(Matt Davies via GoComics.com — click link for full-sized image)
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Normally I ignore Charles Krauthammer like I do my dog’s noisily self-grooming his groin area, but this is just too mock-worthy:
Let’s understand President Obama’s strategy in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations. It has nothing to do with economics or real fiscal reform. This is entirely about politics. It’s Phase 2 of the 2012 campaign. The election returned him to office. The fiscal cliff negotiations are designed to break the Republican opposition and grant him political supremacy, something he thinks he earned with his landslide 2.8-point victory margin on Election Day.
This is why he sent Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to the Republicans to convey not a negotiating offer but a demand for unconditional surrender. House Speaker John Boehner had made a peace offering of $800 billion in new revenue. Geithner pocketed Boehner’s $800 billion, doubled it to $1.6 trillion, offered risible cuts that in 2013 would actually be exceeded by new stimulus spending and then demanded that Congress turn over to the president all power over the debt ceiling.
Boehner was stunned. Mitch McConnell laughed out loud. In nobler days, they’d have offered Geithner a pistol and an early-morning appointment at Weehawken. Alas, Boehner gave again, coming back a week later with spending-cut suggestions — as demanded by Geithner — only to have them dismissed with a wave of the hand.
What’s going on here? Having taken Boehner’s sword, and then his shirt, Obama sent Geithner to demand Boehner’s trousers. Perhaps this is what Obama means by a balanced approach….
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their pundits!
Short Bus Bully
WERD.
MikeJ
Damn that Geithner, requiring the Republicans to actually *name* what they wanted to cut in public rather than just “mumble waste mumble fraud mumble.”
ottercliff
Must suck to be that angry and bitter 24/7.
Tom Q
If Krauthammer was going to short-change Obama’s electoral margin (which has been up to 3.6% for about a week, and will go higher), he might as well have tried to get away with Trump’s Election Night “He lost the popular vote!”
Note to CK: When Ann Coulter says you should throw in the towel, it’s time to stop pretending you’re in good position.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
Let the pundits lament. They have the megaphone but essentially nothing worthwhile to say. Life will just have to go on around them.
I’m so behind on my BJ posts I’ll never catch up. Traveled so much this week my 7 day average speed, around the clock, is 60 MPH. I’m going to have to declare Blog Bankruptcy and start over.
But I got Boinged. My MAKE Magazine project was front paged at Boing Boing and I’m pretty thrilled. Commenters are shredding it, of course.
PurpleGirl
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their pundits!
Great line, Anne Laurie, great line.
marcopolo
Notice how the a$$hole says “2.8-point victory margin on Election Day” which is now actually a 3.7% margin of victory with, you know, all the actual votes pretty much counted. I am so looking forward to going cliff diving–I really really hope that Obama stands firm on insisting that tax rates on the wealthy go up to Clinton era levels. Won’t cry any tears over the Defense Dept. budget cuts either.
Edit: and I see Tom Q beat me to it–foiled again by having to look up the actual figures :)
Mnemosyne
I’m pretty sure it was a 3.6 point margin of victory, Chucky (50.9% – 47.3%). Might wanna check your math.
Either way, it’s still better than your boy Bush did in either of his elections, one of which he won with a 5-4 margin of victory.
SiubhanDuinne
Fixed fo mo bettah.
General Stuck
Republicans are reaping what they have sewn since the Texas Mafia came to town with Lee Atwater leading the charge to turn the country into a bigger Texas. Now they have met their political master, and the swelling is painful. Double sweet justice, cause the new sheriff happens to be black. It isn’t so much a negotiation as it is a reckoning.
Jon
WATB
Dork
So “fiscally prudent” Republicans actually demoaning that Obama wants to cut DEEPER into the deficit than Repubs? What the fuck?
MikeJ
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist: Boingboing is like Wired: techie stuff for people too stupid to actually do techie stuff.
PurpleGirl
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist: That’s great. Congratulations.
