Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

This fight is for everything.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Consistently wrong since 2002

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

Not all heroes wear capes.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

I was promised a recession.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

You are here: Home / Politics / Media / Lou Dobbs Is Giving Me Whiplash

Lou Dobbs Is Giving Me Whiplash

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First, he is mad because Obama “fired” Wagoner.

Then he weeps for the future of capitalism with the government involved like this.

Then he gets mad because Obama doesn’t know how to handle this crisis and isn’t doing more.

Then he is mad because Obama didn’t fire the head of the UAW.

And then he is mad because Obama might require the unions to make concessions.

And then he is mad because the Obama team is not doing enough for the traditional economy (which I guess is the economy outside of the financial markets and not having to do with the auto industry but doesn’t involve concessions for blue collar workers).

And that was in one 5 minute portion of the show. No mention that half the things that upset him are at odds with the other things that upset him.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Lou Dobbs is just barking mad. CNN, it is time to put the crazy uncle out to pasture.

Reader Interactions

215Comments

  1. 1.

    Laura W

    I thought you broke up with him long ago?
    "I just can’t quit you, Lou."

    (Yeah, I just flipped off because it’s not Dobbs if there aren’t at least two drug war stories. Bleh. I hate to ruin the wonderful dinner I just had…Greek style lamb burgers and asparagus. mmmmm.)
    Edit: as I said on Sunday, it’s freaky to think this is the same network that brings us Fareed Zakaria.

  3. 3.

    John Cole

    Also, Big Tent Democrat does not disagree with what Obama said about Detroit, then goes on to pen 15 posts today about why Obama is wrong about Detroit.

    I really hate Democrats.

  5. 5.

    El Cid

    Dobbs doesn’t care about any intellectual consistency. He’s just firing in all directions to see if he hits any targets, which presumably will be shown by the volume of e-mails and texts and maybe translate into ratings.

  7. 7.

    BombIranForChrist

    Dude is just an angry white bigot who is using his past reputation as a business "reporter" to bring some good ole fashioned hate back to the airways. He’s a throwback and I imagine he gets good ratings from the "I hate brown people" crowd.

  8. 8.

    Ash

    If a story doesn’t involve Mexicans he doesn’t really care enough to try to make sense. Why were you watching anyway? Do you have a death wish?

  12. 12.

    garyb50

    And BTW I’ll bet my mom’s pension fund that Lou Dobbs mouth is filled with fake teeth.

  17. 17.

    A.Political

    Too funny, I’m watching this fool as well right now and I was thinking the same thing….Obama can’t win with this fool.

  19. 19.

    A.Political

    Thank gawd, Xenophobe Hour with Lou Dobbs is now done.

    Now back to our regularly scheduled serious talk about bashing the democratic agenda…..and China, terrorists BOO!

  20. 20.

    Armando

    John:

    It was 15 posts about why Obama is wrong about Wall Street.

    BTW, if you think I am the only one with this reaction, I think you need to expand your reading a bit. Why even the reasonable Kevin Drum was bitching about it.

  21. 21.

    2liberal

    @el cid pretty much nailed it IMHO

    dobbs is in the outrage industry. it doesn’t matter what he is outraged about and it doesn’t have to make sense.

  22. 22.

    mario

    No mention that half the things that upset him are at odds with the other things that upset him.

    The Authoritarians

    2. Highly Compartmentalized Minds
    As I said earlier, authoritarians’ ideas are poorly integrated with one another. It’s as if each idea is stored in a file that can be called up and used when the authoritarian wishes, even though another of his ideas–stored in a different file– basically contradicts it. We all have some inconsistencies in our thinking, but authoritarians can stupify you with the inconsistency of their ideas. Thus they may say they are proud to live in a country that guarantees freedom of speech, but another file holds, “My country, love it or leave it.” The ideas were copied from trusted sources, often as sayings, but the authoritarian has never “merged files” to see how well they all fit together.

  23. 23.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Lou will never respect you if you keep running back to him every time you get bored.

  24. 24.

    >> Atanarjuat

    CNN’s Lou Dobbs irritates the radical left because he is a tireless voice against illegal immigration.

    That’s it. Full stop.

    Despite all the liberal slings and arrows Dobbs has endured through the years, he’s never once taken his eye off the ball in highlighting how illegal immigrants have inarguably drained the economy. Lou Dobbs should be commended, not excoriated, for his continuing public service in this important national issue.

    -A

  25. 25.

    DougJ

    No one cares about Lou Dobbs. He’s just there to rile people up.

    Why give him more oxygen?

    Oh, wait, it’s because this blog is just like his show.

    /TheHatOnMyCat

  27. 27.

    ErinSiobhan

    You gotta stop watching Dobbs. I’m concerned about the masochistic streak that prevents you from changing the channel before he opens his mouth.

    Watching various pundits trying to outdo each other in their quest for the ultimate version of the Two Minute Hate is guaranteed to cause nausea.

  29. 29.

    Armando

    Incertus:

    I do only speak for myself. I am just reporting what even the reasonable Kevin Drum said.

    Not sure what your point is.

    Oh wait, maybe this is your example of what being a petulant asshole is.

  31. 31.

    Laura W

    Crazy old coots, like horses and dogs, are pack animals and need company.
    I’d like to volunteer Larry King to serve as Lou’s pasture companion.

  32. 32.

    Mike in NC

    Give Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck each a knife. Lock them in a small room. Turn off the lights. Check back an hour later.

  33. 33.

    Aqualad

    Armando, I will, as always, defer to you when it comes to understanding what it takes to be a "petulant asshole"…

    BTW, how’s Hillary doing?

  34. 34.

    Comrade Kevin

    Not sure what your point is.

    Oh wait, maybe this is your example of what being a petulant asshole is.

    An example of a comment that would be deleted on TalkLeft.

  35. 35.

    Armando

    @Comrade Kevin:

    No question it would be deleted at Talk Left.

