Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
by John Cole| 71 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
I was running some errands and stopped by the grocery for more carrot juice, and I picked up a juice named Acai, something I had never seen before. What a really odd flavor, sort of berry chocolate with a hint of something I can not place. Maybe lavender. And something cinnamony.
It was really interesting and had a silky texture.
by DougJ| 80 Comments
This post is in: Media
I like Kathleen Parker’s columns in general and it’s almost not fair to call her a Villager, but her latest column about how Obama made a mistake in taking on Rush Limbaugh is a perfect example of Villager thinking:
Never start a land war with Asia. Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel (or who owns the patent on the microchip). Never let rabble-rousers get under your skin — especially those whose popularity in some circles compares favorably with your own and whose earnings make bailed-out bank presidents envious.
While we’re at it, tread very carefully around the implication that conservatives cling to their talk-show hosts out of anger and frustration.
That may be true, but the backfire Obama felt in West Virginia was a gentle zephyr compared to the blowback that can be bellowed by El Rushbo.
One of the most cherished beliefs among Beltway insiders is that the massive talk radio audience swings elections…or something like that. Since all the Ditto Heads vote Republican anyway, Parker et al. can’t really believe that, can they? I think what they actually believe, in some form or another, is that if all the Rushbo Strike Force all send balls or silly putty or whatever to Obama, then Obama will have to surrender to the power of Greater Wingnuttia. Of course, Greater Wingnuttia only constitutes about 20% of the population, as Nate Silver points out:
Most fundamentally of all, the McCain campaign radically overestimated the importance of appealing to the base. House Republicans may be replicating their mistake. Self-described conservative Republicans represent only about 20 percent of the population. This base is not necessarily becoming smaller; it’s still alive and kicking. What is true, however, is that the (1) base has never been sufficient to form a winning electoral coalition, and (2) that there are fewer and fewer non-base (e.g. moderates, libertarian Republicans, Republican leaning-independents). As these moderates have fled the GOP, the party’s electoral fortunes have tanked. But simultaneously, they have had less and less influence on the Republican message.
The new Villager meme: don’t mess with RushPost + Comments (80)
by John Cole| 32 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
Ben Smith writes a blog that I really enjoy, but this, today, was a cry for help:
Alex Burns, who can name the members of the RNC in alphabetical order as a party trick…
Party. Animals.
Hey! You! Take That Lampshade Off Your Head!Post + Comments (32)
by DougJ| 144 Comments
This post is in: Assholes
We’re not the only one who think it is dumb for Republicans to tie themselves to Rush Limbaugh so closely:
Politio has learned that tomorrow Americans United for Change, a liberal group, will begin airing radio ads in three states Obama won — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Nevada — with a tough question aimed at the GOP senators there: Will you side with Obama or Rush Limbaugh?
“Every Republican member of the House chose to take Rush Limbaugh’s advice,” says the narrator after playing the conservative talk radio giant’s declaration that he hopes Obama “fails.”
“Every Republican voted with Limbaugh — and against creating 4 million new American jobs. We can understand why a extreme partisan like Rush Limbaugh wants President Obama’s Jobs program to fail — but the members of Congress elected to represent the citizens in their districts? That’s another matter. Now the Obama plan goes to the Senate, and the question is: Will our Senator”—here the ad is tailored by state to name George Voinovich in Ohio, Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, and John Ensign in Nevada—”side with Rush Limbaugh too?”
Why the Republicans didn’t see this kind of thing coming, I can’t say. It’s hard to believe that a group that forged a permanent majority could be this short-sighted.
by Tim F| 69 Comments
This post is in: Domestic Politics
I get why Obama would tap Republican Sen. Judd Gregg (NH) for Commerce. Democrats get a 60 vote majority in the Senate, Obama gets bipartisan cred and a vetted Commmerce nominee who seems like a reasonable guy. That’s fine, but why does Gregg want the job? Whatever the pluses (e.g., he escapes a radicalized caucus that hates and abuses moderates like him), Gregg can look forward to the kind of hate that only Jim Jeffords and a sick twelve year old kid can possibly understand.
Before Judd Gregg makes up his mind, I suggest that he sit down with Graeme Frost and talk about living as a magnet for hysterical rightwing hate.
This Could Be Excellent News For The GOPPost + Comments (69)
by John Cole| 89 Comments
This post is in: Previous Site Maintenance
Just got back from dinner. I went to a small place that has a restaurant and bar main section with a little mini-bar attached, and as always, because I am antisocial and the only reason I went out for dinner was because I didn’t want to cook, and not because I had some great urge to deal with idiots who got housed at Happy Hour, I sneaked up to the minibar with my dinner to watch the news alone (the mini-bar portion doesn’t open until eight, so I am literally the only person in there, with chairs on top of the bar). I go there about once every couple of weeks, and the staff all know me (Hey, Norm!!!!), so they don’t pay attention to me, just the way I like it. At any rate, the satellite radio was on some craptacular station that was playing all sorts of dreck that makes me want to retch (Four Non Blondes, etc.), so when one of the wait staff came in I asked them to change the channel. They flipped through the channels, until I heard some Cypress Hill and told them to stop.
This was the very next song (and this it the part for DougJ):
I just gave up at that point, although whoever runs the satellite station totally redeemed themselves with several songs featuring Chris Cornell.
At any rate, you all asked for a cocktail open thread, and even though I didn’t have any tonight, here it is. Also, as an apology for the Creed, here is some Cypress and then some Cornell:
And, as a bonus, Rage:
At any rate, I am blogged out. Have at it.
*** Update ***
Upon reflection, the music in this thread really isn’t appropriate for “cocktail hour,” and probably better suited for “I’m 21, I have a handle full of Maker’s Mark, a pocket full of cash, and a get out of jail free card,” but whatever. I’m going to go listen to some Elastica at ear-bleeding volumes. Because I can. And if you tell me my taste in music sucks, the next ten threads will be nothing but Pantera. Why? Again, because I can. Suck. On. That.
by John Cole| 64 Comments
This post is in: Democratic Stupidity
By the way, I just saw Obama make one of those little political mistakes he normally never makes:
President Barack Obama issued a withering critique Thursday of Wall Street corporate behavior, calling it “the height of irresponsibility” for Wall Street employees to be paid more than $18 billion in bonuses last year while their financial sector was crumbling.
“It is shameful,” Obama said from the Oval Office. “And part of what we’re going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint, and show some discipline, and show some sense of responsibility.”
And while I agree completely with the comments, they were made while he was sitting next to Tim Geithner, a Wall Street wizard who, as you may know, had some tax issues and irresponsibility of his own.
Obama quickly moved on to a full-throated endorsement of the Steelers, and all was forgiven in the Cole household.