Higgs Boson's Mate
Krauthammer artfully dodges the fact that the 800bn in proposed revenue increases is in fact a vaporware plan to close unspecified loopholes and end unspecified tax deductions. I’d be amazed if Congress agreed to eight dollars’ worth of either.
PurpleGirl
@marcopolo: It’s the snideness of “landslide 2.8% margin” that got me.
Baud
I can live with that.
SiubhanDuinne
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:
I hear you. Wish I had your excuse. I think I actually stay on top of BJ posts better when I’m traveling than when I stay put. Certainly I am feeling very ignorant right now, and, like you, will probably just start over from scratch.
MikeJ
@MikeJ: Which was my way of saying, I liked the cigar box amp! Fuck BB’s commenters if they don’t.
Chris
Good Lord! This from the party that just spent four years frankly admitting that making Obama’s presidency failed is their number one priority.
Keith
And to go to the Limbaugh well again, let me quote his feelings on if the shoe were on the other foot: “To us, bipartisanship is them being forced to agree with us after we politically have cleaned their clocks and beaten them.”
Anyone have video or a transcript of Charles Krauthammer disagreeing with *that*?
waynski
Michael Corleone: My offer to you is….nothing.
Hold the line dems. They’ve got nothing.
SiubhanDuinne
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:
Awesome.
Even awesomer.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@MikeJ:
I could take that personally because I did actually invent that and get it published, but I understand your point. I too observe a distinction between creating a NIXIE clock with vacuum tube logic and finding a cool alarm clock app for your smartphone. But if you look at Boing Boing’s blog posts they do have plenty of hard tech. As well as an accomplished and published science blogger.
ETA: so Boing Boing actually does try to stretch their readers’ mental capacities from time to time rather than just entertaining them.
Chris Grrr™
The whole point of running on a plan and then winning the election is, naturally, to completely water down said plan for the benefit of grifters who have done all they can, during the preceding four years, to hurt as many people as they could.
The GOP has given us many sterling examples of this postpartisanship, lo these many decades.
Baud
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:
@SiubhanDuinne:
Just wait a few weeks. We’ll cycle through the old stuff again.
Why mess with a good thing?
Liberty60
When I wade through the fever swamps of Wingnutopia, I notice the tone is different now after the election.
Now, the overall wailing is about how cruel and tyrannical Obama is, instead of the “Black Jimmy Carter”.
Works for me.
Darkrose
I never take advice from a man who looks like a testicle.
Spaghetti Lee
Are those sour grapes I taste? They go so well with whine.
redshirt
OK! I believe you!
Litlebritdifrnt
@Chris Grrr™:
Speaking of grifters did you guys see the story today about a firm owned by Romney staffers getting paid $243million dollars BY THE ROMNEY CAMPAIGN?
Mnemosyne
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:
I think MikeJ was criticizing the people who were criticizing you, actually — as in, you were able to do a cool techie thing and now they’re all Monday morning quarterbacking something they never could have created themselves.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
Speaking of odious pundits I heard Bobo on the radio today. Because I was in the back seat of the car and didn’t have a choice.
He has a good radio voice. I’ll give him that. Speaks well for broadcast. Talks utter nonsense, but it sounds smooth and assured.
The Dangerman
I, for one, would gladly pay more in taxes if the Bush tax cuts expire just so I would never again have to hear the phrase “Bush Tax Cuts”. Next time, they’ll have to figure out a way to cut taxes that doesn’t include a 10 sunset clause.
/reconcile this, Krauthammer
Baud
You can take Boehner’s trousers, but you’ll never take his orange tan!
General Stuck
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:
Very cool. Congrats!!
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@Mnemosyne:
I think you’re right and I didn’t see that. Probably because after hanging out in the BB comments for 8 years I just don’t care about the stupid. I must have Mod Immunity there. Hell would be overflowing if all of the nutballs in Boing Boing comments followed my directions.
Thanks for the support, MikeJ.
Bex
Hey CK, Boehner will soon be stripped of his tighty whiteys.
Suffern ACE
What is best in life? A car that lasts forever and never needs repair. Today I find myself on the car market for the first time in 12 years. Has anything changed? The last time I bought a car, I got the feeling the salesman didn’t have my best interest in mind even though he said he was going to look out for me.
