Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The willow is too close to the house.

Consistently wrong since 2002

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

All your base are belong to Tunch.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

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

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

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

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

You are here: Home / Why Do They Call Themselves the Third Way

Reader Interactions

150Comments

  3. 3.

    brantl

    NPR has been talking these chuckleheads up as democratic party splitters, What a bunch of horseshit.

  5. 5.

    kdaug

    Because they’re the “business” Republicans sans the televangelists? Just a guess.

    (Not that being a televangelist isn’t a fine business to get into, if you can pull it off)

  7. 7.

    Josie

    Jim Kessler says that, because Democrats were talking about expanding Social Security, “things were getting out of hand.” Who told him that he was running the party and could decide what it should stand for? I don’t remember anyone ever voting for him. What an entitled asshole. I hope that op-ed cooks the Third Way’s goose.

  9. 9.

    Roger Moore

    They’re a third way in that they’re allegedly socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Unfortunately, their idea of fiscal conservatism forecloses any kind of social liberalism that involves spending money or using the government to reduce economic inequality, so it differs from Republicanism only in that it restricts itself to screwing people over passively rather than actively.

  10. 10.

    VodkaGoGo

    “Had to take her down a peg” because you know, her message resonates with the modern democratic voter. Can’t have that.

  11. 11.

    Baud

    Third Way was the term used by Clinton (and Blair in UK) to distinguish themselves from traditional liberal groups and Republicans. I assume this group adopted that term in an attempt to refer back to those days.

  12. 12.

    PIGL

    They are Democrats the same way Tony Blair’s “New Labour” was Labour. Their plan is to implement Republican policies while destroying the Democratic Party as any source whatever of opposition.

  13. 13.

    Yatsuno

    @Baud: IOW it’s a warning shot to Hillary that she shouldn’t get too far into the muck of this icky economic populism that’s sprouting up. Else she will find the checkbooks are closed.

  15. 15.

    maya

    To the wingnuts “Third Way” might imply that they’re bi-sexuals. Hey, I’m up with that. We should help them all we can in attaining their bi-sexual quest for political thirdwaydeness. Let’s be their anchor.

  17. 17.

    JoyfulA

    Allyson Schwartz has just lost her opportunity to have me vote for her in the Democratic primary for governor.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    @Yatsuno:

    Maybe, although I never got the impression that these folks are Hillary-centric. I think they’re just rich folks who are worried about economic populism (wrongly, in my view, but I don’t know that they are insincere in their beliefs).

    @Amir Khalid:

    Yeah, it’s a dumb name, regardless of how one feels about their views.

  19. 19.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Baud: and @Yatsuno:
    I doubt it. It’s such an old phrase, I think it crops up naturally when people want to pretend they’re too mature for partisan squabbles. A big part of this is rich people feeling like they’re the adults telling children ‘Eat your vegetables, they’re good for you.’ when actually their message is ‘I got mine, fuck you.’

  20. 20.

    Zifnab25

    “The impetus was really — we saw after the most recently, this push that okay, it’s time to really move the national Democratic Party to a much more liberal agenda, in this case, Senator Warren was the standard bearer — she’s on the cover of a lot of magazines,” he said in an interview on Sirius XM with Ari Rabin-Havt. “We were a bit alarmed by that.”

    Question. Why would a “Third Way” political movement be afraid of one of the two primary political parties moving away from the center, and thereby clearing them political space within which to gather followers? Hell, why is a movement titled the “Third Way” giving a shit about where the other two ways are moving at all? Isn’t it sufficient to promote your political platform as superior?

    I’m also a bit curious about where these “Third Way” guys were when Senator Cruz took Republicans off the deep end on the rightward side of the spectrum. Certainly, I don’t recall Republicans giving a shit about what Third Way representatives thought back in October.

  22. 22.

    IowaOldLady

    I’m always interested in the Newsmax headlines. One there now promised advice on how to “protect your family from FEMA’s next demand.” What did FEMA ever do to become the boogie man?

  25. 25.

