Patterico's Pontifications

12/1/2008

Today’s Sullivan Award Is Awarded to . . . Andrew Sullivan

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 6:49 pm



I think it’s time for a new award: the Sullivan Award. This award, named after the excitable Atlantic blogger, Andrew Sullivan, is given for blog posts that leap to unwarranted conclusions that could have been avoided with even cursory research.

Today’s winner of the Sullivan Award is: Andrew Sullivan, for this blog post:

(I have to screenshot the whole thing, because Sullivan has a habit of completely taking down his most embarrassing posts.)

By giving Bill Handel the “Hewitt Award,” Andrew Sullivan is telling you that Handel’s ad is a serious attempt to label Obama as the Antichrist. This becomes clear when you look at Sullivan’s description of the “Hewitt Award”:

The Hewitt Award, named after the absurd partisan fanatic, Hugh Hewitt, is given for the most egregious attempts to label Barack Obama as un-American, alien, treasonous, and far out of the mainstream of American life and politics.

But Handel is doing nothing of the sort. Over at The Jury Talks Back, Justin Levine neatly debunks Sullivan’s lazy assumption:

Facts: KFI host Bill Handel is in favor of socialized medicine, is the most pro-gay rights host in terms of major radio personalities, and voted for Obama in the last election.

He did a segment commenting on this article and a viral e-mail that was going around suggesting that Obama was the anti-Christ. Handel naturally debunked it, but with his typical sense of irony.

You can listen to what he said for yourselves here.

Justin kindly says that he still respects Sullivan, but calls this post of Sullivan’s “pretty lazy.”

By contrast, I don’t respect Sullivan at all — because this is what he does, all day, every day.

45 Responses to “Today’s Sullivan Award Is Awarded to . . . Andrew Sullivan”

  1. Excitable Andy proves once again what a hack he is. Protip: prior to demonizing someone with a trite and petty “award” do at least 5 minutes of research on said subject. Much embarrassment would be avoided if this simple rule would be applied. Then again, “Powerglutes” has never been one for an honest discussion.

    gabriel (180095)

  2. Bill Handel is not a serious Conservative. Actually, except for birthing children and fighting off CAIR, Handel isn’t serious about much.

    The father of Brenda (the 4 year old Korean who read Handel the riot act on the air about Bill’s Korean jokes), Who Doesn’t Eat Dog.

    PCD (7fe637)

  3. The Hewitt award? Oh, it must be as a result of Hewitt posting this horrible line:
    “The biggest challenge facing the new president and his advisors after protection of the homeland is keeping Iran out of the nuclear club, with force if necessary.

    The second biggest challenge is to maintain at least the status quo in the Middle East intact, with Israel secure and the emerging democracy in Iraq protected.

    It is difficult to imagine any Democratic team better positioned to achieve both goals. And that is a cause for celebration.”

    Clearly he is out to lay waste to Obama at every turn with his misleading praise!

    bskb (0ded4f)

  4. You mean Obama is not the anti-Christ? Whoa!

    Official Internet Data Office (85f70b)

  5. Andrew Sullivan? He’s a sex writer, isn’t he?

    Richard (adfcb0)

  6. Is this Sullivan another drunken Irishman?

    I’d love to have a Hugh Hewitt award. I’d send the certificate to Hugh to get it autographed, like the autographed book he sent me.

    PCD (7fe637)

  7. Why the obsession with AS?

    Who cares what she says?

    Larry Sheldon (86b2e1)

  8. I lost a comment here.

    Was it asking if Sullivan was a drunken Irishman?

    Was it asking for a Hugh Hewitt award, which I would ask Hugh to autograph for me?

    PCD (7fe637)

  9. Let’s see.

    I want a Hugh Hewitt award.

    Are these the naughty words?

    PCD (7fe637)

  10. Give one to Charles Johnson for calling Bobby Jindal “Pro-exorcism.”

    James (10cdb1)

  11. PCD,

    In order to handle a rush of traffic, I have to enable a caching mechanism that plays temporary havoc with comments.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  12. I think I’m probably the only blogger on this site that retains some respect for Andrew Sullivan.

    Needed a bit of fixing, but otherwise his statement was accurate.