SiubhanDuinne
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Was that before or after their credit cards were cancelled?
Baud
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:
You’re too big to fail!
Congrats on the new-found stardom.
Xantar
Thread needs moar Zen kitteh
Ash Can
Lulz — with that kind of butthurt, poor little Chuckie won’t be able to sit down for a week.
Baud
@Suffern ACE:
There are a lot more set-price dealers nowadays. Takes some of the ickiness out of car shopping.
mai naem
Charles Krauthammer just looks like such an ugly soul and I ain’t talking physical looks. There’s some deep down ugliness and bitterness in those eyes and his facial mannerisms.
Okay, explain to me why Obama was supposed to be the GOP’s bitch in 2010 because the GOP took over the house. Now, Obama wins. The Dems pick up seats in the Senate and the House. The Dems in the House actually represent more Americans than the GOP and Obama is still supposed to be the GOP’s bitch? Chuck needs to figure out it’s the GOP’s turn to bend over with no lube.
Felonius Monk
Poor Charles, there he sits all broken hearted,
Was paid his nickel, and he only farted.
Jay
Re:
John’s most recent rant about Chris Christie-I saw a story this week (Daily Beast, methinks) on a potential 2013 Booker/Christie race. Alot of mixed signals were sent, but I came away from it believing Booker isn’t going to run because, as some local Dem operative said in the piece, “He (Booker) is not making the calls. You can put them on mute if you want to, but you have to pick up the phone. He’s not doing that.” A poll I saw had Booker down something like 14 to Christie. I think he could chip away at that and, perhaps, turn it into a tossup at the end by sending a tracker(s) after Christie and waiting for the big guy to explode on camera. (I know that’s happened to Christie before, but if Booker jumps in, NJ-GOV is going to be covered so heavily everything’ll be cranked up to 11. Heck, some cable exec will probably give the race its own channel. I think Booker’d lose, though, because Christie will ride whatever positive coverage he keeps getting for his “I’m an always straight-talking, sometimes funny fat guy” routine.)
So, no current NJ Dem, not some state senator being floated, not Booker, can beat Christie. But I want to think there’s still a way the GOP can be forced to spend some dough in that state.
Bill Bradley’s one of my heroes. I’m 31 now and, at 18, I signed up to vote because he was running for president. He’s brilliant, an accomplished legislator, and liked by Jerseyans of a certain age (my parents’ age; they’re in their late 60s). I’ve seen him speak in person at his advanced age. He’s not peppy on the stump, which is why he’d lose to Christie. But again, I just want the GOP to spend a bit more money than they have to on NJ.
Does Bradley have a real relationship with the state these days? I’m aware a run for NJ-GOV by him would send a kind of “Bob Kerrey Returns To Nebraska” vibe, but he’d be a good Progressive “message” candidate (strong Obama surrogate in the first presidential campaign, ACA advocate, etc.). The message would be for Dems. who didn’t get Booker: “we’re not going to beat Christie, but we can make him sweat, perhaps bloody him, and perhaps inspire more young Democrats to step forward to lead.”
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@Suffern ACE:
I was in the plant that makes the Chevy Volt today. The world’s most enthusiastic welding engineer gave me a personal tour and we shamelessly geeked out over cars, machinery, lasers, computerized production controls and so on. Heavenly. I don’t know the modern car market well, but GM products come from very clean, safe, orderly and well run factories. We were looking at body weld monitoring that continuously measures seams on a micrometer scale. Auto production has changed enormously in the last decade and it almost all pays off in a better product for the driver.
Keith
@mai naem: Krauthammer reminds me of Davros from Doctor Who. Does this make me a bad person?
“CAPITULAAAATE! CA-PI-TU-LAAAAAATE! Capitulate? Please?”