    Amir Khalid

    @Baud:
    No, seriously: if these guys are calling themselves Third Way, there’s got to be a definition in their manifesto (or whatever they call it) of the first two ways. Because otherwise a credo that says, “Not that way, not that other way either, but our way” is not meaningful.

    Ah. I see what you mean.

  27. 27.

    Big R

    @JoyfulA: Just so you know, not only has Allyson Schwartz denounced the op-ed, she signed on as a co-sponsor of a bill to expand Social Security. So, you know, think about that one before you finalize that decision.

  28. 28.

    gene108

    I am thinking these guys are part of a Republican ratfucking operation, since there’s some turmoil in Republican ranks, the Republican power brokers threw up this group to deflect some attention from their own problems.

  29. 29.

    Cervantes

    @MikeJ: Great lyrics. They pre-date Blair’s ascendancy by 30 years.

    (For what it’s worth, I like Billy Bragg’s version of the original song.)

  30. 30.

    J R in WV

    They’re not Republicans, because Republicans hate the gayz and blahs, and they’re not Democrats, because Democrats want to help the poors, whom they hate without talking about it in public.

    Not to mention freedom, which they’re pretty sure is only for rich folk like themselves. Not for me and thee.

  32. 32.

    Baud

    @Amir Khalid:

    From their website.

    Third Way represents Americans in the “vital center” — those who believe in pragmatic solutions and principled compromise, but who too often are ignored in Washington.

    Our mission is to advance moderate policy and political ideas. Our agenda includes: a series of grand economic bargains, a new approach to the climate crisis, progress on social issues like immigration reform, marriage for gay couples, tighter gun safety laws, and a credible alternative to neoconservative security policy.

    Unlike traditional think tanks, we do not house scholars who work in silos on academic research. Instead, we are built around policy teams that create high-impact written products and innovative trainings to influence today’s debates.

    Our ideas have been used by the President, members of Congress, governors, mayors and countless political candidates. Based on our record, the media has labeled us “the future of think tanks,” “incorrigible pragmatists,” “radical centrists,” and the “best source for new ideas in public policy.”

  35. 35.

    MikeJ

    @Cervantes:

    Great lyrics. They pre-date Blair’s ascendancy by 30 years.

    I’m aware of that. I didn’t live in England (or anywhere for that matter) when they were written.

  37. 37.

    Roger Moore

    @IowaOldLady:

    What did FEMA ever do to become the boogie man?

    Helped Those People just as much as Us. Also, too, irrational fear is irrational. FEMA didn’t have to do anything to get people afraid of it; somebody just had to decide it was a convenient target.

  38. 38.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Baud:

    we are built around policy teams that create high-impact written products

    Celestia’s beard, they’re MBAs. No wonder their policies are dumbass, selfish, and self-aggrandizing.

  39. 39.

    PsiFighter37

    They’re just Rockefeller Republicans who don’t want to be associated with the batshit wingers in the Tea Party. Simple as that.

  40. 40.

    Roger Moore

    @Baud:

    Unlike traditional think tanks, we do not house scholars who work in silos on academic research. Instead, we are built around policy teams that create high-impact written products and innovative trainings to influence today’s debates.

    IOW, we decide on policies and our academics rationalize them.

  42. 42.

    James E. Powell

    @Roger Moore:

    IOW, we decide on policies and our academics rationalize them.

    Exactly. And let’s not forget the marketing/public relations strategies to sell their policies.

  48. 48.

    ? Martin

    @IowaOldLady:

    What did FEMA ever do to become the boogie man?

    FEMA is the agency that will help the Illuminati build the New World Order, along with the UN and the WTO.

    Anti-FEMA conspiracies come along with the anti-UN, black helicopters, they’re coming for our guns, taking over the Alamo, etc. It’s widely enough held that it’s stopped the US adopting the UN disability treaty .

    FEMA is the target because they have wide acquisition capabilities – food, shelter, population control, etc. and unlike the military, presumably the public isn’t paying attention to what they do, so they’re the perfect vehicle to take over the US population.

