Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I really should read my own blog.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

The lights are all blinking red.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

He really is that stupid.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

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

You are here: Home / Approximately How Insane Does One Have to Be Before No Longer Getting an Invite to Hardball?

Approximately How Insane Does One Have to Be Before No Longer Getting an Invite to Hardball?

by | 105 Comments

This post is in: 

For some reason, Frank Gaffney is on Hardball offering his expertise about something. I’m not sure what, because I switched the damned tv off as soon as I heard his voice.

This Frank Gaffney, talking about secret “codes”:

Frank Gaffney is an insane crazy person. He has proven it on any number of occasions, but he quite clearly demonstrated that he is a lunatic in the above clip, right there on Hardball. So why, exactly, are Matthews and his producers inviting him back on the show to babble?

Reader Interactions

105Comments

  1. 1.

    Colette

    Approximately How Insane Does One Have to Be Before No Longer Getting an Invite to Hardball?

    Approximately 0.8 Standard Bachmann Units of insanity. He’s still at 0.75 SBU.

  2. 2.

    handy

    My two cents is that perhaps because crazy sells right now, at least in cable news world.

    But the larger point is that shows like Hardball aren’t news at all, but Kabuki theatre for the D.C. crowd.

    Edit: And Matthews is an idiot, so maybe that explains why he doesn’t have the ability to identify crazy when it barfs all over his show.

  3. 3.

    Leelee for Obama

    Because Michael Moore is fat and Al Gore’s house uses electricity. And because shut up, that’s why!

  4. 4.

    Mike G

    Because ranting nutcases make entertaining television, akin to gorillas flinging poo, if you have the mentality of a five-year old.

  5. 5.

    JK

    Good question. I’d also like to know why Pat Buchanan remains an MSNBC commentator when he continues claiming that Hitler was simply misunderstood.

  7. 7.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    The Party of Dog Whistles accuses the President of dog whistles. And not even in the context of what dog whistles are actually used for — signaling your true intentions to hardcore supporters. No, the president is dog whistling to China that we are actually their bitch.

    Now this would only make sense if Gaffney believed Obama was a secret socialist America-hating Manchurian Candidate carrying out his master’s orders. Oh, wait ..

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    Because Chris Matthews is a shallow individual with the attention span of a hyperactive three year old.

    -dms

  9. 9.

    linda

    because he propels the neocon lies — that tweety is too cowardly to do himself. gaffney

    speaking of tweety: his first question to some hack who’s written a book about the marriage of barack and michelle obama: what did you learn about the obama marriage that’s different from the clinton marriage.

  11. 11.

    Mark S.

    I’d forgotten all about Newt’s plan start Korean War II: The Revenge of Henry Blake. Anyone who spends 15 seconds analyzing this region would realize that what the neocons were proposing there was completely batshit insane. But on these idiotic talk shows, it’s surprising when it isn’t two fucking neocons debating which course of action will show the most resolve (which is actually code for hiding the fact that your penis is only 2 cm long).

  13. 13.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    Oh, and I think Tweety has Gaffney as a regular because he likes the guy. The Village is all about relationships.

  16. 16.

    jibeaux

    On the topic of crazy, have to steal this quote from a comment from wonkette via RumpRoast — If and when Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are hauled before the International Court of the Hague for war crimes, I want Orly Taitz to defend them.

    ha!

  17. 17.

    Comrade Dread

    Gaffney has one solution to every foreign policy challenge which is to bomb the bejeezus out of a 3rd world country until it’s people love us or no longer exist.

    There is no consideration of the fallout, any possible repercussions are ignored or glossed over amid the subliminal chant of: AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!

    The reason why he keeps getting an audience is simply because a fairly large cross-section of America has bought into the ideas of American exceptionalism (meaning evil is good when we do it because we’re good people), the Hitler of the week club (whereby every non-American jackass politician is just one soft statement by a US official away from invading Poland), and that our government is good (even while they march in movements condemning the government and floating secession).

    It’s all part of the talent show at the asylum, John. Best thing to do is sit back, have several drinks, and laugh at the theater of the absurd while we can.

  18. 18.

    smiley

    So why, exactly, are Matthews and his producers inviting him back on the show to babble?

    Because he’s a Washington insider. Duh. How do I get that job?

  19. 19.

    General Winfield Stuck

    The are all lunatics slinging dung against the wall to see what sticks. Gafney has always been insane so he didn’t need to move the meter to keep up. But other wingers who used to attempt some rational dialogue on matters have just given up any pretense to sane thinking. Which reminds me of reading a AJ Stata post yesterday on Afghanistan, a case study of living in la la land the right wing has set up shop/

    Among other notions of cognitive dissonant rantings in the post was this.

    <blockquote>President Bush left the Afghanistan conflict well staged to be won.

    You can’t reason with that, or even spoof it. It is making up shit on the run and nobody can stop it.