    Gekkobear (a7bf6f)

  13. James, Charles Johnson- though he did sterling work after 9/11 and during the ’04 Presidential campaign- has gone waaaay around the bend, especially on religous issues. I gave up even visiting his ‘blog when I realized that the “Let’s hate on Christians!” posts of his weren’t an aberration, but part of a continuing daily series with no end in sight. Right now, he’s earned the title of “Athiest/Agnostic Billy Sunday”, and looks like he’s going to keep it.

    DaveP. (c02c31)

  14. Right now, he’s earned the title of “Athiest/Agnostic Billy Sunday”, and looks like he’s going to keep it.

    I thought Right Thinking From The Left Coast took the cake for that. And they worship Andy Sullivan.

    Helo (6cd305)

  15. If you have a crackpot theory, Sullivan is the safest blogger to pass it to, because he never credits his sources. Once he runs it, no one can track it back to you.

    Daryl Herbert (b65640)

  16. Patterico, I agree with your blogpost.

    But if Sullie does not delete his original blogpost, he may try to dodge by claiming clarifying that the award was intended for Todd Strandberg and his virus e-mail.

    Or that the award is for approbation, not disapprobation, given Hewitt’s kind words about Obama of late and given Handel’s debunking of the email.

    Nobody expects Sullie to be straight with his readership, right?

    Chairm (7b607c)

  17. Chairm writes:

    “…Nobody expects Sullie to be straight with his readership, right?…”

    Nicely put!

    Eric Blair (8f93a0)

  18. Why the obsession with AS?

    — Why Sullivan’s obsession with A-S- (you all know what’s next)?

    Icy Truth (b7d162)

  19. Seems like just a couple posts ago you were telling us to get angry with the L.A. Times because of the title they put on a story.

    Now Sullivan’s lazy because he did the same thing?

    Talk about irony.

    parsnip (1e884c)

  20. Now Sullivan’s lazy because he did the same thing?

    No, that’s not why he’s lazy.

    Jim Treacher (592cb4)

  21. Nice to see those “Critical thinking skills” taught these days are really paying off

    Kelly T. (8ef5b9)

  22. Well kids, let’s compare:

    Here’s the title that bothered blogger Patterico:

    Jewish Center Shooter’s Motive Is A Mystery

    And here’s the title that bothered blogger Sullivan:

    Is Barack Obama the Antichrist?

    Would Pattterico get upset if the L.A. Times ran a front page teaser that asked Is George Bush the Antichrist? even though it led to a reasonable debunking?

    I think he would.

    parsnip (1e884c)

  23. parsnip,

    Or should I say snuffles? or alphie?

    Your comment reminds me why I banned you. Pointless stupidity that misstates the opponent’s point, either out of stupidity or a desire to waste others’ time . . . it doesn’t matter which.

    Time for a new banning.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  24. Helo, I don’t think I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of visiting that site. I’ll take your word for it, though… if “Billy Sunday” is taken, how about “Athest/Agnostic Michael Phelps”?

    DaveP. (c02c31)

  25. You people have no idea how much I regret that blog-commenting contract I signed with Sullivan.

    Three years of sending in twice-weekly “atta-guy” responses to Sullivan’s increasingly inane drivel? Not worth it. Totally not worth it.

    A Reader (b05ea6)

  26. A Reader, would you mind elaborating about the contract you signed? I’m curious.

    PCD (7fe637)

  27. Does anyone really pay attention to Andy anymore.

    I used to read his articles regularly but over the last couple of year or so, I have come to the conclution that he has had some kind of breakdown. His logic is flawed (at best), his research has gotten lazy or non existant, he goes off on strange tangents without any purpose. He chooses topics and makes statement that have no purpose and make him look like a fool. Has anyone the influance to get him to see a doctor to help him comie back to reallity? I am sorry to say that over the last couple of months I have given up on trying to understand and just ignore him.

    Magic (1aaf2a)

  28. See Sullie’s war on Mormons, [object].

    Chairm (7b607c)

  29. The biggest problem with having an “Andrew Sullivan Award” is the closed loop process that ends up having Andrew Sullivan win it every time.

