It’s shocking to hear this from anyone other than Kthug:
Note how many deficit hawks regularly trash President Obama for not endorsing Simpson-Bowles while they continue to praise Ryan — even though Ryan voted to kill the initiative when he was a member of the commission. Here again is the double standard that benefits conservatives, proving that, contrary to establishment opinion, Obama was absolutely right not to embrace the Simpson-Bowles framework. If he had, a moderately conservative proposal would suddenly have defined the “left wing” of the debate, just because Obama endorsed it.
This is nuts. Yet mainstream journalism and mainstream moderates play right along.
[….]If our nation’s voters want to move government policy far to the right, they are entirely free to do so. But those who regard themselves as centrist have a moral obligation to make clear what the stakes are in the current debate. If supposed moderates refuse to call out the new conservatism for the radical creed it has become, their timidity will make them complicit in an intellectual coup they could have prevented.
And yet the public does seem to be getting the message about how radical the Republican party has become, at least the younger part of the public does, as evidenced by the move against the party among women under 50 immediately after the anti-contraception stuff got going.
How is it getting the message, given establishment media’s refusal to deliver it? My guess is that social media has provided an end-around conservative control of official news.
Publius
The problem with life appointments is that there is basically no democratic way to remove a judge appointed for life. They’ve basically got the same status as kings.
Something has to change. Direct election of judges doesn’t work because of the perverse system the Supreme Court enabled. I’m not sure what works.
The reasons monarchies ended in violence was that the only way to change the king was killing the king. Who will rid us of these meddlesome judges?
Xecky Gilchrist
My guess is that social media has provided an end-around conservative control of official news.
I agree, along with general Web services like blogs and easy access to international news sources. I expect we’ll see increasing attempts by the cons to control the Internet soon, so we need to keep on top of Net Neutrality and related issues.
fasteddie9318
So basically, shorter Msgr. Ethelbert Jehoshaphat Dionne, Jr.:
Michele
We hear about the uninformed voter who doesn’t care about politics and to a certain extent that’s true; however, this part of the electorate does care about its bottom line and this is where any amount of faux news propaganda is just not going to have any impact. In other words, I don’t believe that the majority of the American people are as vacuous as the media make us out to be; it is a myth that we vote against our own interests, we just ignore them at critical times. Now there’s momentum building during this war on women, and this will be the catalyst to bringing the right-wing propaganda machine down.
General Stuck (on self glorifiication)
Okay, it’s Sunday night and I’m bored, so let me offer this tidbit of wisdom. The GOP is stark raving mad, and like some kind of alien creature in The Thing, with a weird and unscientific ability to morph into any monster it wants to.
All it needs is contact with the political world, and off we go into a pol genesis with many heads arms and legs, all operating independent of each other, snapping, growing, kicking and pissing into the wind. – and all of it, seemingly driven by an insatiable desire to locate and probe, a human uterus , for gawd noes what and why.
Gawd hep us if in a dark northern alley, it ever runs into Sarah Palin . Stick a farck in us, the end.
Now ever body kiss my ass.
TaMara (BHF)
Totally off topic but WTF?
Palin Hosts Today Show
DougJ, Head of Infidelity
@TaMara (BHF):
I’ll do something about this later, not so much because it bothers me that much, but because all mention of Sarah Palin is bad for Republicans.
TaMara (BHF)
@DougJ, Head of Infidelity: I’m with you, it’s not so much that it bothers me, it’s just unfathomable. I guess I’d thought she’d gone away…you know for the most part. I can think of a couple of million people who might host the Today show before someone slaps their forehead and says, “I know who can co-host this week.”
EDIT: And by “do something about it” I’m hoping you mean use your magic powers and make it an April Fool’s joke.
BGinCHI
@TaMara (BHF): I assume its one-day title will be “Illiteracy Today.”
sfinny
Wonder who the guests will be with Palin. Could be fluff, could be a train wreck.
David Koch
MSNBC (sans mornin ho) has been doing a very good job hammering the right.
karl
The people who seem to be getting the message are the targets of Republican policy. Those who are unaffected still have a “pox on both houses” attitude.
