My Slugfest With New York Times Columnist
By Erik Rush (01/29/07)
It's a truly beautiful thing when people prove your point for you...
The article to which I refer appeared in the January 25 edition of the Fort Collins Coloradoan, (one of the Gannett group’s primary Northern Colorado properties). It is the quintessential example of The New York Times' and the far Left's inability to refrain from boorishness and personal attacks.
“I've written this on my own behalf, not on behalf of the New York Times,” wrote Times writer Martin Forstenzer, “in response to the childish column by Erik Rush that appeared in the Coloradoan on Dec. 20, titled "National Press Blasts Our City." I wouldn't have responded to this asinine column, except for the fact that the entire thing was based on a deliberately falsified premise.”
Writing on his own behalf, eh? Salving his ego whilst staying out of dutch with the Times, perhaps? Or did his socialist Manhattan overlords sanction the piece on the QT?
My column (the one to which Forstenzer refers) only appeared in the Coloradoan, and was in response to his attack on that city; it was well-researched and accurate with regard to his use of the boilerplate far-Left rhetoric calculated to engender religious conflict and diminish Christianity in America.
Here’s how it all began: On December 16, Forstenzer wrote a column for the Times entitled “Offering Support for a Menorah, Unofficially” in which he painted a picture of the city of Fort Collins, Colorado as an intolerant, anti-Semitic community, focusing on “the refusal by Fort Collins to allow a menorah to be displayed downtown during Hanukkah, near a Christmas tree and other Christmas displays.”
On December 20, 2006, my column “National Press Blasts Our City” (titled by the paper) appeared in the Coloradoan. In it, I revealed that despite the fact that the city and community at large had no beef with the menorah, it was zoning, ordinances and other bureaucratic flotsam which presented the difficulties involved concerning the menorah display. I then amplified on Forstenzer’s column being just more of the “Christians are an evil, intolerant majority” rhetoric that’s become a perennial favorite of the mainstream press during the Yuletide season.
On January 25, 2007, Forstenzer’s column “Fort Collins Portrayed as Tolerant, Compassionate” appeared in the Coloradoan. Although I’ve provided links to all of the columns I’ve referenced below, I wish I could include this one in its entirety. In addition to being a true laugh riot, it is revelatory in that Forstenzer insulted everything about me except my looks and my mother.
“Unless Rush's reading comprehension is astonishingly poor, which I have to concede is a possibility, he intentionally twisted the meaning of my article for the Times into the opposite of what it said…”
First of all, Forstenzer’s December 16 column’s title, “Offering Support for a Menorah, Unofficially” says it all, as it carries the connotation of grudging support. Although he says in his January 25 column he wasn’t trying to portray the city as intolerant, the article did just that – much in the same way his subsequent attack on me was likely calculated to prove he wasn’t a far-Left moonbat, yet accomplished it nonetheless.
“Your columnist is delusional. I would like to send him the gift of a box of aluminum foil, so that he can make himself a hat.”
How does one respond to that? “Yo’ mamma”? This illustrates one of those points conservatives in the media make so often because it is so true: Though the Left fancies itself as a collective intellectual leviathan, their ranks inevitably rely on getting the message across through emotion-based, convoluted logic. Failing to convince, they resort to schoolyard invective and personal attacks.
“Rush seems to enjoy masquerading as a journalist, but he clearly has no understanding of even the most basic concepts of journalism. There is plenty of room for dishonest, self-promoting writers like him among the blogs and Web sites, where anyone can find a place to express their opinions no matter how bizarre, and to advance their political agenda no matter how extreme.”
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. First of all (and I’ve written on this before), I do not now, nor have I ever claimed to be a journalist. I don’t even play one on TV. I am an author and writer of sociopolitical commentary. This has been challenged by some of my detractors with nebulous definitions of “journalist” that would qualify every 14-year-old girl who keeps a diary.
Perhaps he’s just a bitter guy; I don’t know. While a gig with the The New York Times may be enviable to some and the region in question is my favorite in all of America, covering Northern Colorado for such an eminent institution is probably akin to a ranking Air Force officer being stationed in the Aleutians.
Apparently Mr. Forstenzer presumed he was putting an upstart “podunk community columnist” in his place, which makes his piece even worse; were I such, I would have been devastated - which was no doubt his intent - rather than ecstatic at the prospect of getting it on with a ‘Times columnist. As I stated in my Coloradoan column, the ‘Times has become the closest thing to Izvestia we’ve ever had. Indeed Forstenzer’s bleatings were beyond ego-driven, juvenile and cruel – which many of us expect from far-Left journalists – but which many more need yet to learn.
Would Forstenzer have opted to do so if he'd known of my credentials as an author, columnist and speaker? Perhaps, perhaps not. The fact is that what passes for a journalist (masquerading or otherwise) these days ought to be able to take the heat. I know I can.
For the most part, the locals weren’t too happy with either of Forstenzer’s columns. The question I’m getting from most of them is (to paraphrase) why someone who writes for the ‘Times would “stoop” to shred someone he thinks is a delusional hack and a loser anyway?
Ahh, but that’s “one of those” questions, isn’t it?
“If you have to ask…”
Referenced Columns
Offering Support for a Menorah, Unofficially - Martin Forstenzer, New York Times, 12/16/06
http://www.erikrush.com/columns/NYT_121706.htm
National Press Blasts Our City - Erik Rush, Fort Collins Coloradoan, 12/20/06
http://www.erikrush.com/columns/coloradoan_122006.htm
Fort Collins Portrayed as Tolerant, Compassionate - Martin Forstenzer, Fort Collins Coloradoan, 1/25/07
http://www.erikrush.com/columns/forstenzer_response.htm
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