Kevin D. Williamson:
Tim Robbins once made a pretty funny little movie called Bob Roberts, which is about a right-wing folksinger who is running for the Senate. Shot partly in the style of Dont Look Back [sic], it is partly the usual tedious lefty propaganda (there’s a CIA drug-trafficking subplot) and partly a spoof of celebrity-driven political culture, which was only really beginning to emerge in the 1990s. It is cannily edited: Roberts’s right-wing folk songs are pretty good, but they are only heard in snippets. Robbins, it seems, learned the lesson of Archie Bunker, and feared that people would like those songs unironically. One conservative writer of my acquaintance was known, when considering the news of the day, to sing softly to himself the opening from Bob Roberts’s “Complain,” a reworking of a Bob Dylan song: “Some people will work / others simply will not / but they’ll complain and complain and complain and complain and complain.”
But there aren’t any famous right-wing folksingers in the real world. That is because conservatives and progressives do politics differently. And conservatives, tea-party rallies aside, have never been particularly good at protest. We just don’t really have an appetite for it, being, well, conservative and all.
Too much is made of the influence of Saul Alinsky on the Left, but there is something to the personalize-and-isolate strategy. We are currently being treated to a national spectacle of stupidity in which Jeff Sessions is smeared as a racist. His record suggests the opposite, but, never mind that: He is a white conservative from Alabama, and so calling him a racist is the safest thing in the world.
I was thinking about that this morning after reading Victor’s piece on Trumpism and enjoying his short litany of progressive hypocrisy:
He is not Al Gore urging Middle Americans to drive less while he flies on his Gulfstream private jets, or Barack Obama who loves exclusive, expensive Sidwell Friends prep school for his own children but opposes charter-school choices for the less fortunate, or a Senator Barbara Boxer who lives in an irrigated desert oasis but seeks to stop contracted water transfers for those who grow food rather than lawn turf.
If the Right protested the way the Left does, there would be a GOP-led protest outside of Sidwell Friends 24/7/365. I am sure it is a fine school, but there is no grosser example of Washington’s hypocrisy than the tony private academy relied upon by the Democratic elite who for narrowly self-interested reasons deny the poor people they purport to represent the opportunity to send their own children to similarly organized schools.
(I myself would greatly prefer to be on duty protesting Barbara Boxer’s home in the Coachella Valley.)
@Richard Wheeler: No like I said I cant help you, stay in the collective, dont look outside your liberal understanding. But what ever you do dont look at Libya just before Obama freed them. Muammar Gaddafi inherited one of the poorest nations in Africa. However, by the time he was assassinated, Libya was unquestionably Africa’s most prosperous nation. Libya had the highest GDP per capita and life expectancy in Africa and less people lived below the poverty line than in the Netherlands. Libyans did not only enjoy free health care and free education, they also enjoyed free electricity and interest free loans. The price of petrol was around $0.14 per liter and 40 loaves of bread cost just $0.15. Consequently, the UN designated Libya the 53rd highest in the world in human development.
So why did he have to go Mr wheeler why
http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/obama-hillary-wanted-libyas-gaddafi-killed/
Gold and oil greed and control.
This is copied from Facebook posting without credit to anyone: (Don’t know who put it together) But it is for those that think Obama didn’t accomplish anything during his 8 years. You should be thoroughly impressed after reading this list.
@kitt: OK you confirmed you liked the Mad Colonel–How bout the other strongmen who controlled their sand people?
We went because The Mad Colonel had surrounded, and was about to wipe out, an entire city–We went in with NATO and the decision was universally approved—–hindsight always 20/20
@kitt:
then they discovered oil in Libya and got fantastically rich.
Then he forgot to bow to Obama so Obama had him overthrown so al qaeda could take over so they could kill Ambassador Stevens without any punishment.
Other than that…….
@RedTeam: You couldn’t have said it better yourself although you’ve certainly tried.
btw A while back you said you were waiting for DT to affirm—-well today at his press conference
“As far as hacking I think it was Russia” There ya go RT
@Richard Wheeler: Liked him? he was no threat to the United States, none zip ziltch, look what took Gadaffis place are the people better off?
