Mark Halperin’s list of take-aways from the health care debate can be summarized pretty easily — it’s all Obama’s and the media’s fault.
3. The White House is understandably pushing back against and exploiting the mobs for its own political gain; while understandable, it is also shameful in its own way.
[….]6. Debating whether a given mobster is “real” or “astroturf” is like debating who the third-best professional wrestler of the 1980s was.
There’s some shots at Republicans in there, too, don’t get me wrong. But how is it a pox on both houses when teabaggers disrupt meetings and issue death treats?
General Winfield Stuck
Demo Woman brought us that h/t.
Halperin has given his life to the false equivilence gawds, or goats, whatever.
Sentient Puddle
AND WHO’S FUCKING FAULT IS THAT?
Ellie
different church-lady
Oh that question is easy: “Fair and balanced.”
Just Some Fuckhead
Mark Halperin can suck my big black cock.
Darius
You left out the most bizarre one:
7. Please stop saying that Matt Drudge has lost his influence — or that those who point out his obvious influence are therefore celebrating his influence.
… Er, what?
(Actually, the others are pretty good, and place the blame where it belongs – on the mob and those who are instigating them. But #3 and #7… yeesh.)
The Grand Panjandrum AKA Americans for America
Well, one of the SEIU members was really mean to a teabagger.
Brett
I love his “please stop saying Matt Drudge has lost influence” point. Still trying to plug your book, Mark?
Ellie
OK, I screwed that up. I was asking about DougJ’s question. If his last line wasn’t actually a rhetorical question, the answer to most of those inquiries is the old standby: IOKIYAR.
matoko_chan
well…..if I was FOXnews I would srsly be trying to hide the teabaggers and not give them wall-to-wall video coverage.
Like I said below….I think the extreme television coverage of the New GOP Demographic (people you could meet at a Klan rally) is simply going to kill off the party.
I was appalled and repulsed by the ginormously fat angry unattractive old white people screaming and having public psychotic breakdowns.
The amount of bald heads with comb-overs was just stunning, and i had nightmares over the beer bellies straining over beltbuckles…what if all the belts snapped at once? Would the news anchors drown in a tide of billowing adipose tissue?
I mean, srsly, errbody wants to go to cooltown.
It is gobsmakingly obvious that the conservative express doesn’t go there.
These people are not attractive advocates for any cause.
Zifnab
Well, to be fair, they wouldn’t be protesting if the Democrats weren’t trying to pass health care to begin with. So, when you think about it, the Dems started this fight.
It’s shameful in the sense that it’s a damn shame the White House has to get it’s hands dirty fighting the deranged hordes of the conserva-sphere. It’s a damn shame that we can’t discuss the ACTUAL CONTENT OF SUBMITTED LEGISLATION and are reduced putting out flaming bags of poop with our feet. It’s a damn shame the GOP isn’t working to make the legislation truly cost efficient and business friendly, rather than just throwing everything at the wall to see what might kill it. It’s a damn shame we don’t live in three-party system.
I’m not sure how that reflects poorly on Obama, though.
burnspbesq
Wow – a Richard and Linda Thompson reference. Impressive.
I’d like to take Halperin down on the riverbed and … ummm … talk some sense into him.
PeakVT
it’s all
Obama’s andthe media’s fault.Fixticated.
I don’t really see where Obama is exploiting this in some bad way, or really at all. But when the other team is intent on scoring an own goal, why not give them a boost?
kth
I didn’t think the Halperin piece was that terrible, though my expectations from him are admittedly low. I thought it was a decent piece marred by a couple of bogus “on the other hand”-isms, rather than a pile of bollocks with a couple of redeeming features. 6 of his 10 points are solid, while only three are bollocks. The last one just a silly bit of meta the meaning of which Halperin himself probably has no idea, but with no obvious partisan slant.
Chris Andersen
It’s a pox on both houses because if it weren’t then Halperin might be accused of bias.
demkat620
Sometimes when I watch all this, it looks exactly like a group of toddlers throwing a temper tantrum. And I feel like Obama is just waiting for everybody to cry themselves out.
KG
is like debating who the third-best professional wrestler of the 1980s was
After Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan, I’m not sure who gets the number three spot.
