No Straw MenEnlightened discourse proscribes arguments that are weak or imaginary, like straw, set up only to be confuted summarily.

Redstate Gratuitously Attacks Ron Paul and Mel Martinez

Redstate is the most prominent and influential group blog on the right. Its managing editor, Erick Erickson, works hard and does good work, and his success is evident in that Eagle Publishing recently bought the blog.

Three of Erick’s recent posts, however, evince a streak of overzealous activism that is misguided and gratuitous.

First, he posted a ridiculous and insulting interview with Ron Paul: instead of actually talking to Paul, he parodied him as a Martian.

Second, he attacked another straw man: instead of engaging Paul’s policy positions, he spewed venom on his supporters—”damn dirty liberal hippies in need of real jobs.”

Finally, today, he trained his ire on RNC chairman Mel Martinez, who yesterday chided Romney and Giuliani “for opposing and mischaracterizing the Senate immigration bill Mr. Martinez helped craft,” the Washington Times reports.

“It’s about leading on the tough issues,” Mr. Martinez told the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce … “It was easy to say, ‘This wasn’t good enough, this isn’t right, I don’t agree with Martinez’ … But at the end of the day, what is your answer? How would you solve this?

Erick argues that the party chairman must never attack fellow Republicans, and so he is demanding that Martinez be fired, and is urging Redstate’s readers to call their state parties to this effect.

The irony, of course, is that Erick is attacking a Republican for attacking other Republicans.

Moreover, Erick’s outrage—he calls Martinez an “incompetent fool”—is wildly disproportionate to Martinez’s alleged offense (a mild rebuke on its own, but especially mild when compared with Lindsay Graham’s bigot remark).

Related: “A 12th Commandment: Principle Before Party.”