"Both parties are the same"

Well, I have to concede one thing to Brad Friedman: He said the authorities in Florida would drop charges against Andy Meyer, the University of Florida attention seeker who, in a robustly brownshirted fashion, disrupted a lecture by a fine liberal politician and then violently resisted arrest. The case against him was, I thought, a slam dunk. Alas, Andy had attracted so much attention that the Florida prosecutors apparently decided not to allow a circus to form around this flea.

Oddly, Buzzflash says that Andy had done "nothing wrong" -- even though Andy's own lawyer stipulates otherwise. And now we have "THE Andrew Meyer" -- he seems to be aping Stephen Colbert aping Bill O'Reilly -- on his own site, showing his true far-right colors.

Andy comes out in favor of both Libertarianism and what we may call "conspiracism." Definition of conspiracism: "Don't bother voting, liberals -- "they" have fixed everything." Definition of Libertarianism: "If you're poor, die. Social Darwinism rules!"

It's no surprise that arrogant Andy is a piss-on-the-poor Libertarian -- he has affluent parents putting him through school and paying for his slick lawyer. (The lawyer created an entire website around one case. He must have been paid well, and I don't think the money came from Andy's paper route.) When my Dad died in '65, my mother received very small Social Security and Veterans benefits to help her raise two kids. She became a waitress and could not help me attend higher education. That life history explains why the shade of FDR will always be welcome in my house, while the ghost of Ayn Rand is not.

The real political battle in America is not Republicans vs. Democrats. It’s the ruling class, the billionaire elite vs. the people.... Hillary and Rudy, George Bush and Nancy Pelosi, politicians in both parties are taking marching orders from the super-rich who fund their campaigns.

Yes, it's our old friend the SIBPATS speech (Standard Issue Both Parties Are The Same), which I first heard when lil Andy's parents were still eating Lucky Charms while watching Scooby Doo. The basic wording has not changed -- and neither has the hidden agenda of those spreading the meme.

As you know, I saw through the SIBPATS gambit well before Andy was born. Back in 1993-94, I would see conspiracist rabble rousers give the SIBPATS speech when addressing a mixed audience; the same speakers would endorse the Gingrich revolution when talking to a more ideologically friendly audience. SIBPATS is, in short, a shuck and a jive -- yet a certain number of progressives fall for it every damn time.

Assholes spewing this shit caused 97,000 votes to go to Nader in Florida in 2000. The SIBPATS meme gave us George Bush, and this is one blogger who will never let you people forget it.

Both parties are the same? If Gore were president, we would not have had this:


This is a victim of "Whiskey Pete" in Fallujah. Look at it, Andy. Look at it, you Progressive Purist motherfuckers. Look at it, all of you who gave the "both parties are the same" speech when Gore ran. Gore would not have allowed this. YOU caused this. You are as responsible as Bush is. And I will never let you forget it.


This is a victim at Abu Ghraib. Look at it, Andy. Look at it, you Progressive Purist motherfuckers. Look at it, all of you who gave the "both parties are the same" speech when Gore ran. Gore would not have allowed this. YOU caused this. You are as responsible as Bush is. And I will never let you forget it.


This is our national budget deficit. This is how much money you owe. Look at it, Andy. Look at it, you Progressive Purist motherfuckers. Look at it, all of you who gave the "both parties are the same" speech when Gore ran. Gore would not have allowed this. YOU caused this. You are as responsible as Bush is. And I will never let you forget it.

Brad Friedman says that he does not disagree with Andy. Shame on you, Brad. If the past fifteen years have not taught you the difference between the parties, your powers of rationalization are so formidable you could argue against the blueness of the sky.

The SIBPATS speech is precisely what allowed the far right to commandeer the political process, the media, and the national dialogue. The Progressive Purists are more evil than the Republicans are.

And don't you dare try to tell me that vote fraud, not Nader, caused Gore's defeat in Florida and New Hampshire. If election rigging were that easy, and if Nader weren't doing the GOP's work, then the Republicans would not have funded him and done everything they could to make sure a vote-siphoner got on the ballot.