I have no idea if Geoff Nunberg is right that conservatives spend more time ranting about agent verb-ing liberals than liberals do about agent verb-ing conservatives. I was struck by the dichotomy in this passage, however: "On the Web, Volvo-driving liberal outnumbers pickup- or truck-driving conservative"
We are a two-car household. I drive the pickup, Sara drives the Volvo. And she's more conservative than I am on any issue you could name.
Posted by Ben Brumfield at July 17, 2006 09:30 PMBen, I know that you know that he's talking about the use of a false dichotomy used by other people, not proposing one himself.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at July 19, 2006 10:52 PMNo, actually he's contrasting the two to make his point about rhetoric and syntax. The proposed dichotomy may be implicit, but it's his.
Posted by: Ben Brumfield at July 20, 2006 05:28 AMNunberg invented the truck-driving/volvo-driving dichotomy? I think I'm missing something.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at July 20, 2006 10:14 AMNurnberg is the one doing the googling, and thinks it appropriate to choose these two phrases to compare.
I actually think he's right about this, and my post was spawned by amusement about the mismatch with my own household than serious criticism of Nurnberg's (fascinating) point.
Posted by: Ben Brumfield at July 20, 2006 10:19 AM