Sep 16 2009
An Early I Told You So
I have been starting to raise the alarm bells that the ‘true conservatives’ where back at their same old bag of dumb tricks, pissing off natural political allies, alienating centrists and moderates, and in essence keeping them out of power and the liberals in power.
Susan Estrich pens an example of what I tried to say about Beck and others, about how they were more a negative than a positive. That these Pyrrhic victories were making it impossible for centrist dems and independents to feel comfortable in another conservative alliance:
Getting rid of Van Jones, the co-founder of one of the groups now organizing the boycotts, is not going to slow the movement. Quite the contrary. It may strengthen the cause. When folks start telling someone who has been a contributor at Fox for 10 years (me) to cut out the Claritin, you know it’s spreading.
The same day, I found myself sitting with a group of people who share my strong commitment to the security of the state of Israel. To a one, they supported Hillary or McCain. To a one, they have “issues” with President Obama: These folks are worried about the economy and the deficit, worried about terrorism around the world and, yes, deeply worried about what they see as ambivalence from this administration to the threats faced by Israel. But — and this is my point — despite all of that, every one of these people is now an angry Obama supporter. Not just an Obama supporter, but an angry one.
The right may be mad as hell, but I’ve got news for Congressman Joe Wilson and his know-nothing cronies: You have turned your natural allies, people who might have agreed with you on properly raised criticisms, who might have agreed with you on substance, into your enemies.
Not critics, enemies.
There have been others, like Charles Johnson of LGF, who raised the warning bells that well meaning and nice people (e.g., Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit) were being extremely counter productive in their constant, over-the-top use of Hitler and Nazi imagery when discussing our young, inexperienced and probably well intentioned president.
When Obama starts rounding up people and sending them to concentration camps, then you can use the Nazi connections. Until then you are equating petty theft with mass murder, and it does no one any good to do so. It makes the right looks stupid, it makes Obama look like a victim (instead of inept), and it makes the Obama voters who are uneasy with the Obama’s performance cringe at changing their alliances.
As usual, the far right is ready, willing and able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They are coming on too hot, too haughty, too arrogant. Instead of a respectful “things are not going right, let’s try and fix it” they are just gleefully slinging mud and denigrating everyone.
I seriously doubt everyone in ACORN is evil and trying to break the law. We need to stop painting each other with broad strokes from occasional miscreant and malcontent. Estridge should not have called Rep Joe Wilson a racist simply because he could not take any more of President Obama’s BS. Wilson made a mistake and offered his apologies immediately and personally.
Get over it. But on the flip side, the far right has exaggerated the intentions and heart of many people in the Obama White House who sincerely believed their flawed beliefs. The political industrial complex is angry, because as a whole they are abysmal failures. That includes Estrideg, Obama and Wilson. It does not include President Bush, who kept his promise and kept it classy his entire 8 years, no matter the muck thrown at him.
I also condemn the established and those ‘up and coming’ pundits who think crass is kewl, and can fill in for thoughtful ideas. Begala and Glenn Greenwald are poison to America’s Democracy. Sadly, so is Pat Buchannan. I am waiting to see if the saintly side of Jim Hoft will win out over the demagogue who comes out when he blogs. I see more and more of the right falling into the Begala/Greenwald gutter mode. It is what killed the GOP and conservatism.
President Obama can beat back any hot headed, insulting argument they way President Bush did, by simply being calm and taking the high rode. The only way to push Obama is to convince sufficient numbers of his supporters to oppose him and align with the opposition. Insults will not help this happen, or make it happen.
Update: But this is not a premature “I told you so”, according to this news:
Realignment is dead. President Barack Obama and Democrats blew it.
Dealignment has arrived. Republicans blew it, and are now so repellent that Americans increasingly reject both political parties.
In the latest Washington Post/ABC poll, 43 percent of voters labeled themselves independents.
DC is not the shining city on the hill, that is America. It is now the swamp which needs cleaning out.
