No "Absence of Malice" in Bama instant replay

I wish Madison County Democratic chairman Clete Welti  had asked somebody ,as the young people say, before he walked into Radio Boy's  Attack Machine.  Somebody should have told him you don't take a knife to a gun fight, or, to just say NO when asked to be a guest on his show. 

Dale likes to say democrats and liberals are afraid to appear on his show, but it's not fear that keeps self respecting democrats away, it's the knowledge they are going to be treated with contempt and  malice.

Evidently Dale has his knickers in a knot because CleteWelti, also a volunteer columnist for al.com., called him out in his introductory column.  So what does Dale do?  He invites Clete to be a guest on his radio show so he can ambush him, then calls him a liar and the feckless leader of a failed party (among other things) on his blog.   2 minutes for Clete, 36 minutes for Dale, all attack all the time, unfair and unbalanced.

AL.com community editor Anthony Cook had this to say in defense of Dale's newest bullet in his resume;

  We live in a society where we can't discuss politics civilly with anyone who disagrees with us. Many of us can't even tolerate hearing an opinion that's different from our own. How pathetically weak we've become as a nation that has at its historical core the good sense to listen to and nurture ideas.

Truer words were never spoken, and if Mr. Cook wants to see an example of this type of discourse all he has to do is click on Dale's blog.  If you can't win the debate, resort to name calling, personal attacks, insults, lies, and moderate the comments.

Some readers expressed such intolerance in the comments section when Dale was announced as a new columnist with al.com, some even declaring they'd cancel their subscriptions to The Times. That would be the equivalent of canceling your cable because one channel broadcasts a show you don't like. I'd only remind you that you don't have to click on any link with Dale's name next to it.

Thanks for the reminder.

 When I look at the political landscape in this country, it's become the norm to see highly intelligent people, supposedly the best among us, acting like spoiled children, who must have their way or else. And even worse, it's not just a matter of their political opponents having a different opinion on issues, but Republicans and Democrats demonize each other, convincing constituents that the reason an opponent disagrees is because he or she is evil and wants to destroy the country. And worst of all, political opponents literally don't respect each other. They don't do lunch, they don't have conversations. Oh, they talk – plenty – but no one listens.

And therein lies the problem.