Professor Rossum on the CI
Last Updated: 12/19/06 Section: Opinion
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I congratulate the Claremont Independent on 10 years of inspired conservative commentary. The CI provides politically oriented readers locally and in print what Townhall.com provides politically oriented readers nationally and on the web: a source of thoughtful, fact-filled, amusing, and intellectually satisfying commentary on the foibles of liberalism.
My favorite section of the CI is "The Clueless Conservative," just as my favorite columnist at Townhall.com is Ann Coulter - and for the same reason. Both employ caustic wit while displaying real insight into liberal politics and culture. Coulter, in a recent attack on the New York Times for its traitorous revelations of America's foreign surveillance efforts to gain an upper hand on the war on terror, entitled her column "Better Dead than Read." "The Clueless Conservative" has performed similar acts of public service by exposing critical race theory, historicism, Queer Theory, postmodernism, identity politics, Che Guevara, Al Sharpton, and Noah Chomsky. "The Clueless Conservative can turn as good a phrase as Coulter - one of my favorites: "Instead of the ancient maxim 'Live Well,' the Historical School tells us, 'Live, well, however you want, because you can't really change anything.'"
Of course, in one respect, there is a striking difference between the two. Coulter is tall, slim, leggy, and blond, and, while "The Clueless Conservative" is published anonymously, I have pierced the veil of secrecy sufficiently to know that at least one person who has written under that pseudonym is none of the above.
It is probably for the best. Coulter's long blond hair would have been an unnecessary distraction to many of those intrepid individuals who over the past decade have written, edited, and published this superb campus newspaper.
-Ralph A. Rossum
Salvatori Professor of American Constitutionalism
Director of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government
My favorite section of the CI is "The Clueless Conservative," just as my favorite columnist at Townhall.com is Ann Coulter - and for the same reason. Both employ caustic wit while displaying real insight into liberal politics and culture. Coulter, in a recent attack on the New York Times for its traitorous revelations of America's foreign surveillance efforts to gain an upper hand on the war on terror, entitled her column "Better Dead than Read." "The Clueless Conservative" has performed similar acts of public service by exposing critical race theory, historicism, Queer Theory, postmodernism, identity politics, Che Guevara, Al Sharpton, and Noah Chomsky. "The Clueless Conservative can turn as good a phrase as Coulter - one of my favorites: "Instead of the ancient maxim 'Live Well,' the Historical School tells us, 'Live, well, however you want, because you can't really change anything.'"
Of course, in one respect, there is a striking difference between the two. Coulter is tall, slim, leggy, and blond, and, while "The Clueless Conservative" is published anonymously, I have pierced the veil of secrecy sufficiently to know that at least one person who has written under that pseudonym is none of the above.
It is probably for the best. Coulter's long blond hair would have been an unnecessary distraction to many of those intrepid individuals who over the past decade have written, edited, and published this superb campus newspaper.
-Ralph A. Rossum
Salvatori Professor of American Constitutionalism
Director of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
ashwin
ashwin navin
posted 9/02/07 @ 9:24 AM PST
Ditto! Prof. Rossum, you probably remember the small band of starry eyed journalists who ran around campus collecting resources and support for this (then) humble project 10 years ago. (Continued…)
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