Will Conservative Movement Split over Mark Steyn?

As conservatives and Republicans try to come together to get Judge Roberts
onto the Supreme Court, squabbling in the ranks is threatening to reverse
the painfully won victories that conservatives have gained over the years and perhaps
even put the nomination in jeopardy.

At the center of the storm is the self-styled “global content
provider” Mark Steyn. This brilliant writer and controversialist
is proving to be a divisive influence on conservatives in the United States.

Writes Jonah Goldberg: “I hate him.”
And he’s not the only one. Here’s
John Derbyshire, inspiration for
Andrew Sullivan’s Derbyshire Award, on Steyn: “I H-A-T-E him.” Things are
getting so bad that if you Google up "mark steyn" and "i hate him" you’ll get 181 hits.

With this kind of dissension in the ranks it’s no wonder that the president’s legislative
program is languishing in Congress. Worse than that, lefty fashion editors are
smelling blood in the water and think they can get away with criticising
the seersucker suit worn by young Master Roberts at the announcement of
his father’s nomination. This outrage went almost unchallenged except by
Wes Pruden.
(Yah boo to grungy fashion editors, he wrote. Seersucker suits are back, and white suits
can’t be far behind.)

Something must be done. It’s time for Karl Rove’s White House operation to put a stop to the
backbiting and petty sniping.

What, you might ask, are all these conservatives riled up about? Jonah
Goldberg was upset that Mark Steyn turned out to be the best dancer on the recent
National Review British Isles cruise, and John Derbyshire was upset that
not only was Mark Steyn a “genius of opinion journalism” but also
seemed to know everything about 20th century Broadway and the details of
everything written by Frank Baum and every stage adaptation of Baum’s Oz books.

For years, conservatives have accused liberals of practicing the politics
of envy. Seems like liberals are not the only ones into envy.

Come on chaps. We can do better. Let’s moe on and put Roberts over the top.