January 10, 2005

Armstrong Williams

I don't really care much about the situation with Armstrong Williams. In my view, the man has shown himself to be an idiot. You don't take money for what you are going to shill for, for free, unless you state you got paid.

I have other points to raise:

  • George Will has had a few instances of "conflicts of interest" come out. From what I can tell, no such furor has been raised. Why the double standard? I bet some people just fainted.:-)

  • If the line of "individualism" is to be believed, then "Black conservative pundits" and "Black conservatives" shouldn't worry a hoot about Armstrong Williams. He made the mistake. He is going to suffer for it. If "Black conservative pundits" are on the "up and up", then they aren't getting paid like Armstrong Williams did and they should be able to challenge anyone who claims otherwise.

    Unless, the line of "individualism" is just a line.

  • Lastly, some critics are wondering why it's okay for a small government conservative to take money from the government. Uhhh... HELLO!?!?!?!? When was the last time you heard any small government conseratives speak out against non-8A government contracts?

LaShawn Barber writes a strong piece on the matter.

Posted by at January 10, 2005 07:40 PM | TrackBack

Thanks for the link, Ed. :)

Posted by: La_Shawn at January 10, 2005 09:32 PM

i was one of those critics. it is ideologically contradictory to rail against the government, then accept money from them for a gig. separate from the fact that it is illegal.

but that's the deal right? it isn't about ideology, it is about using ideology to take over the state and to distribute state goods the way one sees fit.

Posted by: Lester Spence at January 11, 2005 12:09 AM

"...free enterprise, [is] a term that refers, in practice, to a system of public subsidy and private profit, with massive government intervention in the economy to maintain a welfare state for the rich." : Noam Chomsky

Posted by: cnulan at January 11, 2005 11:56 AM