First, a definition:
Hoekstroika
hohk⋅stroi⋅ka
–noun
Wingnut. A ridiculous statement that greatly minimizes the suffering of one group of people while wildly escalating the suffering of another group of people, when no such comparison exists. Usually for partisan political point scoring.
Origin: a “twitter” from Rep. Peter Hoekstra comparing the violent repression of peaceful demonstrators in Iran with Republicans in congress:
Iranian twitter activity similar to what we did in House last year when Republicans were shut down in the House. 8:56 AM Jun 17th from TwitterBerry
Our first verifiable Hoekstroika:
“Look at this from Iran’s press run television, state run media in Iran. Ahmadinejad gains votes in recount, just like in our country. It happened just like in our country. Norm Coleman wins in Minnesota in a recount, so they keep having recounts, and Al Franken wins, so they have the recount in Iran and shazam Ahmadinejad gained votes.” – Rush Limbaugh, 30 June 2009
That is a keeper.
BDeevDad
I think Hoekstroika deserves its own tag. You know its going to be used repeatedly
handy
That Rush Limbaugh sure is a bright one. Except, you know, actually Coleman was ahead before the mandatory recount, which by my watch hasn’t led to rioting and bloodshed in the streets. So yeah, way to craft the analogy, Rush.
Allan
Ditto BDeevDad. This is so tag-worthy.
demkat620
WTF does that even mean? Put don’t the hillbilly heroin Rush, you’ve had enough.
Morrigan
But…but…what about the Florida recount in 2000? It was OK then, right? Right?
I can feel neurons in my brain popping, one by one, in a futile attempt to let go of all logical reasoning so I can follow these conversations Rush has with himself. It hurts.
Tsulagi
Limbaugh crying Coleman is the victim. Yep, no one could ever have predicted that from the wingnuts’ overlord.
Brachiator
Man, you gotta give Rush credit. He is picking up where Karl Rove left off, so I guess he is officially the chief representative of the Republican Party.
So like clockwork, he keeps beating the drum, “the Democrats are not your legitimate representatives.”
Asswipe.
By the way, in actual Iran, the authorities are cracking down with brutal efficiency (Report: Hospitalized Iranians seized)
By the way, although I fully endorse the intelligent caution which Obama used in commenting on the Iranian elections, I sincerely doubt that any perceived US “meddling” would have been irrelevant to the way in which the Iranians are re-asserting control.
Rusty Nails
But there is rioting in the streets over this, it’s just that the liberal media won’t show it to us. If you want to support those who are fighting to overturn this injustice, please set your twitter location to St. Paul.
JenJen
Speaking of right-wing reaction to Franken’s delayed victory, our awesome liberal media keeps saying this really is good news for Republicans, because the Democrats now have 60 solid (Chuck Todd just ridiculously called them “automatic”) votes, and no more excuses.
Can somebody check my math? I mean, I think the Democrats can count on Bernie Sanders, but not Joe Lieberman, and only both get Democrats to 60, right? (I am not at all sure about that, so someone please correct me.)
And “solid”? “Automatic”? Have these people been living in the same would as I?
Bubblegum Tate
Here’s the question I always ponder in the face of this kind of stupidity: Does Rush actually believe himself? Like, when he says this type of bullshit, is he really sharing his genuine beliefs, or is he just doing what he thinks is expected of him/what gets him the big bucks?
Coulter, for example, strikes me as not really believing what she’s saying all the time. She’s created this character*–Oh, that Wacky Ann Coulter! I wonder what zany thing she’ll say next! Ha ha ha! On the flip side of the coin would be Malkin, who takes herself absolutely seriously (to the great bemusement of normal people).
So which is it for Rush? Do you think he believes his Hoekstroika, or is he just playing it up for “controversy” i.e. ratings?
*This is not to say that I think Coulter is some sort of closet liberal or something; I believe she really is a conservative, but in her columns and such, she’s exaggerating for the sake of popularity.
Comrade Dread
Yes, a recount watched carefully by both sides with each party getting ample opportunity to present valid challenges before an election committee and courts is JUST LIKE an unmonitored election tightly controlled by the ruling junta.
Joe Max
For Rush, this is personal.
“Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot”, remember?
Franken’s book could arguably be viewed as signaling the the first small ripple of cultural pushback against the mainstreaming of wingnuttery.
And here we are, after more than a decade, with US Senator Al Franken.
Win.
Zifnab
So does that make the Minnesota SC the equivalent to the Council of Experts? Is the Governor now the equivalent of Ayatollah Khomeini?
