I’m not sure why, but this song captures my political mood perfectly. Consider this an open thread.
DougJ has been a Balloon Juice writer since 2009.
To be young, gifted, and conservative
This (via Oliver Willis who also describes a Twitter exchange with Joe Scarborough) really cracks me up:
For much of the past decade, young conservatives enjoyed an array of job opportunities in the Republican-controlled Congress and at insulated, well-funded nonprofit organizations. But since Democrats gained control in 2006, many prized slots on Senate and House committees started going to the new majority. And now, there’s no Republican administration in power to offer jobs to its own.
Young conservatives could apply for regular jobs, they acknowledge…
[…]At the Union Pub, Dustin Siggins, 24, says he sometimes uses humor to deflect the awkwardness of being on the margins of his generation. “I met a girl today at the gym from Boston College. She was getting a law degree from George Washington. She was cute,” he says. “But she wants to work for the ACLU, and I said, ‘Oh, you’re one of those.’ “
Later, in a phone interview, Siggins says he struggles with some of his party’s more culturally orthodox ideals. “Because I am in this generation and was raised in a pro-gay-marriage era, I am only a little bit against gay marriage, but only a little, like 53 percent to 47,” he says. “I have about a dozen gay friends, 30 or 20, and they would all back me up. In college, I used to have lunch with them. . . . We went ice skating once.”
I bear these kids no ill will, but they probably should look for “regular jobs” at some point.
David Brooks thinks the future may be bright for these Burkean boys and girls, anyway:
In a New York Times column last June, David Brooks wrote that a new commentariat of young conservative writers — such as Julian Sanchez, Megan McArdle and Will Wilkinson — has come of age “as official conservatism slipped into decrepitude . . . put off by the shock-jock rhetorical style of Ann Coulter.”
Update: Burke makes a big appearance in Brooks’ column, natch:
As a consequence, they are heterodox and hard to label. These writers grew up reading conservative classics — Burke, Hayek, Smith, C.S. Lewis — but have now splayed off in all sorts of quirky ideological directions.
Something tells me young Dustin and his friends have splayed off a lot too.
Brooks does also mention some more conservative writers (than McMeghan and friends), like the 1994 Heisman trophy winner who wrote the Sam’s Club book with Ross Douthat.
Zombie lies and the liberal media
Sheryl Gay Stolberg in in the liberal New York Times pimps the marsh mouse myth:
Mr. Gingrich sees the stimulus bill as his party’s ticket to a revival in 2010, as Republicans decry what they see as pork-barrel spending for projects like marsh-mouse preservation.
Update: I’m late to the party, I see. Greg Sargent has more:
It turns out, however, that earlier drafts of the story did describe the claim as “misleading” — but Times editors removed that description from the copy, leaving the assertion to stand on its own. An email from the author of the story to a reader confirms this.
You say you want a revolution
Via Leo in the comments, here’s a thread at Hannity.com:
This cannot be parodied.
They try to make them do a revote, I say no, no, no
A few days ago, Washington Post reporter Shailagh Murray suggested — on the basis of nothing — that there should be a revote in Minnesota. Apparently, that’s what Coleman is shooting for now:
But five weeks into the election contest trial, the court has repeatedly issued rulings that narrow Coleman’s chances of either collecting enough newly counted ballots or throwing out already counted ballots — or some combination of the two. So in recent days, the Coleman legal team has become increasingly shrill in its attacks not just on the court but on the entire electoral process in Minnesota, getting closer every day to outright calling for the Nov. 4 election be declared null and void and a whole new election be held between Coleman and Franken. And now Coleman himself has suggested that a do-over election may be necessary.
Washington Post reporters do seem to like the idea in general for some reason (from today’s chat):
Paul Kane: As for a do-over election, there is precedent for it. 1974, New Hampshire Senate race. The US Senate ultimately decided it could not seat anyone, it was unable to determine the winner, therefore a do-over election in the fall of ’75 was held.
[…..]
N.H. Senate Race 1974: That race was much closer than the Franken/Coleman race — at some points in the process less than ten votes. There were a couple of recounts, and the leader changed back and forth in each recount. So finally a new election was held. The Minnesota gap is much wider and Coleman hasn’t come close to getting back in the lead since he lost it. No basis for following the NH example.
Paul Kane: I remember emailing a bunch of coworkers at almost 4 am election night, er, morning. With a subject line of: Franken is trailing by 75 — YES, SEVENTY-FIVE — votes out of nearly 3 million cast.
Sorry, but this race has been incredibly close, and the lead has switched. The New Hampshire example does apply, get over it.
Shorter Paul Kane: I wrote an email about how close the Minnesota race was, therefore there should be a revote.
These guys are nothing if not self-absorbed.
They try to make them do a revote, I say no, no, noPost + Comments (129)
There were bells on the hill, but I never heard them ringing
Burkean bells are going off everywhere! Sully….Ross what’s his name…Joe Klein.
They all talk about him like we’re supposed to know who he is, so I’m guessing this isn’t new. But just to be sure, I’d like to know: has it always been like this or is this like when the New Yorker suddenly decided it was time to start talking about Rem Koolhaas and the guy who wrote A Man Without Qualities?
Who was Edmund Burke anyway? I don’t have time to read his wiki entry let alone his books. Why do conservatives love him so much? Did he courageously oppose something important? Did Luna or Rush ever do any songs about his philosophy? How is he connected with Oakeshott and Hayek (I don’t know who they are either) and Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand and Leo Strauss?
Update: Kristol gets his Burke on:
In the short term, Republicans need to show a tactical agility and political toughness far greater than their predecessors did in the 1960s and the 1930s. “Else they will fall,” to quote the great conservative Edmund Burke, “an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle,” reduced to the unpleasant role of bystanders or the unattractive status of complainers, as Barack Obama makes history.
In this same post, Kristol claims:
Conservatism is more sophisticated than it was back then (in the 30s and 60s).
Could that possibly be true? Was there some 30s and 60s equivalent of an even dumber Joe the Plumber?
There were bells on the hill, but I never heard them ringingPost + Comments (177)
Is it because he is brown?
Ann Althouse, via Sully, on criticism of Bobby Jindal:
Expressed by Josh Marshall (“absolutely cringeworthy”), Andrew Sullivan (“Jindal’s entrance reminded one of Mr Burns gamboling toward a table of ointments”), and others.
Why are all these people so confident that they are not manifesting racism? There’s just something about this man that doesn’t seem right, that you don’t care to examine exactly what it is, but you know it deep down in your gut somehow. Seriously. How do you know this is not racism?
ADDED: Andrew Sullivan proffers an answer to my question: “Maybe because there is not a trace of evidence of any kind that we are. Unless comparing Jindal to Kenneth the Page or Mr Burns taps unknown wells of racist hate in my heart. I mean, seriously.” I think deeper reflection is needed. Why the urge to paint him as a white white man? Where did that come from? Of course, there are unknown wells inside us all. When you have an instinctive response to a person of another race, why not seek knowledge?
Is it some stereotype that Indian-Americans are like “white white” people? I thought the stereotype was that they drove cabs, owned 7-11’s, and made their kids win spelling bees. This is so dumb on so many levels. It reminds me a bit of this exchange on Ali G:
Andy Rooney: Ok, that’s enough.I can’t do this. I can’t do this.
Ali G: Why not?
Andy Rooney: It’s not going good.
Ali G: Is it because I is black?
Andy Rooney: You’re black?
Ali G: For real.
Andy Rooney: Who’s black?
Ali G: Yo, I is.