Yesterday, I posted a commentary from Donald Douglas at American Power in which he said (among other things) that Elizabeth Edwards was a “nihilist” because she said in her last public remarks about her illness that she put her faith in “family, friends, and the power of resilience and hope,” and did not explicitly mention God.
Today, reacting to the news that Elizabeth Edwards has died, Douglas writes the following:
Pray for Elizabeth Edwards. Pray for her soul. We need to, since lefties won’t do it. …
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It’s not a PC issue whatsoever. At death’s door, Elizabeth Edwards lost her faith. I was taken aback when I read her statement yesterday. She had put her faith in hope, but not in God. And it’s sad that there was no greater body of spirit upon which Mrs. Edwards could draw. But it’s also sad that her supposed champions have descended to the putrid depths of recrimination. Yet, I welcome this. Look at the vile hatred spewing from my comments. They hate the truth of Elizabeth Edwards’ rejection of God, her nihilism in the face of the awesome unknown. And they hate not only that I have stressed it, but also the fact that one of their own partisans applauded it — yes, applauded it just as radical progressives applaud John Lennon’s irreligious anthem, “Imagine.” But again, let us pray. We pray for those so injured by the truth of their revealed anti-religious doctrines, for those who espouse fake references to the Word of God. It is on this ideological plain where we meet hatred with heart. Let us pray for those who hate. Let us raise our hands to Him so that he will lead them to love and not vengeance. Pray so they will rejoice in something good and righteous. So that they will relinquish that which drives them to rage. Let us hope to Heaven that they will reject their nihilism.
I don’t usually feel the need to “balance” points of view (to the dismay of many TMV readers, I know!), but in this instance it feels very important to me — in truth, it feels essential — to point out that being a devout Christian (or a devout anything) and/or being conservative or right-wing, does NOT have to mean that you forgot or maybe never knew what your heart is for. For that reason, I am going to round up, here, some reaction to Elizabeth Edwards’ death that comes exclusively from conservatives. To be clear, there is lots of sympathetic reaction from liberals, of course. But you would expect that. I want to focus on what conservatives and even many who are far to the right are saying about Edwards’ passing — to demonstrate that Donald Douglas’s cruelty and judgmentalism are about who he is as a person ONLY, and do not have anything to do with his (supposed) religiosity or his political beliefs. Please note also that I have quoted from literally every conservative blog posting about this news that I could find. I even went to Blogrunner to find more because Memeorandum doesn’t have that much blogger commentary about the news yet, but there just isn’t that much out there yet, liberal or conservative. I’m sure there will be more in the days ahead.
News breaking from WRAL in North Carolina that Elizabeth Edwards passed away this afternoon. She was gravely ill with breast cancer and announced yesterday that she had stopped medical treatment.
She leaves behind three children who deserve all the prayers that you can muster to lift them up, no matter what your politics are.
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As I noted in 2005, Mrs. Edwards was able to set aside partisanship when it came to the ravages of cancer. As should we all.
Allahpundit (and Ed Morrissey in a postscript):
Just 61 years old. The doctors stopped treating her cancer a few days ago because it would be “unproductive” and she posted a farewell message on Facebook only yesterday.
Her youngest son is 10.
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Her first son died in a car accident when he was a teenager, and if you’ve read “Game Change” (or any of the more salacious excerpts), you know that she and John had had a stormy relationship even before Rielle Hunter entered the picture. Although they were comfortable financially, in many ways she had a tough life. I hope she found some peace at the end.
Update (Ed): Although I don’t share Elizabeth Edwards’ political views, she struck me as a strong woman with more than the usual heavy load, as Allahpundit also notes. She will have more peace in the next life. We’ll say prayers for her, her family, and the many friends she made along the way.
Patterico’s Pontifications (a guest post by someone I don’t know named Aaron Worthing):
It is tempting to make some kind of comment about her husband, but let’s show some class and respect for the dead. Ms. Edwards herself seemed like an okay person, and Cnn is reporting by breaking news email that she is dead.
I hope she left this world in as much peace and as little pain as possible. And I hope she finds happiness in the next world.
Rhymes With Right (never heard of the blog, but it’s clearly conservative in outlook):
There is a place where politics stops, and human compassion begins. This is one of those places.
On the other hand, Douglas is not the only cold heart in political blogtopia, but I still say it has more to do with the character and heart of the individual and not with political outlook:
She did not apologize to us for participating in the deceit perpetrated by John Edwards, which skewed the 2008 Democratic primaries.
PAST CONTRIBUTOR.