I’ve already pointed out the two nicest things ever said about me. One was intentionally flattering, as Dick Armey mentioned in his book that I was one of the few people to take a principled stand against the TARP bailout back in 2008. The other was meant to be negative, as a left-wing English journalist said that I was “a high priest of light tax, small state libertarianism.” But I thought it was a wonderful endorsement.
Now the time has come for me to confess the nastiest things ever said about me. But I’m not thinking of the people who occasionally rip me in the comments section of this blog or attack me in the comments section of my videos.
Instead, I think it’s terrible when people say things that imply I might be getting soft and selling out.
This happens a lot in Washington, so much that free-market supporters call it the “strange new respect” award – a term that became infamous in certain circles after the Washington Post used it to applaud former Senator Bob Dole for acquiescing to the left on some issue.
Simply stated, if some statist person or institution is saying nice things about you, that probably means you’re doing something very bad. With that bit of background, here are the two awful things that were written about me.
o Albert Hunt used to write a weekly column for the Wall Street Journal, and was also a regular on CNN’s Capital Gang. He was a scion of establishment left-wing thinking, so I was horrified in 1994 when he wrote that I was a “responsible economic expert on the right.” After all, left wingers usually say people like me are “responsible” if we are willing to roll over and surrender.
o More recently, Nicholas Shaxson just wrote an anti-tax haven book called Treasure Islands. In one of the chapters, he wrote that I was one of the “noisiest and most active defenders” of low-tax jurisdictions. That was fine, but then he cold-cocked me by writing that I was “a man of striking warmth and great personal charm.” It goes without saying that this means I wasn’t vigorous enough in my defense of liberty during our meetings.
I don’t know if there’s a three-strikes-and-your-out policy, but I will work diligently to make sure I don’t receive any more praise from the wrong people.
[…] on the few occasions I’ve interacted with him, but it didn’t help my reputation when he wrote in the Wall Street Journal back in 1994 that I was a “responsible economic expert on the […]
#humblebrag
Daniel, on your old TV show about 15 years ago, you were very fond of the expressions; (1) “damned by faint praise” (from Pope); (2) “the perfect the enemy of the good” and (3) “will you still love me tomorrow morning.”
Putting my psychobabble hat on, it seems to me that you’re haunted by feelings of inadequacy. Suggest you get in 1 hour of vigorous exercise every day and sign up for a Dale Carnegie seminar.
Mr. Mitchell:
You have been a flamethrower of logic in a puddle of leftist gasoline.
You defend your positions by sticking to the facts and present your case in an even-handed fashion.
Some of your opponents could learn much from you…
Strange changes can happen to people when they are exposed to the rarefied political air of Washington. President Harry Truman told of an affliction called “Potomac Fever”. One symptom included the need to increase one’s hat size, due to an enlarged head. Another symptom can be observed when a person is found to be too big for their britches. Considering the level headedness of your analysis and the thoughtfulness of your writings, you do not appear to suffer from the aforementioned malady, regardless of whom your ‘admirers’ might be.
I don’t concur here. I think you can disagree without being disagreeable, a “gracious resister”. The fact that he thinks you were this way means Shaxson probably at least listened to you, even if his presuppositions would not allow him a concordant position. And you can actually make a greater impact if you disagree with a gracious rejoinder: “a gentle tongue breaks a bone” (Proverbs 25:15).
I’ve met you a couple of times through ATR or some such… You’ve always been a good guy to me. Of course, Bernie Ebbers was always good to me, too. That’s probably at least a foul ball.