Idi Amin, Saddham., Khamenei—
Amin a simple butcher never built a country just raped one did Obama depose him? or Saddham or Khameni I have a feeling they would have been best buds.
You see we dont need the middle east for fuel but keeping the sand people where the are culturally comfortable is better for the world. The overthrow of Suddham started all this crap Bush was an idiot for doing so.
Obama used terrorists in Libya the same way he is in Syria it is costing American blood and treasure, going directly into the pockets of the industrial war complex One world order pockets that run our media. Rockefellers, suck.
@kitt: Kitt You and I are old enough to remember Watergate. The great Carl Bernstein is still around.
Do you remember how Nixon blamed the free press for his problems?–where did it get him? Down the road from where I live here in San Clemente. Early retirement on the ocean
My folks had a place down the road from where Trump resides in Palm Beach.
He best be careful of his mouth or we’ll see him boarding a helicopter. waving his arms as he is taken down to sunny Fla. He is out of control and he’s not yet in office.
Pride comes before the fall.
“Divestment” to Junior and Eric–does DT think Americans are stupid?
@Richard Wheeler:
Have you been complaining regularly about Chelsea making millions off her Mom’s employment?
Do you think Donald Jr and Eric should be deprived of their right to make a living because their father is president?
Would it be okay with you if The Don sent his children and their families on 10 million dollar vacations each year, or is that reserved for Obozo’s family?
@Richard Wheeler:
Smart move on his part, now what do the conspiracy mongers have to talk about? You think he saw some classified info that says it was Russia? If so and he revealed that classified data he might be in trouble for doing so. You don’t think he’s smarter than that. Now the fake news orgs will have to find another subject. There you go RW.
@RedTeam: The media are the arms of Democracy.and will NEVER be silenced by one man, even if he’s the POTUS.
Nixon learned the hard way that it is the conduct of the Prez rather than the conduct of the press that matters most to the American people.
@Richard Wheeler: I’ve never seen so many whiny liberals pinning all their hopes and dreams on impeachment of someone that hasn’t even taken the oath of office. After the last 8 years, liberals seem to have forgotten how the Constitution works… or care.
Today, the media (or most of it) is an arm (or other appendage) of the Democrat party. Obama has blamed all his failures on Fox News; why don’t you attack him?
@Richard Wheeler: How exactly is he out of control?
Should the President be controlled by the press?
Nixon was too loyal to his staffers and used very poor judgement covering for them, he should have not involved himself with illegal activities. Fired the staffers and turned them over to the proper authorities.
@kitt: Also noteworthy is that Republicans pushed Nixon out of office. When democrats encounter corruption among their own, they circle the wagons and defend it.
@kitt: He has disparaged the Intel community,and the free press including CNN all the while praising a thug like Putin.
You won’t see a man like Gen. Mattis accept or fall in line with the actions of DT. Semper Fi
For the record CIA nominee Pompeo does not agree with DT’S assertion that CIA is currently politicized.
@Richard Wheeler:
The intel community has been politicized. As for CNN, well they are known for fake news. I applaud anyone who puts them in their proper place.
@Richard Wheeler: Oh no he hurt their widdle feewings. Tough let them do the job hired for the rumor was 17 agencies but I guess 14 wouldnt sign on to the the opinion report leaked to NBC prior the DT being briefed.
Trump praised the press yesterday, those that did not take part in spreading a story below that which most lowest tabloids wouldnt make up.
@July 4th American:AND Kitt Trump’s nominee for CIA Pompeo as well as Gen. Mattis disagree with you and Trump. Say CIA has not been politicized.
Fake News is whatever Trump doesn’t agree with.
He’s changed his mind on Russian hacking—good for him.
He blasts Big Pharma–kudos–People who take care of themselves and exercise shouldn’t have to foot the bills for fat couch potatos.when they fall ill.
Kitt You buying into rumors now?
Fact Trump’s a loose cannon with a temperament UNFIT to lead.
