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You are here: Home / Politics / Media / I’d Rather Be In Physical Pain

I’d Rather Be In Physical Pain

by John Cole|  February 2, 20108:24 am| 78 Comments

This post is in: Media

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Feeling a litle better this morning, so I flipped through the morning shows, and I can not believe that they are honestly quoting Republicans voicing concern about the size of the budget and the deficits.

Seriously. It is like the last thirty years never happened with our media. All the Republicans need to do is claim they are concerned about deficits and the budget, and our bobbleheads will repeat it without pointing out who caused the problem.

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78Comments

  1. 1.

    Nicole

    February 2, 2010 at 8:29 am

    ‘Cause it’s what the bobbleheads nodding along at home want to hear. This is based on a purely unscientific, anecdotal observation I made in a hospital waiting room yesterday of three people watching CNN bobbleheads talking about the deficit and how it’s skyrocketed under Obama.

    (In all fairness, it might actually only have been two people; the third may have just had a twitch.)

  2. 2.

    norbizness

    February 2, 2010 at 8:32 am

    It is remarkable how one can proffer a spending freeze in a $3.8T budget and think that makes a fart’s worth of difference in a hurricane. At least it isn’t all going towards Chinese banks, the super-rich, and defense contractors now, just 97% of it.

  3. 3.

    Napoleon

    February 2, 2010 at 8:32 am

    At least on NPR this morning they pointed out that Obama says that unfunded tax cuts, 2 wars, and the drug benefit plan were primarily responsible for it.

    Republicans do what they do because they are allowed to get away with it by the electorate. If the electorate punishes them for it they will quit. Ultimately the problem is we have an electorate that has enough people in it that engage in magical thinking that allows the Republicans to run the game plan that they do.

  4. 4.

    r€nato

    February 2, 2010 at 8:33 am

    NPR’s Morning Edition was covering the Teabagger Circle Jerk Convention, and I had to shut off the radio. I don’t care to start my morning by resisting the overwhelming urge to chuck things through the window and against the wall.

    Where were these people the last 8 years? It’s as if they just woke up from a coma and discovered the Constitution and deficit spending.

  5. 5.

    Ash Can

    February 2, 2010 at 8:34 am

    This is why the Dems need to counter-hammer on the media. Twice as hard, yet, because when the counter-points are coming from Dems, the newsies will suddenly find the ability to ask questions, and the Dem answers need to be even better than the original counter-points.

    The Prez has shown that it’s possible. Now it just needs to get fucking done.

  6. 6.

    Steeplejack

    February 2, 2010 at 8:36 am

    The other thing that Republicans get away when getting all concerned about the budget is a sort of “Who, me?” look that indicates that they personally weren’t around when the deficits were run up, or somehow they had their backs turned when some other guys did it. And they never get called on it.

    Edit: Maybe it’s more of an “I’m shocked–shocked!–to see that we suddenly have a deficit” look. Hard to tell the difference.

  7. 7.

    Libertini

    February 2, 2010 at 8:36 am

    Obama called them out on it too, in his Q & A with the Republican House members. But these folks just hate it when someone muddles the argument with FACTS.

  8. 8.

    El Cid

    February 2, 2010 at 8:37 am

    Last 30 years? We’d be fortunate if our system remembered one year ago. But the other problem is that as a party and as many of its politicians and candidates, the Democrats really are content if not even happy to encourage every pro-Republican talking point which comes into their field of view. Somehow this is likely all my fault because of the comments I’ve posted on liberal blogs, though.

  9. 9.

    norbizness

    February 2, 2010 at 8:38 am

    I wish he’d say, simply, “They (the GOP) scuttled this motherfucker.”

  10. 10.

    Comrade javafascist

    February 2, 2010 at 8:40 am

    All serious people know that the Republicans wanted to stop hitting you cut spending but you made them do it Osama Bin Laden made them do it. Next time, they will treat you kind cut spending for sure.

  11. 11.

    beltane

    February 2, 2010 at 8:42 am

    And from Michael Dukakis on down, whenever a Democrat dared to bring up Republican-caused deficits and fiscal irresponsibility, they would be routinely mocked and dismissed by this same media.

    When it comes to the media and the Republicans, it is clearly a case of assholes of a feather flocking together.

  12. 12.

    r€nato

    February 2, 2010 at 8:44 am

    I’ve bookmarked that Sally Quinn column from last week. Anytime I need a reminder of what we’re up against, I just read that again.

  13. 13.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 2, 2010 at 8:45 am

    How is it hard to believe? The White House validated the right wing Republican talking point with the spending freeze gimmick.

    The news media is to blame as much as anyone but frankly, what do we expect them to do when they hear Republicans, conservative Democrats, and the White House itself voicing the same “concern”?

