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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself

The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself

by DougJ|  July 21, 20093:23 pm| 126 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics

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For me, the defining moment of the 2008 debates was when Obama confronted McCain for having “sung songs about `bomb, bomb Iran'” after McCain had talked about how he believed in speaking softly. It was a stupid thing for McCain to have done and it was smart of Obama to use it when he did. The Obama people have a good knack for attacking their opponents using their opponents’ own ridiculous words. So I wasn’t surprised to see this in a recent Obama email:

Last week, Republican Senator Jim DeMint made it pretty clear why the opponents of health care reform are fighting so hard. As he told a special interest attack group, “If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” Here’s how the President responded:

Republicans would be smart to stick to pseudo-credible statements about CBO numbers and the like and to stay away from saying what they really think, which is of course that this is all about beating Obama. And not at all about good health care policy.

Now I’m waiting for some intrepid blogger/video editor type to put together a clever political video to the tune of Waterloo. Though it’s going to be pretty tough to top the original Waterloo video.

Update. MoveOn just hit me with an email with the subject heading “Waterloo”.

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Reader Interactions

126Comments

  1. 1.

    DanF

    July 21, 2009 at 3:31 pm

    Damn Swedes … They have universal health care AND ABBA! So unfair.

  2. 2.

    cleek

    July 21, 2009 at 3:33 pm

    i want that to appear in more than an email to supporters. i want them to say that on every news talk show, on prime-time commercials, in print ads, on billboards across I-95.

    don’t fuck around. hang them with it.

  3. 3.

    JoyceH

    July 21, 2009 at 3:35 pm

    Actually, since Senator DeMint represents South Carolina, perhaps a better choice would be the Stonewall Jackson country song “Waterloo”:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ6C8LMhcWQ

  4. 4.

    Delia

    July 21, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    You know the wingers just don’t get it. When they go whingeing on and on about the evils of Euro-socialism, all they can point to is the evil of universal health care. None of them ever bring up ABBA.

  5. 5.

    MikeJ

    July 21, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    Can you imagine anyone releasing a pop song today about 19th century Anglo-Prussian alliances?

  6. 6.

    Joshua Norton

    July 21, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    Yes, but the battle of Waterloo had 2 sides. I’m thinking Obama is going to be the Duke of Wellington in this repiggie scenario.

    Fly little wingnuts, fly.

  7. 7.

    Keith G

    July 21, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    Aaah, ABBA \\smiles\\….what was the qusestion?

    Oh, I want an attack add, complete with scary music, detailing how the GOP would rather win a political victory than actually help the 50 million + Amercans who need healthcare reform now.

  8. 8.

    rob!

    July 21, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    Sadly, it seems like its the god damn Democrats that are more determined to scuttle healthcare than the Republicans (they’re too busy drooling on themselves to form a coherent argument).

    Thank god we’ve got the Democrats here to oppose their own constituents!

  9. 9.

    Gregory Markle

    July 21, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    The (mis)quote Archie Macaw from The Rutles movie…

    “I think it was their trousers.”

  10. 10.

    MikeJ

    July 21, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    Damn Swedes … They have universal health care AND ABBA! So unfair

    This is somehow tied to Doug’s recent trip.

  11. 11.

    erlking

    July 21, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    I’m mildly curious how the teabaggers and the Beckians who are equating the Obama administration with Georgian British tyranny are going to square the circle with being the victors of Waterloo.

    But then, history is just a rummage sale for costumes to trick out their own delusions of significance.

  12. 12.

    Ugh

    July 21, 2009 at 3:45 pm

    “If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”

    I wonder how many in the GOP thought, say, circa January 2005 that they would be struggling to defeat a half-white, half-black, arab middle-named, former cocaine and marijuana using, less than one term senator, last name rhymes with “Osama” politician in July 2009 on the issue of national health care?

  13. 13.

    Napoleon

    July 21, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    On the TV news last night they showed Obama actually using that Waterloo line in a speech yesterday. I suspect he is going to use it every time he opens his mouth the next few weeks on health care.

    Oh and Waterloo was always my favorite Abba song.

  14. 14.

    DougJ

    July 21, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    This is somehow tied to Doug’s recent trip.

    I can tell you this: food and alcohol is way too expensive there.

  15. 15.

    MikeJ

    July 21, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    I can tell you this: food and alcohol is way too expensive there.

    I always had mobile phone companies pick up the tab. My hotel would deliver aquavit to the sauna! Of course I had work during the day ruining my free time, but I spent months there, so it evened out.

  16. 16.

    Quicksand

    July 21, 2009 at 3:58 pm

    Throw in some Ivan Drago clips and I think you might have a winner.

  17. 17.

    DougJ

    July 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    I always had mobile phone companies pick up the tab.

    I can’t do that with the alcohol with grant money.

  18. 18.

    freelancer

    July 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    As far as using oppositions’ words against them, if I worked at the White House or the DNC, I would be hard-pressed not to just air the highlights of the Town Hall that Rachel showed a bit of last night:

    http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/21/castle-townhall/

    and then end with a line drawn in the sand to GOP lawmakers: You’re either aghast at the site of these people, or you support them at your peril.

    I mean “dead baby juice and monkey kidneys” in US Army made HIV-infected vaccines. SUPER-WTF?!