  20. 20.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    What I enjoy most about cable news is that I don’t have cable TV. I can go online and read about the crazy shit then decide if I am in the mood the hear it, or not. If I am, I watch.

    I like Hardball when Shuster does it, but Matthews is Boris Yeltsin with a cable news talking head show.

  22. 22.

    mellowjohn

    to “balance” the insane craziness of david corn. (it’s in the SAG/AFTRA rules, you know: if mocerate lliberal appears, batshit crazy wingnut MUST get a gig.)

  23. 23.

    joes527

    (meta)
    OK that was weird. Until #20 was posted, anything I did in the Leave a Reply section just took me to the link in #19.
    (/meta)

  24. 24.

    mellowjohn

    to “balance” the insane craziness of david corn. (it’s in the SAG/AFTRA rules, you know: if moderate lliberal appears, batshit crazy wingnut MUST get a gig.)

  25. 25.

    jibeaux

    Okay, whyfore is it that I can’t click on the big banner B-J at the top and go back to the main page any more? I have the most recent firefox. And can the dictionary please have an entry for WordPress Fail (the former name of this blog)? Kthxbye.

  29. 29.

    jibeaux

    test — somehow from this website I landed in a nest of crazy called strata-sphere. (If it had been about interesting omelet-like recipes it would have been fine, but it was not.) How did that happen? Why does it happen to good people?

  31. 31.

    Demo Woman

    @jibeaux: because they moved it to consistently wrong since 2002. Personally I have been consistently wrong longer than that, but oh well.

  33. 33.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @linda:

    I could always imagine him and Clinton sneaking out the bubble to get likkered up and chase wymen round DC. We haven’t had that spirit here since 1999..

  37. 37.

    NutellaonToast

    I don’t even get Gaffney’s point. So what if the Taliban “think” we have “submitted” to them. That means they’ll walk right up to us and be like “grow a beard, infidel” at which point we correct their attitudes about our submission by throwing them in some black site forever.

    Seems like a brilliant strategy to me.

  39. 39.

    arguingwithsignposts

    So why, exactly, are Matthews and his producers inviting him back on the show to babble?

    I think the term “optics” from a previous thread might apply here.

  46. 46.

    The next-to-last samurai

    I would rather watch the gorillas fling poo. Especially if they are flinging it at Tweety.

  47. 47.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @jibeaux:

    Mmmm, that’s some mighty fine looking bread, and thanks for asking. I got a phone call this afternoon that made me a little bit happier (Jay in Oregon had a pleasant moment today, too, from what I read). Now if I could just get some sleep, but laundry is in the oven, so to speak.

    someday we’ll need to have a gathering of the Juice Nation.

  48. 48.

    lamh31

    As long as you are as crazy as Tweety, then you will always have a place on Hardball.

    Or if you are a corrupt former majority leader, who shaking his toosh on Dancing with the stars

  49. 49.

    Davis X. Machina

    If 1 in a hundred of us is crazy, there are over 3 million knee-biting loonies in the US –more crazy people than the combined population of of the three northern New England states.

    Now imagine they all have agents.

  50. 50.

    lamh31

    Ohhhhh….Chick fight!!!!

    Scarborough on Beck, Hate Speech
    “On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday morning, former Representative Joe Scarborough, one of the show’s hosts, castigated some commentators and Republicans, vowing to create a “conservative honor roll” calling out those who express over-the-top hate-filled sentiments.

    With a chyron on the screen showing that Glenn Beck, the conservative Fox commentator, told CBS’ Katie Couric that John McCain would’ve been a worse president than Barack Obama (which is in a new interview clip that will be broadcast Tuesday night), Mr. Scarborough, a Republican, said:

    “You cannot preach hatred. You cannot say the president is racist. You cannot say things that have very deadly consequences. I was in Congress in 1995. I know where this can end.”

    Then Mr. Scarborough lamented that Republican officials weren’t denouncing some of the wild, hate-filled claims being made in the protests and on the air. “We’re going to have a conservatives’ honor roll on this show…I’m talking to you, Mitt Romney and I’m talking about anyone who who wants to be president in 2012. … You need to call out this type of hatred.” he said, because the inflammatory rhethoric would blow up in everyone’s face.

    The talk show host berated Mr. Beck by name for several minutes as the archetype of a hate-preacher, contending that he couldn’t spread conspiracy theories around one minute and then the next just excuse his remarks as that of a “rodeo clown.”

    Update: Media Matters, the liberal group that spends its days monitoring conservative commentary, points out that on his radio program, Mr. Beck responded to the MSNBC host’s remarks by calling him a “loser” who “couldn’t even be voted dogcatcher now.” He defended his own views as political speech. “

  51. 51.

    Roger Moore

    @jibeaux:

    Okay, whyfore is it that I can’t click on the big banner B-J at the top and go back to the main page any more?

