Rainy Day Bloggers #49 & #65

Finally, a club both Allahpundit and I can join!  We are among the 100 Americans featured in July’s Townhall Magazine that are “most hated by the Left,” with my esteemed partner in blogging at #65 and me at #49.  The Boss Emeritus holds the #6 position, but coming in at #1 is exactly who’d you expect:

As we have watched the ongoing fight in America over the direction of the country, the actions of the Obama administration and Democratic Congress, and the efforts of the tea party movement, the Townhall editorial team has noticed a disturbing pattern: the American Left is trashing everyone who dares to stand against them.

The more effective the voices that oppose their agenda, the greater the venom the Left spews in their direction. It’s this out-of-control behavior from our fellow citizens who are sold out to the ultraliberal progressive Obama agenda to “radically transform” the United States that led us to create this list of “The 100 Americans the Left Hates Most.”

The Townhall editorial staff compiled a massive list of those we believe have the largest bull’s-eyes painted on them by the Left and the Democrat-dominated government. From that list, through a process of voting, debating and prioritizing, we assembled the final 100. There were only two absolute requirements: 1) They had to be living, which is why Ronald Reagan and William F. Buckley Jr. are not featured; and 2) they had to be American, which explains Mark Steyn and the Pope’s absence from the list.

The five conservatives who outranked Michelle Malkin in targeting by the Left, in ascending order:

• Ann Coulter
• George W. Bush
• Rush Limbaugh
• Sarah Palin
• Glenn Beck

Why does Beck get the top spot?  Townhall explains:

But it wasn’t just Beck’s joining the Democrats’ most-hated network that has driven liberals to hysteria and resulted in some sort of mental condition that causes them to go into conniption fits at the mere mention of his name in even casual conversation. (Just try uttering the words “Glenn Beck” within earshot of your favorite—or least favorite—leftist and see what happens.)

No, it’s more than Beck becoming one of Roger Ailes’ minions— much more. It’s also about more than the fact that he has a massive radio and TV audience of millions. Beck’s real sin is that he has successfully combined his concern for the direction of this country—a direction currently being dominated by progressives who hate what America has been—with a powerful defense of American exceptionalism and a passion for the Founding Fathers and the system of government and nation they created to produce a show that both educates and entertains.  (Seriously, not just anybody can get Americans riled up about Woodrow Wilson and launch F.A. Hayek’s “Road to Serfdom” to the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s best-seller list.)

Now, I have to stipulate that I don’t feel particularly hated; most of my interactions with political and ideological opponents has been at least professional and usually respectful, with a couple of exceptions hardly worth noting.  Still, it’s a pleasure to be mentioned in the same list as some of the people I admire, and with such great friends and mentors as Michelle, Rush, and Hugh Hewitt — whom I notice is less hated than me, but more hated than Allahpundit.   Must be that whole Cleveland Browns thing.  And you know who that helps, right?

So who do you think belongs on this list, and in what order?  Be sure to let us know in the comments!  And also be sure to get your copy of this list by subscribing to Townhall Magazine.  It features a monthly Hot Air conversation between Allahpundit and me exclusive to the magazine, as well as terrific in-depth writing on all of the hot issues of the day.

Note: Hot Air is a subsidiary of Salem Communications, which also publishes Townhall Magazine.  And yes, apologies to Bob Dylan for the post headline.

• Video: Dem Congressman rips IRS for abuses, threatens bringing in special prosecutor
• Sebelius touts ObamaCare as a boon to graduates instead of the war on the young it actually is
• Chris Christie’s challenger is going for it with a million-dollar ad buy in New Jersey

Blowback