    Insist that they listen only to Paul Krugman or progressive blogs? That will be the day.

  14. 14.

    dricey

    February 2, 2010 at 8:46 am

    Obama’s greatest mistake was not reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. Remember how the Right screamed bloody murder just after he was inaugurated that that was what he was going to do? That scared him off, because her was so committed to “post-partisanship” uber alles. The reason was that the Right knows that the entire foundation of its power is its domination of the media. Had Obama not made such a fetish of sucking up to that pack of rabid badgers and forced Fairness back on the media, the narratives we’re getting today would be very different.

  15. 15.

    Patrick Lightbody

    February 2, 2010 at 8:50 am

    I wonder if the Dems shouldn’t take a page from the Republican playbook and cry about the “biased media” not pointing this stuff out.

    As we all really know, the media isn’t particularly biased towards anything but ratings and laziness. But they are a good punching bag, so maybe while getting the message out that this budget includes things like the war and massive revenue loss from tax cuts and a shit economy, they can also find a common enemy among our electorate :)

  16. 16.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    February 2, 2010 at 8:50 am

    Republicans, with just one exception in the House, voted as a bloc against HCR legislation they all voted against cutting Medicare. That is one place where a real cut could have been made to entitlements, yet they chose to NOT cut spending.

  17. 17.

    demo woman

    February 2, 2010 at 8:52 am

    The media claims fair and balance by allowing Lieberman, Nelson and Bayh on TV. How many invites has Alan Grayson received to appear on Meet The Press?

  18. 18.

    El Cid

    February 2, 2010 at 8:52 am

    @Patrick Lightbody:

    I wonder if the Dems shouldn’t take a page from the Republican playbook and cry about the “biased media” not pointing this stuff out.

    Only right wingers can wage an open, frontal assault, multi-generational war funded by think tanks and rightist billionaires against the major news media in order to drag its perspective in their direction.

    If liberals were to do this, it would be the craziest of conspiracy thinking approaches and a sign that they had been taken over by their leftist fringe.

  19. 19.

    Libby

    February 2, 2010 at 8:59 am

    Our political discourse is so blindingly stupid, most days I feel like slitting my wrists rather than have to think about it anymore. On the bright side, I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better John Cole.

  20. 20.

    Napoleon

    February 2, 2010 at 8:59 am

    @The Grand Panjandrum:

    I want to amend my post up thread to mention that NPR this morning also mentioned that this was a reason Obama pushed health care reform.

  21. 21.

    dr. bloor

    February 2, 2010 at 9:00 am

    @r€nato:

    Where were these people the last 8 years? It’s as if they just woke up from a coma and discovered the Constitution and deficit spending.

    Well, of course, everything changed after 9/11, doncha know. And then everything really changed after a n***** moved into the White House.

  22. 22.

    John Cole

    February 2, 2010 at 9:00 am

    Part of the problem with Democratic messaging is that the Republicans have it easy- they oppose Democrats first, and then have a few interests they pound into the ground- tax cuts, strong on war, etc.

    Democrats, on the other hand, are a coalition of interest groups who are primarily concerned with not defeating Republicans, but with advancing their issue. Thus, you never hear the constant, steady, relentless drumbeat of opposition to the GOP. Instead, you get “Sure he passed Lily Ledbetter, but why is he not playing hoops with women” and on and on, and then they just rile each other up and before you know it, you have the Democrats attacking Obama calling him “just words” as well as the Republicans calling him the same.

    Depressing.

  23. 23.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 2, 2010 at 9:02 am

    @demo woman: That’s nothing, places like the Washington Post present a veritable parade of the most famously rabid, extreme-as-they-come Neoconservatives, Bush speechwriters, and FOX News pundits as op-ed writers and want to claim “balance” by also publishing Michael Freaking Kinsley.

    I’d love to see Noam Chomsky write op-eds for the WAPO, then we can talk about “balance”. Like that’s going to happen.

    And that’s the Washington Post, which everyone knows is a liberal newspaper.

  24. 24.

    Alex S.

    February 2, 2010 at 9:03 am

    Well, I hope they have at least a few attractive anchorbabes to distract from their televised torture.

  25. 25.

    James Hare

    February 2, 2010 at 9:04 am

    How about Bobo’s latest? Apparently:
    “first the movement that formed behind Barack Obama, and now, equally large, the Tea Party movement.”
    I had no idea the Tea Party “movement” was 69,456,897 strong. That’s a hell of a movement there. It’s strange that in my life I have yet to meet one of the approximately 1/5 of the country that’s currently a tea partier. What’s even stranger is that I don’t know any tea partiers, even with my Republican friends. Heck I had 3 or 4 people tell me on the day of the Virginia Tech shootings that everything would have been better if the students could carry guns — YET NONE OF THEM ARE MEMBERS OF THIS HUGE MOVEMENT.