    Also, methinks parsnip – snuffles – alphie – monkeyboy – neville chanberlain should be running out of right tilting blogs, what with all of the bannings.

    BJTexs (56337a)

  30. You guys lost the presidency because you drove all the atheist neocons out of the Republican party with your anti-science, pro-creationism rhetoric, not in spite of driving them out. Thanks to you, we’ll have at least 8 years of Obama, no matter how badly he screws everything up the first four.

    Tatterdemalian (55171e)

  31. What happened to Sullivan? There was a period in time where his ideas were worth reading…But that time has long since passed.

    BiasedGirl (080684)

  32. Also, methinks parsnip – snuffles – alphie – monkeyboy – neville chanberlain should be running out of right tilting blogs, what with all of the bannings.

    Nah — he just lies low for a while and comes back under a different name.

    He’s one of the most pathetic characters in the blogging world.

    Rob Crawford (04f50f)

  33. Also, methinks parsnip – snuffles – alphie – monkeyboy – neville chanberlain should be running out of right tilting blogs

    Nah, he just lies low for a while and comes back under a different name. He’s easily one of the most pathetic characters in blogging.

    Rob Crawford (04f50f)

  34. Andrew probably needs to call the syndicated “Handel On the Law” program this weekend to see if he’s opened himself up to a libel suit with his latest click-send-before-thinking post.

    John (692c5c)

  35. Don’t get me started on “Handel On the Law”, John.

    SPQR (72771e)

  36. Sullivan has become a charicature. He’s the poster child for the punditocracy, devoid of research or analysis, adverse to truth-seeking, and determined to have his own way and perpetuate his own beliefs and agendas, without care for the damage his poisonous and often libelous screeds spread.

    “Full of sound and fury, signifiying NOTHING.”

    chad3337 (6797b5)

  37. BiasedGirl asked, “What happened to Sullivan?”

    Bush came out in support of the Defense of Marriage act.

    Up until then Excitable Andy had a mancrush on W, and believed in his secret heart of hearts that someday W would leave Laura for Andy. So, Sully was W’s slavering lapdog. Once Bush came out against gay marriage (really same-sex partnerships, since no law bars a gay man from marrying a gay woman) it popped Sully’s bubble.

    Since then? Every hear what they say about a lover scorned? Doesn’t matter whether someone was ever interested in any way in the scorned lover. The scorned lover is still furious.

    Mark L (3fc310)

  38. #What happened to Sullivan? There was a period in time where his ideas were worth reading…But that time has long since passed.

    Comment by BiasedGirl — 12/2/2008 @ 6:37 am

    I think that Ace of Spades nailed it during Sullivan’s obscene Palin-hating gossip mongering. AIDS-related dementia.

    Much like this “Hewitt Award” bit – he really doesn’t understand what he is talking about. He really had questions about Governor Palin’s parentage. He really thinks that there is something called “Christianists” that are out to get him. It’s sad.

    carlitos (52fcd8)

  39. Yeah, Hugh Hewitt is a real fire-breathing “partisan fanatic.” Those ultra-righty types, always supportin’ that fascist Romney!

    /sarc

    Mitch (890cbf)

  40. 35, SPQR, Don’t be so harsh. I did a promo on “Handel on the Law” making fun of Bill Press a long time ago.

    Actually for the LA market, Handel has had a remarkably long run.

    PCD (7fe637)

  41. comments are appearing on the front page, but not in the thread again.

    carlitos (52fcd8)

  42. As I write this, the thread says “41” comments on the front page, but only 38 appear here.

    carlitos (52fcd8)

  43. Sullivan definitely earned this Sullivan Award, but FWIW the award itself is not that new.

    Xrlq (62cad4)

  44. There was a period in time where his ideas were worth reading…

    Prove it.

    Jim Treacher (592cb4)

  45. jim, he was the first person I could think of to point out that The Economist was full of crap on most issues, including economy.

    Other than that… nada.

    Tatterdemalian: I’ll give you a dollar for every self-identified “Republican athiest neocon” if you give me a dime for every self-identified Christian in EIHTER party. You’ll still end up heving to sell your blood to buy food, for the rest of your life. Step outside the echo chamber.

    DaveP. (c02c31)


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