  19. 19.

    Lev

    July 21, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    This is Obama’s MO, every time. He sits back for a while, lets his opponents get emboldened and feel as though he’s on the ropes, then gets them to start saying boneheaded things that he uses to win. He did it with Clinton, he did it with McCain, and he’s doing it with the wingnuts. Anyone who hasn’t figured out the pattern yet needs to pay more attention.

    At this point, I think Obama’s going to pass something. He’ll get a victory. The question is, will it be good enough?

  20. 20.

    gbear

    July 21, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Can you imagine anyone releasing a pop song today about 19th century Anglo-Prussian alliances?

    I’m sure The Decemberists are working on it as we speak.

  21. 21.

    OGB

    July 21, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    @Quicksand: Yes! That was my first thought when I got the Mitch Stewart email – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygQvB6OjHOU. Someone seriously needs to figure a way to mix DeMint into this clip.

  22. 22.

    Morbo

    July 21, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    @DanF: And Therion.
    So if we’re talking Waterloo, who is General Cambronne? Joe Biden has the vocabulary for the job.

  23. 23.

    JenJen

    July 21, 2009 at 4:03 pm

    O/T, but lest we forget The Daily Birther News:

    Birther Legislation – It’s Here! Now, with Sponsors!

    http://washingtonindependent.com/51057/house-birther-bill-up-to-nine-co-sponsors

    Rep. Bill Posey’s (R-Fla.) bill that would change campaign law to demand proof of citizenship from presidential candidates is up to nine co-sponsors. Since June, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas), and Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) have added their names to the list.

    Also:

    Rush Limbaugh, Birther!

    http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=104595

    He continued, “Barack Obama has yet to have to prove that he’s a citizen. All he has to do is show a birth certificate. He has yet to have to prove he’s a citizen. I have to show them 14 different ways where the h— I am every day of the year for three years.”

    CNN’s Rick Sanchez last hour had guest “Birther Ben” Ferguson; “Birther Ben” suggested “to put the issue to rest” the President may want to present his birth certificate during tomorrow night’s press conference.

    Oy. Teh stoopid.

  24. 24.

    flukebucket

    July 21, 2009 at 4:05 pm

    @JoyceH: Damn right! I did not even know ABBA had a song called “Waterloo”. It has always been a Stonewall Jackson classic to me.

    And didn’t the guy who introduced Stonewall in the video look one hell of a lot like Mark Sanford?

  25. 25.

    kay

    July 21, 2009 at 4:05 pm

    @rob!:

    It’s amazing, isn’t it? Obama is a relative newcomer, compared with many of the Democrats in Congress. Yet, inexplicably, he’s supposed to lead them every step ‘o the way on healthcare, their signature issue, or they will be unable to reach consensus and block reform.
    You wanna tear your hair out.
    As usual, I blame Harry Reid. I now know why Pelosi is the focus of all that incoherent conservative rage. She’s the leader who occasionally tries to get something passed. They don’t bother opposing Reid. What’s not to like?

  26. 26.

    Warren Terra

    July 21, 2009 at 4:07 pm

    So the defining memory from the debates wasn’t McCain’s overt revulsion for Obama, complete with reluctance to shake his hand and the time he weirdly called him “that one”? Or his inexplicable attempt to define his whole campaign using sometimes obscure allusions to the incoherently expressed musings of the delusional Samuel Wurzelbacher? Or the debate he tried to cancel so he could focus his efforts on the bailout, just before he snoozed through the big White House meeting? Or that incredible freeze-frame image as he walked off the debate stagr looking like a bad 70s horror movie puppet? There were so many memorable debate moments …

  27. 27.

    rollSound

    July 21, 2009 at 4:09 pm

    Remember, the Pubs are the Party of Projection. So when they say

    If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.

    they mean

    If we can’t stop Obama on this, it will be our Waterloo. We’re so scrooood!

    The preceding was a public service of Trunkline, Decoding RepubliSpeak for a Better Tomorrow.

  28. 28.

    Trinity

    July 21, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    @rollSound: Exactly.

  29. 29.

    kay

    July 21, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    @JenJen:

    I met a birther at the town swimming pool. They aren’t just after proof of citizenship. They have questions about paternity.

    Needless to say, it’s complicated. I was nodding off for a while in the middle, but the theory is his father is a different man than the man we have heard about, and the paternity proves that his Kansas grandparents were degenerates who essentially sold their daughter to an older man. I don’t remember the name of the alleged father. A radical, to be sure, but not one I’m familiar with.

  30. 30.

    Montysano

    July 21, 2009 at 4:19 pm

    Swell…. now I’ve got Abba running through my brain. Guess I’ll have to pull out “Mamma Mia”.

  31. 31.

    Ed Drone

    July 21, 2009 at 4:24 pm

    I don’t remember the name of the alleged father. A radical, to be sure, but not one I’m familiar with.

    I thought it was Stokely Carmichael, or someone like that. Of course, if it was a Black Panther, it’s no wonder he’s being opposed by the John Birth Society (yes, I stole that from a typo here on BJ, as I recall).

    Ed

  32. 32.

    Sarcastro

    July 21, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    Joe Biden has the vocabulary for the job.

    I’d have thought Cheney would be mr. potty-mouth Cambronne.