SpotWeld
Okay.. did this ever actually happen: “Norm Coleman wins in Minnesota in a recount” ?
If anything, the recounts continued to to give Norm Coleman a increasingly slimmer lead in a “too close to call” win that just sparked more recounts?
mcd
Post/comments just made me spit tea on the screen. And since you’re not asking me, Hoekstroika definitely deserves its own tag!!
JK
A song for Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin and all of the other whining crybabies in the Republican Party
Wah Wah – George Harrison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn2UH2eiuQo
Aqualad08
Jenjen, it’s not just Lieberman…Ben Nelson, Arlen Spector, Robert Byrd, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, Evan Bayh, Max Baucus, Diane Feinstein, Kent Conrad and Mark Pryor do not inspire trust…and they are currently led by the spineless Harry Reid, so “automatic” means nothing…
AnotherBruce
Fixed your qoute for ya, Rush, no need to thank me.
Bulworth
“…Norm Coleman wins in Minnesota in a recount, so they keep having recounts, and Al Franken wins, so they have the recount in Iran and shazam Ahmadinejad gained votes.” – Rush Limbaugh, 30 June 2009
But wasn’t Coleman trying to persuade the state to ADD more votes? He wasn’t calling on the state to go back to some golden age vote count from November 4. Isn’t that…oh wait, never mind. We are talking about the lunatic fringe here.
LD50
No, theirs is a world where Harry Reid is a fanatical radical leftist.
jake 4 that 1
Strange to think that less a year ago, the fRighties would be calling for the head of anyone who showed too much sympathy to the Iranians.
Xecky Gilchrist
@Bubblegum Tate: Does Rush actually believe himself? Like, when he says this type of bullshit, is he really sharing his genuine beliefs, or is he just doing what he thinks is expected of him/what gets him the big bucks?
I’m not even convinced he remembers what he said five minutes ago. It’s just this constant stream of needling designed to keep an audience tuned in and outraged.
Comrade Dread
Hey, my hangnail, it hurts. It’s just like your cancer.
JenJen
@Aqualad08: Well, exactly. But I suppose it’s a better “story” for the media if the Democrats can’t hold a block of 60 together. I imagine this will become conventional wisdom shortly; we’ll see what Mark Halperin decides!
JK
This is good news for John McCain.
Da Bomb
Yeah, Rushbo has a personal issue with Franken. I mean, didn’t Franken create this scenario called Operation Chickenhawk in his book making lots o’ fun of Rush and his flabbiness?
gex
@Comrade Dread: It is! You see both have the word “election” in it, which conclusively proves that Ayers is behind this.
Zuzu's Petals
@SpotWeld:
Nope:
Bubblegum Tate
@Xecky Gilchrist:
Good point.
chopper
hey, where was franken the day neda agha-soltan was shot? hmm…
D-Chance.
Speaking of revolutions, I’m glad the Iranians have solved all their problems and the “green” revolution is over.
Wait… it IS over, isn’t it?
I mean, Sully has returned to his obsession over Sarah! with a multi-post flood of PDS over at the Dish…
chopper
@Bubblegum Tate:
dogg think about it. his first line was “Look at this from Iran’s press run television, state run media in Iran”. that there’s a giveaway. if he’s quoting the state-run media in iran as any sort of comparison, he’s obviously just making it all up as he goes along.
Mike G
Yeah, Rushbo has a personal issue with Franken. I mean, didn’t Franken create this scenario called Operation Chickenhawk in his book making lots o’ fun of Rush and his flabbiness?
The ‘index’ of Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot is hilarious.
An endless stream of fictitious entries like —
Dirigible, Limbaugh size of, 6, 18
(see also Hindenburg)
gas, hot, Limbaugh full of, 3, 27
Grapefruit diet, denounced by Limbaugh, 114-120
syrup, Limbaugh’s purchase in thrity-gallon drums, 17, 43
waist, Limbaugh’s inability to measure without special instrumentation, 66
asiangrrlMN
Told ya. This is gonna push Limbaugh into personal insanity because this time, it’s personal. And no, Coleman never won a recount which is why there were a bajillion recounts. Our system is actually pretty dang good. It just needs a few tweaks such as how we do Absentee voting.
gbear
best comment over at Wonkette:
Thlayli
Mmmm, yummy tears.
drunken hausfrau
“shazam”?? Is that a muslim word for ta-dah?
Ed Drone
What’s the difference between Rush Limbaugh and the Hindenberg?
— One is a flaming Nazi gas-bag, and the other is a dirigible.
Ed