    Or maybe Bobo is a frickin idiot.

  26. 26.

    cat48

    February 2, 2010 at 9:06 am

    Good scheduling by O. DADT hearings start today. Maybe it will cause peak wingnut since Gates is going to say no one will be thrown out if outed by 3rd party anymore and he is appointing a commission to repeal entire thing. Should make folks forget about the deficit.

    Glad your feeling better John.

  27. 27.

    aimai

    February 2, 2010 at 9:12 am

    I disagree with John’s point that “democratic interest groups” are more concerned with “advancing their own interests” than in “defeating republicans.”

    Democrats, on the other hand, are a coalition of interest groups who are primarily concerned with not defeating Republicans, but with advancing their issue. Thus, you never hear the constant, steady, relentless drumbeat of opposition to the GOP. Instead, you get “Sure he passed Lily Ledbetter, but why is he not playing hoops with women” and on and on, and then they just rile each other up and before you know it, you have the Democrats attacking Obama calling him “just words” as well as the Republicans calling him the same.

    I see Democratic interest groups pretty disgusted that the Democratic party doesn’t make “Defeating Republicans and their policies” in congress and on the electoral map into its first priority. Sure, Democratic interest groups, such as they are, are in a coalition to advance their own interests. So are republican party interest groups. The main difference is that Republican party interests groups see their interests *beijng served* by the Republican party and Democratic interest groups see their needs/interests/goals being triangulated away by Democrats refusing to stand up for their constituents.

    I think Obama has done a bunch of great things and I think the democratic party definitionally, on balance, is light years ahead of the Republican party on every measure. But lets not pretend that most of the wounds of this first year with “Democratic interest groups” aren’t self inflicted, by the Democrats and with literally nothing to show for it. I mean, I’d be thrilled to see the Democrats tell their unions/gays/women/immigrants to sit down and shut up while the grownups get the hard work done. But instead people are told to wait, sit down and shut up, and by the way *our own side* ie Nelson, Baucus, Landreiu, Lincoln, Bayh, some portion of Lieberman, Stupak, etc… will piss you all down the river (to mix my metaphors). If the Democratic party wants to actually win the next round of elections by pleasing their own voters I have yet to see it. I mean, I see that I just got called by the DNC to raise money for the next election round but when I pointed out that there was no party discline and they were going to spend my money on people like Nelson who had absolutely destroyed HRC in the Senate they had really nothing to say and were quite apologetic.

    People on blogs are just people on blogs. The real politicking is happening right now and the Dems are just managing a piss poor messaging team, failing to fight the Republicans publicly where they are weak, refusing to become the new populists that the Republicans are claiming to be–this is all totally unnecessary. If the Dems want to destroy the Republican party they can. But they have to do it. They can’t expect that they will hold together their own coalition if they can’t deliver power electorally in order to get stuff done, and then use getting stuff done to get more power. ITs either a virtuous circle, or its a vicious death spiral. Its got nothing to do with the faith of the base, or the interest groups, or whatever.

    aimai

  28. 28.

    El Cid

    February 2, 2010 at 9:14 am

    @John Cole: If you had complete Democratic agreement on all the types of issues you mention, and the liberal blogosphere had never existed and thus no ‘firebaggers’ etc., elected Democrats would still be fundamentally split with a conservative, Republican-agreeing minority and a larger, actually Democratic majority on the core issues: economics, domestic social programs, foreign policy.

    Republican politicians agree on the core issues and achieve party unity around them. Democrats disagree on the core issues of power and its use and so fail to achieve party unity around them.

    I would really feel much happier and relaxed if I really thought this was a problem of a lack of ‘discipline’ or immaturity or hypersensitivity in the ‘base’ or blogosphere or whatever. It would be an easier problem to deal with if that were the case.

    It is true that there simply is no mature, developed social movement capable of taking far-sighted organization and activism around pressing Democratic governments in helpful directions (as opposed to simply organizing against Republicans or against a war, etc.). But then, there really haven’t been since the height of the labor movement of the 1930s and 1940s and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

    Nor do I see the slightest desire among the Democratic Party establishment that there would be such an animal, and I would think they would see such a thing as dangerous and not under their control. You get some tepid outreach by OFA, but I get the sense that they don’t want 24 / 7 screaming by Republicans and conservative Democrats that Obama has activated his Maoist revolutionary forces.

  29. 29.

    aimai

    February 2, 2010 at 9:15 am

    BTW today’s reading for me is Bacevich’s

    The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2008).

    and its making me cranky that I can’t go out and piss all over Reagan’s grave.

    aimai

  30. 30.

    Gregory

    February 2, 2010 at 9:15 am

    It is like the last thirty years never happened with our media. All the Republicans need to do is claim they are concerned about deficits and the budget, and our bobbleheads will repeat it without pointing out who caused the problem.