    I came here to get my asshole on. Are you folks offended?

    Funny shit. Hell, you fucks do not even know how to fuck with someone in a thread.

    Amateurs the lot of you.

  39. 39.

    Comrade Kevin

    @Armando: Oh, I’m not offended, I find you amusing, in a pathetic way. You’re basically PUMA-lite, a silly person, someone who people generally only quote or link to in order to laugh at you.

  40. 40.

    Armando

    @Comrade Kevin:

    Well that’s telling me. Peabrain idiots laughing at me is the least of my concerns.

    When you actually have something to say about something, let me know.

    Then I can school you.

    "Yo mama" comments are of no interest to me.

  41. 41.

    DRD 1812

    CNN, it is time to put the crazy uncle out to pasture.

    Yup. I’m sure they will. But not until a few years after CBS stops giving airtime, on the nation’s most-watched news show, to Andy Rooney.

  42. 42.

    The Moar You Know

    Wow. Bigshot lawyer Armando shows up to make his case to a huge crowd of what – fifteen people – that he, once again is right about everything. Why, by golly, even Kevin Drum says the same thing he does.

    I like Armando. He’s always proud to be marching in lockstep with majority opinion. Steady as a rock, that Armando. Where goeth the crowd, goes he. You can count on him to never rock the boat. or make a risky decision.

  43. 43.

    Rainy

    I think Lou Dobbs is still mad at Obama because he didn’t apologize to him for being a xenophobic Mexican hater. So now he just does all anti-Obama TV. He’s been doing it since the campaign.

  44. 44.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    Crazy fucks.

    Ah now, is that any way to talk. Of course we’re crazy fucks.

    So your into Santeria. Then why didn’t Hillary win? Keep practicing, 2012 is right around the corner.

  45. 45.

    Armando

    @The Moar You Know:

    That’s me to a tee. Mr. Congeniality.

    The stupidity some of you exhibit is fucking gold.

    I thank you all for the laughs.

    It’s been a treat. Haven’t done this in a while. Forgot how much fun it was to take on such a group of dopes.

    Later.

  47. 47.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    It’s been a treat. Haven’t done this in a while. Forgot how much fun it was to take on such a group of dopes.

    Oh, don’t go. Your talk left wizards won’t start to chew their legs off for a couple of hours yet.

  48. 48.

    Armando

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    I hope so. The efforts from your colleagues just plain sucked.

    Maybe I caught everyone on a bad night.

    I apologize for calling you all dopes. I’ll have to check and see when you folks are on your A game.

    Maybe you all do have game.

  49. 49.

    Matron Cat-o-nine-tails of Lovingkindness

    @The Moar You Know:

    Bigshot lawyer Armando

    Seriously? He’s a lawyer? And this is the sort of discourse he travels all the way over here to engage in?
    Just. Wow.

    I came here to get my asshole on. Are you folks offended?
    Funny shit. Hell, you fucks do not even know how to fuck with someone in a thread.

  51. 51.

    demkat620

    Well driveby trolling. Haven’t seen that here in a while. John, we need to get a better class of troll. BOB and Atanutjar just aren’t cutting it anymore. Darrell and Birdzilla they ain’t.

  52. 52.

    Xenos

    OK, Mr Armondo (if that is indeed your REAL name), how dare you prance into this den of slackers, cranky retirees, bored lawyers, shirkers and lurkers and somnambulent berserkers, and demand a THROWDOWN like you are Bobby Flay or something!

    Come back here you puma-loving, myiqizing punk and take your abuse like a man!

  54. 54.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    But not you. You really seem to have nothing.

    Thanky you BTD. Tis high praise indeed, coming from you!

  55. 55.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    He totally nailed you, Stuck. Blind squirrel and nut, lucky shot, whatever, but still. Dayum.

  57. 57.

    Armando

    @Xenos:

    You folks have to have something more than softballs to offer to entice me.

    This is a throwdown with feathers so far. Give me something where I actually have to use two hands for.

    Hell, John Cole got after me pretty good in the past. Check his archives. You can crib his stuff.

  60. 60.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    You folks have to have something more than softballs to offer to entice me.

    But softball is your game. At least that’s the street talk. Or, maybe airball says it better.

  61. 61.

    Xenos

    @Armando: I was so going to kick your ass (rhetorically, of course), but I really think I need to go take a nap now. Can you hang around for a couple hours so I can abuse you righteously once I feel a bit refreshed?

    What were we talking about, anyway?

  64. 64.

    Armando

    @Xenos:

    So far nothing.

    I’ll meet you in the playground after school though. Bring your big brother though. You’ll need him.

  66. 66.

    BethanyAnne

    11 comments in what? an hour and change. Dayam, someone likes the sound of their own voice.

  67. 67.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    I’ll meet you in the playground after school though. Bring your big brother though. You’ll need him.

    You’re so cute when all internet macho. Do you know our Wilfred? You two would make a fine couple.

  68. 68.

    Left Coast Tom

    No question it would be deleted at Talk Left.

    Tells me what I need to know about "Talk Left".

  69. 69.

    Comrade Jake

    @Armando:

    Hell, John Cole got after me pretty good in the past. Check his archives. You can crib his stuff.

    Check his archives? Most of us were here when Cole emasculated you.

  70. 70.

    Brian J

    Has anybody considered the fact that Wagoner might actually be happy with how things are going? Unless he’s an idiot, he’s not a poor guy, and rightly or wrongly, he’ll probably find work at another company at some point in the future. But right now, he’s free from a company that resembles an anchor more than anything else. Instead of working like a dog to bring the company off of life support, he’s escaping. He might shoulder less of the blame, at least in the eyes of the public, if the company does go under or withers for a few more years.

  71. 71.

    Armando

    Sigh, billable hours, and love the sound of his voice and all the rest.

    Any new material here?

    I’ve been attacked by the likes of some of you for 6 years.