MattR
I think my favorite part may be the comment at WaPo saying that Wall Street is not dominated by Republicans but is instead a haven for Democratic crony capitalism.
mai naem
@Suffern ACE: The last four times we’ve bought cars in my family I’ve known more about the vehicle than the salesmen. One of them, I actually kind of argued with the guy about the engine that was in the different versions of the car I ended up buying and he ended up having to admit I was right. Salesmanship in this country has gone down the tubes. I bought a freezer a couple of years ago. I was down to two models – same price, same size. I asked her what the difference was and she said there wasn’t – just different brands. And I even pointed to the metal shelves vs. the glass shelves and she said they were the same. Jeezus, the metal ones which I got are they ice up physically. I felt like an idiot but I didn’t even know those freezers existed anymore. I mean jeezus, if you are fvcking selling a product, should you not know the basics about your product. All these people want is their damn commissions and fvck the customer.
MzRAD
I’m * sure* I don’t need to see Boehner without his pants. Thanks for the image, Chuck
Birthmarker
Hungry Joe–If you are out there! I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your book, Anyway*.
amk
Great toon.
FU.CK
Chris Grrr™
@Litlebritdifrnt: Teh Google isn’t finding any relevant news reports, from this week, with or without that particular figure.
But hey. If the GOP is going to push a jawdropping number of lies and not have to face truly terrifying blowback… I hope they can raise a staggering amount of money to waste next time around. More rationality for the rest of us in ’14.
mai naem
@Litlebritdifrnt: That was one of the original post election stories about how GOPrs thought Romney was being robbed by consultants and consultants owned the firm that was paid the big $$$. I still would not be shocked if years down the road, it turns out that it was a massive grifting operation by Romney where his cronies laundered X percent of every $ that went through the campaign which then circled back to his kid(s). That’s what essentially happened with Abramoff.
@Keith: That is hilarious. He does look like Krauthammer and kind of seems to carry that spirit.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@Litlebritdifrnt:
NPR covered that. I give them credit for looking up the ratios of large/small donors in Rmoney’s and Obama’s campaigns and talking about the contrast. They pointed out that 11 obscenely rich people accounted for a large proportion of the spending on Mitt’s behalf.
It sounded like actual journalism for a minute there.
Baud
I know Geithner doesn’t get a lot of love on the tubes. But he has been awesome in every clip I’ve seen of him during this fiscal cliff drama.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Chris Grrr™:
I think it was a Politico link that I followed from Twitter but I can’t find it now, I will keep looking.
Found it, it was a Huffpo link, not Politico, the entire campaign appears to have been a grift
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/romney-campaign-winners-aides_n_2259356.html
Mike in NC
I just want to see Das Kraut shoved off the fiscal cliff in his frickin’ wheelchair.
mvr
FWIW, I think Obama’s popular vote win percentage has gone up since election night as more votes have been counted to 3.6%. See this website . But of course Krauthammer doesn’t check his facts.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
Any Republican who shows weakness in negotiating with Obama runs the risk of being primaried from the right for perceived Impurity on fiscal matters. Obama doesn’t have to tear them down. Just making them compromise will put them in the Tea Party crazies’ sights. And they know this.
CW in LA
I’ll fap to that.
Mike in NC
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist: Just read that wingnut billionaire Sheldon Adelson wasted $68M to defeat assorted Democrats and failed across the board. Hope he ends up in an orange jumpsuit in a federal pen.
Johannes
@Keith: And not Davros at his most reflective, either.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@Mike in NC:
I read somewhere as much as $150M, but I don’t remember where. And he was certain that he was backing winners, most of whom got creamed. Toooo baaaaddd.
MikeJ
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist: Sorry! I realised after I wrote my first it could be taken wrong, I’d just had my first cocktail of the evening. My #19 explains what I meant. Please, don’t think I thought less of your project.
PurpleGirl
@Xantar: A nice contented kitteh.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@MikeJ:
It was explained and I understand. Thanks for your support. You’re right about the rather low sights of some of the BB commentariat, as I stated above. I love creating DIY projects to share. The varied perceptions and reactions of readers just kind of go along with that.