    This isn’t nutpicking any more. This is honest-to-god GOP policy now.

  50. 50.

    maya

    @Baud: “Based on our record, the media has labeled us “the future of think tanks.”

    What’s the matter with the concept of a think whirlpool, spa, penthouse or Olympus?

  52. 52.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @gbear:
    Presidents have used my ideas too, but I don’t think Obama failed to invade Syria because my saying it was some kind of special genius. Is this even a ratfucking operation, or is it just about rich people patting themselves on the back?

  53. 53.

    JoyfulA

    @Big R: Thus far, Schwartz has declined to resign from Third Way, however.

    This affiliation is really hot out here. PA Dems don’t want another so-called Democratic governor like Mr. Ed (not to mention New Democrat Spector), and the state committee is now listening to the grassroots.

    If you have any influence over the congresswoman, let her know she has to exit this outfit now.

  58. 58.

    GRANDPA john

    @Baud:i n other words they are indecisive wishy-washy fence straddlers who refuse to take a moral stand on any of todays major problems

  63. 63.

    IowaOldLady

    @? Martin: This isn’t nutpicking any more. This is honest-to-god GOP policy now

    Perhaps not as different as one might hope?

    The R’s are dangerous. They must never have power.

  64. 64.

    Napoleon

    @Big R:

    And she is still a Co-Chair of 3rd way, and in many of her past votes has proven herself someone who should get her ass kicked out of the Dem party. She is a cancer.

  65. 65.

    chopper

    There’s the right way, the wrong way, and the ‘third’ way.

    isn’t that the wrong way?

    yes, only *faster*!

  66. 66.

    ? Martin

    @debbie: It’s the one world order, Illuminati stuff. Ameros. Obama, is of course, a manchurian candidate who was put into office in order to bring this all about.

    It’s all the same stuff, all intertwined.

  67. 67.

    Just One More Canuck

    @IowaOldLady: Keep in mind that the headline below it is ” 5 Odd Vegetables Help Destroy Abdominal Fat” – that’s probably the most credible headline of them all

  68. 68.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @debbie: and @? Martin:
    This traces back to a provision in the stimulus giving FEMA funding to create emergency refugee camps. The nuttier wingnuts (which at the time wasn’t ‘all of them’) had the flash of inspiration that Obama could declare a state of emergency and legally use the national guard to herd dissenters into these facilities as permanent concentration camps.

  73. 73.

    Big R

    @Napoleon: I respect a decision not to vote for her. I just wanted to note that there was more out there. If it’s not enough to sway you, that is 100% okay. I don’t have a dog in that fight, since I live in flyover country.

  74. 74.

    andy

    Unlike traditional think tanks, we do not house scholars who work in silos on academic research

    When I saw this the first thing I pictured was a bunch of Heritage Foundation mooks jammed into the nosecones of ICBMs.

  75. 75.

    BGinCHI

    @andy: I was picturing people who aren’t scholars in any field just making shit up to please their corporate overlords.

    I guess I was also picturing the WaPo Editorial Board.

  76. 76.

    Mandalay

    @John Cole:

    Why Do They Call Themselves the Third Way

    Because there are three ways: The Republican Way, the Democrat Way, and the Investment Banker Way.

    This image explains why the Third Way loathes Elizabeth Warren: the Third Way is controlled by a bunch of investment bankers. No religious zealots. No homophobes. No racists. No warmongers. Just vile, greedy, self-serving, money-loving filth.

  81. 81.

    Anoniminous

    @BGinCHI:

    I was picturing people who aren’t scholars in any field just making shit up to please their corporate overlords.

    Kinda went the long way around the barn to call them MBAs.

  88. 88.

    Mandalay

    @Big R:

    Just so you know, not only has Allyson Schwartz denounced the op-ed, she signed on as a co-sponsor of a bill to expand Social Security. So, you know, think about that one before you finalize that decision.