    Darn that liberal media!

  31. 31.

    bemused

    February 2, 2010 at 9:16 am

    Sort of OT. I was half listening to Morning Joe panel talking about James O’Keefe appearing on Hannity. Mike Barnicle didn’t think the Village 4 arrest with their photos should have been on the front page of the NYTimes. But then did he say what I thought he said…that newspapers occasionally tilt left? He is equating putting those pinheads on the front page as tilting left?
    I agree with John. Listening to morning news shows makes my head throb.

  32. 32.

    Skepticat

    February 2, 2010 at 9:16 am

    @James Hare: He may well have been referring to volume–of voices–rather than numbers. I so wish that progressives and liberals could make use of a bully pulpit.

  33. 33.

    El Cid

    February 2, 2010 at 9:17 am

    @aimai:

    its making me cranky that I can’t go out and piss all over Reagan’s grave.

    Too far away? Maybe we should take up a travel fund.

  34. 34.

    El Cid

    February 2, 2010 at 9:18 am

    @aimai: Oh, and, by the way, get ready: On February 6th it will be the 99th anniversity of His birth (Saint God King Ronaldus of Reagan), and the launching of the 100th anniversary commemorations of the way He descended to Earth, created America, and made us great again.

  35. 35.

    gnomedad

    February 2, 2010 at 9:21 am

    Conspiracy theories aside (e.g., the Repubs let Obama win so he could clean up their mess), I assume the Repubs actually wanted Gramps and Bible Spice to win the last election. What were they expecting would happen next with the deficit?

  36. 36.

    Woodbuster

    February 2, 2010 at 9:24 am

    “Feeling a litle better this morning, so I flipped through the morning shows…”

    That’ll learn ya!

  37. 37.

    James Hare

    February 2, 2010 at 9:25 am

    @Skepticat:
    I’m sure that’s what he would say. That’s not his intention. His intention is to make the false impression that the Tea Party “movement” is millions strong. Giving that false impression is pretty important if you’re going to try to demand that those idiots be taken seriously. I think it’s pretty telling that even when questioned about my very conservative friends won’t even allow themselves to be associated with that group of fools.

    I’m a bit angry about the boost the tea partiers have gotten from the media. I remember drizzly marches in Washington against the Iraq War with thousands of others that were basically ignored.

  38. 38.

    debit

    February 2, 2010 at 9:26 am

    @gnomedad: Tax cuts. De-regulation. Mini American flags for everyone. What deficit?

  39. 39.

    geg6

    February 2, 2010 at 9:26 am

    @aimai:

    This.

    I was coming here to write a screed about blaming the wrong people for the problems among Dems, but I see you beat me to it.

  40. 40.

    General Winfield Stuck

    February 2, 2010 at 9:28 am

    @John Cole:

    Don’t you get it Cole, dem interest groups clamoring Obama is just another Bush are using Psych fu to keep Obama on the prog straight and narrow. All the Obama FAIL catterwalling the past few months made Obama ride the elephant in Baltimore. Sheesh, git with the program dude.

  41. 41.

    Annie

    February 2, 2010 at 9:29 am

    @aimai:

    “People on blogs are just people on blogs…” except when they are conservative people on blogs. Just ran across an article from the MSNBC website on the power and organization of conservative bloggers, and their impact on defining and spreading the “message.” Conservative bloggers not only blog, but they show up in the media, lotz. Again, as I argued last night in a thread, Conservatives control the narrative and the rhetoric, no matter how vacuous their rhetoric is, and no matter how much they have contributed to the current state of our “mess.”

    If the Democratic leadership doesn’t get out of their offices and into the communities to fight, and start mobilizing, we can look forward to many more years of conservative governance.

  42. 42.

    nepat

    February 2, 2010 at 9:38 am

    One of the places where I agree with aimai consistently is on our Epic Messaging Fail. What seemed easy in the campaign seems impossible in governing. What happened to Axelrod the Narrative Guy? I thought narratives were his stock-in-trade. Instead, it’s all muttering, sputtering, and mixed messages. They had a nearly perfect week last week. Their primary asset – the prez – very directly positioned them for weeks to come. Will they act on it? Early signs are not encouraging.

    I caught Barney Frank on Rachel Maddow last night and, for all his merits, he cannot make a direct point to save his life. Forget about sound bites. He took a longest and windingest road possible to make essentially the same point John made in this post in two sentences. Have some of these folks really been in politics for decades? When you’re on the TV box for a 3 minute segment, speak in bullet points, Democrats. This is Powerpoint Nation. No one cares how smart you are (see Republicans, all of them).

  43. 43.