BGinCHI
@sfinny: Pretty sure it’s going to be Chuck Norris, Ted Nugent, and the Hutaree Militia Choir.
danielx
Fuckin’ great, E.J. Nice of him to say so, but he’s just now getting around to noticing that the Republican Party has gone batshit crazy? I mean, he can’t have been attending Georgetown cocktail parties for all of the last thirty years.
It would have been a lot nicer if he’d said “the Republicans have gone nuts”, and kept saying it, ten years ago. Or twenty. Evidently it’s permissible for him to say it now because the Villagers, may they (mostly) be eaten by rats, have finally gotten around to noticing that the Republicans have gone crazier than a shithouse mouse.
SatanicPanic
@TaMara (BHF): I predict a ratings bonanza for… whatever other shows are on at Today’s timeslot.
Anoniminous
From the link:
Emphasis added to highlight how fucking stupid the GOP is in general and Ms. Fagen is in particular.
General Stuck (on self glorifiication)
Sarah Palin, American Alice.
David Koch
@DougJ, Head of Infidelity:
Just wait until Tampa.
She’ll be boiling rabbits and screaming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuQwlvR820I , doing everything to steal Romney’s spotlight.
slag
@TaMara (BHF): April Fools?
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Xecky Gilchrist: Exactly all of that. Social media allows the public to go around the MSM, in both directions. Wingnutz haz twitters too.
sfinny
@BGinCHI: Well then it will just be a happy family reunion. I was hoping for Zbigniew Brzezinski.
Polish the Guillotines
@General Stuck (on self glorifiication):
Edited for accuracy.
Martin
@slag: Indeed
slag
@Martin: Christ I’m getting old. But at least I know who Tori Spelling is!
BGinCHI
@Martin: I wonder what Minaj is going to do to Tori Spelling live that constitutes a “performance.”
__
Can’t help but hope the verb “spanking” is involved.
Origuy
@Martin: With special guest Victoria Jackson.
Narcissus
Wait Palin is hosting the Today show?
Am I in the bizarro universe?
amk
@General Stuck (on self glorifiication): Now you get to tag whatever you want behind your nym? Part of cole’s vista moment ?
Gex
Hence the net neutrality battle. They know they can’t control the message until they can control the Internet a bit more. Like shutting down a site on anybody’s say so. Then Breitbart-like ghouls will just report any “libtard” site they ever encounter.
A.J.
Been saying it for a couple years – spend your ad dollars to destroy conservatism, not a candidate. Voters say they are conservative when they aren’t. Define every great piece of legislation and show where conservatives blocked or delayed for decades EVERY ONE OF THEM! Conservatism, or whatever they think is conservatism, is the real enemy.
Anya
@Narcissus: For that day, they might change the name to: Word Salad Today.
Gex
@TaMara (BHF): Good for them if they think they can control her mouth any better than McCain and the GOP could.
JCT
The wingnuts grabbed the third rail with both hands re: contraception. It’s truly THE universal experience among women. Everyone has had to contemplate what form to use and how to get it. And often had difficulty with both issues. It defines our ability to direct our life’s path, not to mention treat our health. Truly transcends religious and political beliefs. And the thought that a bunch of OLD guys want to screw around with this for no apparent reason (besides Hahahahaha, we still control you BITCHEZ) went way beyond the pale. Every single woman I know was pissed at this. Really pissed – not to mention it seems to have awakened my daughter’s generation.
One of my favorite wingnut responses was the (traitor) crazy woman in my legislature (SIGH, Arizona) – who had a big sad because her “tell your boss why you need OCP” bill died. “I was sure I had the votes”. Yes, until the wives of your Neanderthal colleagues threatened to use their concealed weapons – carefully aimed below the belt.
Can’t wait for Mittsters town halls – will be nicely planted with women to ask him why he wants to be in their bedroom all the time. Bank on it.