I still want to design a vacuum tube headphone amp for DIY build but every time I look at the high voltages involved I imagine a new widow weeping over a room temperature hobbyist and I just back off. I guess I know my audience.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Birthmarker: Isn’t it wonderful? I got it onto a couple of mom’s gift lists by telling them what an awesome read it is.
Roger Moore
@MzRAD:
I’m sure Obama will let him put on a skirt.
Alison
In much better Charles-related news, Charlie Crist is now a Democrat.
https://twitter.com/charliecristfl/status/277243755734646784
Dead Ernest
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: Man Oh Man HBM, in the course of reading a perfectly pleasant A. Laurie post, coming upon your ‘Nom de Plume’ has been the highlight of my day… week… more.
From the initial involuntary snort/guffawlett of unexpected entertainment (and it’s a quiet coffee shop this evening so I sort of induced a chain of such reactions, most ironically in this case I suppose, among those I aurally entertained with the sound of my primate pleasure) upon seeing your Most Enjoyable, ‘Higgs Bosun’s Mate’, from that first appreciation, you’ve inspired a Fantasia like feast of amusing speculation; would the HB’s Mate been responsible for creating the ‘Energy of the Vacuum’ at the first fraction of a second (after, during, before the Big Bang?); “Hear Ye Hear Ye, Presenting Lord Higgs. You may all exist now”? Did the HB’s Mate precipitate the first conversion of energy to mass for Lord Higgs? Heck of a ‘First Communion’.
Led me to imagine a ‘quarky’ buddy movie: Dean Martin as Higgs and introducing Jerry Lewis as his Bosun’s Mate “Together, they’ll create a Universe that will leave you rollicking from the Very Beginning…” “Gluon? I didn’t even Hadron!”
I guess this was a pretty damn inappropriate sized response and I should stop this now. Still, very clever, most appreciated. Thx HBM.
Steeplejack
@Suffern ACE:
One word: CarMax.
Mister Harvest
Shorter Krauthammer: The Democrats may have won something as base as an election, but a transcendent, spiritual sense, the Republicans won, so why aren’t the Democrats acting like it?
WaterGirl
@Xantar: Such an awesome kitty photo!
A moocher
@Ash Can: i see what you did there. How could you be so cruel to the nasty, dyspeptic, cripped douchbag?
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Dead Ernest:
Good to hear that you enjoyed the nom. I spent some years in the USN. I am now fortunate to have some very learned friends in the science community. The nom occurred to me after a long chat with one of those friends.
BruceFromOhio
Guess what, bitchez? This is what happens when you start two wars and then cut taxes on the rich friends that got you elected so you could stroke your Dick Cheney and get your motherfucking war on.
I was there in 2002-2006 when those soulless ratfuck criminals foisted this motherfucking bullshit on everyone breathing. Does it fucking hurt yet, Karl? No?
Then hold on, because it gets better. Your stupid rich friends are about to get a big motherfucking bill due for their stupid, arrogant ways, and a whole motherfucking shitload of people, young , old, and otherwise, think the two-bit shitheads driving your gravy train are responsible for the entire stinking mess.
Nicely done, assholes. I hope Geithner wears your Gaia-damned balls for earplugs.
Marmot
Has anyone mentioned Krauthammer is pro-torture? Just thought I’d add that. You know, to flesh out his character.
Joey Maloney
@Ash Can:
I think he’d be thrilled if that were the case. http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=charles+krauthammer+paralyzed
Ken T
@Jay:
Re: Bill Bradley — I always liked him as Senator, and supported his POTUS run in 2000. But, I’d have to say that, as a NJ resident, I haven’t heard a peep out of him in years. Now I’ll admit that I’m not deeply involved in state or local level politics, and maybe he’s been active behind the scenes where I haven’t seen it. But I think that would be the point — to the great majority of NJ-ans, he’s been out of sight and out of mind for a long time.
Teejay
Did you notice Krauthammer’s slide of hand? If a Republican
wins reelection: The American people decided, The American people voted vs Obama winning: “The election returned him to office.” It was the election that returned him to office not the American people.
Tom
why are we talking about the ravings of a senile old fool!