Andrew Sullivan & his Archives
I am handicapped as I work on a post on the increasingly banality and self-absorption of Andrew Sullivan’s ramblings writings on gay marriage (based, in large part, on this article). Back when I used to read Andrew’s blog regularly (before he moved to Time and then to his current berth at the Atlantic), he had his own freestanding web-site, AndrewSullivan.com. But, his archives from that domain name are long gone.
Odd that. I recall reading there Andrew’s praise of blogging (or was it the internet in general) because one’s archives were easily accessible so a reader could check a blogger’s past writings to see how well his predictions held up or if he really said what he claimed he said or maybe it was something else. Something about being accountable for what one call. I can’t really confirm that comment or report it with much accuracy because, well, I can’t access his blogging archives.
Nor can I check his past posts on gay marriage because they’ve gone down the memory hole. I recall him saying some pretty powerful things about marriage and social stability. And making clear that he believed monogamy was an essential aspect of marriage, indeed, had to correct Bill Bennett for accusing him of saying otherwise.
Maybe those are just my recollections. Maybe he didn’t say those things and I just extrapolated them from other things he had written, but I won’t know because, well, I can’t check his archives.
Perhaps, Andrew doesn’t want his new fans on the angry left to learn about some of the sensible things he once said — and the even-handed criticism he once offered of the president.
UPDATE: One reader and one commenter alerted me to this site which allows us to access disappeared sites. But, after playing around with it for some time, found no easy way to search it. You have to go through day by day. That can be time-consuming and tiresome.
All that said, I did do some searches today which helped me find enough background information for my post and hope to get to work on that as soon as this evening.
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I loved the 1984 passage, and it reminded me eerily of dealing with today’s hard leftists. The way they constantly shift concerns, arguments, alleged principles, even memories and “facts” when you argue with them.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — August 19, 2008 @ 5:09 pm - August 19, 2008
Dan, I too recall when Sullivan actually made sense rather than flame-throwing rhetoric (no pun intended). And it was through his blog that I first came to GP.com and found my soul sisters. So it did produce something good.
As I’ve stated before, I’ve noticed Sullivan’s descent from libertarian to left-wing firebrand with a sense of alarm. Maybe I’m over-analyzing or jumping to conclusions, but would it be out of place to suggest that maybe he is succumbing to some form of dementia?
And before any of the lower-case-libtards start planning a verbal pie-throwing party, I’ll just say that since Sullivan has acknowledged that he has begun experiencing complications from AIDS for the last few years, it wouldn’t be beyond a reasonable doubt to think that his disease may be afflicting his mental processes.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — August 19, 2008 @ 5:53 pm - August 19, 2008
Check webarchive.org for Sully’s past ramblings. It might be worth a shot.
Comment by Gay Midwest Republican — August 19, 2008 @ 6:07 pm - August 19, 2008
Scientists have long suspected that long-term HIV infection, even when it is controlled by medication, attacks the brain.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — August 19, 2008 @ 6:37 pm - August 19, 2008
In a strange coincidence, Andrew’s heart-throb Barack Obama also is trying to shove his past down the memory hole. Apparently, the University of Illinois - Chicago, is going to great lengths to keep anyone from examining the archived papers of Annenberg Center… on whose board, Barack Obama sat with terrorist Bill Ayers. What is the Obamassiah hiding?
Comment by V the K — August 19, 2008 @ 7:05 pm - August 19, 2008
Try http://www.archive.org to see if you can retrieve Barebackius Maximus’s old website.
Comment by Attmay — August 19, 2008 @ 7:18 pm - August 19, 2008
http://web.archive.org/web/20041109032437/andrewsullivan.com/homosexuality.php
Comment by michael — August 19, 2008 @ 8:25 pm - August 19, 2008
Two things, as you mentioned, he doesn’t want his new fans on the left to know that he was once a thoughtful nuanced man.
Second of all, I just read his article that you linked to in the Atlantic. Despite his statement that marriage in the 21st century is not about children - it still largely is.
I was also very mystified. I know gay couples who not only got the State approved Domestic Partner certificate. They got married, in front of family and friends. This was a more important statement to their communities than the government document.
I feel sorry for Sully that only once the State approved his marriage could he go ahead with such a ceremony. Most of us, whether straight or gay realize that it is making the commitment in front of our peers, families and friends that makes the marriage real. What a sad place the liberal world is - only the State matters.
Comment by Leah — August 19, 2008 @ 8:30 pm - August 19, 2008
Michael–I intend to cite that article in my post.
Thanks for the alert!
Comment by GayPatriotWest — August 19, 2008 @ 8:39 pm - August 19, 2008
it was fairly simple to find.
Comment by michael — August 19, 2008 @ 8:50 pm - August 19, 2008
I dunno if dementia is likely or not. I think its more likely that his meds are affecting his hormones or something, but even more likely, i think, is that his bf is probably a big lib and he seems to me to be the kind of person who would toss his core beliefs, and his mother, and a box full of kittens under the bus for a bf. Or maybe some combination of the above.
One thing’s for certain, there’s certainly nothing rational about it.
Comment by American Elephant — August 20, 2008 @ 2:00 am - August 20, 2008