Can an Obama Supporter* be a Conservative Blogress Diva?
Given her strong and frequent defenses of Sarah Palin, Camille Paglia certainly merits consideration for the coveted title of Grande Conservative Blogress Diva (soon to be renamed as the Ethel). She is tart-tongued and witty, speaking her mind. She never minces her words. While claiming to be of the left, does not allow herself to be pigeon-holed. In truth, she subscribes to no political ideology, acidly taking potshots at even her ostensible allies.
She’ll not only take them on if she doesn’t agree with them, but also if she doesn’t like the way they’re playing the game. She doesn’t let partisan labels or political worldview prevent her from calling things as she sees them. She may love Barack Obama, but she’ll lambaste her beloved Democrat when she believes he’s governing badly–or surrounding him with tone-deaf advisers. And she doesn’t soft-pedal such criticism, even of an ally. Even it if means being labeled “C**tzilla.”
I have long been a fan of this gifted scholar and social critic, having met her in 1994 at a reading/book-signing organized by the D.C.. bookstore Chapters. Her book Sexual Personae has been an invaluable resource for my dissertation on the goddess Athena. My readers–and almost never the liberal ones–regularly alert me to her columns. In short, this Obama supporter has gained the respect of gay conservatives, thus, in my mind, at least, qualifying her for the coveted contest.
Recall that we have defined a diva as a strong, confident woman who commands the respect of men. And of the Grande Conservative Blogress diva, I have written:
She need not be conservative herself . . . , but must by the the power of her prose, the eloquence of her expression and the intelligence of her ideas have earned the enmity of the angry left and so endeared herself to gay men like us who admire strong women who speak their minds, even at the expense of encomia from those in the entertainment industry and the MSM.
Being called C**tzilla suggests earning enmity from the angry left.
So, my friends, I put this question to you, in December, when we again began the process of selecting the most (cat) fought-over title in the blogosphere, should we consider Camille Paglia for Grande Conservative Blogress Diva?
For a slightly more nuanced view of Paglia, please make sure to read Endora-winning blogress (AKA Conservative Blogress Diva Regent) neeneocon’s take on the Obama-supporting diva.
*And Bush-critic.
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Rush Limbaugh tells the story of some function years ago in New York City where the hosts sat him and his then-wife at the same table with Prof. Paglia and her girlfriend. He guesses this was to try to make them all uncomfortable.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Limbaugh offered a cigar to Camille saying that “she seemed like a cigar person.” It turns out that she was and the party crowd was non-plussed to see them palling around like 19th century industrialists in a plume of Honduran smoke.
Makes me smile just to think of it.
Best wishes,
-MFS
Comment by MFS — August 14, 2009 @ 9:27 am - August 14, 2009
Paglia has some good qualities but I’m with neo-neocon on this one. In her most recent article, Paglia’s criticisms of Bush popped up from nowhere with a certain demented, politically-correct, Andrew Sullivan quality. (I thought Paglia was supposed to be against political correctness.) While Paglia’s criticisms of Obama all pointed toward an inevitable conclusion that Obama is a lying narcissist – but Paglia lacked the courage to draw that conclusion, like a lover in denial. I wasn’t impressed.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — August 14, 2009 @ 9:40 am - August 14, 2009
I, too, have been impressed with Ms. Paglia ever since reading “Personae” in the 90s. While I don’t always agree with her–especially regarding barry–she is ALWAYS on point and an interesting and fascinating read.
Comment by jonnot — August 14, 2009 @ 10:02 am - August 14, 2009
Put her on the list. Perhaps by December she will admit that she is sorry that she ever voted for Obama.
Comment by Swampfox — August 14, 2009 @ 11:21 am - August 14, 2009
As a more libertarian minded guy, I think she is always 100 % on with her view of politics. Her defense of Palin and criticisms of Obama and the Dems has been something they should take to heart if they wanted to make any real difference. I’m not sure what Bush hating she evoked in last time, but I don’t remember reading it in her most recent article that came out Tuesday… Insomuch as conservative can mean libertarian, I would be happy to see her given the title.
Comment by Tim — August 14, 2009 @ 11:21 am - August 14, 2009
Paglia writes and speaks a lot about political persona, the emotional attraction of leaders. That she is good at.
She seems inclined to find political power attractive, rather than ideology. Camille Paglia for Grande Conservative Blogress Diva? No, she follows her emotional attractions over any political belief.
Lately Peggy Noonan has been doing the opposite.
Comment by Geena — August 14, 2009 @ 12:35 pm - August 14, 2009
I finished reading an article yesterday that you referred your readers to – I was convinced it was a conservative blog only to be surprised that Ms. Paglia is a liberal. How refreshing to hear from someone on the other side take issue with her Party.
Comment by Duffy - Native Intelligence — August 14, 2009 @ 5:15 pm - August 14, 2009
Ronald Reagan famously said, “My eighty-percent friend is not my twenty-percent enemy”. I don’t think he would say the same about his 20% friend, which is what Paglia is.
No, Paglia is not a conservative diva in any sense.
And just an idea, but rather than name your award for thinking bloggers after Endora or Ethel — neither of whom are known for their ideas — why not name it after a conservative diva who is? Like the Maggie? Or the Jeannie?
Comment by American Elephant — August 14, 2009 @ 6:15 pm - August 14, 2009
I posted my comment on Paglia at Legal Insurrection (Jim Treacher bottom-lined my take and was much pithier: She recognizes that the emperor has no clothes, but keeps blaming it on the incompetence of his retinue). I think Paglia is brilliant but in a tragic way. She is just locked into a box of liberal dementia in some respects.
As for the “strong, confident woman” line, that always reminds me of Matthew Perry.
Comment by Peg C. — August 14, 2009 @ 6:37 pm - August 14, 2009
Every column of Paglia’s since the inauguration has begun along the lines of “I love Barack Obama–but I’m only giving him one more chance!” This woman is seriously in denial. She is definitely independent-minded and good on many conservative issues (e.g., global warming, gun rights), but she still identifies as a proud Democrat.
I nominate Caroline Glick (http://carolineglick.com/) or Heather Mac Donald (http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/mac_donald.htm).
Comment by Scott Spiegel — August 14, 2009 @ 11:18 pm - August 14, 2009