Founder of ‘Civility Project’ Calls It Quits

[Uzybone]

Not that this was going anywhere. But I found part of this interesting.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/founder-of-civility-project-calls-it-quits/

'They sent out 585 letters asking every sitting governor and member of Congress to sign a pledge that said:

I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.

I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.

I will stand against incivility when I see it.

Mr. DeMoss said he in an interview that he is now folding the project after spending two years and about $30,000 in expenses on the endeavor. Three legislators had signed the pledge. They were Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut; Representative Frank Wolfe, Republican of Virginia; and Representative Sue Myrick, Republican of North Carolina."

"Mr. DeMoss, a former aide to Moral Majority founder Rev. Jerry Falwell and an unpaid adviser to Republican Gov. Mitt Romney in the 2008 presidential campaign, said that he was particularly surprised by the hostility to the civility pledge from conservatives.

“The worst e-mails I received about the civility project were from conservatives with just unbelievable language about communists, and some words I wouldn’t use in this phone call,” he said. “This political divide has become so sharp that everything is black and white, and too many conservatives can see no redeeming value in any liberal or Democrat. That would probably be true about some liberals going the other direction, but I didn’t hear from them.”"

[gateley]

1. "black and white" is an appropriate choice of phrase. nt

[DJ13]

2. Calls it quits

"Fuck all of you, Im out of here!"

[Posteritatis]

9. Honestly, if 582 of the refuse to consider something that simple, that's a reasonable reaction. (nt)

[AspenRose]

3. Sur-PRISE, sur-PRISE, sur-PRISE

But..but...but I thought both sides did it... :dunce:

I will give him credit for trying...but I don't think he knew what he was dealing with.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. The world of the day is: MANICHEAN

–noun
1.
Also, Man·i·chee   Show IPA. an adherent of the dualistic religious system of Manes, a combination of gnostic Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and various other elements, with a basic doctrine of a conflict between light and dark, matter being regarded as dark and evil.

Yep this is now a dark or light way of looking at politics.

[gratuitous]

5. DeMoss sounds like his heart's in the right place, at least

I hope he wasn't too distressed or disillusioned by the responses he got, particularly from conservatives, with whom he probably identifies. Or used to identify. He does try to be even-handed about it, "probably . . . true about some liberals," but he concedes that he didn't get an earful from liberals like he did from conservatives.

Would you like it made a little plainer, Mr. DeMoss? You sound like a nice guy, and I'd hate to see you let yourself in for even more abuse.

[guitar man]

6. "Son

...you're on your own!"

[denverbill]

7. I was surprised that no Dems replied, until I read who DeMoss was.

But it's nice to know a few Republicans recognize the shit the others are spewing.

[Laelth]

8. Interesting bolded quote. Thanks. n/t

-Laelth

[Kurovski]

10. live and learn. (nt)

[DeSwiss]

11. First chivalry went.....

...followed closely good manners. Then it was irony. And now civility. But we kept reality teevee.

- Go figure......

K&R