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OPINION & EDITORIAL

Speaker puts party line on display

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by Josh Moskowitz

Wednesday, October 5, 2005

Last Thursday, Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman spoke to UW political science students about the 2004 presidential election, the presidential nomination process, and salient issues he thought Democrats needed to focus on in order to regain power at the congressional and presidential levels. After speaking for about 20 minutes, during which he mostly refrained from espousing any partisan rhetoric, Mr. Lierman decided to open the floor to questions. Blatant partisan positioning on Mr. Lierman's behalf soon followed.

While discussing President Bush, Mr. Lierman referred to him as an "idiot." Discussing Wisconsin Republican Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, Mr. Lierman referred to the congressman as "a disgrace to Wisconsin." Talking about stem-cell research, Mr. Lierman wondered aloud how people could not support it and its potential scientific contributions.

During the question-and-answer session, a few students walked out, undoubtedly perturbed with Mr. Lierman's choice to use this classroom speaking engagement as a soapbox for the Democratic platform. To one student who walked out while Mr. Lierman discussed his personal beliefs regarding stem-cell research, Mr. Lierman chuckled, "I guess some people here don't like stem-cell research."

On this campus and campuses throughout the country, conservatives consistently and constantly argue that intellectual diversity has not been deemed a priority in the college atmosphere. Intellectuals, professors, and campus administrators are decidedly liberal, conservatives argue. Conservatives must bite their lip and reign in any dissent they might feel, lest they be stigmatized and ridiculed by a majority of their liberal peers.

Though I feel that these contentions may sometimes be overblown, what occurred in my class last week certainly adds credence to criticism of the intellectual diversity in Madison. I wondered what would have happened had a Republican showed up and publicly reveled in the Democrat's futility and lack of vision. He almost certainly would have faced incredibly vocal opposition, and more than a handful of students would have left the room. Chaos, perhaps, would have erupted.

If there were any conservatives in the class, as I assume there were, I applaud them for their composure, class, and civility. Mr. Lierman's decision to espouse his political beliefs in a classroom setting alienated Democrats and Republicans alike. In the classroom, professors and members of academia should withhold personal political beliefs and convictions so as not to alienate their students. Mr. Lierman's actions certainly did not adhere to this academic tradition.

Most disappointing was Mr. Lierman's decision to ridicule members of the Republican Party using ad hominem attacks. Though his political beliefs should have remained mute, Mr. Lierman decided to attack conservative politicians by calling them "idiots." While he may have thought he was preaching to the liberal choir, I cringed at his repeated name-calling and the lack of substance and evidence in his arguments.

At a time when political parties, interest groups, and Americans are extremely polarized and divided, it would have been nice to hear Mr. Lierman talk about how Democrats and Republicans could work together on issues that affect all Americans. The reconstruction of Hurricane Katrina was an issue I wish he could have discussed as a bipartisan issue. I wish his remarks could have been more constructive and conciliatory. Instead, all I received was fire and brimstone rhetoric directed at the Bush administration — speech designed for an editorial page but not suitable for a classroom.

Josh Moskowitz (jmoskowitz@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in political science and journalism.

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Anonymous (October 5, 2005 @ 11:04am):

While discussing President Bush, Mr. Lierman referred to him as an "idiot."

At least Bush is smarter and got better grades at Yale than Kerry. Maybe the Democrats would do better if they could find someone more intelligent than Bush to run for president?

Maybe it's just the standard liberal "you're an idiot if you don't agree with me" meme.

Anonymous (October 5, 2005 @ 1:10pm):

"Bush got better grades than Kerry at Yale."

That's the best you can do?

Perhaps the speaker was not appropriate for the class, but when a state PARTY LEADER engages in PARTISAN rhetoric, why are we supposed to be shocked or surprised? Feel free to attack his rhetorical strategy as ineffective, but the outrage at this seems odd to me.

Of course, over the past five years, Republicans have engaged in nothing but bipartisan and constructive dialogue about the best direction to take the country. If only Democrats could get on board!

Anonymous (October 5, 2005 @ 4:34pm):

"Maybe it's just the standard liberal "you're an idiot if you don't agree with me" meme."

Liberals hardly have a monopoly on that moronic meme. Conservatives often take it a step further: "you're a traitor if you don't agree with me."

Anonymous (October 5, 2005 @ 6:42pm):

if you can't speak your mind, explain your job and responsibilities and vision for the future, whether it be partisan or not, in a classroom then censorship really has won. Perhaps negative comments towards republicans weren't appropriate, but a general representation of his view can surely be substantiated by construct of the forum.