    Which would make Obama Wellington not Napoleon (Bush returned from exile) and Biden can be the Prince of Orange.

  33. 33.

    Tom

    July 21, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    I just downloaded “Waterloo” yesterday after catching the last 5 minutes of “Mamma Mia” on HBO.

  34. 34.

    freelancer

    July 21, 2009 at 4:29 pm

    Swell…. now I’ve got Abba running through my brain. Guess I’ll have to pull out “Mamma Mia”.

    I’d rather be waterboarded. No joke.

  35. 35.

    kay

    July 21, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    @Ed Drone:

    It’s amazing how convoluted this has become. They’re going to demand a spit swab. Then a blood draw. Then a hair sample.
    Lou Dobbs now refers to the President of the United States as “undocumented”.
    The Clinton insanity was not adequate preparation for the Obama insanity. I was braced for crazy. I didn’t know it was going to go off the rails.

  36. 36.

    Demo Woman

    July 21, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    What I would like to see is Obama walk out tomorrow night for the press conference with Waterloo playing in the background. There are those that would say how un-presidential, but the public would love it. They already know that Obama is Presidential.
    The other thing that I would like for Obama to say is that those who say taxing the top 1% is class welfare, let’s remember that they are the very ones paying on average 10% less because of the tax shifting that has occurred during the last 20 years. Then he should look directly into the camera and say how many of you are paying 10% less on average?
    Doug, thanks for a link to the song.

  37. 37.

    Veritas78

    July 21, 2009 at 4:33 pm

    Fine, it’s Obama’s Waterloo — from Wellington’s POV.

  38. 38.

    A Cat

    July 21, 2009 at 4:34 pm

    Republicans would be smart to stick to pseudo-credible statements about CBO numbers and the like and to stay away from saying what they really think, which is of course that this is all about beating Obama

    They’ve done stuff like this so often it seems the simplest explanation is they aren’t smart, they are in it for the power trip, and they enjoy the perks more they have any desire to govern or make the US a better place.

  39. 39.

    Bill

    July 21, 2009 at 4:34 pm

    Can someone photoshop Jim DeMint into Napoleon Bonaparte’s portrait?

  40. 40.

    freelancer

    July 21, 2009 at 4:37 pm

    They’ve done stuff like this so often it seems the simplest explanation is aren’t smart, they are in it for the power trip, and they enjoy the perks more they have any desire to govern or make the US a better place.

    *COUGH-sarahpalin-COUGH*

  41. 41.

    Cyrus

    July 21, 2009 at 4:38 pm

    @kay:

    Needless to say, it’s complicated. I was nodding off for a while in the middle, but the theory is his father is a different man than the man we have heard about, and the paternity proves that his Kansas grandparents were degenerates who essentially sold their daughter to an older man. I don’t remember the name of the alleged father.

    It was probably Malcolm X.

  42. 42.

    inkadu

    July 21, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    @flukebucket:

    And didn’t the guy who introduced Stonewall in the video look one hell of a lot like Mark Sanford?

    With a young Woody Allen on electric guitar.

  43. 43.

    gex

    July 21, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    @kay: All of which, even if it were true, is completely irrelevant because his mother was an American citizen. That’s the really annoying thing about their madness. Even if their stark-raving mad theory was true it would not lead to the conclusion they want. It’s madness.

  44. 44.

    Wile E. Quixote

    July 21, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    @Rush Limbaugh

    He continued, “Barack Obama has yet to have to prove that he’s a citizen. All he has to do is show a birth certificate. He has yet to have to prove he’s a citizen. I have to show them 14 different ways where the h—- I am every day of the year for three years.”

    I went to WorldNuts Daily and read the article, which took a massive amount of fortitude let me tell you, and found that Rush Limbaugh was complaining about being audited by the state of New York and I thought “gosh, isn’t it weird that a guy who represents Red State Amerikkka would live in one of the bluest and most liberal cities in the country?” Shouldn’t Rush put his money where his mouth is and move to Dallas, Charleston, Boise, Baton Rouge, Tulsa, Kansas City, Wichita, Anchorage, Birmingham or some other large city in a red state instead of living with a bunch of liberals? I mean really, what does NYC have that the cities I’ve listed above, or dozens of others in Red State Amerikkka, don’t have?

  45. 45.

    Demo Woman

    July 21, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    @A Cat: The problem with repubs sticking with the CBO numbers is they would be required to show the CBO numbers for their massive tax cut plan to solve health care.

  46. 46.

    Roger Moore

    July 21, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    @Sarcastro:

    Which would make Obama Wellington not Napoleon (Bush returned from exile) and Biden can be the Prince of Orange.

    Does that make Rahm Immanuel the Earl of Uxbridge? Which Republicans correspond to which of Napoleon’s marshals? Inquiring minds want to know!

  47. 47.

    Molly

    July 21, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    @kay: Lou Dobbs has done lost his damn fool mind.

  48. 48.

    Don

    July 21, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    What I would like to see is Obama walk out tomorrow night for the press conference with Waterloo playing in the background. There are those that would say how un-presidential, but the public would love it.

    99.99% of the public would not love it; they would have no idea why he would do such a thing and would just think it weird.

  49. 49.

