Over at Joe Klein’s new blog, he emphasizes how vile the right wingers in the blogosphere are, as contrasted with the well-meaning, always friendly, never insulting left.
No. He really does.
Clearly, somebody like Yglesias is way above being a partisan douchebag like . . . well, me. Because their fury, you know, is justifiable (is that the same thing as justified, or just). He’s right about the tone on both sides, but as far as the partisanship of the lecture, he can go strunk himself.
UNRELATED: No Plan to Replace Bill With Dollar Coin
Bill must be relieved. (Watch, it’ll show up in Best of the Web tomorrow. I might just do a whole series of “No Plan To” comments. Because there’s nothing so important as knowing what’s not being planned.)
Australian leader: Al-Qaida wants Obama
I don’t much like Obama, but I think it would set a terrible precedent. So, I’m against it. Actually, I agree with the Captain about this one. I’ll tell you what. We’ll talk to Howard, and you get Segolene Royal to shut up about Quebec.
Also from Captain Ed, this shocking question: McCain Backing Away From Campaign Finance Reform?
All right, McCain! We’ve got you surrounded! Drop the campaign financing reform and slowly back away!
Cold War Reheating Up? It’s probably evidence of global warming.
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What’s not obvious in Klein’s post is that his central point is that Marcotte should be fired from the Edwards campaign because Catholics are, per Klein, the swing vote.
It’ll take about two days for the Left before the Left figures that part out. I’m sure they’ll handle that revelation with grace and aplomb.
Either that or the middle aged Atrios will award Klein his copyrighted “Wanker of the Day” prize.
All you need to know about that crew is that they think the NY Times is right wing. Way too much chemical abuse.
The “glass” of “‘68” koolaid is still way more than half full for Joey and crew. They shall overcome.
That’s kind of my point of view, commander. I’d say that the ‘68 Democratic Convention and yippies and “revolutionaries” such as the Symbionese Cash-Liberation Army might have had something to do with it. Academics in the humanities trying to justify their discourse with reference to social redesign, who think that simply because they represent what they regard as self-awareness they are justified. Randi Rhodes. Phil Donahue. Alan Alda turning a good television show into a personal screed. If you want to change the tone, don’t launch on a polemic about origins just to cover your ass with your readership.
Other than that, and the cluelessness regarding the prevalence of nasty posts and comments of the other side, it was a fine piece. Once everybody arrives at the realization or even stipulatiion that divergence of opinion isn’t a sign of idiocy or sociopathy or moral deficiency, UNLESS it’s based in wilful ignorance or the elevation of “cultural aesthetics” over reason, then we can begin to have the kind of conversation Klein perhaps envisions.
TW: distance89. Probably would be a good thing.
The other part of it is that he imagines that these women have become radicalized by right-wing abusiveness. They’ve become radicalized by having their egos pampered by the PC-cowed.
So, if I understand correctly, the dismaying lack of civility in politics today is because of the completely justifiable anger of the Left at the jack-booted crypto-fascist Rethuglicans and the complete free pass that President Chimpy has gotten from the mainstream press.
Gotcha.
Putin really is angry about becoming less relevant every year. Futzing up Euro natural gas supplies and selling SAMs to the Iranians is about all the reach he has.
Ah, the old KGB days, miss ‘em doncha Puty?
I agree that Howard probably shouldn’t have said that about Obama, and won’t again.
I also remember Kerry bragging that world leaders had told him he just had to win the 2004 election. It was a focal point of his campaign.
Angie:
You left out the media’s savaging of St. William of Hope.
I do, too, MayBee. Good point. Let’s just say that for expressing an idea that is sensible–al-Qaeda would like to see a president elected who’s for pulling out of Iraq and damn the consequences–he’s suffering a lot more demonization than Segolene Royal did when she said she’d like to see Quebec secede from Canada.
Hey, Howard owes us—and particularly the Dems—a couple after we sent Cindy and the Kerry sister to waddle through the Austalians’ last election.
And where was Gibbs’ (Obama’s spokesman)outrage over Hugo’s many pronunciamentos, or Al-Qaeda’s congratulations on the Dem victory, or bin Laden’s campaign video for the Democrats?
Fair’s fair, Barack,…
One thing I will give Matthew Yglesias: he was a regular guest on Hugh Hewitt’s show for a long time, much to both of their credit.
Yeah, TSI. Maybe I shouldn’t snap on Yglesias. It’s just that I can’t stand civil fuckers.
Dan,
Take it easy on the sarcasm – I mean if you want, I can quote you out of context right now, and you don’t need to write anything else ironic or sarcastic. And I’d hate to have you go to all that extra trouble. ;P
Yglesias is usually not bad, in my experience. I don’t often agree with him, but he’s no Amanda Marcotte.
I have mixed feelings about John Howard’s comment. I guess he could have stopped shy of what he said, and I would probably disapprove of his coming by and actively campaigning for somebody. But when the next Australian election comes up, I’m likely to have an opinion. Is that just different because I’m not the prime minister of the US?
Just remember that Australia is, and has been for some time now, in the throes of racial guilt with their Sorry Day and all, and to be honest, they have a bit to be sorry for. Still, I think Howard was probably just genuflecting to Australia’s white zeitgeist.
I swear I remember Clinton cutting campaign commercials for Ehud Barak. I do know Carville went over to Israel to help his campaign in 1999.
attempting translation
The foaming screaming obcenity-laced rants of radicals like Mandy are to be expected, as they are idealogues, but one must consider the YEARS AND YEARS of non-screaming, lack of obscenity-laced profitably popular, entertainingly sarcastic arguments from El Rush Blubber and others and let’s not forget how Bubbaliscious was just CRUCIFIED by those right wing stooges at NYT and WaPo who practically diddle McChimpy in public. Besides, the Bush admin sucks so everyone who writes from the far left should be pissed.
whrrrrr, clankata clankata, freeeeeeee
*FOOOOOOOOM* (smoke)
Darn prog translator hasn’t been the same since it chugged through liberalrob.