    Brian J

    February 2, 2010 at 9:42 am

    It’s particularly infuriating becasue the White House and Democrats in congress have been promoting a package that is as much social legislation as it is fiscal policy: health care reform. Broadly speaking, if we can get health care costs under control, every other long term budget issue becomes a secondary concern. And while conservative academics might have proposals out that involve something besides consumer driven health care, the Republicans in congress have nothing but straight cuts for programs like Medicare, although they have cleverly disguised the language. One side tries to govern responsibly yet gets savaged by their opponents with the press largely absent. No, life really isn’t fair.

  44. 44.

    aimai

    February 2, 2010 at 9:47 am

    Steve Benen has a post up about how terrible Michael Steele is for the RNC–but the joke’s on us. The RNC doesn’t need Michael Steele to get its message out they’ve got tons of organs (Fox, Beck, Morning Joe), or organs in tons (Rush) to get their story out. What do the Dems have? Nothing. And the don’t use what they do have effectively. God damn it I’m pissed.

    On the Reagan thing, El Cid, I agree with Digby who argued (unless I’m hallucinating that) that we should by all means wrap ourselves in Reagan’s stinking corpse if it will do us any good. And I think it might. Think of the Republican party trying to take over Martin Luther King? I think the Democrats should start holding huge Reagan Memorial parties trumpeting Reagan’s *Democratic devotion to fiscal conservativism* and *Democratic sunny optimism* and *Democratic determination to make us energy independent* and *a nation of tolerance and mutual love* and *green unicorns* and whatever else we can dig out of his speeches, however specious. Didja know Reagan started as a Democrat? Lets take it all, and leave the Republicans gibbering in the dust.

    aimai

  45. 45.

    arguingwithsignposts

    February 2, 2010 at 9:49 am

    @aimai:
    Inspired by that comment, just for fun, I made a list of the various constituencies of the two parties.

    GOP
    1. The tax cuts for the rich club (Club for Growth)
    2. The Religio-cons (Focus on the Family)
    3. The gun club (NRA)
    4. The English-first club (anti-immigration)
    5. The Young Business Leaders of America Club (Financial Roundtable/Chamber of Commerce)
    6. The paintball league (neo-cons)

    Democrats:
    1. Women (including abortion rights, equal pay and other issues)
    2. African-Americans
    3. Hispanics
    4. Labor (including unions and wage standards and workplace safety here)
    5. Old people (Social Security and Medicare)
    6. Parents (FMLA and Head Start, for instance)
    7. Peaceniks (ending wars, reducing military spending)
    8. The First Amendment club (ACLU, free speech, media reform)
    9. The privacy club (EFF, Fourth Amendment, etc.)
    10. LGBTQ (DADT, DOMA)
    11. The tree-huggers (EPA, mountaintop mining, etc.)
    12. The financial reform club
    13. The health care reform club
    14. Other minorities

    Now there are obviously a lot of overlaps in each of those lists, but the Dems have many more demographic constituencies. The GOP has a bunch of vague “ideas” (using that term loosely). They don’t give a damn about demographic constituencies.

    You can write the Repub. platform on a napkin: Less taxes, less gov’t spending and regulation on businesses, strong defense, gun rights, and family values.

    That’s part of why they can win message wars.

    Feel free to add to the list.

  46. 46.

    Morbo

    February 2, 2010 at 9:49 am

    @Annie: Speaking of RW blog messaging and NPR, Breitbart is going to be prominently featured on All Things Considered today. I would be very happy if the interviewer uses the word “lie,” but I am not going to get my hopes up. Or subject myself to listening.

  47. 47.

    gnomedad

    February 2, 2010 at 9:51 am

    @aimai:

    I think the Democrats should start holding huge Reagan Memorial parties trumpeting Reagan’s Democratic devotion to fiscal conservativism and Democratic sunny optimism and Democratic determination to make us energy independent and a nation of tolerance and mutual love and green unicorns and whatever else we can dig out of his speeches, however specious. Didja know Reagan started as a Democrat? Lets take it all, and leave the Republicans gibbering in the dust.

    I love it! Even if it doesn’t work, it will piss them off.

  48. 48.

    Annie

    February 2, 2010 at 9:59 am

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    I think the Democratic party should mass produce napkins with the Republican platform, distribute them widely, and watch us all wipe our “whatevers” on them…Good video, good soundbite, good messaging…good publicity.

  49. 49.

    robertdsc

    February 2, 2010 at 10:04 am

    6. The paintball league (neo-cons)

    LMAO.

  50. 50.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 2, 2010 at 10:08 am

    The Republican message gets disseminated far better mainly because it’s got a very large propaganda arm, AKA the American news media. That’s a far more important reason than their “message discipline” even though that’s a factor also.