Ha! 🙂
We love you, AJ! 🙂
Did you see this, AJ:
On 17, Sept 1939 The Soviets invaded Poland.
On 17, Sept 2009 Obama surrendered the defensive shield that was to protect Poland.
Interesting coincidence, huh….not.
Do you know how much Johnson hates Sarah Palin? That’s why Andrew Sullivan, who was the prime purveyor of the incredibly nasty slime about Sarah Palin’s special needs child is now eager to be Johnston’s ally. Watch and see – Johnson will be among the first from now on to attack Sarah Palin’s family whenever he gets the chance. Nothing can possibly justify that.
Do you know that he’s an AGW fanatic? (gives the lie to his claim to be “scientific”?) He doesn’t know the first thing about scientific analysis or scientific reasoning. All he knows is hatred. And right now he hates anyone who hints that Obama might not be the Messiah.
There’s no reason for honest people to be enabling slime like Johnson. Making excuses like “oh, everyone is so mean to him, that’s why he’s so warped” is the same kind of excuse that Al Qaeda’s apologists have tried to make for them. It doesn’t work, because everyone has to take responsibility for their OWN actions. No one is forced to spit hatred unless that hatred was inside them from the start. Johnson is a sick and warped individual who has finally has shown his true nature to the world.
I wonder how Johnston is going to spin Obama’s abandonment of Eastern Europe as a good thing? Because you know he will. And all the excuses in the world won’t justify it.
I read the Estrich column. Estrich is not your friend. As someone mentioned, if scratched, she bleeds blue. The last I heard, Beck’s ratings were up substantially after the “boycott”. I suspect this boycott is working as well as the Whole Foods Boycott. Have you heard anything about that lately? Me, either.
Estrich starts giving herself away when she talks about Israel. What she is telling you is that she, and all her friends, are willing to abandon Israel and support Obama because of Joe Wilson and the right. Well, that sure seems like a strange action for a “staunch supporter” of Israel.
She further gives herself away when she starts agreeing with Dowd and her take on racism. You have to be a public intellectual to believe that if Obama were giving the same speech, but he happened to be white, Joe Wilson would not have the same reaction.
No, I don’t believe Estrich at all. She is just like one of those people who starts a comment with “I am a Republican, but…”. You know they were never a Republican and you know that Estrich is not at all concerned about helping the right. She merely wants to stop the bleeding by playing the race card.
Rick
Yep, Estrich bleeds blue. That’s okay and I rather like her but she is full of it on this one.
The POTUS put himself on primetime tv to call many, many of his critics liars. Some to their faces in a venue where they could not respond. Wilson responded. The POTUS has constantly been in someone’s face being disrespectful. He has run around setting FIRES. Before you can even get to that one, he has set another.
We have a POTUS that does not show respect to anyone on the right nor even the middle America voter. He says things like “They can’t stop us” and his WH says they do not even know anything about 9/12 march. He leaves town. Major disrespect.
Beck makes me cringe but most of his facts are right. Plus I bless him for setting his own fires. About time someone understood it was time to fight fire with fire.
The latest ‘fire’ is the racist charge. This is their big gun. The silver bullet they held back for emergency.
I think Estrich & friends found the enemy because they had to drag out that bullet. What’s new? Obama has been playing this game without anyone calling him. It’s not ‘his’ problem. It always belongs to others. Ole Nancy wrote up that bad Obamacare. Sure. Rev Wright? Never heard him say all those racist things. ACORN? I only taught them for a little while and acted as their lawyer a tiny bit. A long time ago. Grandma? Look under the bus but don’t look at me. After all, Notre Dame invited me to lecture them on abortion. On & on. Estrich must be about sick by now. Finally………finally she found the enemy and that poor slob was Joe Wilson. Sure.
Meanwhile, they are setting more fires. I think they intend to burn it down.
Burn it down, indeed, that’s the plan.