    Doesn’t anyone have something new?

    BTW, does anyone here actually have a thought about say, an issue? Just thought that discussing whether Obama is being tough enough on Wall Street might be of interest to Democrats. But maybe interest on such things takes a few years in the Democratic Party.

    Maybe I could come back in 2010. Maybe then issues might be of interest to some of you.

  73. 73.

    Left Coast Tom

    BTW, does anyone here actually have a thought about say, an issue?

    You joined a thread about Lou Dobbs to ask this? There weren’t any other threads, about actual issues, you could have joined instead?

    Do you see any connection between Lou Dobbs and "an issue"? Of any kind?

  74. 74.

    Armando

    @Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist:

    Actually, I really only know John, Tim F. and DougJ’s stuff.

    They have been beating on me for years. Sometimes with a great deal of wit and insight. Sometimes, not so much.

    Like when John was attacking me for attacking Roberts and Alito. I think time has proven me right in that dispute.

    Of course, many times, most recently, John has gotten the better of me. But John actually thinks.

  75. 75.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    BTW, does anyone here actually have a thought about say, an issue?

    We had to get the foreplay out of the way first. We have beat the bailout thing over the head until there is about nothing left to say. Do your homework and read some recent threads. The level of discourse puts you doctrinaire asshats at TL to shame.

    Ugh, you not likey letting Wallstreeters off easy. Newsflash, neither do we, but it is more complex than populist rants from ideologues. I doubt you could compete. And I’m certain your readers can’t.

  76. 76.

    Armando

    @Left Coast Tom:

    Actually I was responding to John Cole’s comment about my posting on Obama, Detroit and Wall Street.

    I was not expecting anything really. Just wanted to clarify the record on what my posting was about.

    Incertus took a shot at me. I gave him one back and this pillow fight broke out.

    I generally do not comment here. But it looks like fun. Maybe I’ll do it more often. And on substantive stuff. Maybe you might consider that not everything I write is quite as stupid as some would lead you to believe.

  77. 77.

    Comrade Jake

    Something tells me that regardless of whatever smackdown BTD receives, he’s not going to find it good enough. I guess that’s what happens when you get stuck in a loop of speaking for yourself only, or some such nonsense.

  78. 78.

    Comrade Jake

    @Armando:

    Maybe you might consider that not everything I write is quite as stupid as some would lead you to believe.

    Unlikely given the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. We remember your posts at TalkLeft during the primaries.

  79. 79.

    Armando

    @Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist:

    "Ugh, you not likey letting Wallstreeters off easy. Newsflash, neither do we, but it is more complex than populist rants from ideologues. I doubt you could compete."

    So you guys got an Algonquin Roundtable going on here on economic issues? Who knew?

    I love the "ideologues" labelling. Yes, deep thinking there.

  80. 80.

    Left Coast Tom

    Maybe you might consider that not everything I write is quite as stupid as some would lead you to believe.

    Then don’t take pillow fight bait.

  81. 81.

    Armando

    @Comrade Jake:

    You think? How long have you been reading me? Did you read me when Cole was defending McCarthyism and Bush? I’ve been around for a while. Have you read me on say, legal issues? You think you have more insight on that than I do?

    See how silly this all gets? On politics, we all are just spouting opinions. Stupid and smart is in the eye of the beholder.

    But I assure you I know more about the law than most of your commenters and I assume than Cole. But your mileage may vary.

  82. 82.

    Nancy Darling

    Armando, please stay away. I read this blog because the commenters are funny almost always and often very smart—at least until you showed up, then it got very ugly. All I could think was "Children, children", and I believe you started it. I checked out some of the comments at your blog and they just don’t cut it for me.

  83. 83.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    I love the "ideologues" labelling

    The label fits when it does.

    So you guys got an Algonquin Roundtable going on here on economic issues? Who knew?

    Not me. I’m dumb as a sack of hammers on the issue. But others here are not. You ought to stop by more often and engage, instead of just responding to a tit for tat.

  85. 85.

    Armando

    @Left Coast Tom:

    Why not? It was fun. hell, I assume there are no hard feelings. But maybe I misjudge this crowd.

    I got the impression it was pretty fun loving and loose.

    But I could be wrong on that. If so, my sincere apologies. that I mean.

    I did not intend to offend. Thought of it as more of a put on fight.

  87. 87.

    Ash Can

    "Armando"? What the hell kind of a fruity-ass nom-de-blog is that? "I’m not a porn-movie star; I just want the ladies to think I am." Yeah. Cute.

  88. 88.

    Armando

    @shortstop:

    Godot. Love that ending. Used it in my commentary on Iraq Withdrawal.

    touche. now some wit.

    Anyway, no hard feelings I hope.

    and this time, the real "later" to all.

    Got to go fake some billable hours.

  90. 90.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    One last one – the guy I wanted to win won. How about for you?

    That sound you hear is John Cole’s blood pressure rising/

  91. 91.

    Armando

    @Nancy Darling:

    John Cole started it. Incertus went next. Then me.

    Please be fair.

    But you do know that knowing it bothers you is just a way to incentivize me coming back, Nancy darling.

    Just kidding. she’s all yours, "funny and intelligent" . . . .

  93. 93.

    Comrade Jake

    @Armando:

    I got the impression it was pretty fun loving and loose.

    It usually is. We just happen to remember the piles of stupid you were spewing during the primaries.

  94. 94.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    Check his archives? Most of us were here when Cole emasculated you.

    Point of order: You can’t emasculate a eunuch.

    Good Christ, does this mean we can expect the witty and ever so coherent Paul Luckshake to return?

    I’ll make popcorn.

  96. 96.

    Left Coast Tom

    Why not? It was fun.

    Then don’t complain.

    You asked me to "consider that not everything I write is quite as stupid as some would lead you to believe". I can only consider this by what is in front of me. I could choose to put other sources of your writing in front of me, but you just told me that comments of the sort that you’re making here would be deleted at "Talk Left". John isn’t deleting your comments, a contrast that led to my original comment.