    Denouncing just doesn’t cut it. The issue has now become that she is choosing to remain involved with a group that is hellbent on attacking social security. If she chooses to stick with the Third Way – and apparently she has – then she really doesn’t have much credibility, no matter what else she says or does.

  89. 89.

    Cervantes

    Why Do They Call Themselves the Third Way?

    Because it’s a cheap way to appeal to the “independents,” “centrists,” and Broderites who think “A pox on both your houses” is sophisticated political analysis.

  91. 91.

    Davis X. Machina

    Third Way represents Americans in the “vital center”

    The “vital center” died around the same time as the Kefauver presidential campaign.

  92. 92.

    Mandalay

    @Cervantes:

    Re “warmongers,” I guess it depends on your definition, but to me Bernie Schwartz (Loral) fits the bill.

    What is Schwartz’s link to Third Way?

    p.s. “Emeritus Honorary Co-Chair” DINO Jane Harman would certainly fit the bill of warmonger.

  93. 93.

    piratedan

    just a brief update to all that were casually following my travails…. surgery complete, back home, sore, nauseated and wiped out but happy that this huge step is complete. Now to recover and shed weight and bad eating habits. Kinda scary, I dropped 20 pounds in a week (was at an astounding 450) and shudder to think how much was was simply cut away when they did the hernia repair. My apologies into TMI territory and the rest of you may resume your college football trackings of choice. also too, Go Cats!

  96. 96.

    gene108

    @? Martin:

    Ameros.

    I’ve never under stood the wing-nut fear of the North American Union. When I point out to wing-nuts that the USA out numbers Canada 10:1 and Mexico 3:1 and all the NAU would do is allow the U.S.A. to take over Canada and Mexico they get flustered.

    They somehow cannot grok that being the largest economy on the planet and the most populated country in the Western Hemisphere gives us greater leverage over our neighbors than our neighbors would ever be able to have over us.

  97. 97.

    negative 1

    Random question but is anyone here from Austin TX? In town tonight and wandering 6th street. Recommendations?

  99. 99.

    Josie

    @piratedan: So glad it went well and you are home where you can relax and recover. I hope everything goes well for you and that you feel better every day. Keep us updated. I would like to hear how you are doing.

  100. 100.

    MikeJ

    FUCK COMCAST.

    Mizzou 4th down, Comcast does a EBSEAS test and missed the entire play. I would have liked to see how they fucked it up. Didn’t even get to see a replay.

    FUCK COMCAST.

  102. 102.

    Cervantes

    @Napoleon: Not that I know.

    But if they are related, the relationship is distant and via marriage (Allyson’s maiden name is Young).

  106. 106.

    piratedan

    @Cervantes: and to u as well C, we’ve been on opposing sides of the arguments on many occasions but it’s a good argument to have and ty for the support.

  109. 109.

    El Caganer

    “Unlike traditional think tanks, we do not house scholars who work in silos on academic research. Instead, we are built around policy teams that create high-impact written products and innovative trainings to influence today’s debates.” So they’re basically a propaganda operation.

  110. 110.

    srv

    @negative 1: Well, The Jackalope, of course, silly.

    Just hit all the bars that aren’t ridiculous, there aren’t really a lot of them. If you’re a beer lover, you could to wander west a bit to the Gingerman (Lavaca & 4th).

    If you like late night basement jazz, south on Congress a few blocks to the Elephant Room.

    Check out Franklin’s BBQ tomorrow AM (get in line) and South Congress later.

  111. 111.

    kindness

    Third way is just a device. It’s used by people who say they are important (want to be is more like it) to push their memes. The hook for the MSM is they call themselves moderates and that is all the MSM needs to latch on to the meme that Democrats have to be conservative because these ‘moderates’ say they should. It’s a perfect tool for those who use their positions in the media to swing people to what they want them to think.

    It doesn’t matter that Third Way isn’t Democratic Party. The media will say they are. They need the device to show conflict within Democrats.

    Might as well have Markos write op-eds proclaiming to be a Republican and advising Republicans what they should do. Same thing except the media would never buy that.

  113. 113.

