Friday, April 18, 2008

The bird and the kitchen sink


Less than hour ago, I wrote that this "Obama flips the bird" controversy was silly. And I guess I still feel that way. Still -- this gesture is not accidental, and it certainly is not presidential. Or has Dubya permanently redefined the term "presidential"?

I'd suggest that Hillary has more class in her little finger than Obama has in his largest digit. One thing is certain: Obama's crowd behaves in a bestial fashion.

"The kitchen sink." I've been seeing this phrase a lot throughout blogostan left. According to this meme, a Clinton campaign memo exists somewhere out there in which she vows to throw everything at Obama "including the kitchen sink." A Kos diarist even referred to this as the "nefarious" kitchen sink strategy.

Does such a memo exist, using that phrase?

Certainly, I have not seen Hillary's campaign resorting to particularly aggressive tactics, although the progblogs have tried very hard to convey such an impression. She has, in fact, been far too soft. On the other hand, an Obama campaign memo does exist -- I can dig it up, if pressed -- which vowed to use hyper-aggressive tactics against Hillary.

The "kitchen sink" accusation is another progblog exercise in bass-ackwards absurdity. This claim stands history on its head.

We know that the progblogs -- which have become a cesspool of political toxicity -- function as part of the Obama team. The blogs are not cheerleaders; they're linebackers. Whenever Obama's oppo researchers unearth some obscure-but-useful Clinton quote from ten years ago, you can expect to see that quote featured on the front page of Kos and Huffington Post and similar venues. You're kidding yourself if you believe that unpaid bloggers do that kind of labor. They certainly do not do it independently, making the same finds at the same time.

The only question is: How did this situation come about? Does coin exchange hands? I suspect so. But other motives exist.

The marvelous blogger Anglachel offers these thoughts:
What I see is that something I've been blogging about since the 2006 electoral cycle (go read some of my archive posts and see) has finally sunk in - the unifying principle of netroots places like Daily Kos, FDL, TPM and HuffPo *is* destroying the Clintons as political actors in this country. Whatever they may have started out to do, this is what they have become.

What is more, as BTD at TalkLeft has been discussing over the last few weeks, these people have jackshit zero loyalty to the Democratic Party, even as they try to seize control of the power (and money, never forget the money) structure of the organization. If the party will not join them in political fratricide against some of the most loyal of party loyalists, then they will gladly destroy the party.

These are the same people who trashed Obama as part of the Clinton/DLC cabal in 2006. Was there a lick of truth in their words about him then? No. Is there any greater honesty in their adulation of the Precious now? Ha! They like Obama for the same reason Karl Rove likes the guy - he's their Clinton killer.
These people are the Left's mirror image of the Movement Conservatives, not their opponents. They divide the Left for their own emotional satisfaction, and regard the party rank and file as internal enemies. And, like adolescent narcissists everywhere, they will blame their inevitable defeats on those who tried to counsel political wisdom.
The hijacking of the netroots -- the very medium I once considered the salvation of liberalism -- constitutes the story of Campaign '08. This is a phenomenon of incalculable historic importance.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

YOU sir are the one acting bestial. Like an animal, this blog is totally lacking in any form of reason and rational thought. And in an animalistic way you discard all reason simply to fulfill your urge to trash Obama for things Hillary is also doing.

"Less than hour ago, I wrote that this "Obama flips the bird" controversy was silly. And I guess I still feel that way. Still -- this gesture is not accidental, and it certainly is not presidential. Or has Dubya permanently redefined the term "presidential"?"

Well which is it? Did he flip the bird or didn't he? You don't seem to be sure. No he didn't flip the bird, he made a funny comment against Clinton, and his supporters laughed while he scratched his face? Did a couple morons in the audience possibly think he might have been stupid enough to flip the bird so Hillary could replay the video a million times? MAYBE. What else did you see in that clip? UFOs?

Anonymous said...

Again, I couldn't agree more: I was prepared to dismiss this whole flippin' business as a distraction and a non-issue, but I am now confinced that there's some there there.

You know, everything about this guy is beginning to set up my BS-meter.

I would love to see a copy of his birth certificate. I doubt his parents were legally married, as his father was already traditionally married back in Kenya. He's very vague about this in his book.

Normally I wouldn’t give a hoot about this sort of stuff, but we need to nail down Barack on every little detail of the truth.

I’d love to see whether or not at birth he was legally Barack Hussein Dunham.

Again – I don’t care whether he was named Barack Hussein Obama, or Dolly Parton Dunham at birth. But I think some of the Obama-bots would blush if their hero was named Barack Hussein Dunham at birth.

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe what I saw. I know he intentionally used his middle finger in such a way to convey his most desired gesture. He played the reaction like harp. If you watch the two men over his left shoulder, they were told what he did by their inability to see him, but they seemed gleeful when they were included in on the "signal".

I am suspicious of KOS. I didn't know he is a reformed Repub. I question his being free of the holds of his previous alliance. He is too mean and spiteful to be a peacenic of a Democrat. His bunch of cultist along with Move On and other grey haired hippy folks are so wrapped up in their own brand of democracy that they have no respect for others ideas and philosophical views. I wonder if KOS felt the same way when he found out BHO, his lord and master, wasn't wearing a flag pin as when I saw BHO use his gesture. I felt sick. I am not so impressed with Obama's upbringing. He was raised by white folks, and that gesture is more in keeping with some of our white southern folk or some of the women drivers sporting Kerry/Edwards stickers on their cars. BHO's maternal Grandmother broke through glass ceilings while dealing with her daughter's marriage, divorce, marriage and leaving her child, and so on. I do not for a moment believe his grandmother had the time to instill Kansas values in her grandson. Kansasans must be very ashamed of their Obama.