    Because you now have to click on the little “Consistently wrong since 2002” instead. My theory is that they’ve done this so they can have changing humorous subtitles without having to have separate images for each one, but I’m not at all sure.

  55. 55.

    jl

    I may have missed it in the coments. I cannot believe the very astute Balloon-Juice readership would let this slip by.

    This Mr. Gaffney was BLINKING like mad all through the clip. What was he REALLY saying, and TO WHOM was he saying it?

    Obvious code.

    How come this guy is still on the loose? Too bad his interrogation cannot be enhanced due to dhimmatuded Democrats, even were he in custody.

    Now we are really doomed, letting this stuff get by on TV.

  56. 56.

    Demo Woman

    @lamh31: Way to go Beck. Prove that you are not a hate preacher by spewing hate…

    Mr. Beck responded to the MSNBC host’s remarks by calling him a “loser” who “couldn’t even be voted dogcatcher now.” He defended his own views as political speech. ”

  57. 57.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Can I just admit that I’m happy “Lie to Me” hasn’t gone into syndication since I can watch it online today. I has a happy.

  58. 58.

    JK

    @lamh31:

    It’s about time that the few remaining rational, sentient beings who call themselves conservatives take a stand against the raving, drooling, bedwetting loon known as Glenn Beck.

  59. 59.

    burnspbesq

    @gyma:

    Malia may end up as tall as her Uncle Craig. How would you like to be the first college basketball coach to make a recruiting visit to the White House?

  60. 60.

    Ash Can

    @smiley: No matter how often I see those photos, they make me smile every time. And dang, that Malia’s growing like a weed! Think of the grocery bills…

  61. 61.

    ericblair

    @jl: This Mr. Gaffney was BLINKING like mad all through the clip. What was he REALLY saying, and TO WHOM was he saying it?

    It was Morse code for “PLEASE HELP ME I’M BEING HELD CAPTIVE BY ISLAMOCOMMUNOFASCIST UNICORNS AND IT HURTS WHEN I PEE”.

  62. 62.

    JK

    @jl:

    This Mr. Gaffney was BLINKING like mad all through the clip. What was he REALLY saying?

    Gaffney was saying Klaatu barada nikto

  63. 63.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Approximately How Insane Does One Have to Be Before No Longer Getting an Invite to Hardball?

    I’m thinking all the sane people decline.

  65. 65.

    smiley

    @burnspbesq: I’d love to see a photo of Pat Summitt and/or C. Vivian Stringer going in the back door of the White House. OTOH, I’ll bet the University of Hawaii’s women’s volley ball team could use some height.

  67. 67.

    asiangrrlMN

    “I believe in universal healthcare. I believe that we should prosecute W. and his posse for war crimes. I believe that any Congressperson objecting to sockulist medicine should be stripped of his/her insurance. I believe that there should be strict enforcement of the regulatory laws on the books for Wall Street. I do not believe in trickle-down economics. I believe John Boehner is a big fat liar, and so is Eric Cantor. Furthermore, I believe that Obama is a natural-born citizen and the rightful president of the United States. Finally, I believe that any elder person who protests against sockulist medicine should give up his/her Medicare.”

    That is what will get you booted off Hardball. Oh, and probably saying the word blowjob, too.

  70. 70.

    Ash Can

    @smiley: I can definitely see Malia going to Rutgers, or some other school that combines sports with top-notch academics. Given her family background, she’s not too likely to go to some basketball factory and settle for a BA in ESPN interviews with a minor in mugging for the camera.

  73. 73.

    DB

    Gaffney also insults Matthews and the MSNBC network all the time. Just today he gave Matthews crap for the “tingling feeling” stupid thing he said about Obama.

    Personally, I don’t think I could be on that show for six seconds before insulting Matthews and the entire cable news industry… But still, not only is Gaffney a complete loon, they bring him back when he’s disrespectful to them.

  74. 74.

    JK

    @asiangrrlMN:

    There should be a special place in Hell reserved for John Boehner and Eric Cantor. They are 2 of the most worthless, useless, clueless, morally bankrupt and pathetic people to serve in the House of Reps since Tom DeLay, Newt Gingrich, and Dick Armey.

    In all fairness though, I would not label Eric Cantor as fat. Otherwise, I’m with you 1,000%. I was just going to post something very similar to what you just posted. Thanks so much for reading my mind and saving me the effort. You’re a lifesaver.

  75. 75.

    asiangrrlMN

    @smiley: Thank you for the links to the kids. They are so lovely, and I really needed that right now.

    JK, you are right. Eric Cantor is not fat. The fat goes with the big and liar parts. Eric is a skinny, skanky, rat bastard asshat who needs a good punch in the neck.