    Crashman06

    July 21, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    @Don: I think I’d be in that 99.99% I didn’t even know Waterloo was a song!

  50. 50.

    Face

    July 21, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    Holy ground zero of batshit craziness

  51. 51.

    flukebucket

    July 21, 2009 at 4:49 pm

    @inkadu: And the singers in the blue sweaters look like they just beamed down from the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

  52. 52.

    JenJen

    July 21, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    @kay: Didn’t Larry “Flowbee” Johnson or some idiot on his PUMA site try to claim Obama’s real father was Malcolm X, or something?

    It really *is* complicated, isn’t it? I mean, on CNN, they had on a representative from FactCheck.org, and “Birther Ben” just refused to believe her.

    Now that Rush is on the case, I imagine Birther Nation will grow, and it’s only going to get weirder from here. Even during the Clinton years, I don’t remember the really oddball stuff making its way to CNN. The times, they change…

    Speaking of “Mamma Mia,” I don’t get it; do people actually like that movie? It came on HBO Saturday night, and I thought it was the most unintentionally hilarious film made since “Showgirls”. When Pierce Brosnan opened his mouth and that first wretched note came forth, I laughed so hard I had red wine coming out of my nose. Still burns, too.

  53. 53.

    freelancer

    July 21, 2009 at 4:52 pm

    @face:

    I know, you would think just the phrase “dead baby juice and monkey-kidneys” would be enough of a soundbyte to drive every rationale moderate from the party, but no.

    ” It came on HBO Saturday night, and I thought it was the most unintentionally hilarious film made since “Showgirls”. ”

    Clearly you haven’t seen The Room.

  54. 54.

    Beeb

    July 21, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Well, of course Obama’s a furriner. No real Murkin would have let Bill Ayers ghostwrite his book.

  55. 55.

    MikeJ

    July 21, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    I thought it was Stokely Carmichael,

    The guy who wrote Stardust?

    Oh. *Stokely*. Never mind.

  56. 56.

    inkadu

    July 21, 2009 at 4:58 pm

    @freelancer: That video was really, really, unfair. Outside of the well-known tropes against evolution, global warming, socialism and science, the rest were one-on-one talks with the senator AFTER the town hall. It’s dishonest to use that to paint Republicans as certifiably insane.

    If anyone’s been near politicians, of any stripe, for any length of time, you know they attract the crazies. Ned Lamong, for instance, was shadowed at a lot of events by a 9/11 truther.

  57. 57.

    JasonF

    July 21, 2009 at 4:58 pm

    Per the birthers, President Obama’s secret communist father is Frank Davis.

  58. 58.

    Demo Woman

    July 21, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    @Don: good point, what about the other comment of tackling the issue of tax increases!

  59. 59.

    gbear

    July 21, 2009 at 5:03 pm

    and Biden can be the Prince of Orange

    I thought Boehner was the Prince of Orange…

  60. 60.

    Demo Woman

    July 21, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    @JenJen:” Speaking of “Mamma Mia,” I don’t get it; do people actually like that movie? It came on HBO Saturday night, and I thought it was the most unintentionally hilarious film made since “Showgirls”. When Pierce Brosnan opened his mouth and that first wretched note came forth, I laughed so hard I had red wine coming out of my nose. Still burns, too.”

    It was intentional. The ending was hilarious..

  61. 61.

    David Hunt

    July 21, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    I can tell you this: food and alcohol is way too expensive there.

    I’m going to use this as a segue into talking about Britain’s health system that the Right is always holding up as the Boggy-man of all health care systems. I don’t know squat about Sweden’s but I wouldn’t be surprised if the story translated well.

    A few years back as was listening to Terry Gross interview a reporter who had lived in England for some time as part of his job. I can’t remember his name; only this story that he told. He told TG that he was always complaining to his wife about the Value Added Tax which was effectively a 17% national sales tax. He complained that he got nothing for it. Nobody got anything for it. And then his daughter got an ear infection…

    The infection wasn’t life threatening, but it was really painful. They brought his daughter to a hospital. He described it as plain and perhaps even run-down in appearance, but that it was clean and they received professional care in good time.

    Now for the point of the story: As they were checking his daughter out of the ER (or whatever they call it there), he pulls out his checkbook to settle accounts and before he can even ask, the clerk says, “You may put away your checks, sir. In Britain, we do not charge people for medical care.”

    His wife turns to and, with missing a beat, says “That’s what they get for their 17%.”

    I’d pay a 17% national sales tax for that, too.

  62. 62.

    kay

    July 21, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    @JenJen:

    I deal with birth certificates all the time in my work, paternity issues, “child of the marriage”, who signed what, etc. and I am completely baffled by the ‘long form” they’re demanding. I don’t know what that means.

    I do know one thing. If they want to introduce questions on parentage into politics they may regret that. You’d be amazed what goes on. Best to leave that alone. This could get sad and stupid, fast.

  63. 63.

    JenJen

    July 21, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    @Demo Woman: Couldn’t make it to the ending. My ears rebelled. What happened? And really, it was intentional? I was thinking Pierce Brosnan needs to fire his agent.

    @freelancer: I haven’t seen “The Room.” Should I?

  64. 64.

    David

    July 21, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    Palin Implicated In Ethics Probe

    http://www.wftv.com/nationalnews/20122808/detail.html

  65. 65.

