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How to mess up your new “political movement” right from the outset

Kiki McClean and Mark McKinnon discuss No Labels with Judy Woodruff at PBS. No need to watch the whole thing, though. Just listen to Kiki McClean’s first answer.

What “party” is that, Kiki? Does the “party” you hope to “make stronger” have a name, dear? Does it already exist as a thing whose label you’ve decided it best to obfuscate?

And Mr McKinnon: are you really comfortable being labeled a “Republican strategist” — especially after quitting the McCain campaign because you were “uncomfortable being in a campaign that would be inevitably attacking Barack Obama”? Tell me, would you have been comfortable attacking Hillary Clinton? Denis Kucinich? And if so, why them and not Mr Obama, I wonder?

Also, isn’t “Mafia Godmother” a kind of label — and one that has less an intellectual history than, say, socialism, which is now somehow off-limits?

Listen: I don’t blame you for wanting to rebrand yourselves. You aren’t conservative, but you dislike the radical democratic socialism of the “progressive” movement. But you are still liberals. You are either Democrats of Democrat lite — and on November 2, you were roundly rejected at the ballot box.

Charlie Crist? Mike Castle? David Frum? Joe Scarborough? Really?

Americans have rejected the “pragmatic” GOP establishment. They want smaller government, not an ever-expanding nannystate. They want less spending — and less of politicians presuming to tell them what to do.

And to think: many in the GOP establishment, as well as many “pragmatic” conservatives online, agitated for Crist and Castle and Murkowski– and worked to undercut primary challenges.

No wonder they’re against labels. Because when you’re working with an organization being run by mostly Democrat strategists, people are likely to conclude that you are, in effect, a Democrat — no matter what you’ve decided to call yourselves…

24 Replies to “How to mess up your new “political movement” right from the outset”

  1. alppuccino says:

    I think the fact that McKinnon dressed like Kevin Spacey on The Actors Studio is a tell as well.

  2. Lazarus_Long says:

    WAYYYYY OT:

    Jeff, did you see that the Philles re-signed Cliff Lee?

  3. Lazarus_Long says:

    Back on track…..

    Bipartisanship: “A state of affairs in which Republicans betray their supporters in order to mollify their political enemies and the editorial boards of The Washington Post and New York Times. Cf., capitulation, professional suicide.”

    -Tony Snow

  4. happyfeet says:

    It’s interesting we have this “radical centrist” movement what asserts fringeyness on the part of both parties appearing just as social cons have largely put aside their silly moral psychodramas to mostly focus on the spendings.

    I think they’re afraid Team R is becoming unfringey in many respects to an extent that is kinda remarkable. For as long as it lasts.

  5. Jeff G. says:

    I didn’t see that, no, LL.

    But no worries. I’m sure the Rockies signed a utility infielder and a Latin middle relief guy.

    CHAMPIONSHIP!

  6. Kiki McClean? I wouldn’t name a bimbo in a 70’s sex comedy that…

  7. sdferr says:

    These campaign consultant scum work hard to ruin our politics. Seems to me our politics is in want of a NO BOZOS party to run consultants out of business.

  8. Ernst Schreiber says:

    What’s that slogan of theirs? “Not Left. Not Right. Forward.”

    Oh yeah:

    PROGRESS!

  9. happyfeet says:

    After weeks of debate that touched on academics, race and politics, Evanston Township High School District 202 approved a dramatic plan Monday night that eliminates an honors English course for the highest-achieving incoming freshmen — usually white students.

    The unanimous school board vote paves the way for freshmen of all races, socioeconomic and achievement backgrounds next fall to take the same freshman humanities course next fall. Proponents of the move see it as a way to diversify advanced courses and circumvent the traditional process of tracking students into courses by test scores that often places minorities in lower-level classes.

    […]

    The district wants to apply the same approach to freshman biology in 2012-13.*

    this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal I think

  10. A fine scotch says:

    Don’t forget Ty Wigginton, Jeff!

  11. cranky-d says:

    Proponents of the move see it as a way to diversify advanced courses and circumvent the traditional process of tracking students into courses by test scores that often places minorities in lower-level classes.

    So they’re going to remove advanced courses in the name of diversity? Neato. Achievement and ability are meaningless.

    What the frak has happened to this country?

  12. alppuccino says:

    I’m sure the teachers at Evanston HS get all their heart surgery over at the barber college as well.

  13. Slartibartfast says:

    My party, the party of all that is good & right, as opposed to those evil bastards. Whom we’re not going to call by name, because that would be wrong.

  14. LBascom says:

    Partisanship is ok, hyper-partisanship is not ok.

    Who gets to decide when the label changes and you cross the line from ok to not ok?

  15. Ernst Schreiber says:

    Proponents of the move see it as a way to diversify advanced courses and circumvent the traditional process of tracking students into courses by test scores that often places minorities in lower-level classes.

    Try doing that with varsity sports ––football and basketball especially–– and see how long your tenure on the school board lasts.

  16. Slartibartfast says:

    “radical centrists”

    We’re supposed to take this guy seriously?

    I think we’re seeing some notionally well-intentioned effort, here, but misguided. In the old days, politicians still tore each other to shreds. They just didn’t harbor hopes for sudden & permanent victory like both major parties do, nowadays. So we wind up having our two major parties locked in a mortal death-battle for supremacy that is by definition fleeting.

    Our politicians are insane, as is a good chunk of the constituency.

  17. pdbuttons says:

    this dog won’t hunt
    i keep giving -waving a bloody tampon
    [eww] in his face
    i definitly denounce me self-sorry
    but he just looks at me-with them eyes..
    i think he’s a lap-dog..
    i think he’s hungry..
    we both can watch the patriots win the super bowl
    in our warmness..
    i’m trying to teach him to shovel..
    but so far-no

  18. Entropy says:

    I don’t think it’s well intentioned.

    The only explanation I’ve heard for this inane pap that satisfies is that it’s a bunch of political operatives between gigs trying to scam Bloomberg out of a billion or so.

  19. Mike LaRoche says:

    Well there’s nine minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

    If those two bozos are so hot and goddamn bothered about the “partisanship” and the “hate”, they should just get their sorry nanny-state loving asses over to North Korea.

    Idiots.

  20. Ernst Schreiber says:

    The only explanation I’ve heard for this inane pap that satisfies is that it’s a bunch of political operatives between gigs trying to scam Bloomberg out of a billion or so.

    That, and a bunch of political has-beens (e.g. Castle, Crist) desperately trying to remain relevant.

  21. mathew1421 says:

    The “No Labels” Group.

    Irony is dead.

  22. Swen says:

    Dear ghod, Miss Piggy lives….

    Anybody want to bet her high school nickname was Squeaky?

  23. serr8d says:

    I too think we need a new party. The Pitchfork Party.

    None of these ‘politicians’ really represent me. There’s an abrasion to my rights every time they open their mouths.

    You heard Kiki speak ‘progress’ in that first sentence. We don’t need ‘progress’, Lady Kaka, we need restoration. This ‘progress of which you speak is simply pushing your favored ideology, the things favored and desired by the Left, farther and farther into the political mainstream; driving the normal political pendulum completely off it’s arc, with no sign of a true recovery. That’s why you see and fear this building backlash. If you can’t stand the heat, well, you look like you’d make a fine seamstress.

  24. Akatsukami says:

    “No Labels”? Au contraire; it’s easy to put a label on them.

    “Coffee Party”.

Comments are closed.