Thursday, August 20, 2009
Robert Novak, Rest In Peace
Robert D. Novak, 78, an influential columnist and panelist on TV news-discussion shows who called himself a "stirrer up of strife" on behalf of conservative causes, died Tuesday at his home in Washington of a brain tumor first diagnosed in July 2008.
In recent years, Mr. Novak became known for publicly identifying CIA officer Valerie Plame in a 2003 column. The incident triggered a lengthy federal investigation into the government leak and resulted in the 2007 conviction of a top vice presidential aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, for perjury and obstruction of justice.
[ I don't see how one can "out" a CIA agent who wasn't covert or undercover, but that's another post. - Drake ]
Many followers of politics knew Mr. Novak from his television appearances on debate programs such as "The McLaughlin Group" and "Crossfire," which pitted liberals such as Bill Press and James Carville against conservatives such as Mr. Novak and Pat Buchanan and left them to spar on divisive social issues.
Mr. Novak said regular appearances on those shows heightened a more-combative aspect of his personality and helped define his reputation as a self-professed "right-wing ideologue."
"I found myself engaged on issues I seldom wrote about: capital punishment, gay rights, abortion and gun control," he once wrote. "I was never asked to take any position I opposed, but the process had the effect of hardening my positions."
He added that he rarely disliked those with whom he appeared combative. One significant exception was then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, whom the columnist called a populist demagogue and "habitual liar."
On one episode of "Face the Nation," Mr. Novak insisted that the candidate reveal which members of the diplomatic corps Carter objected to as "fat, bloated, ignorant" and unqualified except for being Nixon financiers. Carter declined to answer, and Mr. Novak persisted: "Can you name one, though? You make the accusation all over. There are only four ambassadors, governor, who have contributions to Mr. Nixon. Are any of them that fit that category?"
Liberals didn't like Mr. Novak because he spoke the truth about their BS. He knew they were Lying POS.
From FOX News:
...was [Novak] the coolest man on the planet?
Of course not. But in my opinion, he deserves to be in the top 100 or at least ahead of Green Day.
See, Novak epitomized cool because he stole the left's stereotype of conservatism and made it his own. If being a fan of free markets, a strong defense and limited government made him evil, then evil he was.
And so he became Satan. And like the devil, he never changed.
Novak ignored trends: He looked Novakian for decades: Short, round, joyfully evil, like an alien marble that survived on puppy souls.
RIP Robert Novak. One of the good guys.
©2009
Labels: Celebrity Deaths, Robert Novak, Ted Kennedy
That's okay, tho. The Tumor Head doesn't have long to live.
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