Is Peter Cuthbertson An "Ignorant, Lying Brat?"

PROFILE
One of England's most conservative bloggers talks to 51 about being young, right-wing, and controversial.

"Horribly compelling."

Peter Cuthbertson buddies up to conservative legend and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in May. (Image copyright Peter Cuthbertson 2004)

That's The Guardian's appraisal of Peter Cuthbertson's Conservative Commentary weblog. You know you've hit the right-wing big time when the one of the world's leading liberal newspapers gives you airtime, albeit grudgingly.

“As I recall, the remark was made in passing rather than in deep context,” writes Cuthbertson, in an October 26 e-mail interview with 51. “Of course, I agree on the phrase.”

But when you're barely 21 years old and just trying to get through another year at a university, as is Cuthbertson, shouldn't you be more concerned about your next exam than what the world press makes of your blog?

Well, no.

He’s been known to incite thoughtful conversation, not to mention bitter controversy, with his staunchly conservative posts. With so many eyes on this 21 year-old, he may as well consider blogging part of his studies. No topic is too sacred for “ConCom,” the nickname Cuthbertson has given his blog; he’s as outspoken on issues such as abortion (to pro-choicers, he quips: "It would be utterly absurd to say "Don't like rape? Then don't commit any'") and homosexuality as he is on tamer subjects such as immigration or the manifold laws, restrictions and debates regarding England's place in the European Union. And anyone who has the nerve to call John Lennon a “nasty little twerp” has got to have some serious cajones.

But the Cuthbertson 51 got to know through an extended e-mail interview is one far more tolerant and reserved than his detractors would probably like to believe.

“I enjoy reading posts I find insightful and accurate and also those I find deeply disagreeable,” writes Cuthbertson. "I welcome both the internal debate I have with myself, and then the external debate I have when writing a response and debating that on blogs."

He’s not exactly the Bill O’Reilly of the British blogosphere just yet, but give it a little while. Like O’Reilly’s foray into moderate territory on The Daily Show when he played the "undecided voter" for Jon Stewart, Cuthbertson is obviously media savvy enough to know that the occasional viciousness of his posts is, perhaps, best left in the posts themselves.

"I find Jerry Springer too depressing," writes Cuthbertson, in an October 11 "Quote of the Day" post. "It's the Democratic base and the consequences of Democratic social policies all rolled into one."

(Reader beware: this comparison has nothing to do with O’Reilly’s most recent exploits.)

Cuthbertson is an elusive, even shy, fellow, eschewing a phone interview for an e-mail one because he feels he is "much more articulate" in writing. His reserved, self-deprecating demeanor seems poles apart from the fervent conservative behind sites like Biased BBC, a kind of media-watchdog group blog, and PC Watch, dedicated to pitch battle against "the creeping dictatorship of the left." When he gets going, he really gets going, especially on the War in Iraq: "Iraqis have been portrayed in places as virtual demi-gods, a whole nation of ancient Athenians, ready to democratise the Middle East by their example. I'm not so confident." His is a conservative crusade against liberals of every ilk, and that includes members of his own generation.

“Young people have a natural disposition towards extremism and utopian nonsense, a point demonstrated by teenagers at every left-wing demonstration assuring you that England's communist revolution is just around the corner,” writes Cuthbertson, in an April 9, 2004 blog post.

He keeps up with many worldwide elections, but he took special interest in this year's presidential race.

"After the horrors of New York, Washington, D.C., Bali, Madrid, and Beslan, the U.S. presidential election is now
enormously decisive," he writes. He is, of course, a Bush fan, and shocked at the kind of violent imprecations being hurled against Bush in the press.

"Everyone knows there are a lot of people who really would welcome the president's murder," writes Cuthbertson. "The degree of hatred and hysteria directed at Bush is such that people who consider themselves open-minded and decent really can express such wishes and not be challenged on them."

Caustic though he can be, Cuthbertson says his political interests have a deeper source than those of the average Net pundit. “I am much more directly interested in underlying views of life and human nature than most other bloggers,” he writes. “I take the view that ultimately liberalism, socialism, socially liberal strands of libertarianism, etc., all fall down in their perspectives on human nature.”

“I am much more directly interested in underlying views of life and human nature than most other bloggers,” he writes. “I take the view that ultimately liberalism, socialism, socially liberal strands of libertarianism, etc., all fall down in their perspectives on human nature.”

He favors Hobbes and Machiavelli, saying they "are the most realistic [social philosophers], forming the best philosophical basis for understanding people’s inclinations and motivations."

Cuthbertson will tell you he argues on principle, starting at the roots of man's behavior and working outward from there. His arguments frequently question the inner motivations of his opponents as much as their outward actions.

“The issues that matter [most] to me ... are those which directly affect everyday life in a substantial way– crime, family breakdown, values," he writes. "When you get them right, good in other areas usually follows. If a society’s values are rotten, solving almost any other problems will be much more difficult.”

He is, unsurprisingly, a philosophy student, whose “fundamental disagreements” with left-wing thinkers “go beyond simple policy differences.” Sometimes those fundamental disagreements, however, seem to collapse into the realm of the downright petty.

Googling "Peter Cuthbertson" produces a fascinating fifth hit: "Peter Cuthbertson is an ignorant lying brat."

Liberal Brit blogger Chris Lightfoot accuses Cuthbertson of censoring disagreeable comments to a post on immigration. "Never wrestle with a pig," writes Lightfoot. "You both get dirty, and the pig likes it. Tory boy weblogger Peter Cuthbertson, whose idiotic post on immigration I mentioned earlier, has now deleted comments I made to his weblog with which he disagreed."

We’ll probably never know what actually happened, but Lightfoot’s proof is pretty convincing.

Still, is Peter Cuthbertson an ignorant lying brat?

51 can’t speculate about his veracity or his brattiness, but he hardly seems ignorant. His posts are pretty darned thoughtful, as far as blog posts go, and they tend to generate spicy comments from his audience. People are reading ConCom, whether they agree with it or not. A Google search reveals that Conservative Commentary has hundreds of pages linking to it, from sites like the Washington Monthly to the British Leftlog. Cuthbertson says his hit count is between 2000 and 3000 hits per week - peaking at around 5000. When that many people are paying attention, you have to believe he's doing something right.

"Getting these points across does require a certain amount of thought and philosophizing," writes Cuthbertson, of his tendency toward extended posts, necessary, he says, in order to adequately articulate his ideas.

No matter how viciously anti-Cuthbertson some of his readers may be, none can deny his bona fides as a political insider. His voluntary work as an advisor to conservative European MP Nirj Deva, for whom he campaigns, giving him an informed perspective when it comes to the fine art of political punditry.

Of course, as a conservative, he couldn't be happier about Dubya's win last Tuesday.

"I am delighted by this," wrote Cuthbertson when 51 frantically e-mailed him, in the early hours of November 3. "I do think Bush deserves, and the world needs, a second term for the Republicans. As they say, I don't want someone with a September 10 mindset in the White House."