    It’s not my blog, but I’m OK with you being "fun loving and loose", if that’s what you call this. As long as you’re OK with the impression that your sense of fun and looseness gives to others. We’re having this exchange, I assume, because you’d prefer I have a different impression.

  97. 97.

    BethanyAnne

    @Armando: Well, that’s what? Three times you’ve said you were leaving…

    Re: the primaries. Oh, I forgot you "supported" Obama. /giggle

  98. 98.

    Armando

    @Comrade Jake:

    Yeah, I heard that opinion.

    I remember the pile of manure John Cole was spewing from 2003 to 2006.

    I of course do not agree with your characterization of what I wrote during the primaries but I have no interest in convincing your othewise.

    But I am curious, do you think Cole was so brilliant before 2007? Did you think I was so dumb before the 2008 primaries?

    I read today at daily kos someone asking why Paul Krugman never criticized George Bush?

    That’s sort of how I feel about some the attitudes I read here. Like your political awareness started in January 2008.

  99. 99.

    Armando

    @Left Coast Tom:

    Not really. If I was concerned about "impressions," I would have played nice and still be perched at daily kos.

    Look, it appears some of you just started reading blogs during the 2008 primaries as far as I can tell.

    That’s fine. but some of us have been around longer than that.

  100. 100.

    Comrade Jake

    @Armando:

    Did you think I was so dumb before the 2008 primaries?

    I didn’t read you before the primaries, thank Christ. I only know who you are because I started reading Jeralyn around 2006.

    I’m pretty sure Cole’s admitted he was an idiot for voting for W. Let us know when you confess to your own stupidity.

  102. 102.

    Armando

    @Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist:

    Oh I know. I’m baiting him. John, like most of you, can’t abide the idea that someone did not think Obama would pursue policies that were different from Clinton’s and then reasoned that Obama would have a better chance of effecting progressive change and winning in the fall.

    You had to "believe" to prefer a candidate. I stopped believing in pols after Wes Clark.

    But that is not a position some of you can accept.

  104. 104.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    Like your political awareness started in January 2008

    There is a difference in political awareness of the past and wallowing, and even reveling in it, and breathlessly expecting it always to be repeated, while offering the thinnest shreds of real evidence. This summarizes the problem I have with your attitude, and some others.

    Are we experiencing transactional analysis> Is Stuart Smalley here to guide us?

  105. 105.

    Armando

    @Comrade Jake:

    Oh John did more than vote for Bush. Since you didn’t read me before the primaries, I feel comfortable in saying then you really can’t judge my writings.

    The primaries are a time when most people can’t think straight.

    Try reading what I wrote before then some time. And compare to Cole’s. See what you think.

    You might also want to review Paul Krugman’s work from 1999 to 2006. there is more to Krugman than John’s "he always hated Obama" analysis.

  106. 106.

    NobodySpecial

    You know, I remember when Armando was a bitter asshole, but not a SAD, bitter asshole over at Kos. I dunno if it was the Walmart thing or the way he joined up at the hip with the PUMA creatures, but there’s nothing left.

    I’ll light a candle. No jokes. It’s just…sad.

  108. 108.

    Left Coast Tom

    Not really. If I was concerned about "impressions," I would have played nice and still be perched at daily kos.

    Yet you asked me to consider the non-stupidity of some of what you write. So, at some level, you were concerned about impressions, even if you thought that concern was for my "benefit" rather than your own.

  109. 109.

    Comrade Jake

    @Armando:

    The primaries are a time when most people can’t think straight.

    Dude, you couldn’t fucking think at all during the primaries.

  113. 113.

    BethanyAnne

    @kommrade reproductive vigor: Aye, it reminds me of this.

    Regarding belief and candidates: Personally, I have no problem with someone supporting a candidate because they figure he’s the best shot they have. But it was hard to tell that that was your position, as every posting you made seemed to be about how much he sucked. I don’t want to see sycophancy, but dayaam, it was like you personally hated the guy. Your typical post was "He sucks, he sucks , he sucks. Oh, and he sucks. But I support him. Sort of. Because, you know, he sucks." I know you like to categorize BHO supporters who actually think he’s a decent human being as doe-eyed innocent worshipers. But there’s a difference between that, and the position that I have, which is that he seems like a reasonable decent person, who I agree with on many issues.

  114. 114.

    Ash Can

    Are you guys sure "Armando" isn’t actually a bored-out-of-his-gourd DougJ amusing himself by messing with us?

  115. 115.

    Left Coast Tom

    Fair enough. Guilty. But will you?

    What’s in front of me is you pursuing what you called a "pillow fight". That’s not promising. My comment was that you not take such bait. It stands. I’m happy to revise my opinion as new evidence comes in front of me.

  116. 116.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    Oh I know. I’m baiting him. John, like most of you, can’t abide the idea that someone did not think Obama would pursue policies that were different from Clinton’s and then reasoned that Obama would have a better chance of effecting progressive change and winning in the fall.

    This shows your ignorance of what goes on here. A few, very few people here thought Obama was a "progressive" and would effect more progressive change than Clinton. Most of us supported him because he was above all a pragmatic, that would come before docrtinaire pursuit of policy. And that we generally trusted him to do what he promised, and that was decidedly not to be the "Progressive Candidate" though most of his policies were quite progressive.

    As for Clinton, she lost my and most of our support when she decided to partner with wingnuts to help her win. It was that simple. I was an Edwards supporter at the time and would have been happy with Clinton or Obama. I don’t know if she would have governed any more to the left that Obama, but I doubt it.

    And I wasn’t saying you were baiting Cole, just that you were full of it in saying you were a supporter of Obama, at least in respect to winning an election against a wingnut.

  117. 117.

