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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A pox on all your houses, O’Rourke-style
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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In the history of “I despise everybody, including my friends and enemies, but especially my friends, and my enemies too, because they all earned it, and by the way I despise myself too, because I deserve to be despised and by the way, so do you” rants, this one by PJ O’Rourke is right at the top.
In fact, if it could fit on the tombstone — which it can’t — it might make a great epitaph for modern America, just in case we end up needing one, which according to O’Rourke, we will.
Feel free to quote your favorite paragraph. I was going to post mine here, but there were so many….
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When Rush Limbaugh is the real RNC chairman…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Right-wing blogger Dan Riehl makes a critical point about the Limbaughs, Hannitys, Malkins and Coulters that the conservative movement ought to ponder deeply:
“For all the benefits the Right realizes from Right-side talkers they are, by and large, entertainers. There are plenty of exceptions more interested in discussion and informing, certainly. But some of the largest also tend to be the most provocative. That shouldn’t be a surprise as with all entertainment today, the most provocative and even outrageous gets the most attention and even the highest ratings.
But that also makes it rather easy for the opposition to paint conservatives as unreasonable, intolerant and, on a few occasions, even hateful. The fact is that is not the case for the overwhelming majority of conservatives and Republicans.”
The modern conservative movement has no real leaders at the moment, and the “right-side talkers” are filling that vacuum — setting the party’s agenda, deciding which political figures will become popular and which will be cast aside, and in effect performing all the functions that those legendary (and pretty smart) guys in smoke-filled rooms used to perform for the party.
But at the end of the day, they are indeed just entertainers, and their primary self-interest is to focus on the issues and controversies that will bind their audience more closely to them for their own financial reward. You see the consequences of that everywhere. U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, for example, was just repeating the garbage he hears on talk radio when he called Barack Obama a Marxist with tendencies toward dictatorship, a statement for which he has now apologized. Talk radio is providing the party’s talking points, rather than vice versa.
Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly et. al don’t really care whether there’s a Republican in the White House; in fact, their ratings go UP when they have a Democratic administration to rail about. They are quite content to fixate on silly little things that don’t resonate at all among the general voting public but that get their own audience all fired up and angry. And again, if that makes their audience seem foolish to the rest of us, they don’t care. They still cash those seven-figure paychecks.
With the exception of Riehl, the conservatives haven’t figured that out yet. They don’t yet realize how often they get played, how often their own best interests and the best interests of their entertainer/leaders diverge.
Until they do….
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The people got what they wanted
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wow.
These numbers from CNN are surprising. To some of you, they will be downright revolting. (And let me guess: You’re gonna claim the pollsters just made the numbers up to suit their liberal bias — you remember, just as you did before the election, when you claimed the American people would never elect a black Marxist Muslim? How’s that working out for you?)
“In the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Tuesday, 59 percent of those questioned said Democratic control of both the executive and legislative branches will be good for the country, compared with 38 percent saying such one-party control will be bad.
“That much good will from the public opens a window of opportunity for the Democrats,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “But the public expects results, and may not listen to excuses for very long if a Democratic Congress and a Democratic White House can’t get their act together in time.”
The poll also indicates that the public has a positive view of the Democratic Party, with 62 percent saying they have a favorable opinion and 31 percent an unfavorable opinion of the party. For the Republicans, a majority, 54 percent, said they have an unfavorable view of the GOP while 38 percent hold a positive view.”
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