Oh the ironing. When I read this description of CK, I thought I was reading something I would write about you. You express many over-the-top hyperbolized opinions about libs, but you're also non-doctrinaire and quite reasonable on many specific issues. Your description of him is fairly close to accurate. You guys have some things in common. Not trying to be insulting here at all, just descriptive. You and CK are both interesting to debate at times.
I would not be insulted to be compared to CK. We both tend to have positions both far left and far right, and I think he's a pretty sharp cookie. And personally, I miss Steeplerot's posting. Although he's one of our most leftie posters and displays the arrogance and disdain for others with dissenting values typical of the proggie mainstream, he's also smart and articulate and has a very good sense of humor.
No. Partisan means blindly defending "your team" with no questions asked. CK didn't have a team. He didn't choose a side. He criticized Dems on many occasions. He critcized conservatives much more often because they fuck up much more often. It's as simple as that. Also, I doubt he said "Dems are too nice to Pubs." He probably said Dems cave in to Pubs too often. If my assumption is correct, you just posted another straw man. Grats.
Now lets move on to the insults. Wear my helmet and simply idiotic. The first is completely overused and boring tripe and the second an old stand by. Both uttered by a guy who has been "debating" in the P&N forum for how long now(?) and still doesn't know the meaning of the word "partisan."
That, my friend, is how you do it.
Again, if you are baldly stating that one team is evil, you have a team. Pretending otherwise just makes you look dishonest and/or stupid. There is almost no one here who blindly defends their team no matter what, because almost no one agrees with any party 100% of the time. I for instance have "a team", the right. Even though I disagree with probably 60% of everything the Republicans do and stand for, even though I've been coming down on the left (or at least with the Democrats) on most issues lately, the right is the side with which I most align myself. (Not counting the Libertarians, with whom I share more positions but also have fundamental differences.) I could easily profess my nonpartisan status based on environmental issues, gay marriage, Obama's Syrian performance, parts of Obamacare and a host of other issues.
It would however be dishonest for me to do so, and smart people would think me either stupid enough to believe I'm non-partisan, or at the least stupid enough to believe that other people will believe it. It's the Internet so there's really no down side to me if others think I'm stupid, but there's no particular reason for me to be dishonest either. There are relatively few people on these forums (or any political forums) who don't really have a side - Hayabusa Rider comes immediately to mind, and BoberFett - and those who don't have a preferred side tend to either be arguing politics mainly on the force of one or two issues, or else they're libertarians or anarchists who hate both parties roughly equally and want a place to say so.
As to the insults, they aren't supposed to have any heat. Just my way of saying "dumb ass", don't mean nothin'. They are my version "Jane, you ignorant slut." If I ever think you really need insulting, I'll work harder, I promise.