Erick Erickson = Meathead
If there is a more misused conservative site on the web than Redstate I don't what it is. Its "editor" is a goofball named Erick Erickson who is famous for calling out people he disagrees with and then having to eat his words later.
He has a post up today that is a tremendous waste of time to read so I'd suggest you not bother, but in case you are curious here it is.
In this piece, that he indicates he has spent much time on, Erickson frets about nouns and adjectives. No, really! For instance:
"Let’s review our grammar for one moment. A noun is a word that defines what an object is, i.e. a dog. An adjective is a word that describes one attribute of the noun, i.e. the dog is brown. The noun is the dog because that defines the object in question and the adjective is the color of the dog, describing one attribute of the dog.
Christians, for example, typically say “I am a Christian” as opposed to saying “I am Christian.” The former sets the Christian into a defined group that believes in Jesus Christ. The latter describes one attribute of the person. Because Christianity typically defines who the person is, it is typically used as a noun, not an adjective.
I, for example, am a Christian before I am anything else. If you want an adjective describing me the Christian, I’d say I am Presbyterian.
I hope you are following me, because there are rough waters ahead."
Well...not really. Erickson's BIG POINT is that many Republicans are Adjective Conservatives instead of Noun Conservatives. (And we wonder why conservatives (no matter your grammarian niche) are easy to make fun of?).
You see, a Noun Conservative is like, well, CONSERVATIVE!!!!!! While an Adjective Conservative is sort of......just conservative.
Erickson thrashes around for over one thousand words (!) making the excruciatingly stupid non point that Noun Conservatives put being Conservative first, while Adjective Conservatives put being a good Republican first. Erickson whines:
"Conservatives fight for freedom. Republicans fight for Republicanism, but I have no freaking clue what that actually means any more."
Well let me give you a "freaking" clue Erick:
Republicans by and large fight for Conservative Values. They come in many different levels and flavors, but primarily they are conservative. There are a few moderates, and maybe a stray liberal or two in the north-east , whose parents were Dewey Republicans, but the overwhelming numbers of Republican elected officials are conservative.
So Erick, when a Republican fights for Republicanism, he is fighting for Conservatism. Its a classic Chicken and Egg riddle. Republicans fight for conservatism so it makes sense for conservatives to fight for the Republican party.
Where we stop holding to party loyalty out of a sense of conservative principle is a difficult decision. Each conservative must make that decision for them self. It has nothing to do with adjectives and nouns and only a jerk like Erick Erickson would come up with such a stupid and ill-considered "test".
