The Black Republican

On Friday over at NRO - an old conservative bastion I used to respect, but which I am increasingly coming to dislike as a playpen full of children - Ramesh Ponnuru decided to take pot-shots at Fred Thompson over federalism. After rereading all the commentary in both directions, this strikes me as more than a simple case of a columnist trying to disrupt the nascent candidacy of someone I support.

It may just be me, but Ponnuru seems convinced of one of two things. Either he believes the fawning groupies who read NRO and tell him he is simply brilliant, and he needed to take on the growing popularity of Mr. Thompson to further burnish his own ego, or he's rooting for one of the other candidates running for President and decided it was time to reduce Mr. Thompson's threat level. More probably it was both. Regardless of motive, Mr. Ponnuru clearly has more at stake here than advancing his view of our ideology, and it is this kind of distraction from the dispassionate refinement of good policy from conservative theory that is annoying me most about conservative pundits lately.

Either for the thrill of the joust or sensing the importance of debating the concept at hand - and no doubt to face down the brush-back and show that he is no paper tiger - Mr. Thompson took Ramesh's challenge and offered a perfectly reasonable response that was properly dismissive without being rude.

Ponnuru not only returned the volley with more smoke and mirrors, he acted like a juvenile ass in the process.

I found Senator Thompson's stand on principle to be honorable, and it is clear the votes in question that he cast were made with an intention to set aside the complex and sometimes illicit dance of beltway horse trading in an attempt to spark an important dialogue on the vital balance of powers in our federal system.

I wish Mr. Ponnuru and NRO would make more of an attempt to engage in a respectful discussion of conservative ideals, and less time attacking other Republicans who dare to dismiss their beltway narcissism masquerading as ideology for the venal pastime it has become.

UPDATE: Fred has taken the discussion over to TownHall.com, and Ramesh has responded again

Senator Thompson has another essay on federalism, this time at Townhall. There he explains some of the goods that federalism serves. It allows states to be "laboratories for democracy" and to reflect their citizens' distinctive views. All true.

But sometimes federal action is required to make it possible for states to attain those goods. When big-city mayors, including Rudy Giuliani, sued gunmakers for, well, selling guns, Congress responded by passing a law blocking those lawsuits. Senator Thompson voted with the majority, and he was right to do so. Tennessee law can't reflect the values of its people if its laws are effectively being set by New York City's gaming of the legal system. Federal action was required to stop that from happening. Thompson saw that then; I just wish he saw that the gun case was the tip of an iceberg.

So, after all the sound and fury, what exactly is Ponnuru complaining about? When the federal government should become involved, Fred thinks it should, but it should leave well enough alone otherwise. Isn't that what federalism is all about? Given that he admits to being predisposed to Thompson, there seems no doubt about it: Ponnuru is splitting hairs simply because he like the sound of his own writing.

What an ass.