    This idea of party discipline is overblown a bit. After all, the Republicans only have to get 40 people to vote on something for everyone to call it lockstep. Well, the Democrats have at least 51 who would do so also, and very likely more, for some votes. That’s 11 more than the Republicans, but of course no one will say it that way.

    As with everything else, the requirements foisted on the Democrats are far more severe than what’s demanded of Republicans, and that’s a function of the noise machine and its constant pro-Republican slant. Democrats can get only 53 votes? Pathetic, they should be able to snap their fingers and get 60! Just like that!

    Did the Republicans ever have that said about them? That they absolutely must corral 60 votes on any major issue or they’re “weak” and “ineffective”?

    Just look at what’s happening with the deficit, which was the subject of this post. The Republican administration runs up this massive bill, and no one speaks up, and suddenly now it’s a big topic.

    That’s just another example of it. You can’t ask the question in a vacuum though, as if it’s just some mysterious bias, it’s clear that it’s the corporate media that is ready to amplify any right wing talking point at a moment’s notice, and conveniently ignore the same one during the past eight years.

    By the way, this constant “Democrats are crap” theme is just feeding into this same right wing talking point. But that should be obvious.

  51. 51.

    General Winfield Stuck

    February 2, 2010 at 10:09 am

    You gotta love it, after months of obama and dem bashing by progressive bloggers, and Cole pointing it out, amongst others here. And after an election in Mass and a televised speech where Obama pistol whips the wingnuts like he has done all along.

    Now, turning on a dime, progs tell us it’s really been about the wingnuts all along and the last several months of Obama bashing never occurred and those of us who have been pointing out that Obamarahma is not the problem and the wingnuts are, have been doing it wrong by blaming progs and not going after repubs like we should be.

    Man, I do hate history revisionism, and doubly when it comes from our own side. I guess I’m just a shit stirrer for saying this, but I will say it anyway.

  52. 52.

    Svensker

    February 2, 2010 at 10:09 am

    @aimai:

    I think the Democrats should start holding huge Reagan Memorial parties trumpeting Reagan’s Democratic devotion

    to not torturing and for using the law to prosecute terrorists.

    Having the WH lead the way on messaging would really help, but Gibbs, Axelrod and Rahm don’t seem to be on the same page half the time. That has really surprised me, because I thought that was one thing that O’s team did really well. Maybe Plouffe will get that group of cats herded.

  53. 53.

    John Cole

    February 2, 2010 at 10:09 am

    @aimai: Fair enough. One of my frequent mistakes is conflating the blogosphere with the larger public. We are our own beltway, in a way.

  54. 54.

    General Winfield Stuck

    February 2, 2010 at 10:18 am

    @John Cole:

    One of my frequent mistakes is conflating the blogosphere with the larger public.

    Haven’t we been hearing for months that the internet left IS the base and we better not piss them off or we’re all gonna die at the ballot box. Maybe I heard that wrong, maybe aimai is totally right. Make her a front pager then, so we can all get straightened out. I’m always open to wisdom. I’m serious.

  55. 55.

    arguingwithsignposts

    February 2, 2010 at 10:24 am

    @Bill E Pilgrim:

    The Republican message gets disseminated far better mainly because it’s got a very large propaganda arm, AKA the American news media. That’s a far more important reason than their “message discipline” even though that’s a factor also.

    That’s a very broad brush you have there, Mr. Pilgrim. You might want to set it down for a few moments and think about that for a minute.

    The GOP has Faux News, Morning Joke and some people on CNN, a lot of op-ed people, and asshats like David Frum and Megan McArdle, who somehow keep getting invited onto Marketplace on PBS.

    The vast majority of American news media is not a propaganda arm of the GOP. They are stuck in the said/she said reporting in Washington, but that doesn’t mean most of them are a “propaganda arm.” Dupes? maybe. Accomplices (Ron Fornier comes to mind), but i’d say that most real journalists (i.e., not the pompous people who play “journalists” on Sunday morning or an op-ed column) are not in that category.

  56. 56.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 2, 2010 at 10:26 am

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Haven’t we been hearing for months that the internet left IS the base and we better not piss them off or we’re all gonna die at the ballot box. Maybe I heard that wrong, maybe aimai is totally right. Make her a front pager then, so we can all get straightened out. I’m always open to wisdom. I’m serious.

    Wow. That may be one of the most willful misinterpretations that I’ve ever seen. Or maybe you really believe it.

    The progressives I’ve read, Kos for example, have made it clear that they know they’re only a small part of the voting public and that they really don’t have all that much sway. Their point has been that a demoralized base is dangerous, and a base is far more than just the small amount who obsessively follow blogs.

