Is Iain Dale a hypocrite...you decide

Iain Dale February 12 2007:

"Over the last few weeks a huge amount of damage has been done to the British blogosphere. Blogwars have broken out between various parties which have made us all appear like obsessive schoolschildren who have nothing better to do with our time than flame each other...It's time to call a halt to this before it all gets out of hand"

"...In the spirit of reaching out to those who seem to have developed an unhealthy obsession with me I say this. I refuse to get dragged in to a war with you. You can keep sending over the missiles but I'm not firing back."

Iain Dales blog yesterday in the comments section (remember Dale moderates and approves comments before he publishes them):

"...         The comment calling the Labour Humanist a cretin has been deleted at place. More imaginative insults required."

Is Iain Dale a hypocrite? Here's a dictionary definition:

"a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs"

There you go, make up your own minds.

Iain, if you are not a hypocrite...why do you approve comments which urge the posting of abuse on other people's blogs?

Update: comment from bloggerheads

Comments

[Reagan Fan]

You lot just don't get it do you? Offence can be fair comment, especially when targetted at your type. Gratuitous offence, unearned rancour, that's what decent people oppose. Iain Dale has done nothing to contradict that position. Grow up.

[Iain Dale]

Labour Humanist should get a life. You decide.

[The Labour Humanist]

Haha, Dale, case proven.

[Praguetory]

You started it by calling Guido a Tory tosser in your post. Anyway the comment you deleted said that you "seemed like a cretin" meaning that you were displaying low intelligence. Is that kind of "abuse" so painful for you? I don't know why you are surprised that attacking the two most popular British political bloggers leads to blowback.

[The Labour Humanist]

reaganfan - "useful idiot"

praguetory - thanks for the laugh, I thought you were an internet troll when in fact you are the white knight of the blogosphere rushing in to defend the honour of a character like paul staines. Keep posting the comments because they are only making my argument for me.

[Justin]

Don't listen to Dominic Fisher. His comment sections are well pruned.

[Gregg]

Is Iain Dale a hypocrite?

He's a Tory, so yes, totally - they all are.

[Reagan Fan]

LOL! Me a useful idiot? Do you even know what that means?

"In political jargon, the term "useful idiot" was used during the Cold War by certain anticommunists to describe communists in western countries (particularly in the United States). The implication of the insult was that the communist in question was naïve, and that he or she was being cynically used by the Soviet Union, thus unwittingly betraying his or her home country."

-

So how exactly am I a useful idiot as opposed to someone who just sees you for what you are?

[The Labour Humanist]

reganfan - that you don't understand is fine with me. The original point stands.

[Reagan Fan]

The original point only stands in your mind, and I'm sure you thought it jolly clever to bandy about a term which sounds well-informed and intelligent but is entirely wrong in the context, but to everyone else it looks like Heather Mills-McCartney on a ski-slope - i.e. precariously unstable.

[Milton]

Reagan Fan : the term - amongst the politically seasoned - is used to describe someone who is willing to stand up for something without a full understanding of the facts.

I'd say that pretty much encompasses you.

I'm a Tory, but I find the likes of Dale and Staines very distasteful.