Is Thomas Frank Part of a Right-Wing Plot?

reason contributor Todd Seavey, who blogs under the great slogan "Conservatism for punks," cuts What's the Matter with Kansas? author and Wall Street Journal columnist Thomas Frank down to size:

Virtually every column he writes takes one of two juvenile forms: either he (1) accuses conservatives of deliberately harming people or screwing things up to advance their sinister agenda or, even more annoyingly, (2) picks some bizarre boondoggle associated with Republican politicians but in no logical way an outgrowth of conservative (and certainly not free-market) ideology (waste and ineptitude at the Department of Labor, in one recent column), then claims, like a child yelling "Tag! You're it!" that since the boondoggle is nominally "conservative" (or in the case of the Department of Labor, was merely spoken of in a positive way once by religious-right activist Paul Weyrich), said boondoggle is not merely conservative but in fact a perfect representation of conservatism at its best, thus proving all conservatives (like me) to be evil morons (like Thomas Frank).

Then the gloves come off:

If he really believes, though, in constant sinister calculations by conservatives (who always get exactly the results they wanted in the political realm!), I have a great conspiracy theory for him: I think the Wall Street Journal hired him as the ongoing default left-wing columnist precisely to remind their right-leaning readers what complete idiots there are on the left. (Has it never crossed your mind that this might be why you were cast in the role, Mr. Frank?)

Whole thing here. For the definitive takedown of Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas?, look no further than reason's own Jesse Walker.