    Zifnab

    July 21, 2009 at 5:11 pm

    @JasonF: Unpossible, unless Frank Davis was secretly Malcolm X.

    Now for the point of the story: As they were checking his daughter out of the ER (or whatever they call it there), he pulls out his checkbook to settle accounts and before he can even ask, the clerk says, “You may put away your checks, sir. In Britain, we do not charge people for medical care.”

    Fucking commies.

  66. 66.

    General Winfield Stuck

    July 21, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    So what gives with Tweety? He’s turning Orange.

  67. 67.

    Demo Woman

    July 21, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    @JenJen: They all sang on the stage dressed very strangely in tight pants. You would not want to be holding a glass of wine while watching.

  68. 68.

    John S.

    July 21, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    I’d pay a 17% national sales tax for that, too.

    Sadly, the standard line for too many people on the matter would be, “Fuck you, I got mine.”

    In the mind of your garden variety glibertarian/conservative/Republican/sociopath, there is no reason why THEY should have to pay a penny for the welfare of anyone else.

  69. 69.

    Demo Woman

    July 21, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    @JasonF: Wouldn’t that diffuse their argument that he’s an American citizen?

  70. 70.

    drillfork

    July 21, 2009 at 5:16 pm

    @Lev:

    This is Obama’s MO, every time. He sits back for a while, lets his opponents get emboldened and feel as though he’s on the ropes, then gets them to start saying boneheaded things that he uses to win. He did it with Clinton, he did it with McCain, and he’s doing it with the wingnuts. Anyone who hasn’t figured out the pattern yet needs to pay more attention. At this point, I think Obama’s going to pass something. He’ll get a victory. The question is, will it be good enough?

    Edited to show that Obama’s only goal is to pass something.

  71. 71.

    Anne Laurie

    July 21, 2009 at 5:18 pm

    As far as using oppositions’ words against them, if I worked at the White House or the DNC, I would be hard-pressed not to just air the highlights of the Town Hall that Rachel showed a bit of last night… I mean “dead baby juice and monkey kidneys” in US Army made HIV-infected vaccines. SUPER-WTF?!

    “Dead baby juice” = stem cells; “monkey kidneys” = the theory that AIDS evolved in the Belgian Congo in the 1960s because early polio vaccines were contaminated with simian HIV. Not that either of these High Crimes O’ Science phantasms has anything to do with the new H1N1 pandemic, but it neatly encapsulates all the modern Ignoranti medical terrors — scary Big-Gubmint Smrts killing “our” future with their un-American out-of-Africa voodoo projects and impenetrable Scienterrific cult-babble!

    That’s quite a terrifying clip, actually. This is the way our country ends, not with a bang, but with a cacophony of ignoramouses and idiots…

  72. 72.

    MikeJ

    July 21, 2009 at 5:18 pm

    Actually in Britain they *do* charge people who aren’t British subjects for health care, but for an office visit for a simple ear infection it probably wasn’t worth the paperwork involved. If a USian had required hospitalization, particularly someone who had health insurance, somebody would have done the extra paperwork to charge them.

  73. 73.

    Perry Como

    July 21, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    Birthers on Hardball!

  74. 74.

    JenJen

    July 21, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    @Demo Woman: THANK YOU FOR SPARING MY FUTURE PAIN! :-)

    Oh, wheeeeeee! Birther Bonanza on Hardball!

  75. 75.

    kay

    July 21, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    @JasonF:

    Thanks. That’s the name I heard. I’m not following the link, and I’m not looking into this any further.

  76. 76.

    4jkb4ia

    July 21, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    OT: 30th of Tammuz:Michael Oren denies that American Jews are in exile I gave him a big cheer.
    I finished “The Promised City” this morning. In the last chapter, New York Jews turned to the most large-scale and the most successful labor actions they had ever had in 1907-1910 because they could not see a way to affect the situation in Russia. The American Jewish Committee was also founded as an organization which would bring Russian and German Jews together. While the immigrants’ children would certainly be Americans they were beginning to overcome the ties of ethnicity which had governed their approach to politics and society before.

  77. 77.

    R-Jud

    July 21, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    @David Hunt:

    I’d pay a 17% national sales tax for that, too.

    US expat here. Foreigners are charged for health care if they are not UK residents, except in the case of an A&E (emergency room) visit.

    The NHS has major, major structural and staffing problems, is underfunded compared to other European countries, is preyed upon by private-sector consultants, tends to treat the over-65s like meat, and has long wait times for things like dental appointments and physical therapy… but it is still roughly 1,500% better than the HMO I was last covered under in the USA, and even better than the health coverage I had through the Chicago Public Schools when I taught there.

    The NHS is pretty much the only reason why my husband and I, a couple of telecommuters, are still living in Britain (that and his mother would kill me if I packed her only grandchild off to the US).

    I could go on and on and on about my recent adventures in maternity care on the NHS and how super everyone was (and how I didn’t get stuck with a huge bill afterwards), but I won’t.

    I will mention that private health care plans do exist here and they seem to be doing a roaring trade in spite of the existence of a full-bore government health care system. I myself had supplemental PHC through Prudential Health for a while because it provided gym membership discounts and let you jump the queue for physical therapy and stuff. But they cut the gym discount, and I never needed anything else, so I dropped it.

