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Archives for October 2008
Peak Wingnut? You. Have. No. Idea.
In a post below John argues, wrongly I think, that a profound loss in November will bring at least a little sanity to the online right. Glenn Greenwald had a similar thought earlier today:
I receive e-mails fairly commonly these days pointing out some bad policy or another that Obama is advocating and asking why I favor an Obama/Biden victory in light of that. Even if you don’t see much difference between the two parties and dislike both presidential candidates, the need to rid ourselves of the people who do things like this — infecting our political discourse with abject idiocy and bottomless dishonesty, shaping their own realities to match their base desires — is reason enough to favor that outcome.
It pains me to disagree so strongly with both John and Glenn, but the idea that a crushing defeat will shame the fringe right into silence or even quiet them down a bit is simply crazy. My argument comes from four simple points.
1) Defending all three branches of government is a much less fun job than attacking it. Defenders own the real consequences of real policies whereas critics can take credit for any number of righteous things that didn’t happen because nobody listened to their advice.
2) Movements thrive as oppressed minorities; in power they infight and splinter. To illustrate the point, look at how Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi energized rightwing blogs. In what conceivable way are Reid and Pelosi remarkable in any way? Remember that Reid is pro-life. They bend over backward to give the GOP a fair shake, even more so when you compare them to the clusterfuck that came before. There’s nothing particularly exceptional about either of the two, but by putting a name and face on the Other/Enemy they give the Movement something to hate and fear. The flip side is also true: Republican power wrecked America but it gave the online left a common enemy and an organizing focus. I think that single point best explains why the rightwing internet went from its Clinton-era juggernaut to the sad shadow of the leftosphere that it is today.
3) In general conservatives dislike overpowered government. Bear with me here. There are subspecies like neocons and theocons who like it just fine and others who will compromise big gummint for perks like protection from soul-crushing fear, but at the very least watching their team make a massive grab for dictator powers divides the right. Think John Cole, John Dilulio and Pat Buchanan. You can make the same case for every other compromise and ideological betrayal that the President’s online allies have to either defend (Powerline) or condemn (as often as not, Malkin).
4) Even if some conservatives like some kinds of government power, the movement viscerally loathes any power that isn’t Theirs. Ref: Clinton. Black helicopters. Death list. Et cetera ad nauseum.
Taken together these points make a compelling argument that online wingnuttery is not at anything like a peak. It’s at a nadir. Wingnuttery, online, at home and in paranoid little gatherings, is about to get almost unimaginably worse. Bloggers know better than to say it in so many words, but as a community defending crap like Katrina, Rumsfeld, Harriet Miers and Alberto Gonzales has left the online right depressed, let down and exhausted.
It’s important for us lefties to remember that these points apply as much to ‘us’ as to ‘them.’ Laugh at me now, but at the same time that the online right is scraping bottom the online left is very likely somewhere near a peak in terms of influence, unity and enthusiasm. In a one-party state, it won’t take long before partisan leftwing blogs start chafing against principled activists like Greenwald and equal-opportunity muckrakers like Josh Marshall. It’s a serious mistake to think that unity in the leftwing blogosphere is more than an artifact of the political left’s profound powerlessness. Incoming counsel will be less coherent when we fully own the sausage factory of governing, while at the same time broad power will inevitable reduce the party’s need to listen to us.
I can grant that the online left should come out better than the online right for the simple reason that Democrats can govern. As long as the party does its damn job then at least we won’t have to play defense for disgraces like Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, the Schiavo bill and hurricane FEMA.
But overall the point stands. Jonah Goldberg et alia have not yet begun to wingnut. The stupid that will come after their party leaves town on a rail will make the last eight years look like a junior UN meeting. I hate to think that I’m right about this, but the natural consequence of what I’ve laid out that Dave Niewert’s knowledge of fringe hate groups will make him as useful for explaining the next decade as Paul Krugman (among other things Krugman is an expert in financial collapse) and Al Gore.
Peak Wingnut
As I look around the blogosphere, and view memeorandum, it occurred to me that we may have hit and passed Peak Wingnut. Don’t get me wrong, this election is still not over and by no means in the bag, but as I read things, the hey day of modern wingnuttia may have passed.
Sure, there is still lots going on- the Obama smears have been fast and furious, and there are lots of current attempts to mainstream nonsense (a solid example would be Jonah’s market analysis), but it all seems so yesterday. These days, there seem to be more than enough outlets to rebut the bullshit, the media is tired of being treated like morons, and the Democrats seem for once ready and itching for a fight. But most of all, the attempts just seem so feeble. In the past few days we have seen Red State put a front page post up about Obama’s birth certificate and NRO’s Andy McCarthy tried to convince us that William Ayers ghost wrote Obama’s books, but for the most part, they gained no traction and were laughed off by everyone.
