Salon.com > S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp is wrong on marriage, but not why you might think

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:46:00 +0000

As if we needed further evidence of the malleable nature of ideology, this week conservative pundit S.E. Cupp responded to my critique of conservative “marriage promotion” arguments for supporting gay marriage by defending the cause of marriage equality:

Here’s what I wrote in my original Salon essay:

In the interest of expediency and bringing as many unlikely conservative allies on board, the gay rights movement may give cover to or even amplify a set of narrow values that rank married families as better than unmarried families, two parents as better than one parent — norms that continue to divide America into good people and deserving families versus everyone else. And even if we temporarily succeed in getting gay folks added to the “good” category, is it worth it? Plus do we really think that’s the way we or anyone else will be treated equally?

Five atheists who ruin it for everyone else

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:01:00 +0000

Like a fresh-baked loaf of sanity resting on the window of human possibility, atheism is on the rise in the United States. Will this growing constituency become a formidable political force before global warming decimates civilization? I'm skeptical. But according to the Pew Research Center, 1 in 5 of Americans now say they're either atheist, agnostic, or that they simply don't believe in anything in particular. That godless number was a scant 6 percent in 1990, and this spring roughly 20,000 atheists showed up—rain and all—at the first ever Reason Rally in DC, so, surely, despite the protestations of Texas Republicans, this newfangled thing called “critical thinking” is poised to better the national discourse, yes? Well...

The thing about the so-called “rationalist” movement in America is that disbelief in gods seems to be the only qualification to join the club. Disbelief in a supernatural creator, especially as the movement becomes more popular or “hep,” as I'm pretending the kids say, in no way guarantees rationality in matters of foreign policy or economics, for example. Many notable atheists believe in some powerfully stupid stuff—likely owing their prominence to these same benighted beliefs, lending an air of scientific credibility to the myths corporate media seeks to highlight, and thereby eroding the credibility of all atheists in the long-term. In other words: The crap always rises to the top.

No. 21: S.E. Cupp

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:01:00 +0000

An atheist who wrote a book about the liberal media's attack on "Christian America" (they gave the Narnia movies bad reviews because they hate Jesus), S.E. Cupp is the sort of commentator who'll declare creationism legitimate solely because liberal scientists say it isn't. She's not a moron or a nut, she just declares common cause with them to get ahead in the field of punditry.

The real problem isn't with her shameless book or her boring New York Daily News column. Cupp only pens those by-the-numbers conservative columns for the Daily News ("If I were a Democratic strategist: Dems need to ditch Obama's message -- and swing to the center" and "After Barack Obama, a dose of Hillary Clinton? Many moderates would support the secretary of state") so that there's a media outlet listed under her name when she appears on cable news, which she does relentlessly.

Right-wing rising star

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:16:00 +0000

Attempting to describe Tucker Carlson's new online magazine, the Daily Caller, Colin Delany writes at the Huffington Post: "one friend of mine referred to it as a cross between 'Politico, Drudge and the NY Post'; while another suggested 'Pajamas Media meets The Daily Beast.'" So far, says Delany, the Daily Caller is light on original reporting, heavy on "copy/paste substituting for actual journalism" and sexy page-view magnets. (As far as the latter goes, I do look forward to seeing whether they'll ever top my all-time favorite HuffPo headline, "Megan Fox Wears Panties, Lifts Foot Above Head.") "Nice work on the business front," he writes, noting that ad sales have gone tremendously well, "but that situation's unlikely to last unless this sucker ups its ante on the content side."