More importantly, um, no, it’s not. In some circles, who the third-best professional wrestler of the 1980s was is an actual, real, debate, based on facts. Pointing out that someone being given a bunch of talking points and standing around like the folks on Southpark yelling, “Rabble, rabble, rabble” is entirely different. Like apples and nuclear warheads different.
CMcC
“Exploiting the mobs” is really bad. No one should ever exploit a mob. Obama should be so ashamed.
WTF?
Shygetz
Andre the Giant. Duh.
Brendan
When things get too crazy, I’m always relieved when Halperin swoops on in, sits us down and clears a few things up. Everything is a disgrace but him- what a burden. And he carries it for all of us.
Chuck Todd had a good rundown of this tonight. In the past 7 days, the Obama admin. rescued two American journalists to great fanfare, one of the most consequential terrorists in our sights was killed, the first Hispanic was confirmed to the Supreme Court, a massively popular stimulus program was expanded, unemployment trends began to slow, and the stock market hit the high point of the year.
Let’s use a metric Halperin comprehends. Rather than damning both sides as a “disgrace”, why don’t you find a way to tell us John McCain won the week?
Huh?
Whats a “Death Treat?”
jcricket
Yeah, I’m glad the fuckstick douchenozzles at Time and Politico can clear everything up for us. No one out there is trying to do the right thing, and there is absolutely no one with a better command of the facts or a more compelling argument.
It’s all just political blather with little consequence.
Fuck you Mark Halperin.
jcricket
When liberals raise taxes on the top 1%, or potentially prevent a for-profit company from creating false profits by simply passing off all the true costs onto the public.
Those are death threats! Threats to the American way of life!
KG
@ 19: shit, I can’t believe I forgot about Andre.
skippy
is like debating who the third-best professional wrestler of the 1980s was
wasn’t that reagan?
BombIranForChrist
But Doug, Halperin had to come up with a nice round number of 10! He probably only had 3-4 good points, but 10, man! 10!
Pug
Seems to me that no one in the MSM has noticed two things about the disruptive citizens at the town halls:
One, they are all white, mostly old and fat. If blacks were showing up and causing this type of ruckus they’d be all over the racial angle. Since these are white mobs, they don’t seem to notice their all-whiteness. You will not see a headline like: White Mob Disrupts Meeting. Won’t happen.
Two, about half of these folks already have socialized medicine in the form of Medicare. A good chant of “No socialized medicine, end Medicare now” would be really cool.
Aqualad08
Hey, Halperin you asshole…it was Rowdy Roddy Piper…you fucking numbnuts…
jcricket
@Aqualad08: I was waiting for someone to mention Piper. And that reminds me of my all-time favorite Roddy Piper youtube clip (not of wrestling, but from They Live).
Aredubya
@Aqualad08: I think I’d give the title to either Randy Savage or Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat’s 3-match series with Flair in ’89 was the best wrestling of the decade, while Savage’s all-around work throughout the decade (both on the mic and in the ring) was the best outside of Flair. And of course, they wrestled each other in the best singles match of the decade (WM3 IC title).
Don’t get me wrong, Piper was incredible on the mic, but his in-ring skills were always pretty limited. Gun to my head, I’d have to give the 3rd best wrestler title to the Macho Man, but by a whisker. Ooooooooh YE-AH!
Also, Halperin is a complete tool.
DaBomb
Because Halperin makes my ass hurt! Also.
Mike D.
The WH can hardly avoid benefitting from the crazy. Gibbs cracks a smile and that’s “shameful” “exploitation”? Shark has been jumped. WTF.
ChrisB
@Aredubya: Man, you stole my post: I was going to nominate the Macho Man too. He also had the lovely Elizabeth which led to the priceless confrontation with George the Animal Steele.
Those were the days.
Adam Collyer
@KG:
Oh come on guys…Andre was on his last legs. It’s Randy Savage, and it’s not even close
OOOOOOOOOHHHHH YEAH! DIG IT!
In shocking news, Mark Halperin is totally useless. I know, I’m as surprised as the rest of you.
The Costanzo
@KG: It’s simple, the third-best wrestler of the 1980s was the Ultimate Warrior. In fact, one could make an argument he is actually in the top two.
I would argue that arguing who the third-best wrestler in the 1980s was is actually quite interesting. I mean, there’s also Macho Man Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Ricky the Dragon Steamboat … I could go on and on (oh yea, Brett Hart).
In short, Mark Halperin is a douche.
Autozubeh
Thank you for your help!