  76. 76.

    schrodinger's cat

    Question: Who is this Gaffney person? I have seen him ranting like a lunatic on TV but I have no idea who he is and what makes him an “expert”

  78. 78.

    smiley

    @asiangrrlMN: I tried to post this before. Sorry if this is a repeat. asiangrrl: there’s a little gray arrow to the right of the time stamp of any comment. Click on it. You’re a regular here so it would be good if you allow other people to track what you’re referring to.Thanks. Love, smiley

  79. 79.

    Mark S.

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Yeah, saying those things will definitely get you kicked off Hardball. So will:

    “Please remove your hand from my leg, Chris.”

    “Chris, your uncle sounds like an idiot.”

    “Um, I don’t know. If we are going to talk about race and affirmative action, shouldn’t we have some minorities on the show?”

  80. 80.

    asiangrrlMN

    @schrodinger’s cat: I’ve missed seeing your handle. I hope busy has been a good busy. I’m doing all right. My boys are good. One of them (Raven) has decided that he must always be in the room with me if not melded to my body (though, oddly enough, not right now). Perma-cat! How are you?

  83. 83.

    asiangrrlMN

    @smiley: I do click on the arrow. It doesn’t show the time, though. So, unless I put the number of your comment, it won’t show a specific comment. Ah, I see what you mean now. If I click on your name after clicking on the arrow, it takes me back to the comment. Ok. I won’t be lazy any more and just click on random arrows with your name.

    @Mark S.: You are just damn funny. Really. Crack me the fuck up.

  84. 84.

    JK

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Eric is a skinny, skanky, rat bastard asshat who needs a good punch in the neck.

    Now you’re talkin’. I’ll hold him and you can give him his well earned punch in the neck. For the cherry on the top of the sundae, you can kick him in the groin.

  87. 87.

    jl

    Pix of Tunch.

    If I do not see pix of Tunch for awhile, I do not worry about Tunch, I worry about what he has done to his poor long suffering de jure (not de facto) ‘owner’.

  91. 91.

    Morbo

    The thing that really bugs me actually is not the fact that this sort of bullshit won’t get you booted off Hardball. I’ve pretty much written off all the cable newsertainment shows. The really irritating thing is that he’ll still be a staple on the Friday News Roundup with Diane Rehm. Juan Williams will forever have a place on morning edition regardless of what ridiculous drivel he spews. And to top it all off, they are both probably going to outlive Daniel Schorr. /Spit/

  92. 92.

    asiangrrlMN

    @smiley: Yes, I do. I just never bother to click on the name, so I didn’t know it went directly back to the comment. Which, if I thought about it, I would have realized made sense. Duh.

    @JK: Oh, that’s tempting–even for a pacifist, albeit an angry one, like me.

    gyma, that’s how much Tweety makes????? Aaaaargh! The sound you hear is me bashing my head against the top of my desk.

    TUNCH!

  94. 94.

    jrg

    The little people who live in the trees behind my house woke me up last night, asking for omelettes. I’m pretty sure that was code for “Frank Gaffney plans to convert your family to Islam.” It scared the shit out of me.

    Gotta go, the gun store is closing.

  97. 97.

    JK

    @Morbo:

    One small way to fight back against the torrent of bullshit emanating from MSM is to give financial support to progressive organizations which fund or perform independent journalism

    Member organizations of the Media Consortium – themediaconsortiumdotorg
    Consortium for Independent Journalism – consortiumnewsdotcom
    Member radio stations of the Pacifica Foundation – pacificadotorg
    Independent Media Center – indymediadotorg
    Inter Press Service News Agency – ipsdotorg
    Nation Institute – nationinstitutedotorg

  99. 99.

    JK

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I’ve been browsing through your blog and just wanted to tell you that you’re doing a terrific job. You pack more passion and conviction into your posts than just about any other blogger I’ve read. I look forward to reading your next post.

  100. 100.

    Chuck Butcher

    @Ron Beasley:

    So good to see you my friend.

    There is the aspect of featuring nutjobs like Gaffney that someone realitively sane gets to whack them around. See it as a public service. This way the crap is spoken outloud where it can be kicked around rather than to the cheering of FauxNews.

  101. 101.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    Gaffney Skeletor is a favorite for Tweety when he needs someone from the bomb everyone who ain’t white  and because all of the wingnuts who grew up watching He-Man thought Skeletor was cool.

    I always thought that Gaffney Skeletor would look better with a black background and a couple of bones crossed behind his head.

    It couldn’t hurt.

  103. 103.

    Heresiarch

    I want a homeless man to stab Frank Gaffney in the liver with a rusty knife. But I don’t want him to die of that, oh no, I want Frank Gaffney to die of ants.

    Leeches would also be acceptable.

  104. 104.

    bob h

    “Gingrich Said He Would Have Taken Out North Korean Missile On Launching Pad”. And Gingrich is insane, as well.

Comments are closed.