  78. 78.

    Demo Woman

    July 21, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    Sometimes I love Chris Matthews, not often.. “appeasing the whackos”

  79. 79.

    shelley matheis

    July 21, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    esentative from FactCheck.org, and “Birther Ben” just refused to believe her.

    Sigh. It’s the ‘conspiracy mind-set’ in work. A Great Truth is accepted and no evidence that’s produced to refute it is accepted.

  80. 80.

    Laura W

    July 21, 2009 at 5:24 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    So what gives with Tweety? He’s turning Orange.

    A little vacation to Africa. That’s how Tweety does “tan”.
    His tie is frying my eyes out. I seriously can not look directly into his tie. The orangeosity is blinding.
    (Props for “playing to the crazies/wackos”, however.)

  81. 81.

    Michael

    July 21, 2009 at 5:24 pm

    OT – this is a quote purportedly for the guy I’m guessing is the GOP 2012 frontrunner.

    http://www.thestate.com/local/story/872268.html?pageNum=3&&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

    “The CEOs that I’ve talked to understand the imperfections that go with mankind, and have been much more accommodating on that front than, with all due respect, some of the media”.

  82. 82.

    slag

    July 21, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    I’ve now had that song in my head for the last two hours. Hope you’re pleased with yourself.

  83. 83.

    kay

    July 21, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    @Molly:

    He’s made-up. It’s a really profitable schtick he’s got, and he’s old, and this is his last gasp.

    I rank Dobbs with Beck. He’s loathsome. He makes my skin crawl.

  84. 84.

    sparky

    July 21, 2009 at 5:27 pm

    i must be missing a piece of the puzzle, or several clues today. if, for example Malcolm X was Obama’s father, then he’s a US citizen since no one is going to dispute Malcolm’s nationality.

    edit: as for the commentators on the tee-vee, i agree with cleek: ain’t no reason to even bother to listen to what they say. just a bunch of old cranky white guys. blowhards, unfortunately are an american speciality. think of WJ Bryan. or WJ Clinton, for that matter.

  85. 85.

    cleek

    July 21, 2009 at 5:28 pm

    DeMint’s response?

    “I think he played right into my hands,” DeMint told Neil Cavuto on Fox News this afternoon, adding that Obama’s frequent appearances over the last several days show a level of desperation. “Any time the president of the United States goes after a freshman senator, he’s losing his grip a little bit.”

    DeMint is one dumb little shit, ain’t he?

  86. 86.

    JenJen

    July 21, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    Good for Tweety. Tells Birther Congressman he’s “playing to the whacko wing,” “the nuts”, “the crazies,” “the nutcases,” and that he’s “feeding paranoia.”

    Tries to harangue Birther into saying whether the President of the United States is a citizen. “As far as I know,” relents Birther.

    As segment ends, Tweety refers to it as a “sideshow.” Excellent. More like this, please.

  87. 87.

    Mike in NC

    July 21, 2009 at 5:30 pm

    Can someone photoshop Jim DeMint into Napoleon Bonaparte’s portrait?

    Jimmy Demented (R-SC) has a book out. Saw it today at Costco and it wasn’t exactly flying off the shelves. The title is “Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America’s Slide into [email protected]” and it even has a cover blurb by Newt Gingrich. Trees had to die for this?

  88. 88.

    MikeJ

    July 21, 2009 at 5:31 pm

    i must be missing a piece of the puzzle, or several clues today. if, for example Malcolm X was Obama’s father, then he’s a US citizen since no one is going to dispute Malcolm’s nationality.

    First you must admit that having someone republicans don’t like for a parent would make him evil. Then, once you understand that he’s evil, the “not a citizen” part will just seem obvious to you.

  89. 89.

    General Winfield Stuck

    July 21, 2009 at 5:32 pm

    @Laura W:

    A little vacation to Africa. That’s how Tweety does “tan”.

    Last time he vacationed in Africa, around 2002 I think, he came down with malaria and turned into a whack-a-doodle for the next 6 years. Brain fry, I suppose. Now he’s just orange. Progress, I suppose.

  90. 90.

    Demo Woman

    July 21, 2009 at 5:33 pm

    @JenJen: Rick Sanchez went after the birthers today on CNN earlier today.

  91. 91.

    kay

    July 21, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    @JenJen:

    I can’t watch him anymore because I want Lawrence O’Donnell to have his show. I happened to see him as the substitute and he should have that hour. He’s better.
    I’m mad that Chris Matthews is appearing on Hardball.

  92. 92.

    Warren Terra

    July 21, 2009 at 5:36 pm

    I don’t get how people are looking to extend the Waterloo metaphor by casting people in the roles of Napoleon, Wellington, and even the Prince of Orange, but there’s no love in sight for the guy who actually won the battle, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. I mean, how can you not love this:

    After bathing his wounds in brandy, and fortified by liberal internal application of the same, the old warrior rejoined his army and led it on an endless, tortuous march along muddy paths, arriving on the field of Waterloo in the late afternoon. With the battle hanging in the balance Blücher’s army intervened with decisive and crushing effect. This victory led the way to a decisive victory through the relentless pursuit of the French by the Prussians.