If the rurals in the midwest were to witness this gesture, they would realize he lies about being raised with the same values as they. They would not be so vulgar or stoop so low to show off. He has learned that behavior from those who would do it at a pulpit or another podium of worship.

Thank you for featuring this on your site today. And please believe me when I say I am not a prude, just more polite.

Karen KB

Anonymous said...

What does it matter whether his parents were legally married or not? Why are you doing this?

What makes you get up in the morning, don your red robes and act as chief inquisitor, the judge and the jury?

WHO exactly are YOU?

Anonymous said...

Also:

Hillary has rightly taken some journo flack for droppin' her "g's" when she speaks to the common folk. Fair enough.

Why doesn't anyone question why Hawaii-born, Indonesia and Hawaii-raised, prep-school, Columbia/Harvard Obama speaks with the cadences and ring of a Southern preacher?

John said...

Joe, please study this angle of the finger event.

And don't forget to watch the woman in white with the pink blouse...odd.

John
SluggoJD

Anonymous said...

"Why doesn't anyone question why ... Obama speaks with the cadences and ring of a Southern preacher?"

Because he learned oratory from masters of the art.

Anonymous said...

" Whenever Obama's oppo researchers unearth some obscure-but-useful Clinton quote from ten years ago, you can expect to see that quote featured on the front page of Kos and Huffington Post and similar venues."

Isn't that exactly what you do against Obama?

" You're kidding yourself if you believe that unpaid bloggers do that kind of labor. They certainly do not do it independently, making the same finds at the same time."

What are you admitting to here?

Anonymous said...

Origin of 'Kitchen Sink'!

"After struggling for months to dent Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy, the campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is now unleashing what one Clinton aide called a “kitchen sink” fusillade against Mr. Obama, pursuing five lines of attack since Saturday in hopes of stopping his political momentum."
That's from the NYT's. Feb. 26 '08
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/us/politics/26clinton.html

Joseph Cannon said...

Scott, I thank you so much for that citation. If I had money, I'd hire you as a research assistant.

You always find stuff that helps me when you try to knock me down!

It's pretty clear that the phrase "kitchen sink" does not appear in the document, which is about "five lines of attack." A far cry from the "anything goes" approach ascribed to Hillary in progblog legend.

If you dig into the NYT piece, you see confirmation of my pint -- her campaign has been too soft:

"With a crucial debate on Tuesday night in Ohio, both Mrs. Clinton’s advisers and independent political analysts said that, by going negative against Mr. Obama at a time when polls in Texas and Ohio show a tightening race, Mrs. Clinton risked alienating voters. Mrs. Clinton has always been more popular with voters when she appeared sympathetic and a fighter; her hard-edged instinct for negative politics has usually turned off the public.

“There’s a general rule in politics: A legitimate distinction which could be effective when drawn early in the campaign often backfires and could seem desperate when it happens in the final hours of a campaign,” said Steve McMahon, a Democratic strategist working for neither candidate."

Thanks again, Scott!

But try to hold off on the hero-worship stuff. Even when I was on Obama's side, I never could understand why people thought he had great oratorical skill.

Anonymous said...

"The hijacking of the netroots -- the very medium I once considered the salvation of liberalism -- constitutes the story of Campaign '08. This is a phenomenon of incalculable historic importance."

Amen to that. I claim no great expertise or inside knowledge, but I sure as hell know of some things anyone interested should read to move toward understanding this.

WPP Group Profile
http://preview.tinyurl.com/5x6epe
P.R. Firms advising leading candidates have interesting connections and people (to say the least).

Is The Devil in Your Laptop? On the reality of Internet Ops (but not directly addressing our question here). Social engineering, profiling,... software. (Ever notice Kos has a lot of polls? Not that would be at all necessary to put the user data into a database, and not that there aren't a lot of other ways to profile the users, but I keep wondering...) It's child's play to put all that happens at DailyKos into a searchable database. I have no idea if it's happening or not, and I don't believe it's necessary really, but I know how certain evil idiots love their toys.

I did this as a university student - sociograms, studying subcultures, individuals and their relationships, etc. (Most people don't know how "Anthropology" started!) In the 60's my buddies working on graduate degrees were heavily into Social Psychology. Ops, government funding, recruiting, research... This stuff is real to me as the horrors of Iraq.

For context, go to Jeff Steinberg's weekly update of April 14 (video) here: http://www.larouchepac.com/
It is prominent, easy to stream/see... almost an hour, I think. You have to understand the stakes in this election.

To focus on the "hijacking of the netroots" question, I've been casually observing it for like six years. Seems to me there are paid operatives, but not so many. I think they are directed (as opposed to getting paid monthly to just stir up shit.) But with the level of mindlessness many of our people have been reduced to, a whole lot happens on a larger plane--manipulating popular opinion, and a lot of the crap we see could almost happen without more focused manipulation.

But when you have an audience in the millions, and regular posters in (what?) the high hundreds, a big temptation to "research" and fuck around kicks in.

In the Laptop report you will be shocked to read how many people are regular MySpace users.

Enough. Hope I have said something useful.

The way out of this is not at all impossible. People just have to be brought to understand what's happening for a good start.

Gary McGowan

gary said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZsWqqlcZrw