Off the Kuff: Lone Star Times calls on Dunbar to apologize

November 15, 2008

Lone Star Times calls on Dunbar to apologize

Big Jolly becomes the first prominent conservative to call on SBOE member Cynthia Dunbar to apologize for that unhinged rant she published about President-elect Barack Obama just before the election.

We have watched this story for over a week, patiently waiting for Ms. Dunbar to realize that [she was clearly in the wrong], issue the appropriate apology and move on.

We have been disappointed. Crazy, wild-eyed, idiotic, 911 Truther conspiracies like this are wrong no matter which side of the aisle you are on. Ms. Dunbar, we are asking you to do the right thing. Ultimately, we are one nation. Our battles should be limited to ideology and direction, not baseless personal attacks. Yes, you do have first amendment protection. But as an elected official, you also have a duty to your electorate, a duty which at times requires you to temper your first amendment freedom to make stupid statements.

You have embarrassed the very people that elected you. You can make it right by simply admitting that. We urge you to do so forthwith.

I appreciate the sentiment, which is echoed by David Benzion, for which he's taken some heat in the comments. Wick Allison noted Dunbar's nuttery, but as far as I can tell via Google, nobody else on their side of the political aisle has even mentioned this. It really would be nice, and it might actually get a result, if some Republican officeholder could bring him or herself to do the same as Benzion and Big Jolly. She is a public official, after all, not just some fringe loony. And given some of the other crazy things being said by other public officials, establishing some kind of standard for the discourse - and let's face it, ruling out this kind of stuff requires a mighty low bar - would serve us all well. I fear, however, that we won't even get that. Which makes me appreciate LST's action, lonely as it is likely to be, all the more.

UPDATE: I had missed that the author of this post was Big Jolly and not David Benzion when I first wrote this, though as noted Benzion is in agreement with it. My apologies for the confusion.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on November 15, 2008 to Show Business for Ugly People

Comments

** David Benzion becomes **

I think some folks need to read more carefully. The post was written by Big Jolly, although Benzion chimes in affirmatively in the comments.

To be contrarian -- I don't really know what an apology accomplishes. She obviously believes what she said. How do you back away from that? "I apologize for being under the influence of an evil hypnotist who caused me to spew idiocy?" That just doesn't seem very believable.

A better outcome would be for her simply to go away, and barring that, for intelligent voters to pick a better candidate at the next opportunity. That seems so obvious that I didn't realize a conservative blogburst wankerfest was necessary to make the point for anyone.

Posted by: Kevin Whited on November 15, 2008 11:20 PM

She was elected in 2006 for a six year term on the state board of education.

To serve on the state board of education and home school your children, is that the same as managing McDonald's and sending your children to Burger King?

Posted by: Burt Levine on November 16, 2008 6:16 AM

And I'm sure, Kevin, when such a candidate to oppose Dunbar emerges in 2010, you will support him or her, right? Even if that person happens to be a Democrat, right? I mean, since you so clearly care about this, even if it took a comment on a liberal blog about a "conservative blogburst wankerfest" (whatever that means) for you to deign to share your opinion of it.

Posted by: Charles Kuffner on November 16, 2008 8:44 AM

When Dunbar won the general election in '06 she had no Demo against her.

In the GOP Primary she faced a more moderate, relatively young businessman & reserve US Army officer: Tony Dale.

Posted by: Burt Levine on November 16, 2008 10:38 AM