    Maybe we’d remember Blucher’s role more if Wellington hadn’t occupied such a powerful place in the politics of Britain, then at the dawn of its empire and the unchallenged great nation of its day, for a quarter-century after Waterloo.

  93. 93.

    sparky

    July 21, 2009 at 5:37 pm

    @MikeJ: ah, the old alchemy of facts. i say let them go for it. after all they’ve been pretty adept at turning the gold of fools into the gold of their own for a while now.

  94. 94.

    shelley matheis

    July 21, 2009 at 5:37 pm

    adding that Obama’s frequent appearances over the last several days show

    Nice try, DeMint. Whether you like it or hate it, Obama’s on the teevee every other day. (Insert , ‘Bronx Cheer’)

  95. 95.

    Calouste

    July 21, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    @David Hunt:

    Except that the NHS is not primarily funded from VAT, it is funded mostly from pay-roll tax.

  96. 96.

    sparky

    July 21, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    @shelley matheis: maybe DeMint is auditioning for the Colbert Report. hawk some chips in a press conference and he’s good for a regular feature.

  97. 97.

    General Winfield Stuck

    July 21, 2009 at 5:40 pm

    Demented whined on the Senate floor that “now Obama took a shot at me” . Stating your desire for the president to be wiped out, like at Waterloo, was just light chit chat, I guess.

  98. 98.

    MikeJ

    July 21, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    Every time you same the name Blücher I hear a horse whinny.

  99. 99.

    Tsulagi

    July 21, 2009 at 5:42 pm

    @JenJen:
    Don’t mean to go OT, but since you already did, speaking of retards and birthers, on RedState a frontpager, Leon, implores their RSSF warriors and Pubs everywhere to lay the birther bullshit down to instead fight getting Pubs elected, and “Obamacare” defeated. Comedy ensues in the comments as the birthers fight back.

    One forward-thinking stratergerist…

    If 0 actually wasn’t born in the US (as alleged) AND if a sufficient number of States pass a law (which some are doing as we speak) requiring a candidate for President to surrender a copy of his original birth certificate before his name can appear on the ballot, then 0 won’t be on the ballot in enough states in 2012 to win, and therefore probably won’t even run for President again. In fact, even if only one large state passes such a law, rather than reveal his birth certificate, he won’t run. That will likely mean that Hillary will be the Dem’s likely candidate in 2012, now she is someone the GOP can defeat.

    Of course they are the patriots…

    The military refusing his thus by-definition-unlawful orders is the obvious place it starts. That part is a no-brainer.

    Yep, Major Cook exemplified no brains on that one.

    Damn, I thought the birthers were just a few loons, but the issue really seems to resonate among “real” Americans.

  100. 100.

    parksideq

    July 21, 2009 at 5:42 pm

    @Wile E. Quixote: If Rush leaves NYC, our obesity rate will plummet at least 15% overnight.

  101. 101.

    Anne Laurie

    July 21, 2009 at 5:42 pm

    I mean really, what does NYC have [for Rush] that the cities I’ve listed above, or dozens of others in Red State Amerikkka, don’t have?

    Unlimited access to quality pharmaceuticals, highly-trained syncophants, and gourmet meals from any cuisine in the world. I’d add “underaged Dominican prostitutes of either sex” to the list, but given Rush’s proclivities, I suspect the rent-a-teens are more to impress his toadies than to slake his personal urges.

    As for the who is Obama’s *real* father? controversy, all you really need to understand is that BHO is the Anti-Christ, so it doesn’t really matter what pseudonym Darth Vader used on his actual long-form vault-copy birfcertificate, does it?

    P.S. Am I the only one who’s lost the “preview” function as well as the shortcut buttons?

  102. 102.

    General Winfield Stuck

    July 21, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    All this Birther shit is just a round about way of saying, he’s not like you so don’t trust him. Subliminal Code to the RW caucasian faithful, saying, we gotta get rid of this nigger.

  103. 103.

    Martin

    July 21, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    “dead baby juice and monkey kidneys”

    Best incentive ever to not break the law: that guy might be sitting on your jury.

  104. 104.

    MikeJ

    July 21, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    P.S. Am I the only one who’s lost the “preview” function as well as the shortcut buttons?

    Victims of the late unpleasantness that could now be safely reinstalled, if it was done form a known clean source.

  105. 105.

    JenJen

    July 21, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    True story: Got cussed out by Michael Eric Dyson (on Hardball now) and his wife once. It was in my old hotel job, over something incredibly whiny and stupid. Wasn’t fun, and can’t really watch him anymore because of it.

  106. 106.

    Quicksand

    July 21, 2009 at 5:48 pm

    Trees had to die for this?

    Why don’t you support the trees? They are dying for your FREEDOM.

  107. 107.

    Laura W

    July 21, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Victims of the late unpleasantness that could now be safely reinstalled, if it was done form a known clean source.

    Maybe if every single one of us bitches about this issue in every single thread and also emails John every single early morning bitching about this issue — much like the uber-effective bitch campaign to banish the tri-armed Pammy ad — we shall prevail, overcome, and sweet victory be ours?

    Of course, he could just continue to blow us all off.
    Even odds.

  108. 108.

    JasonF

    July 21, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    @kay: @ Post 74: No need to fear the link — I just linked to Davis’s wikipedia bio.

