Earlier today on CNN's Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz spoke to newly minted CNN contributor Erick Erickson about the controversy his new job with the network has fueled, and confronted Erickson with several of the inflammatory things Erickson has written in his capacity as editor of RedState.com.
Erickson tried to come off as contrite throughout the interview, and after Kurtz noted that Erickson had called Michelle Obama a “Marxist harpy,” Erickson had this to say: “Since that time I've really learned, headed into, frankly, the David Souter comment, that I don't have to get personal in blogging to make my point. I definitely evolved over time.”
The “David Souter comment,” of course, was Erickson's April 2009 reference to the retiring Supreme Court justice as a “goat f##king child molester.” When Kurtz took that opening to confront him with that scurrilous attack, Erickson explained the “good” that came out of it:
ERICKSON: Being a blogger, up until that moment, I always considered I was just a guy chatting with friends, even on Twitter, and realized that I've actually reached the point where people listen to what I say and care about what I say and, frankly, it was a wake-up call to me that I had to grow up in how I write.
Well I must say it's certainly good to see that Erick Erickson finally decided to “evolve” and “grow up” as a writer. That newfound sense of maturity must have been on display three weeks ago when he made a “poor attempt at conspiracy humor” in suggesting that Democrats would kill former Rep. Eric Massa. And he really demonstrated some true growth when he spent the Super Bowl insulting “ugly feminists” who are “too ugly to get a date” and should “return to their kitchens.” And, truly, only a writer who has really “grown up” and “evolved” would call two sitting senators “health care suicide bombers,” as Erickson did in January.
So thank goodness Erick Erickson has decided to grow up, because now we all -- CNN viewers in particular -- can enjoy his mature and enlightened perspective on the world.