    Tom the First

    Boy, I can’t say I know much about “The Third Party,” but based on that article, they sound like a bunch of dicks.

  115. 115.

    Mike G

    @gene108:

    They always see themselves as the victims — always.
    Even when they are a member of the dominant nation, dominant race, dominant gender and dominant religion, they piss their pants with fear and reflexive anger if an “other” has ANY influence whatsoever.

    Couple their deep-ingrained fear with their parochialism and complete fucking ignorance of the world outside their little bubble, and teatards are a propagandists’ dream.

  116. 116.

    Mandalay

    @kindness:

    It’s used by people who say they are important (want to be is more like it) to push their memes.

    That’s a polite way of phrasing it. Another interpretation is that they are very carefully framing the entire debate about Social Security in a manner that confines all funding changes to within Social Security itself. So changing demographics will dictate that the only way to keep funding Social Security is to reduce its benefits, so people will receive less, and/or have to retire later.

    Even considering alternative funding sources for the looming Social Security shortfall by ThirdWay cannot be contemplated, so tax increases are automatically off the table.

    Why? Because this policy is being proposed by rich greedy people who don’t give a fuck about anyone but themselves. They are scared shitless that the population will wholeheartedly support the idea that the rich should pay more taxes to help fund Social Security. Third Way doesn’t give a flying fuck about Social Security, but they love the idea of maintaining low taxes for the rich.

  117. 117.

    amk

    @Baud:

    Third Way represents Americans in the “vital center” — those who believe in pragmatic solutions and principled compromise, but who too often are ignored in Washington.

    If they are pissed off about being ignored, then why don’t they run their own candies for office? Then we will see if and where they pick-off votes from.

  118. 118.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Completely OT
    Raven if you’re still around, otherwise anyone:

    I need a link to that lovely poem Raven often quotes when someone’s beloved pet dies. FB friend is having to put down her 18-year-old cat and I think those lines would be comforting.

    Thanks, BJ hive mind.

  119. 119.

    Mandalay

    @Mike G:

    They always see themselves as the victims — always. Even when they are a member of the dominant nation, dominant race, dominant gender and dominant religion, they piss their pants with fear and reflexive anger if an “other” has ANY influence whatsoever.

    OT, but from personal discussions your description really captures the mentality of white South Africans back when they owned and controlled absolutely everything. Their massive sense of entitlement was exceeded only by their sense of persecution.

  120. 120.

    raven

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    We who choose to surround ourselves
    with lives even more temporary than our
    own, live within a fragile circle;
    easily and often breached.
    Unable to accept its awful gaps,
    we would still live no other way.
    We cherish memory as the only
    certain immortality, never fully
    understanding the necessary plan.
    — Irving Townsend

  124. 124.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    I just realized that i’ve been misreading one word for years — however long, however many times, you’ve had occasion to post those lines.

    Last line, “understanding the necessary plan,” I have somehow always read as “understanding the necessry pain.”

    Makes compassionate sense either way, but of course much stronger the way Townsend actually wrote it :-)

  127. 127.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven: Thanks. This is one of those FB friends of friends, but we do communicate pretty frequently in comments and likes.

    Similar to Balloon Juice, I guess.

    It’s always so tough to have to make that decision about a beloved cat, or dog, or whatever animal friend/companion. I think she’ll find Townsend’s words both moving and apt.

  130. 130.

    Cassidy

    @piratedan: Not sure if this applies to you, so fwiw. I had a friend go through one of the similar surgeries, maybe same one, and she was told to ingest lots of protein in supplementing meals. The one she was told to take is specifically marketed to people recovering from gastric surgeries along with a nice big mark up. I checked out the ingredients and there was a negligible difference from regular protein powders you’d find on any weight lifting supplement site. Maybe useful, maybe not.

  134. 134.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven: Doesn’t matter. It’s a lovely poem and at least you/we know whom to credit as author. I take it this is the same Irving Townsend who was one of the great A&R men back in the day.

  138. 138.