  109. 109.

    Comrade Kevin

    July 21, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    @JenJen:

    Didn’t Larry “Flowbee” Johnson or some idiot on his PUMA site try to claim Obama’s real father was Malcolm X, or something?

    That was the lunatic Pammy Atlas.

  110. 110.

    maya

    July 21, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    I knew Wellington, Congresssman DeMint, and you, sir, aren’t fit to lick Wellington’s boots.

    Just channeling Lloyd Bentsen.

  111. 111.

    Gary Farber

    July 21, 2009 at 6:23 pm

    One example of of the immortal immortal lunacy that is Pamela Gellar.

  112. 112.

    Gordon, The Big Express Engine

    July 21, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    @Laura W: I for one love the ads. That guide to meeting Thai women should be arriving at my house any day now. Then I will be set…

  113. 113.

    maya

    July 21, 2009 at 6:27 pm

    @Anne Laurie:

    I’d add “underaged Dominican prostitutes of either sex” to the list, but given Rush’s proclivities, I suspect the rent-a-teens are more to impress his toadies than to slake his personal urges

    They were that old, were they? I have him pegged as more of a David Koresh kinda guy.

  114. 114.

    JenJen

    July 21, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    @Comrade Kevin: Oh well. I always get the nutbars confused. :-) Besides, Pammy & Flowbee kinda look alike…

    @Tsulagi: Ummm. OMG!

    @kay: Totally agreed on Lawrence O’Donnell, but honestly I’d rather see him get his own show, with a format of his choice. MSNBC goes into repeat hell after 9:00, and the 10:00 hour seems custom-made for west-coaster Lawrence O’D!

  115. 115.

    Colette

    July 21, 2009 at 6:47 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Every time you same the name Blücher I hear a horse whinny.

    Me, too. I think our generation is showing.

  116. 116.

    iluvsummr

    July 21, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    I much prefer History Repeating.

  117. 117.

    Leelee for Obama

    July 21, 2009 at 6:57 pm

    @Ugh: I think that thought each and every day. It was an easy choice for me, but for many others-not so much. GWB and his merry mayberry machiavellis pushed this country to such a point, that people were willing to take a chance on exactly the person you describe, only 7 years after 911-which changed everything, also.

  118. 118.

    Woody

    July 21, 2009 at 6:57 pm

    Forget the 50 million without health-care.

    Most folks don’t care about those less-well-off than themselves. Altruism is not going to ‘pass’ meaningful health care reform.

    There are twice or three times that many folks who are strapped with plans that they don’t even know will screw them when they need it, because they’ve not needed it yet.

    Obama and the Dims have to start talking to the middle class who see their status eroding too swiftly arrest the fall.

    They’ve got to find a way to exploit the fears of falling OUT of the middle class, and propose, in an aggressive and and memorable way, that universal health care for all is the best way to prevent the collapse of the middle-class into the proletariat…

    Bourgeois vanity! There’s the ticket.!!!

  119. 119.

    Leelee for Obama

    July 21, 2009 at 7:07 pm

    @John S.: The proper retort to that would be, “And we get some of yours too, also.”

  120. 120.

    burnspbesq

    July 21, 2009 at 7:34 pm

    @DougJ: @kay:

    “Needless to say, it’s complicated. I was nodding off for a while in the middle, but the theory is his father is a different man than the man we have heard about, and the paternity proves that his Kansas grandparents were degenerates who essentially sold their daughter to an older man. I don’t remember the name of the alleged father. A radical, to be sure, but not one I’m familiar with.”

    Malcolm X is Obama’s real dad. You didn’t know that?

  121. 121.

    jenniebee

    July 21, 2009 at 7:52 pm

    This version is better. If you haven’t seen Muriel’s Wedding btw, run, don’t walk, to your Netflix queue and get it.

  122. 122.

    JenJen

    July 21, 2009 at 8:28 pm

    @jenniebee: Agreed! And I loved that “Waterloo” scene.

  123. 123.

    Wile E. Quixote

    July 21, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    Gary Farber

    One example of of the immortal immortal lunacy that is Pamela Gellar.

    Wow! That bitch is crazy!

  124. 124.

    jenniebee

    July 22, 2009 at 12:02 am

    @JenJen: re: Mamma Mia – I have it on questionable authority that the original producers of the stage show were entirely serious about ABBA writing the soundtrack to their lives. Everybody else has been in on the joke.

    Please tell me that you didn’t change the channel until after the scuba-flipper kickline for “Lay All Your Love on Me.” There is no such thing as an unintentionally funny scuba flipper kickline.

  125. 125.

    figgylu

    July 22, 2009 at 1:10 am

    Now I’m sad

    I found this thread far too late. Goddammit, I’m a diehard ABBA fan too. Poo.

    Anyways, I think it would be super neato if POTUS plays Waterloo before all of his future healthcare townhalls.

    If someone has already suggested this charming/witty rejoinder to republican zombies, well, I’m tired and drunkish. I really couldn’t read 124 replies.

    Oh, by the way, for winos. I’m drinking Estancia Chardonnay, YUM. It may be bourgeois and all but so am I. I’m also proud every day that I pass on by that box o’ wine at the Walmart. Needless to say sometimes I don’t.

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