November 19, 2009

Shark jumps shark

Or possibly is 'Gone Galt.'

Professor of law Rick Esenberg has went and compared the employment of deliberate falsehoods (by a judge) in the service of the professional and character assassination of an individual with teevee advertisements "suggesting that John McCain was advocating a huge middle class tax increase." Both are equally "despicable."

7 comments:

Display Name said...

"... When I was approached to run for public office..." He meant to say "When I was approached to run for this public office, as the sixth candidate on WMC's list, and declined as I enjoy the academic life, they then turned to the man we now call "Lucky number seven".

illusory tenant said...

"We have questions about some very small parts of the legal argument," Gableman said.

Boy Howdy, you can say that again.

Clutch said...

What was he going to do, repudiate Gableman in a show of real principle?

The moral equivalence argument is both laughable and disgraceful, but its practical virtues are obvious for an academic launderer of wingnuttery. It's an opportunity for a kick at Obama -- absolutely imperative, whatever else one is talking about now -- and it reduces Gableman's lying and race-baiting to just one bump in the generally unfortunate terrain of contemporary politics.

illusory tenant said...

Maybe it depends on whether one see legalism as embracing ethics or vice versa. That is, does one understand "ethics" as existing only within the framework of legalism, or is there a broader category of ethics which dictates that legalism be responsive to ethical norms.

You could reasonably question the consistency of an approach to this philosophical problem that is determined by whichever political result is hoped to be obtained.

Grant said...

Ze sherk, he es aware of all internet traditions.

As a wise ass once said, one horse laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms.

illusory tenant said...

"Going Rogue" ships several hundred thousand copies while Mencken is out of print.

Rick Esenberg said...

While I am certainly prepared to concede that I may have been someone's "sixth" or even "thirtieth" choice, that someone was not WMC. They had nothing to do with it.