Moonbat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Moonbat is a term used in United States politics as a political epithet referring to liberals or leftists.

Contents

[edit] Etymology

According to an article by self-described New York Times "language maven" William Safire, the term was first used by science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein in 1947.[1] Heinlein used the term in a 1947 short story, "Space Jockey," as the name of the third stage of a rocket bound for the moon. Descriptions of bat-like people on the moon were part of the 1835 Great Moon Hoax. One explanation for the current political use is that the term was derived from the name of liberal author George Monbiot.

[edit] Examples of usage

  • According to William Safire, "The prevailing put-down of right-wing bloggers is wingnuts; this has recently been countered by the vilification of left-wing partisans who use the Web as moonbats..."[1]
  • On March 14, 2000 Jonah Goldberg's National Review Online column "Our, *ahem*, FAQ Welcome New Readers" contained the following: "Alas, because Goldberg watches Baywatch everyday and can name the main characters in almost every Marvel comic book from 1976 to 1986, he occasionally makes errors. Far more often, he simply writes things that make readers say, "Is this guy higher than a moonbat?""[2]
  • Howie Carr of the Boston Herald uses the term regularly in his columns.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Carr wrote in 2008 about the number of "Moonbats" inhabiting the town of Arlington, Massachusetts. In response, a group of Arlington residents started a web site for the Menotomy Moonbats.[9][10][11][12][13]
  • Margery Eagan, another Herald columnist, has used the term several times to characterize some supporters of Democratic governor Deval Patrick.[14][15][16]
  • Conservative columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin was quoted by Howard Kurtz as writing, "But now the determined moonbat hordes have exposed multiple instances of what clearly appear to me to be blatant lifting of entire, unique passages by [conservative blogger] Ben Domenech from other writers," [17] in reference to Domenech's resignation from the Washington Post after evidence of his plagiarism came to light.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Safire, William (2006-09-03). "On Language: Moon Bats & Wing Nuts". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/magazine/03wwln_safire.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-02. 
  2. ^ Jonah Goldberg. Our, *ahem*, FAQ, National Review Online
  3. ^ Carr, Howie (2007-01-31). "Kerry's continued mincing just proves he's not so Swift". Boston Herald. pp. 10. 
  4. ^ Carr, Howie (2007-02-25). "Draped in controversy, is it curtains for Deval?". Boston Herald. pp. 9. 
  5. ^ Carr, Howie (2007-03-08). "Hillary circling as Obama looks for parking spot". Boston Herald. pp. 4. 
  6. ^ Carr, Howie (2007-03-14). "Good luck, Lefty - it's going to be a long haul". Boston Herald. pp. 4. 
  7. ^ Carr, Howie (2007-03-23). "Pols paying higher taxes, show yourselves". Boston Herald. pp. 16. 
  8. ^ Carr, Howie (2007-04-22). "Aging moonbats tapped to `advise' governor". Boston Herald. pp. 10. 
  9. ^ Carr, Howie (2008-07-03). "Marzilli-loving Moonbats have their blinders on". Boston Herald. http://hawk.heraldinteractive.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1104776. Retrieved on 2008-08-22. 
  10. ^ Carr, Howie (2008-08-03). "Test: How to tell if you’re a moonbat". Boston Herald. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1110729. Retrieved on 2008-08-22. 
  11. ^ Menotomy Moonbats volunteer web site
  12. ^ Chabot, Hillary (2008-08-02). "Moonbats unite! Show pride in hotbed suburb". Boston Herald. http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/politics/view.bg?articleid=1110565. Retrieved on 2008-08-22. 
  13. ^ Metzger, Andy (2008-07-31). "Political tees". Arlington Advocate Newspaper. http://www.wickedlocal.com/arlington/homepage/x380000031/Political-tees. Retrieved on 2008-08-22. 
  14. ^ Eagan, Margery (2006-09-21). "Moonbats swarming in Mass". Boston Herald. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/1132463221.html?dids=1132463221:1132463221&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Sep+21%2C+2006&author=MARGERY+EAGAN&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=8&desc=Moonbats+swarming+in+Mass.. Retrieved on 2007-03-18. 
  15. ^ Eagan, Margery (2006-09-24). "Battle For Governor: Sunday Smackdown". Boston Herald. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/1134512671.html?dids=1134512671:1134512671&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Sep+24%2C+2006&author=MARGERY+EAGAN&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=9&desc=BATTLE+FOR+GOVERNOR+. Retrieved on 2007-03-18. 
  16. ^ Eagan, Margery (2007-03-08). "Moonbats enter their blue phase". Boston Herald. http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=187135. Retrieved on 2007-03-17. 
  17. ^ Kurtz, Howard (2006-03-25). "Post.com Blogger Quits Amid Furor". Washington Post. pp. C01. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/24/AR2006032401206.html. Retrieved on 2007-07-03. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonbat"
Personal tools
Languages