    Armando

    @BethanyAnne:

    Well, his political style sucked imo. I think that is what rang in your ears.

    But I was always for Fighting Dems, not the Post Partisan Unity Schtick.

    It did not start with Obama. To you it was about Obama, to me it was about a view I had held since 2003.

    Think Howard Dean.

  121. 121.

    bvac

    This is why I want Lou Dobbs to run for governor in New Jersey. I really want to see what happens when demented ideologies are put into practice.

  122. 122.

    Armando

    @Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist:

    Is that right? I stand corrected. But let me correct you – "As for Clinton, she lost my and most of our support when she decided to partner with wingnuts to help her win." That never happened in it is pretty outrageous to continue to say it. This was part of the irrational process I deplored.

    That’s like saying Obama’s open appeals to Republicans was partnering with Wing Nuts. It reminds me of Kos, a friend of mine and John’s BTW, when he made the darkening the photo smear. It was nuts.

    In any event, I think there was a lot of Clinton Hate expressed here and you seem to implicitly accept that is true.

  124. 124.

    Armando

    All right then. Points made? Intelligence exhibited? think you made good points? Happy now?

    Let’s hope the discussion is better on issues.

  126. 126.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    In any event, I think there was a lot of Clinton Hate expressed here and you seem to implicitly accept that is true.

    Of her behavior, absolutely. Most of us actually liked her before she became a triangulating desperado.

    That never happened in it is pretty outrageous to continue to say it. This was part of the irrational process I deplored

    All I can say to this is we live on different planets together.

  128. 128.

    Laura W

    @Ash Can:

    Are you guys sure "Armando" isn’t actually a bored-out-of-his-gourd DougJ amusing himself by messing with us?

    I am certain it is DougJ gracing us with yet more of his "performance art". There is no way in hell I’m gonna believe a practicing (?) attorney writes as poorly, and expresses himself as crassly and simplistically, as this guy does.
    Although even for DougJ, it’s still a bit of a let down.
    Not one of his better shows, but it sounds like he was on a plane yesterday, so maybe some travel lag.

  129. 129.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    That’s like saying Obama’s open appeals to Republicans was partnering with Wing Nuts

    Talking about bi partisanship is boilerpate campaigning for both parties. Seeking and receiving their support to beat your dem opponent is quite something else.

  130. 130.

    BethanyAnne

    @Armando: Yes, and Obama won the Presidency, while Dean didn’t even make it through the primaries. Complaining relentlessly about a style that wins elections confuses me.

  131. 131.

    Armando

    @Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist:

    See this is absurd. Obama was a triangulating desperado. Clinton was just plain hated by the GOP.

    Bill Clinton in the 90s you could argue was a triangulating desperado.

    I mean did you really miss the whole Post Partisan Unity Schtick? Are you saying it did not happen?

    You said you were for Edwards? Why were you for Edwards precisely?

    this is what I never got. I could see being for Obama in an ardent way. The guy is the best pol I have ever seen. But I could not see why you would hate Hillary. that;s the part that baffled me.

  132. 132.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Thanks for stopping by and giving "your side" Armando. I was also a supporter of Wes Clark back in 2004. Volunteered for the campaign here locally. During the 2008 primary, I also complained vociferously about Obama not fighting back hard enough. Incidentally, Rachel Maddow asked him about that in an interview and he said he thought his style was working for him. And, of course we all know now, it did work for him.

    But I think over-all, yer being a little glib. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all be defined by the years we spent faithfully serving our church and community and not the couple of times we hunted, bound, tortured and killed a few prostitutes? Crazy has a way of trumping all the other shit we do. It’s why we put John Wayne Gacy behind bars and not in the clown hall of fame.

    So your point is taken, you’ve been around a long time and shouldn’t be judged by the crazy shit you said and did during the primary and more importantly, that shouldn’t be the pretext under which your current Obama jihad is viewed. But how do we know you aren’t still being crazy? How do you know?

  133. 133.

    shortstop

    I guess if I’d made an unmitigated fucking ass of myself since January 2008, "Politics didn’t begin in January 2008!" would be the best I could offer up, too. Lame as it is, what else does he have?

    Armando. You know how when people tell a drunk at a party that he’s making a fool of himself and needs to go home, sometimes the guy gets it in his befuddled head that if he just keeps talking, he can sound less stupid and redeem himself? Have you ever seen that actually work?

  134. 134.

    Comrade Jake

    @Armando:

    All right then. Points made? Intelligence exhibited? think you made good points? Happy now?

    I’m not sure how to put this delicately, but you really are out of place here, and the regulars here are a fairly diverse group. By the same token, I’m pretty sure none of us belong at TalkLeft, and some have even been banned from posting over there. We have no interest in going over there, except to have a good laugh once in awhile.

    Still, we don’t crap where you like to hang out. I realize that Cole pointed out more idiocy on your part, and maybe he wasn’t even particularly discriminating about it, and I understand that your ego just can’t possibly let that go. I get that. But why you care that most of us think you’re dumb as a post is beyond me, and why you think that shitting all over this thread is going to change that is even more bizarre.

  135. 135.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Laura W:

    Armando usually links his handle to TL, so that is suspicious. But Dougj does usually writes much better than this Armando, or the real one, or whatever. The content is classic BTD though, and if it’s Dougj then my hat is off.

    Otherwise, I don’t really care which. It’s fun.

  136. 136.

    Armando

    @Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist:

    Dems for A Day was an Obama operation dude.

    Look they both did what they felt they had to do to win. I begrudged neither of them.

    My thoughts were about who had the best chance of winning and enacting a progressive agenda. to this day I am sure that that was and is Obama.

    I thought his campaign was not conducive to gaining a mandate for that.

    During my less stupid general election period, I stated that the financial crisis made all of that irrelevant – that Obama would have a mandate for whatever he thought was right. I still think that.

    That is why it is frustrating to me to seem him be so blod torture and Gitmo and the budget and not be so bold on the financial crisis.

