It takes a special perspective to say the aims criticized within the first item are evil, or countercultural to American values of what most of us would like for their state and nation, for themselves, and for their children and grandchildren.
Andy has posted more, and while he has streamlined a lot of questionable sidebar items into history in reformatting his blog and left only a reminder of his candidacy on the homepage, he has retained his archive link, and because voters might wish to know what is there two posts are presented in the opening paragraph as examples. They were not randomly selected. They were chosen because progressives surely, and perhaps a majority of moderates might take heed.
The name calling offends, but is not the main point. Andy can categorize a post under "Asshats" in the one instance, or "Know Thy Enemy," (meant in a figurative and not absolute sense), in the other instance. and it is not any coarseness of language that really should be at issue. Terminology and stylistic choice are within a blog author's constant prerogatives and privilege.
Hence, judging label and name usage, if important to any readers at all, should be secondary as an indicator of a possible temperament difficulty, i.e., not expressing a consensus building orientation many think necessary in legislative deliberation. Yet it is the substance of the full body of Andy's posting that matters.
Brodkorb wrote:
The committee which interviewed and screened the Republican candidates for the endorsement noted Aplikowski was being nominated with "reservations" because of "inflamtory [sic] blog statements" written by Aplikowski.
Alex Huffman, who had filed a campaign committee to run as a Republican in Senate District 35, but later withdrew, said this morning he is backing Abeler.
"I feel Andy is vulnerable to losing a general election and I don't think Jim is," said Huffman.
Abeler, a licensed chiropractor, said last evening he is "more comfortable" running in the primary and has been organizing for a primary challenge since he announced his campaign in September.
Aplikowski said this morning he is "running a positive campaign" and Abeler will face an "uphill battle" in the upcoming primary election.
[...] Aplikowski acknowledged Republicans have expressed concerns about his past blog postings, which he described as "some bad language I used online."
He said an undiagnosed sleep apnea condition contributed to his harsh online commentary and his health has improved since being diagnosed.
"When you wake up tired and crappy every single day, it clouds your judgment and filter on things you should say and do," said Aplikowski.
The Huffman quote Brodkorb published brings to mind the Leo Deroucher adage, "Winning is not the most important thing, it is the only thing," which also is arguably a sentiment relevant to government brinkmanship/shutdown considerations.
Deroucher also said, "Nice guys finish last," and while such sentiments apply to baseball, are they helpful to political balancing?
Final point - over the years that Crabgrass has been online some things were posted earlier that are mooted by a change of mind or a better and fuller perspective - and the same applies to Residual Forces postings. There is the truth that if one is entirely consistent over time inflexibility may be an acute personality problem. Andy's evolving viewpoints is hence not unduly troubling to me but others form their own opinions. In that regard, one Dylan song noted, "He that is not busy being born is busy dying."
Sleep apnea aside, Andy has the right to evolve his perspective, and an old saying is, "Consistency is the hob-goblin of petty minds." Bottom line, it is the body of thought that matters, that may suggest success or failure in dealing with others in the law-making process. The forest, not any individual tree.