May 23, 2013

"Right Wing News emailed more than 204 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to rate 75 prominent people on the Right."

"51 of them responded."

I responded to this poll, even though I didn't like that the middle category — between "admire"/"greatly admire" and "dislike"/"greatly dislike" — was "no opinion." I was forced to check "no opinion" for a lot of people that I had an opinion about. My opinion was I'm in the middle. (But then, am I "right-of-center"?)

By the way, the most admired person was Clarence Thomas, followed by (tie) Thomas Sowell and Mark Steyn. The least admired is Megan McCain.

"Net Numbers (Positive - Negative) For 2016 Presidential Contenders":
12) Chris Christie (-11)
11) Jeb Bush (4)
10) Marco Rubio (21)
9) Jan Brewer (25)
8) Condi Rice (31)
7) Rick Perry (33)
6) Paul Ryan (37)
5) Sarah Palin (39)
3) Rand Paul (40)
3) Scott Walker (40)
2) Bobby Jindal (43)
1) Ted Cruz (45)

28 comments:

Saint Croix said...

Okay, Clarence Thomas made the poll question but Antonin Scalia did not?

I am busting Right-Wing News on their affirmative action.

Ought to change your name to RINO News.

Saint Croix said...

And the funniest part of that poll is...

Lindsey Graham (no opinion yet)

Ha!

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

They're all admirable in that they're all successfully prominent.

Rich and famous. Isn't that the object?

"RULE: No voyage is complete without a side trip to scenic Self-Promotion Falls. Population, Shatner."

Beta Rube said...

I'm voting for Meade. That's it.

Saint Croix said...

I would love to see the left-wing version of this poll. What do you think of these prominent left-wingers? Which people on the left annoy people on the left?

Where would Obama place on such a poll? My guess would be, not very high. I also suspect that Michael Moore might also be in negative territory.

Saint Croix said...

Highest rated liberals...

Jon Stewart?

Rusty said...

Saint Croix said...
Highest rated liberals...

Jon Stewart?


Jon Stewart finally made me laugh.

edutcher said...

Yeah, Cruz is da man right now, but '24 is his year (assuming we still have a country), but that -11 for Christie leaves a mark.

edutcher said...

PS George Will, The Perrier Conservative, made the most popular list?

Steve Koch said...

Althouse is not right of center. She usually votes for dems, and is strongly for affirmative action, abortion rights, and gay marriage. Even though she teaches con law, she is more than OK when activist judges bypass the legislative process as long as she agrees with the results.

How does that all add up to right of center? I guess it depends on the definition of center.

Almost Ali said...

Glad to see Christie made the Fat Fuck category.

RecChief said...

Megan McCain is an idiot riding on her last name.

Phil 314 said...

Jan Brewer presidential candidate!?

campy said...

People who have never been in my kitchen.

sakredkow said...

Lindsay Graham might be a tough opponent.

sakredkow said...

Lindsay Graham might be a tough opponent.

Freeman Hunt said...

Oops. I forgot to fill mine out. Que sera sera.

Sowell, Thomas, and Steyn are good picks though.

Saint Croix, I wouldn't say it's affirmative action. Sowell is an intellectual giant by any standard. Thomas deals with more garbage from people than just about any other male conservative, and he does it with grace. People like that. Also, since the standard here is "admire," Thomas is an obvious choice with all that he has overcome.

Steyn's in there as one of the greatest wordsmiths and quickest wits of our time.

I didn't like that scale of admire versus dislike. Those are on different scales for me. There are people I like but do not admire. There are people I admire but do not like.

Known Unknown said...

Is Steve the lost Koch Brother?

bagoh20 said...

Us hillbillies love Thomas and Sowell more than an equal white version for a number of reasons:

1) We admire the additional strength it takes to buck the plantation mentality that most Blacks and liberals try to force on them with name calling, hatred, and attempts to censor. It's simply a tougher job and a thus a greater accomplishment.

2) Our acceptance and open admiration for them counters the charges of racism that are mindless and automatic from the left toward conservatives.

3) We believe that most of the problems minorities struggle with can be cured through the ideology and values, these men argue for and represent in their lives.

We see these men as the seeds of a huge step forward for all of us away from the easy tempting distractions and lies that separate us, and the hope of a time when we actually live and act according to what we claim to value on both sides: equality and freedom.

edutcher said...

Steve Koch said...

Althouse is not right of center. She usually votes for dems, and is strongly for affirmative action, abortion rights, and gay marriage. Even though she teaches con law, she is more than OK when activist judges bypass the legislative process as long as she agrees with the results.

How does that all add up to right of center? I guess it depends on the definition of center.


She tends to be rightish on foreign policy (9/11) and fiscal issues ('08 crash).

Writ Small said...

Bloggers overvalue the well spoken. No surprise there given their business is words. I'm glad to see some people who have, you know, real and recent accomplishments. Walker and Jindal in the top five of presidential contenders is hopeful.

test said...

Steve Koch said...
Althouse is not right of center. She usually votes for dems, and is strongly for affirmative action, abortion rights, and gay marriage. Even though she teaches con law, she is more than OK when activist judges bypass the legislative process as long as she agrees with the results.

How does that all add up to right of center? I guess it depends on the definition of center.


Honest moderate liberals are considered by both the right and the left to be defacto allies of the right merely by being honest. This says a lot about the quality of the left's beliefs and arguments.

Known Unknown said...

51/204?

Conservatives do hate intrusion into their lives!

Mr. D said...

Althouse lands in the right side of the blogosphere because (a) the host is a heterodox thinker and regular challenger of conventional wisdom and (b) the comment section is decidedly right of center.

AlanKH said...

Why is Condi even on the list? She's last decade's news.

Big Mike said...

Interesting couple of lists. "Most admired" is a Black man. Three of the top ten politicians are women, one of them Black, plus two Hispanics and an Asian. But the Republicans are uniformly the party of old white males.

Democrats are a bit reality-challenged, are they not.

Saint Croix said...

Thomas deals with more garbage from people than just about any other male conservative, and he does it with grace. People like that. Also, since the standard here is "admire," Thomas is an obvious choice with all that he has overcome.

Thomas' book about his upbringing is really amazing. Maybe the best autobiography I've ever read.

I don't think it's weird to include Thomas. It's weird to omit Scalia. And I do think black Republicans (and female Republicans) get more press than everybody else.

You're probably right, though, I was a bit harsh with the RINO charge. Although, seriously, who gives a shit about Michael Steele? Or Christine O'Donnell?

DEEBEE said...

Hillary is a "shoe"-in