    A demoralized base is dangerous. It’s certainly more responsible for recent events than the right wing fairy tale that tea baggers have suddenly taken over a state like Massachusetts. It was a combination there of a splintered local party (western and eastern, Boston versus the rest, apparently, complicated stuff) and general disinterest and the fact that a lot of Americans vote as if they’re voting for a reality show and choose the most good looking candidate, but a fired up base could have helped a lot. It could have made the difference in fact.

  57. 57.

    General Winfield Stuck

    February 2, 2010 at 10:33 am

    @Bill E Pilgrim: @Bill E Pilgrim:

    Their point has been that a demoralized base is dangerous, and a base is far more than just the small amount who obsessively follow blogs

    You mean the dem base that currently approves of the job Obama is doing at the historic high level of 90% of dems?

    I feel like Alice being led down the rabbit hole to Wonderland here, right now.

    The progressives I’ve read, Kos for example, have made it clear that they know they’re only a small part of the voting public and that they really don’t have all that much sway.

    yea, I read his rebuttal to Cole. After he goes on teevee to warn that the netroots are unhappy and that will spell doom for dems at the ballot box. It was a smarmy ass covering post while talking out both sides of his mouth.

    If you need me, I will be building my little rocket ship to blast off from all this crazy ass wanking.

  58. 58.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 2, 2010 at 10:34 am

    @arguingwithsignposts: Dupes will do fine. “Propaganda arm” was figurative, not literal.

    It amounts to the same thing, was the point. Or to paraphrase Vonnegut who in turn was quoting Kin Hubbard:

    “The US media is not a right wing propaganda arm…. but it might as well be.”

  59. 59.

    Church Lady

    February 2, 2010 at 10:35 am

    I had completely forgotten that the Republicans controlled all three branches of government from 1978 until 2008. Silly me.

  60. 60.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 2, 2010 at 10:38 am

    @General Winfield Stuck: Yeah I sort of figured that some form of name-calling and obscenity would play a part in your response. I had toned mine down thinking to un-provoke it, but should have known.

    FWIW: Overall approval ratings and “base” is not the same thing, nor is the election in Massachusetts and what would happen in a Presidential election with Obama running right now.

    But I assume you actually know that, and were just, what was that word? Oh yes, “wanking”.

  61. 61.

    Paul in KY

    February 2, 2010 at 10:38 am

    I’m in agreement with Aimai’s comment up in # 27.

    The President has a great bully pulpit, he just needs to use it like FDR did.

  62. 62.

    General Winfield Stuck

    February 2, 2010 at 10:44 am

    @Bill E Pilgrim:

    Yeah I sort of figured that some form of name-calling and obscenity would play a part in your response.

    LOL, name-calling? with “wanking”. Mr. Cole, please bring out the tea and crumpets for these delicate flowers.

    Overall approval ratings and “base” is not the same thing,

    So I guess the remaining 10% is the real base. Peeps like you and Markos. Much more important, no doubt.

    But you win, I am but a single Obot that knows no better than what he’s told by his progressive betters. Please carry on. I am your humble servant.

  63. 63.

    Kryptik

    February 2, 2010 at 10:49 am

    @John Cole:

    That’s kind of a bad analogy I think, John. For one thing, THE beltway bubble is a bubble precisely because they have power and influence to afford it. Yes, we may not always connect with the larger public…but at least we’re not making policies based on those misconceptions, or speaking almost literally into the ears of those with policy power.

    And as Annie noted @41, the left blogosphere might be larger…but the right blogosphere gets more exposure, plum TV time, and policy say, whereas we’re still a bunch of DFHs to the larger Democratic party in too many ways.

    EDIT: To wit…the only person on our side that started specifically as a blogger to get any modicum of face time or serious consideration is Kos himself. Whereas the right as Erickson, Breitbart, the Powerline nitwits (not so much now as back during Rathergate), etc. Drudge isn’t exactly a blog, but I think he also counts in a way. And…well, Politico may as well be a right-wing blog. Note, I could be wrong about Erickson and Breitbart far as only gaining political influence and such via blogging, and wouldn’t mind being corrected.

  64. 64.

    JohnR

    February 2, 2010 at 10:49 am

    Groundhog Day? More like Groundhog Year for the media.

  65. 65.

    eastriver

    February 2, 2010 at 10:55 am

    I know you’ve already mentioned this, but I’m too stupid and lazy to go back and find it, JC. But which wing did you injure? Your left wing, or your right wing?

    I ask this out of mild curiosity.

  66. 66.

    catclub

    February 2, 2010 at 11:04 am

    arguing:

    Of course, you could summarize with:
    Democrats: Civilization and progress
    Republicans: Aristocracy and clinging to the past.

  67. 67.

    bcinaz

    February 2, 2010 at 11:06 am

    It’s that interminable moment when Wily E Coyote has dashed off the cliff and is hanging in mid-air; the result of one of his schemes that backfired and f–cked him instead.

    Question is: who’s the idiot?