    Frankly, I am pretty pleased with Obama except for one big thing, his handling of the Wall Street mess. Now I am not one of these fools that thinks clinton would do one damn thing different. and I assure you I would be blasting her for it too.

  137. 137.

    Armando

    @Comrade Jake:

    Wow. You think I’m dumb as a post do you? That really hurts.

    Buck up though, maybe John will ban me. Or maybe I will just get bored with this.

  138. 138.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    You said you were for Edwards? Why were you for Edwards precisely?

    One reason. I thought he would have the nuts to scale back the Plutocrats and restore some balance to the wealth distribution between rich and poor.

    But, you say, why is Obama rewarding Wallstreet. He’s not, he’s trying to save the Golden Goose that is currently moribund, rightly or wrongly. I am very pleased with the spending leg to accomplish what I thought Edwards would best do, at that time.

  139. 139.

    DougJ

    I am certain it is DougJ gracing us with yet more of his “performance art”. There is no way in hell I’m gonna believe a practicing (?) attorney writes as poorly, and expresses himself as crassly and simplistically, as this guy does.
    Although even for DougJ, it’s still a bit of a let down.
    Not one of his better shows, but it sounds like he was on a plane yesterday, so maybe some travel lag.

    No, it’s not me. I’ve told you before, when I do this I don’t like to make the character an asshole. That takes the fun out of it.

  140. 140.

    Armando

    @shortstop:

    Heh. Well, as you say, I doubt it works. But everyone has their own opinions on who is the idiot in the conversation.

    I feel comfortable with what I am writing here. I am also comfortable with what I have written in my bloggin life, including what I wrote in 2008.

    Hell, I feel quite comfortable stacking up my work against most people’s for the past 6 years. I think it holds up quite well.

  143. 143.

    jcricket

    There are only three words one needs to say when considering Lou Dobbs judgement: Space-dot-com.

    Perhaps there was mandatory oxygen deprivation as part of the startup experience there, and that explains how a fairly normal business reporter becomes a denture-sucking, flip-flopping, pseudo-populist, immigrant basher.

    On a related note, I decided the opposite of DFH is Glenn Beck. Equally prone to proffering conspiracy theories, charges of governmental interference, etc. – but 10000% wrong in the long-term.

  144. 144.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    @Armando:

    Do you think Edwards would be pursuing this policy?

    If it was in a skirt.

    **And do us a favor BTD, would you please post a blurb comment on your last TL post, so we can verify your identity. I’d ask for your papers, but that’s hard in the ethers.

    strike that — dougj has denied it, for what’s it worth.

  145. 145.

    Brick Oven Bill

    You guys are expending energy on Lou, who is still with CNN. This is a defense mechanism.

    Lou has had his day. The mantel has since been passed to a man who made the cover of the New York Times today. The best place to get news is Balloon Juice in any case.

    We all knew about this shift last month as we witnessed a Beck-O’Reilly semi-live blog where Beck was declared the winner.

    Beck recently got O’Reilly to wear Mickey Mouse ears on his head. The hat had the name ‘Billy’ on it. Do not underestimate Beck.

  146. 146.

    shortstop

    But everyone has their own opinions on who is the idiot in the conversation.

    Indeed. And wouldn’t it be cool if every single member of the numberless throngs opining that you’re getting shellacked was wrong, and you were right: you’re the only one making sense here? God. Just think of it!

  148. 148.

    shortstop

    The mantel has since been passed

    And Christ, did they regret having gone with the marble instead of the faux brick.

  149. 149.

    Comrade General Stuck/ Obama Cultist

    I’ve got to go. Thanks BTD. Please come back. I mean that.

    And I DO NOT HATE HILLARY. was really pissed at her once, but she has redeemed herself well.

  150. 150.

    Armando

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    This would be easier to answer if what I write was actually discussed as opposed to just labelled crazy.

    I’ve read both Timf and DougJ on the financial crisis and I have to say I am not sure that what I am saying is much different than what they are saying. I say it more than they do it is true. but the essence seems to me to be the same.

    I have always been an asshole. Not excusing it. Just saying it is true. I think we all know I am not "dumb as a post." Wrong maybe, even probably in your eyes.

    But surely no one thinks that I am, say Jonah Goldberg. Or maybe you do. But that would be well, stupid.

  151. 151.

    DougJ

    The assholes abound, myself included.

    To clarify, I’m not saying that you are an asshole (I don’t know you that well), just that you’re being one in this thread.

  152. 152.

    kay

    I’ll address the "Obama too soft on the banks" question.

    They move deliberately. They don’t act until the facts are in. The Detroit decision was well-informed. They gathered a lot of qualified people and studied the problem. They requested that the automakers submit a plan. After that, they made a decision. That’s a solid process, and that’s all I really ask for.

    And, "too soft on the banks?" is the wrong question.

    The objective is not "fairness" or "equal treatment". The objective is to restore and then re-regulate the financial sector, and maintain a US auto industry.

    IMO, "fair" is a childish and maybe counter-productive measure of the two approaches and plans. Get off "fair". That’s cable tv stuff.

  153. 153.

    Armando

    @shortstop:

    Oh come now shortstop, if this discussion were held at Talk Left, the mob would be on my side. And if we both were at Red State, the mob would think we are all idiots.

    I do not think you really think that proves anything do you?

  155. 155.

    Armando

    @kay:

    I do not think I have written the word "fair" once in my postings on the subject. I have written "won’t work" alot.

    there is a reason I think that Obama’s right to get tough with Detroit, as John noted when this discussion started. Because it is what can work.

    I think the same type of toughness is necessary to make his of Wall Street work.

    I do not think Obama is "bad" because of his Wall street plan. I think he is wrong.

  156. 156.

    shortstop

    I do not think you really think that proves anything do you?

