CAMPUS

David Horowitz in the Lion’s Den

The Chronicle of Higher Education news blog has ongoing coverage of the Modern Language Association’s annual conference (yes, the same MLA of stylebook infamy), and it’s pretty interesting stuff.  This article on the appearance of David Horowitz caught my eye, especially the following:

Before the session began, members of the MLA Radical Caucus handed out a statement protesting the organization’s decision to invite Mr. Horowitz to speak. Mr. Horowitz “consistently misrepresents the views of academics whom he wishes to discredit,” the caucus said. “He is not a scholar but a liar of the Goebbels school.”

Ah, but of course. How perfectly reasonable to compare an outspoken critic of academia to the propoganda minister of Nazi Germany. (In Internet land, this is known as Godwin’s Law.) I would expect no less from the “radical caucus,” though. The rest of the article is just as amusing because the “scholars” attacking Horowitz come off as the real partisan hacks. To wit: name-calling, shouting, general rudeness, etc. In fact, they come off like the self-righteous college kids they teach. Coincidence?