  68. 68.

    Kryptik

    February 2, 2010 at 11:10 am

    @bcinaz:

    The difference between Wile E. and the Republicans is that the Republicans never look down, meaning they can run as far off that damn cliff as they like without realizing that they should be falling. And usually end up running onto another cliff through sheer rejection of reality (and a little help from the inkers, hint hint).

  69. 69.

    Nick

    February 2, 2010 at 11:11 am

    @Ash Can:

    The Prez has shown that it’s possible.

    I don’t think it’s possible. The Prez showed someone can make the argument, doesn’t mean it’ll take.

    Bring a deer to water, can’t make him drink and all that stuff.

  70. 70.

    Nick

    February 2, 2010 at 11:13 am

    @Bill E Pilgrim: Oh, you still believe that hilarious idea that the “base” cost Coakley the election. It had nothing to do with the Independent voters who went 3-1 for Brown, nope, nothing at all.

    The base!

  71. 71.

    Sentient Puddle

    February 2, 2010 at 11:15 am

    Yesterday, the Rush disciple who sits in the cube across from me was bitching about the budget. “$3.8 trillion!” he exclaimed in the most nonchalant way possible to exclaim something. “I don’t think anyone has any idea about the scope of this thing. I mean, to give you an idea, I put that number into an Excel spreadsheet, and it converted it into an exponent!”

    I was about to point out to him that, thanks to the limitations of 32-bit integers, Excel would do that for any federal budget since, I don’t know, 1850 or so. But then I realized that this moron had to know that 32-bit would limit him to 4.2 billion (and that’s assuming Excel represents those as unsigned, which I’m guessing it doesn’t), and realized it wasn’t worth it.

  72. 72.

    Woodbuster

    February 2, 2010 at 11:25 am

    @ Bill Pilgrim and @Generalissimo Winfield Stuck:

    Why is it that every post has to generate a fucking fratricide party anymore? Can’t we all just agree that Republicans and Sarah Palin suck, and move on from there? Any second now, BTD is going to step in here and commence with his shit, and there will be a 400 comment thread about nothing but bullshit.

    If I wanrted to see this kind of shit, I would go visit with my in-laws.

    Jesusfuckingchrist!!

  73. 73.

    Bender

    February 2, 2010 at 11:26 am

    Feeling a litle better this morning, so I flipped through the morning shows, and I can not believe that they are honestly quoting Republicans voicing concern about the size of the budget and the deficits.

    Would you rather they show clips of St. Kennedy talking about how disastrous, ruinous, and cruel-to-The-Children! deficits are? And then point out that Obama’s deficits are 30 times as big as the ones Kennedy was beating his ample breast over?

  74. 74.

    Alice B. Stuck

    February 2, 2010 at 11:33 am

    @Woodbuster:

    Why is it that every post has to generate a fucking fratricide party anymore?

    You are right. I am sure it was just an anomaly and won’t happen in the future. Peace out.

    no longer a generalissamo btw.

  75. 75.

    xian

    February 2, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    @r€nato: the worst part was when the Libertine Belle complained that politicians use redistributive means to fund society’s priorities, wondering aloud where they got the authority to do that.

  76. 76.

    Comrade Kevin

    February 2, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    OT, but there’s an, er, amusing ad on the left side of the page, for a product that

    a) doesn’t work
    b) would be illegal to sell if it did

    something that purports to make your license plate invisible to red-light cameras.

  77. 77.

    AxelFoley

    February 2, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    @John Cole:

    Democrats, on the other hand, are a coalition of interest groups who are primarily concerned with not defeating Republicans, but with advancing their issue. Thus, you never hear the constant, steady, relentless drumbeat of opposition to the GOP. Instead, you get “Sure he passed Lily Ledbetter, but why is he not playing hoops with women” and on and on, and then they just rile each other up and before you know it, you have the Democrats attacking Obama calling him “just words” as well as the Republicans calling him the same.

    Sad, ain’t it?

  78. 78.

    pattonbt

    February 2, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    I dont necessarily believe there is a “right” slant to the media. I would actually bet, on an individual level, the media if very far to the left. Its just laziness buttressed by a weak shield of “balance” that gives it a right edge.

    However, personal and professional beliefs are two totally different things. Whats the the quite “you cant get someone to believe something if it is their job to not believe it”?

    The R’s have it easier in the media, because their message is easy. They do not actually stand for anything that is hard (tax cuts, wow thats easy) and their opposition is based on belief, not fact.

    Arguing with Republicans (in their current state) is like arguing with religious people (and I am not trying to slight religious people) – its faith so you dont need facts. Facts can not get through faith, no matter how hard you try or how monumental and obvious the facts are.

    So R’s can get their message out with amazing ease in this modern media world. Any serious party will always struggle against such an advantage.

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