    Strictly speaking, neither does the fact that your punctuation and spelling have gotten measurably worse in the last three hours. It’s fun to speculate, though, isn’t it?

  160. 160.

    Nancy Darling

    This thread is giving me whiplash. I was wishing for BOB to show up and add a little levity and Bingo! there he is. Seriously, I feel like a den mother who has totally lost control of her charges. Can’t you make them stop, John?

    Armando, when one grows up, one learns that one does not have to react every time one’s buttons are pushed. It’s the beginning of wisdom.

    It is past this old lady’s bed time. I’m going to let Mijo out for one last run around and hit the hay.

    Ya’ll try to be nice

  161. 161.

    JD Rhoades

    I don’t know why you’d get whiplash, John. Lou Dobbs is perfectly consistent. Everything Obama does is wrong. Beyond that, there’s not even an attempt at analysis.

  164. 164.

    Armando

    @Nancy Darling:

    Come on. The idea that there was nice reasoned discourse here without name calling and childishness before I got here is pretty ridiculous.

    That is not to say you can’t have that and good conversation, but let’s get real here.

  165. 165.

    shortstop

    Is that what this is devolving into? Typo scolds?

    A gentle suggestion that you switch to ice water, Mando. The slurring and swaying reached their crescendo in #157.

  167. 167.

    shortstop

    Daily Show for me, if I can stay awake that long. Stop picking the scab or you’ll have no arm left by midnight, Mando. Night, all.

  168. 168.

    jcricket

    Do not underestimate Beck.

    Before Beck there was Hannity. Before Hannity there was O’Reilly. Before that Savage. Before that Coulter. Before that Rush. Before that Paul Harvey, Father Coughlin, and so on.

    There’s a built-in 10-15 million person audience for these incendiary right-wing blowhards. They become mass media phenomenon because the media reports on each new yahoo as if it’s news. Then they max out at the same audience size as the guy before them, and ride the advertising money train into the sunset.

    Glenn Beck will do as much to revive conservatism as Sarah Palin did (by that I mean really excite the base, turn a greater number of people off the GOP, but get a lot of air time).

  172. 172.

    Laura W

    @Andre: Wait till Wed. 4/1 and then post something equally as fabulous so John can make amazon pennies from it. You know how much he would’ve owed you for that initial furminator comment of yours based on how many people ended up buying after he front page testimonialed it?

    I’ve been pimping my heart out for the Kangoo Jumps (there is even talk of an intervention of some sort on my behalf??) but I’ve already mentioned you can get them on eBay for 15% of what you pay the maker. So that ain’t gonna help John.

  173. 173.

    LD50

    Give me something where I actually have to use two hands for.

    I can’t believe no one has picked up this line and run with it.

    I mean, *I* could say something demeaning about it, but I don’t even know who ‘Armando’ is. (If that *is* his real name.)

  175. 175.

    Laura W

    @LD50: Well it looks like #59 did but she was clearly too much of a lady to do anything more than point out the very poor grammar and composition.

  176. 176.

    The Moar You Know

    I’ve been pimping my heart out for the Kangoo Jumps (there is even talk of an intervention of some sort on my behalf??)

    @Laura W: Just because you can get something for 15% of its list price does not mean that getting it is a good idea.

    EDIT: Just took a jump over to their site. I would end up in the ER within about five minutes of trying a pair of those – but I do have balance issues. Still, they look like a bad fuckin’ idea.

  177. 177.

    Laura W

    @The Moar You Know: Of course not. That was not my point. I would’ve taken them at full price since I was going to buy them anyway. Why? Have you tried them? Do you have reason to think they suck? Are you in on the intervention?

    Edit: My point re. the price was that running them thru amazon wouldn’t help John since Bad Horse’s Filly and I have both admitted to buying them on eBay for far less.

  178. 178.

    BigSwami

    I can’t get enough of serious centrists like Lou Dobbs. Their ability to disguise what they truly believe, even from themselves, stops being shameful at some point and actually becomes fascinating.

    My favorite part is that whenever an economic crisis arises (and if there isn’t one, they’ll manufacture one), they bloviate to anyone who will listen that Someone In Charge Of The Unions Should Be Held Accountable. (Let’s completely ignore for a second the fact that while the CEOs are appointed by their friends on the board, the union execs are democratically elected.) No one even bothers to challenge them on the fact that on the left hand they’re demanding that union execs should be accountable to the general public for some reason, when on the right hand they’re detesting the fact that unions exist at all. No matter what they claim to believe, they don’t want the unions held accountable. They want the unions held underwater.

    It’s like demanding regime change from a country when the bombers will be there in 5 minutes. Wait a second…scratch that. The analogy is simply too depressing.

  179. 179.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Laura W asked me a question.

    And the answer Laura is no, I have not met Armando. Unless Armando was my former neighbor from the American West. Where we played that game where you hit balls through bent steel rods together.

  180. 180.

    Laura W

    @The Moar You Know:

    Just took a jump over to their site. I would end up in the ER within about five minutes of trying a pair of those – but I do have balance issues. Still, they look like a bad fuckin’ idea.

    You mean you took a Kangoo Jump, don’t you?
    I have already shared my deep fear of falling off of them and breaking an ankle somehow, although I’ve been assured it can’t happen. I’m lucky that way.

    As for the "bad fuckin’ idea" part…Bad Horse’s Filly and I will let you know how toned and hot we are come the summer solstice and we can assess the merits at that point. Provided I am not in a hip cast.

  181. 181.

    The Moar You Know

    @Laura W:

    Have you tried them?

    No.

    Do you have reason to think they suck?

    Yes. They look dangerous as hell. Also, I have reason to think that me using them would result in my brains being splattered all over my driveway within mere minutes, although I will confess that some of the fault in that scenario would be mine, as I have no sense of balance.

    Are you in on the intervention?

    Only if the cool kids are doing it. Otherwise I want no part of it.

  182. 182.