I was one of the early ones to snap out of things and come to my senses and Andrew Sullivan has all but tattooed Obamanation on his chest, but even more telling, folks like David Frum, Kathleen Parker, Chris Buckley, and Chris Hitchens have all jumped ship. Now granted, there are still some diehards- just today Mark Steyn and K-Lo were chastising David “Axis of Evil” Frum for insufficient fealty to the cause, but it really does feel like we have reached and surpassed Peak Wingnut. Nothing like two wars, an economic meltdown, and Sarah Palin to bring clarity to the debate. All that seems left are the really embattled dead-enders, and we know from WWII that some soldiers can go on fighting the same old battles forever.
The question now for historians and bloggers alike is to approximate the closest estimate of the date at which it peaked. So, the questions for you all:
Have we surpassed Peak Wingnut?
When did it happen?
What event most clearly demonstrates we have passed Peak Wingnut?
Or is this premise completely flawed, and wingnut is a renewable resource and will experience a dramatic surge on the first day of an Obama Presidency?
Discuss.
*** Update ***
Never mind, via the comments, I see I spoke too soon. Eager to spread a National Enquirer rumor that Obama had gay, anal, black on black pedophile sex as a ten year old (btw- the correct term is not “affair” but “molested”), Erick at Red State writes the following in yet another one of those special front page posts we have grown to love:
The National Enquirer now suggests Barack Obama had an underage, gay affair with a pedophile. Yup. That Frank Marshall Davis guy Barry says was his good friend? Turns out he was a perv of the first order and liked young boys.
This post is not intended to spread that rumor. Frankly, if Obama wins, we’ll have our hands full around here making sure folks don’t develop Obama Derangement Syndrome.
Not designed to spread the rumor? And develop Obama Derangement Syndrome? You don’t have it now?
Ignore all my questions from above- wingnut is a renewable resource. Peak Wingnut was the shortest lived “theory” ever. I eagerly await learning how this was all a joke (hahaha). And for the record, I really don’t remember a lot of liberals running around embracing the Palin/National Enquirer story. In fact, what I remember is certain folks, in the aftermath of the Edwards/Enquirer nonsense suddenly amazed that regarding Palin, the Enquirer was now no longer reliable. I avoided all of the Palin absurdities with regards to the Enquirer.
BZZZZT. Wrong Answer
In case you have any doubt Democrats are just as capable as the Republicans as choking on their own hubris in just a few short years, check this out (via memeorandum):
West Palm Beach Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-FL), whose predecessor resigned in the wake of a sex scandal, agreed to a $121,000 payment to a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him, according to current and former members of his staff who have been briefed on the settlement, which involved Mahoney and his campaign committee.
Senior Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), the chair of the Democratic Caucus, have been working with Mahoney to keep the matter from hurting his re-election campaign, the Mahoney staffers said.
A spokesperson for Emanuel denies that account, but said Emanuel did confront Mahoney “upon hearing a rumor” about an affair in 2007 and “told him he was in public life and had a responsibility to act accordingly.” The spokesperson added that it was a “private conversation” that had nothing to do with Mahoney’s re-election prospects.
Emanuel’s spokesperson said Emanual had not had any further contacts with Mahoney on the subject and did not know the woman involved worked on Mahoney’s Congressional staff until informed by ABC News.
So cut him loose, Rahm. Now.
Campaigning Fail
It was so easy for the McCain campaign to reset this morning, they might want to do it again tomorrow:
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin mistook some of her own fans for hecklers Monday as a rally that drew thousands.
A massive crowd of at least 20,000 spread across the parking lot of Richmond International Raceway, and scores of people on the outer periphery more than 100 yards from the stage could not hear.
“Louder! Louder!” they began chanting, and the cry spread across the crowd to Palin’s left. Some pointed skyward, urging that the volume be increased.
Palin stopped her remarks briefly and looked toward the commotion.
“I hope those protesters have the courage and honor to give veterans thanks for their right to protest,” she said.
Good thing McCain/Palin has Virginia locked up and can afford to get snotty with their supporters.
Or maybe not.
(via)
What Comes Down Must Go Up
The market is officially insane, with the DOW at 950+ on the day. At least it is in a good direction, but this is still madness.
I am not sure what has changed to make it go up like this- aren’t all the same problems we had last Friday still here today? Yes, governments all over the world are going to rescue the banks, but I fail to understand how a rescue is cause for celebration. Have we not just kicked the can back down the road a few weeks?
Regardless, I will take a rally over a crash any day, but I would prefer some long-term stability.
Teh Google, It Also Hates Amerikkka!
NRO tells me so:
There is nothing so small or insignificant that these losers can not get outraged and worked up about all while assigning evil motives to someone.
*** Update ***