How to Judge a Specter

Robert Novak: Specter's tactics

Novak thinks that Specter is proving our suspicions right. He argues that Specter is sabotaging the Republican strategy for dealing with the Democrats.

What lesson do we learn from this? We learn, again, that conservatives should probably trust their instincts about people. It was a mistake to place him in the Chair. (We've argued this before.)

Liberals like to pretend that you can not judge people and they are especially incensed if one is judged quickly. This is stupid, hypocritical and dangerous. Elizabeth Smart's parents wish that they had quickly judged Brian David Mitchell. If they had, like any decent parents should have, they would have been right and they would have spared their daughter nine months of hell.

Of course, Liberals are more than willing to make snap judgments against people they do not like. Today on Washington Journal (1:25:16 - 1:27:49) a caller told Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that "all Republicans" do not know what it is like to be a poor or working class citizen. The Senator explained that he had been a factory line worker for ten years and a small farmer and knows well the difficulties facing low income Americans.

Now, this sounds like I'm contradicting myself. What is the difference between these two judgments? The former is good and right and the latter is bigoted and wrong, but how can you tell the difference?

The answer is both simple and complex: Wisdom. It is wisdom that allows good judgments. That's simple enough and we all know what Wisdom is, but explaining it with philosophical rigor is more complex. The first thing you need for Wisdom is due respect for the objective reality -- whoops, I just lost the Left. This is a key problem and to the extent that Liberals (or anyone) believe in relativism and utopianism, they will never have Wisdom.

Here is an example of someone who understands this. Dr. Drew of Loveline is pretty wise. I 'm sure that he does not think of himself as a conservative and I 'm sure that he votes Democrat. He is not a Liberal though, since he is perfectly willing to make wise judgments about people and has a due respect for reality. (The same goes for Adam Corolla.) These guys are alot like South Park Republicans. They are fundamentally conservative without being religious at all. They are willing to look at the world and see reality and then judge others according to that reality. If you call in and say that your wife wants to have a threesome, they will not say that exploring your sexuality is healthy. They will tell you that your marriage is in deep trouble and suggest that you seek counseling. Dr. Drew has learned to make these judgments and this learning is Wisdom.

Wisdom protects us only if we listen to it. When your smart friends seem less than enthusiastic about your new boyfriend, you should dump him. Conservatives were unhappy about Specter's promotion and Republicans should have listened. Now we need marriage counseling.