    The Moar You Know

    Bad Horse’s Filly and I will let you know how toned and hot we are come the summer solstice and we can assess the merits at that point.

    Ahhh, a reason to keep living. I look forward to the results, provided you stay out of any casts.

  184. 184.

    Adrienne

    Buck up though, maybe John will ban me. Or maybe I will just get bored with this.

    This is not TL. John very rarely bans people. Unlike you guys over at TL, he’s actually a fan of you know, or maybe you don’t judging from your policies over there, open and honest discourse.

    You said you came over here to "get your asshole on", something that you can’t do at your site under the watchful eyes of your domineering mistress. I find it hilarious that you are on here talking so proud about how you shook it up over at DKos but you don’t have the cojones to do it at TL. Obviously you’re yearning for something more with your wandering here to get what you can’t get at home. But it’ll just make you feel cheap in the morning.

  187. 187.

    J. Michael Neal

    You think? How long have you been reading me? Did you read me when Cole was defending McCarthyism and Bush?

    Yeah, I did. Even then he was more interesting than you are.

  189. 189.

    Mike in NC

    Are you guys sure "Armando" isn’t actually a bored-out-of-his-gourd DougJ amusing himself by messing with us?

    Thought that was Attanutjob myself. Whatever. ZZZzzz.

  197. 197.

    Joe Lisboa

    Wait, I leave you guys alone for five minutes and you’re rising both to B.O.B. and Lou Dobbs’ bait? Really?

  199. 199.

    guest omen

    what i’d give to have a commission investigate why the car industry stubbornly refused to innovate. they did so to their own detriment.

  201. 201.

    mannemalon

    The shit I never understood was why CNN was paying for a huge billboard in the heart of East LA for this clown. A huge sign with his child molestoresque mug and a "Lou Dobbs reports America" slogan or some crap. The heart of East Los Angeles. LOL.

  203. 203.

    jcricket

    @ThymeZoneThePlumber: Thanks. Ever since I became familiar with the "media paradox" I’ve seen things quite differently.

    The media paradox being that the media tends to focus on "unusual things", but by reporting on them, they seem more prominent/prevalent/usual than they really are. Thus people are all freaked out about stranger kidnappings, instead of the relatives or family members that actually are the risks.

    And thus every time some new charlatan comes on the scene and excites the wingnuts, the media dutifully reports on how this spells a new popular revolt, the resurgence of Joe Six Pack, etc. The recent dust-up with Santinelli and the guy from AIG who wrote the editorial are great examples. They’ll get lots of air time, but you just know there’s about as much substance behind these "popular sentiments" as a Hollywood set.

    And frankly, you can go back 15 years and you’ll see the same figure (15 million) quoted as the size of Rush’s audience. Even if it’s true (and there’s evidence it’s not), it’s not really impressive if anyone today is pulling down the same numbers, considering the population growth during that time.

  204. 204.

    eyeball

    Just another dry drunk on the airwaves. Odd how they proliferate. They sound just as coherent at AA meetings. Can clear half a room.

  206. 206.

    bob h

    Simon Johnson of MIT says we have invested $12.8 trillion to fix this so far. Sounds like quite a lot.

  207. 207.

    Jim Pharo

    John, have you never watched the movie "Network"? UBC will leave "The Howard Beale Show" on the air as long as it makes them money.

    Lou ain’t going anywhere…

  208. 208.

    Svensker

    Who is this Armando guy? I was never much of a Talk Left reader and after seeing him in action, will make sure it stays that way. If his ego ever exploded it could take out Manhattan and most of New Jersey.

  209. 209.

    mclaren

    See, there’s two kinds of crazy on the right — there’s batshit insane, like Glenn Beck or Armando or the other wack jobs who believe Adam and Eve rode dinosaurs to church every Sunday… And then there’s driven-crazy-by-the-contradictions-in-the-GOP paleocons, like Lou Dobbs and Jerry Pournelle.

    The batshit insane right wingers basically do an Exorcist. Their heads rotate 360 degrees, they spit up pea soup, they levitate, they talk in other people’s voices, the whole nine yards.

    But the paleoconservatives who still belong to the GOP (like Lou Dobbs) actually make sense — albeit for only 5 seconds at a time. Their brains are exploding because they just can’t handle all the contradictions in what they have to believe if they want to stay good solid movement conservatives.

    For example, Dobbs has to simultaneously believe that it’s evil and treasonous for Obama to interfere with the free enterprise system by making sure the GM CEO gets fired, but it’s good and righteous for the previous administration to interfere with the free enterprise system by passing laws that make it legal to bust unions. See? Lou’s head is exploding. He just can’t cut it.

    The batshit insane right wingers, they just cruise right past this stuff. They can believe six impossible things before breakfast. But the semi-sane ones, like Dobbs, they get whiplash from all the stuff they’re supposed to simultaneously believe and disbelieve, and it makes ’em crazy.

  210. 210.

    kay

    @Svensker:

    I read him during the primaries. I read him because there was this weird disconnect during the primaries.

    There was my own personal experience with long-time local Democrats who were HRC supporters and then cable news and internet Democrats.

    We didn’t have a bruising battle, locally. We had a primary. I only discovered that the County chair backed HRC because I asked him. I got one nasty anti-Obama email from a younger local HRC backer. One.

  211. 211.

    jamie

    I wish more women made comments.When they do,they can be every bit as nasty as the good old boys here.

  212. 212.

    shortstop

    I wish more women made comments.When they do,they can be every bit as nasty as the good old boys here.

    With most of these handles, how would you know?

  213. 213.

    Northern Observer

    Lou Dobbs is lemon populism.
    He is what is wrong with television journalism in America.
    The sooner his mandate ends, the better.

  214. 214.

    Vox Pax

    Astute observations on Lou Dobbs. Watch his microexpressions. Lou is one self-inflated and angry guy. I wonder if, once you pass a certain threshold, anger prevents cognitive dissonance?

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