Alessandre Bieri) of James Macintyre's notorious New Statesman article accusing the Conservative Party of being institutionally racist. It is a refreshing, rare example of a conclusive outcome to a political argument. Macintyre made a ludicrous accusation based on defective logic, was called out for it in the comments, lost the argument and pulled the article. [It has now been reposted, minus his more intemperate comments and with a "personal view" disclaimer]. An epic failure for him, but an encouraging moment for all who fear that political debate is a waste of time.

I particularly enjoyed how, despite sarcastically sneering at Steve Green's "You're sick" comment as "highly reasoned and thoughtful views,"  he then proceeds to deride his opponents:

Do you have jobs?

How often to you surf blogsites posting abuse?

Are you scared of daylight, only come out at night?

Are you real people who engage socially with other individuals in the normal way?

That's telling us, James. Not only do I have a job, son, I have created many jobs for others – which is more than you will ever do. But so what if I were unemployed, or retired? Would that mean I was not entitled to a view? How does someone from a party that claims to "care" for pensioners and the unemployed get off sneering at those without a job?

Like Jimmy Carter, Macintyre has the phoney left-wing "superpower" of hearing the unsaid, particularly when it comes to racism (or anything that will discredit their opponents). His super-hearing fails, however, when it comes to his own snobbishness in accusing all who oppose him of being social cripples. Not to mention, of course, his vicious anti-Transylvanian racism.