Why have there been a string of racist articles in prominent conservative news outlets by prominent conservative pundits saying prominent conservative things?
Bueller? Bueller?
Meanwhile, George Zimmerman has launched a PayPal account to collect bounties for killing black teens. The money will be spent on "living expenses and legal fees." Now you can directly subsidize hate crimes!
Showing posts with label Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Show all posts
Monday, April 9, 2012
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Best the Right Can Do
Looking at Memeorandum today, it looks like Conservatives got everything they wanted. Most of the day's blog discussion seems to be about the serial felon James O'Keefe's (probably doctored) attack of already-outgoing NPR executive Ron Schiller. The focus is on a traditional Right Wing enemy (non-corporate media), not the unbelievably unpopular Republican agenda in Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Ohio of stripping workers of their bargaining rights. Nor is the discussion focused the possible economic plunge that the proposed Republican cuts to jobs would cause.
It seems clear looking at the broader media picture that the rest of the media are not biting on this story. CBS News and ABC News has the story on the front pages of their websites, but buried with other links. On MSNBC, the link doesn't even show up in the splash window; you have to scroll down to find it. The story won't be out front on the broadcasts. NYTimes is dutifully covering the story, as are other traditional media outlet blogs. The Washington Times presents a very odd anti-NPR angle on the whole affair.
My editorial judgment is that the story simply has no pull with a normal viewer/reader/voter.
It seems clear looking at the broader media picture that the rest of the media are not biting on this story. CBS News and ABC News has the story on the front pages of their websites, but buried with other links. On MSNBC, the link doesn't even show up in the splash window; you have to scroll down to find it. The story won't be out front on the broadcasts. NYTimes is dutifully covering the story, as are other traditional media outlet blogs. The Washington Times presents a very odd anti-NPR angle on the whole affair.
My editorial judgment is that the story simply has no pull with a normal viewer/reader/voter.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Dictator Worship
No news on Superbowl Sunday in America, including the much-heralded but little-viewed O'Reilly interview with President Obama.
On the other hand, we get this tidbit of vaguely unhinged Palin worship, admiringly declaring "This is what an iron fist in a velvet glove looks like." It's a weird moment. Iron fists are the last things that leaders should possess in a democracy. Democratic leaders neither rely on the threat nor exercise of force in order to create change. Politics is the alternative to force, instead using persuasion to forge consensus around national policy and setting a majoritarian direction.
If this is what Palin-worshipers see in their Tsarina, perhaps it's why only 3 out of every ten Americans approve of Sarah Palin. Americans do not need a leader to singlehandedly return them to greatness because American greatness has always been the story of small successes in the aggregate, fueling national progress. America does not need a dictator, so why would a mainstream Conservative blog pine for one?
On the other hand, we get this tidbit of vaguely unhinged Palin worship, admiringly declaring "This is what an iron fist in a velvet glove looks like." It's a weird moment. Iron fists are the last things that leaders should possess in a democracy. Democratic leaders neither rely on the threat nor exercise of force in order to create change. Politics is the alternative to force, instead using persuasion to forge consensus around national policy and setting a majoritarian direction.
If this is what Palin-worshipers see in their Tsarina, perhaps it's why only 3 out of every ten Americans approve of Sarah Palin. Americans do not need a leader to singlehandedly return them to greatness because American greatness has always been the story of small successes in the aggregate, fueling national progress. America does not need a dictator, so why would a mainstream Conservative blog pine for one?
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Revisiting Repeal- the 14th Amendment
The recent furor over the 14th amendment caught pretty much everybody by surprise, and most commentators wrote it of as a nativist push to expunge Birthright citizenship from the Constitution. This explanation certainly has some truth to it, and it fits the overarching narrative of the Tea Party as a disorganized band lacking the discipline to stick to realistic policy demands. The repeal-the14th push was given voice by far-right politicians who have been attempting to please the energized right wing.
But I suspect there might be something more important at play. Maybe I'm still reeling from paranoia after reading the New Yorker
(subscription) article profiling the Koch Brothers network of influence. In the wake of that article, I would find it hard to believe that any 'spontaneous' outpouring of support from Tea Party activists and paid organizers is anything other than a coordinated effort... at something.
But I suspect there might be something more important at play. Maybe I'm still reeling from paranoia after reading the New Yorker
(subscription) article profiling the Koch Brothers network of influence. In the wake of that article, I would find it hard to believe that any 'spontaneous' outpouring of support from Tea Party activists and paid organizers is anything other than a coordinated effort... at something.
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