@Richard Wheeler: He never disparaged the Intel community and he never praised Putin. No more than you did, at least. Remember?
@Bill- Deplorable Me: Trump called CIA probe into Russian hack a witch hunt.-that not disparaging?
You asked if Putin smart I said yes That’s it. He’s a thug and a butcher and that’s being kind. Mattis can’t stand him.
Trump calls him a very smart, great leader.
A.P. reporting press wasn’t allowed to look at all those folders Trump’s lawyer brought out.
@Richard Wheeler:Twisting quotes does not help make a point. There is still no concrete evidence of a Russian Hack of DNC server, as they wont give the intelligence agencies access to it to gain proof.
As far as CNN is concerned the lack the credibility to be considered free press.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wikileaks-dnc-and-cnn-colluded-on-questions-for-trump-cruz
@Richard Wheeler: It is a witch hunt, directed by Obama to excuse a loss of their designated successor to the throne.
You “praised” Putin by saying he was smart, same as Trump. Or, is it somehow a lesser evil when you do it?
He said he was a better leader than Obama; you don’t have to be “great” to attain that level.
Was Hitler a “great” leader? Time magazine thought so. How about Stalin; was he great? What do you MEAN by great? “Nice”?
Probably what you liberals should do is check your irrational hatred at the door (it didn’t get you very far with Bush) and do a little objective evaluation instead of whiny speculation.
@Bill- Deplorable Me: if you believe honorable men who have served their country and Repub.and Dem.Presidents are in a witch hunt to get Trump–well have at it. That’s the definition of irrational.
It was good to see all who testified today found Putin to be the dangerous thug that he is.
You’re gonna defend Trump no matter how foolish and tempestuous he acts.
I won’t lump all you Conservatives together. Wordsmith still stands out as a beacon of sensibility.
@Richard Wheeler:
I’ve explained that point before, very thoroughly the difference between the men and women that risk their lives to collect the intelligence and those who turn it into Obama-serving statements but, like AJ, you are either incapable of comprehension or too consumed with liberal hatred to think.
By the way, you offered the same “praise” of Putin as Trump did, so this confirms you are a close person friend and lackey of Putin’s.
@Rich Wheeler #72 –
Gen Mattis did an excellent job in his confirmation hearing. He seems to be the only one who knows what he is doing. And, so far, he’s the only cabinet nominee to fully complete his required paperwork, ethics compliance, questionnaires to become SecDef. Also, he understands fully the security and threat environment facing the country. Anyone who says Putin would make a valuable ally, the same was said about Stalin – and we know how that turned out.
@kitt #70 –
The intel agencies do not need physical access to any server to determine whether it was hacked or not. NSA, for example, has swept up all of the electronic data and can perform a “trace”. It is a matter of sifting through the logs and electronic records. It is not terribly complicated. Time consuming, that depends upon how wide of a search you are conducting.
In the other thread in which you were overly concerned about SOF on the Russian border inside Poland and the Baltic states, that is part of a larger US/NATO exercise in the region. That exercise has been on the board for the better part of two years.
@David: Podesta and Hillary are much more involved with Russia in dealing uranium than Trump. Shouldnt you be singing I will survive?
Show the proof. The NSA , the agency that said they were only moderately sure which means…ya I guess maybe. Was it 17 agencies that said there was a hack what happened to the other 14 agencies weighing in with their “proof”.
Mad Dog Mattis got the waiver!
@Bill- Deplorable Me: Just because you and your hero think Putin is so great doesn’t mean others feel the same way
I agree with my fellow Marines Kelly and Mattis that he’s a thug.
David Thanks for your clarifying comments. The comparison of Putin to Stalin is certainly valid.
@Richard Wheeler:
Except you say the same as Trump. So, do the words have different meaning when YOU write them, or is it simply that it is a hypocrisy that drives you to demonize everything he says or does? You claim Trump praises Putin, yet you say the same things. I think you are confused.