    BC

    @Baud: FEMA is the bogeyman during Democratic administrations. I don’t know why, they really are just around during disasters and trying to get people to a) prepare for power outages by storing water and nonperishable food for a week or two; and b) helping people who are caught up in natural disasters – disproportionately in the red states due to tornado alley and southeast flooding. But if you live in fear of the Federal govt coming for your guns and your ideology, it’s best to have some agency that can do the deed and FEMA seemingly fits the bill. After all, when there are disasters or bombings, you see a lot of people in jackets with FEMA on the back.

  141. 141.

    ? Martin

    @gene108:

    I’ve never under stood the wing-nut fear of the North American Union.

    It’s because they’re cowards. Same reason they’re gun fetishists and want to nuke other countries and distrust minorities. It’s the chickenshit party.

  143. 143.

    Fort Geek

    @Cassidy: I had a kidney removed (it was trying to kill me–cancer) a few years ago and got the same protein-supplement recommendation from the Wound Care folks. I found a protein shake (just add milk) at the local vitamin (GNC?) shop that was much cheaper than the stuff they’d originally recommended.

    IIRC, it was a container close to gallon size. About $20.

  144. 144.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    @piratedan:

    I’ll wish you the best of luck and tell you what I tell everyone who launches a weight-loss program: you will have to completely change your lifestyle, or the change will not stick. Not just in terms of what you eat, but also in terms of what you like to do in your spare time and who you like to socialize with. The statistics at the National Weight Control Registry are pretty clear that for the vast majority of people, exercise is somewhat helpful for losing weight, but is absolutely vital when it comes to keeping weight off and not regaining. Not that you should be jumping out of bed to do sit-ups right now. ;-)

  145. 145.

    Villago Delenda Est

    The thing about FEMA is it’s yet another example of Rethug/Teabagger projection. FEMA is supposed to be about disaster relief and management, but during the Reagan administration, it took a bizarre turn…actively planning for the aftermath of a “winnable” nuclear war. The Reaganites actually talked about this seriously…it’s like something right out of Dr. Strangelove.

    Ever since, FEMA has been typified as the “New World Order” government that will take over in the event of the massive disruption of everyday life caused, most likely, by Rethuglican stupidity. One of the things Democrats do is put proffesionals in charge of it. Rethuglicans fill it with as many political hacks as they can, and FEMA’s actual mission suffers for it. One of the reasons Poppy Bush lost to Clinton was the shitty handling of Hurricane Andrew’s aftermath in Florida. Sound familiar? LIke father, like son, like vile bitch of a wife/mother.

  146. 146.

    Dave

    These are the types of groups that appeal to my mother, God love her. They appeal to well-intentioned people like her who are afraid of appearing partisan. But jeez, when the main goal of groups like Third Way is to steal SS, it’s more than OK to be partisan.

  147. 147.

    Dave

    These are the types of groups that appeal to my mother, God love her. They appeal to well-intentioned people like her who are afraid of appearing partisan. But jeez, when the main goal of groups like Third Way is to steal SS, it’s more than OK to be partisan.

  149. 149.

    Lurking Canadian

    @? Martin: A North American Union would be American, but it would not be Republican, unless Canada and Mexico were annexed without citizenship rights.

    From the perspective of a wingnut, adding Canada would look like adding western free states looked to the Confederacy. The Senate’s all they’ve got left. Add five or ten more staunch Democratic states (and I guess one R state, since I’ll spot them Alberta) and you’ve created a wingnut’s worst nightmare.

  150. 150.

    Pen

    @Lurking Canadian: Pretty much my thoughts exactly. The footsoldiers might just be fighting some NWA conspiracy and not understand why, but those that understand demographics and federalism know that integrating Canada and Mexico into the union would so effectively neuter the Confederacy that they’ll fight it to their last breath.

    With all of the voting restrictions and redistricting they’ve had to resort to these last few election cycles they’re basically trying to backdoor implement apartheid (and no, that has nothing to do with Mandela dying) to stay in charge, I can only imagine what they would do if we added Canada and Mexico to the mix.

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