And hah, re: Palin. What a crazy thing to do. The “problem” is that folks may tune in to see the wreckage.
eemom
The Palin Today show thing has something to do with Katie Couric being on some other morning show. Saw it over at memeorandum, didn’t bother clicking the link.
eemom
here
BGinCHI
@eemom: In a saner country, Couric would be the dumbest woman in the world.
srv
Soros needs to buy a network and put Sarah on all the time.
Redshift
@Publius:
Apparently the sole actually good idea in Rick Perry’s campaign platform was one to amend the Constitution to establish terms for Supreme Court justices, specifically set so that one would be appointed each presidential term. There’s probably some way to game that, but it’s got to be better than what we’ve got (which is definitely being gamed by conservatives, appointing younger justices since they don’t have to be wise or accomplished, they just have to be committed Federalist Society fanatics.)
For lower court judges, I don’t know, but perhaps something similar would work.
PeakVT
@Redshift: Two per term (1st and 3rd year) would be better, which would lead to complete turnover of the SC in 18 years. I don’t know if lower cours have the problem of wackaloon judges hanging on forever, but if they do a simple 25 or 30 year term would suffice.
Villago Delenda Est
This drives the vermin of the Village batshit insane, too.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer group of quislings.
David Koch
Chimpanzee >>>> Palin
JoyfulA
@TaMara (BHF): And look at the guests listed! No wonder I haven’t watched that show in 20 years.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
@General Stuck (on self glorifiication):
i think she is more like the american “vera”. america is just one giant truck stop diner to republicans.
mdblanche
@David Koch: Devolution in action!
A Humble Lurker
Centrists are people who want to mail you fruit without appearing insane. So they need a basket, because if someone just mails you a piece of fruit by itself, you’re like WTF?
As outlined here in this joke at 2:17:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jejz0g8u9NE
In other words, they want a nice package for the crazy conservative batshit so no one realizes they’re just getting nasty rotten piece of fruit.
Mike E
Sarah Palin can lay out all the newspapers and magazines she likes to peruse but was afraid to mention to Ms. Couric–sorta like a combination do over and Oprah book club for the scratch n sniff set.
cckids
Well, as I heard it, Today has Palin, GMA has Couric, and CBS’s morning show has Oprah; all this week. I know if I was inclined to turn on some show before I’d had coffee in the morning, which of those three I’d prefer to hear. Sarah Palin’s voice 1st thing in the morning? WTF indeed.
piratedan
was wondering if something like a 20 year term makes any sense, it would allow a jurist more than enough time to make an impact and establish a legacy and allow for a more manageable transition for the folks appointed to the court and stepping down from it. That way the minimum is serving under three different administrations but perhaps as many as five.
JCT
@cckids: Imagine the fun of watching your juice glasses explode from the screeching .
sherparick
I must admit I take the “prodigal son” response to this, and say welcome finally E.J. to the Ancient and Hermetic Order of the Shrill. Thanks E.J. for finally catching on. Perhaps a few more will realize that Ryan both crazy and evil.
Right now merely preserving the New Deal and Great Society programs (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) and regulation (both economcie and environmental) like the FDA, SEC, and EPA is considered “hippie” and “unserious” by the Tom Friedmans and Micheal Dowds of the world. Actually, we are the conservativs now, preserving cherished institutions necessary for the dignity and security of the majority of our fellow citizens from radical destroyers and utopian dreamers.
Bruce S
Actually, if you were reading Dionne’s commentaries on the Tea Party, this isn’t “shocking” at all. I know he’s the worstest man for his lame columns on the contraception-health care brouhaha, but that’s more idosyncratic in context of his Catholicism rubbing up against his liberalism, than this is in context of a pretty consistent level of “shrill” on the Tea Party takeover of the GOP and the ultra-right hijacking of debates over taxation and spending. Nothing new here.
...now I try to be amused
@sherparick:
I’ve been thinking that for a long time. We’re the real conservatives, and self-described “conservatives” are radicals. Mind you, maybe the end result will be no regression, but no progress either, which would make today’s loony “conservatives” more effective than the conservatives of the past.