So, why the hell did Putin-praiser Trump pick Putin-hater General Mattis to be his Secretary of State? Does that make any sense to you? Trump is planning to bow down before Putin, but he selects the most able of Putin-antagonists as his Secretary of State… explain please. And try to keep from heaping MORE praise on Putin than you already have.
And why did General Mattis agree to throw in with Putin-lover Trump? Ohhhh…. I see. You are saying General Mattis is a lackey-flunky Trump-lover. What a sour assessment, Rich. On the one hand, you praise Putin and on the other, you denigrate General Mattis.
Let us also remember YOUR beloved hero prostrated himself before Putin to try and win his favor.
Senate GOP votes to silence Warren after speech against Sessions
Elizabeth Warren was silenced after attempting to read a statement made by Coretta Scott King opposing Session’s 1986 nomination to the United States District Court, Southern District of Alabama.
Warren did, in fact, have the floor at the time. Republicans presiding over the hearing stated that reading from Coretta Scott King’s formal statement, which then-Judiciary Committee ChairStrom Thurman failed to enter into the Congressional Record, constituted “conduct unbecoming of a senator.”
When the anti-republican backlash over this sort of b.s. comes next election—and come it most definitely will—it will be richly deserved. Republicans are mindlessly setting up all required conditions for the perfect storm.
Shutting up the faux Cherokee senator is a service to America and the senate is to be commended for doing so.
Perhaps when she loses re-election, she can join the pu$$y hat wearing losers like ashley juggs, madonna and the murderer donna hylton.
@July 4th American, #79:
Silencing Elizabeth Warren backfires on Senate GOP
You elected a majority of idiots. Look at the expressions on their stupid, pouty faces as they chastise Elizabeth Warren for speaking her mind. They’re too damn dumb to realize they’re inviting women voters to perform a bit of surgery next election, and handing them a pair of sharp scissors to do the job.
I like the insulting American Indian metaphor. It’s so typical of the alt-right. Let’s take that a step further: John Smith just gave Pocahontas the finger. He’ll soon come to regret it.
Not clear enough? Try this: Your good ol’ boys in the Senate think they’ve just counted coup against Elizabeth Warren. What they’ve probably done is put her next in line for the presidency.
Would she be the first 1/32 Cherokee Indian POTUS?
Fauxahontas is a raving lunatic
‘Nevertheless, She Persisted’
They’re too damn dumb to realize what they’ve just done—which is not the least bit unusual with these guys.
From The Hill, today:
Warren silenced: A sexist GOP tells a woman to shut up and sit down
How did they not see how this would be perceived and reported?
NEW HEADLINE:
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Disciplined For Disrepecting The Memory Of Martin Luther King Jr.
Warren was criticized for using a Coretta King letter in a clumsy fund raising scheme.
This is not the first time Warren has been called out for racist insensitivity and using race to advance her own personal fortunes.
The Senator is also known as Lyin’ Lizzie, Fauxahontis and Lie-A-Watha for falsely claiming Native American heritage as a way to scam her former employer and others.
Memo Restoring Use of Private Prisons Is Good News for One Company
Yep. Somebody’s going to clean up warehousing undocumented aliens.
Private Prison Investors See a Rosy Future under Trump
And then we’ve got the noises Sessions is making today about a federal crackdown on recreational marijuana, now legalized in multiple states. So much for any b.s. about Federalism and state rights. Who lobbies against decriminalization, anyway? Why, the private prison industry does! In fact, a couple of Sessions’ former aids are corporate prison industry lobbyists. And, of course, the pharmaceutical industry and the alcohol industry. They view marijuana as a serious threat to profits.
I wonder if the Senate can rescind this Alabama lawn gnome’s confirmation, based on lying at the hearing about his knowledge of Russian connections? He lied under oath:
Bullshit. He did have contact with the Russians. During the specific period in question, he spoke with the Russian envoy to the United States twice. One contact was a private, behind closed doors meeting.
Less than 2 months into this administration, and the bullshit is already so deep you need hip boots.
Russian corroboration, fake news and myths drummed up by the far left and the far left media.