Ah, the good old days, when the left denounced anyone who didn't personally serve in war as being unqualified to opine on it.
Remember that? Go browse through the archives and re-live the exquisitely civil discussions that characterized the debate over the war in Iraq.
At the time, I hewed to the line that arguments should be evaluated on their own merits and that who said something was less important than what was being said.
Arguing from authority is worthless, particularly from people who make claims to intellectual superiority. If they're so smart, their logic should be overwhelming.
I haven't changed my opinion, but I am more sympathetic to the impulse that moved people to denounce war advocates who sat on the sidelines as "chickenhawks."
Like most leftist insults, it's actually a gay slur that they feel free to deploy all the while maintaining how supportive they are of gays. Sort of like how they can throw racist terms all over the place because of their great hated of racism. It's some sort of irony - you know, you can act like a Klansman but only if you're kidding! See how funny that is!
This brings us to one of my favorite new punching bags, Max Boot.
Apparently his new thing is to see just how unhinged he can appear, both in print and in person.
His latest effort is to throw around talk of a Cromwellian military coup against President Trump.
What makes this so funny is that Boot himself has no intention of doing anything that risks harm to his person. That's his entire gig. He's all for wars in Iraq, Syria and now in the streets of Washington, but he wants to observe them from a safe distance.
Pretty much just like all the other Quisling Never Trumpers. If Boot really believed that Trump was worse than Stalin, surely he'd don a mask, grab a bike lock and assume his rightful place with the Sturmabteilung of Antifa.
Better yet, he could make himself a paramilitary uniform and lead his own coup right there in Washington! I mean the nation is with him, right?
Even Boot's column reeks of cowardice. If the Dems obey his commands and get wiped out in the midterms, Boot himself will be fine. It's not his job on the line.
This is perhaps the biggest reason I hold the Quisling Never Trumpers in such flagrant contempt - they have zero skin in the game. They collect six-figure salaries and live in gated communities. If their grand scheme fails, oh well, on the next big failure.
And let us be clear - these people would be singing from a completely different sheet of music if they had been offered jobs in the Trump administration. Max Boot would give Donald Trump a daily tongue bath if he were made an Undersecretary of Defense. That's who these people are.
Boot figured that Hillary would win in a walk and that in reward for his treachery he'd get a minor appointment or at least a seat on an advisory board to demonstrate how professional, and open-minded the Clinton Administration was. Hillary herself has no objection to wars of choice - her husband had one in Kosovo and she started one in Libya. So he'd be right at home.
None of that will happen now, so Boot does what he does best - urge other people to sacrifice themselves for his material benefit.
It's morally repugnant, but I guess it's better than actually working for a living.
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