A Post-Imus 'Republic of Virtue'; Beware of Purported Good Intentions

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Byline: Tony Blankley, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Imus affair was not about Don Imus; it was and more importantly, is about the motives of those who brought him down. And we should be familiar with those motives, because they recur throughout history. They were well articulated in a once-famous speech:

"Since virtue (good citizenship) and equality are the soul of the republic .. it follows that the first rule of your political conduct must be to relate all of your measures to the maintenance of equality and to the development of virtue..

"What is our goal? The enforcement of the constitution for the benefit of the people. Who will our enemies be? The vicious and the rich. What means will they employ? Slander and hypocrisy .. The people must therefore be enlightened. But what are the obstacles to the enlightenment of the people? Mercenary writers who …