Molly I says what needs to be said about Gerson and the Civility Gambit. But I am not about to let this go. Let's be precise about what is meant by "civility" when this concept is invoked by apologists for the GOP regime. Here is Gerson:
Franken is not content to disagree with Karl Rove; he calls him "human filth." He is not satisfied to criticize Ari Fleischer; Franken terms him a "chimp." The objects of Franken's humor -- including political opponents and women -- are not merely mocked but dehumanized.
The move here is to insulate Rove and Fleisher from contempt. Note though that Rove is not in fact "dehumanized" by Franken; why, he is explicitly described as human filth!
But that's gravy. What are we supposed to really think of Karl Rove, a man who has deliberately degraded American politics? What are supposed to think of Ari Fleischer, a man who was paid to lie about war to the American people? Why not hold them in contempt? These are not people with whom one has a polite disagreement. These are people who have earned contempt -- bitter contempt -- by reason of their words and actions.
This should be how public discourse works in a democracy: an eye for an eye, a fuck you for a mealymouthed or self-serving defense of institutionalized torture and incompetent warmongering.
Let's count immorality by the corpse, not the f-word. Why not.
UPDATE. Morality.
You taught me language, and my profit on it, is I know how to curse.