Steele cries ‘Uncle’. Still more drama to come from what we hear. Apparently his expenses and contracting are in his vernacular, ‘off the hook.’ PDFs are circulating around town. We suspect the dynamic is assuming its own internal logic and momentum leading to a car wreck.
We hope there is a protracted, messy food fight. With Rush opining, slapping wet-behind-the-ear Cantors et al. One huge implosion of intolerant, vitriolic ignorance. And thereby we may even discover the secrets of Cold Fusion. As Jay Cost over at RealClearPolitics writes:
Is this the end of Steele’s trouble? My gut tells me no. Frankly, I think that if the RNC is this worried about Steele – they should just get rid of him. The party’s position in government is now extremely tenuous. The 2010 midterm is of critical importance to the GOP, and the RNC is the chief source of party funds. There is little margin for error. Can the party afford a hamstrung chairman whom members have little confidence in? One can’t help but wonder if these half-measures will make things worse rather than better.
Comment says
Leo – Walt’s list seems a bit lame – can you improve?
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/27/foreign_policy_film_festival
Comment says
Yeah – lots of pundits – they all seem to have themselves at the center of the universe. A heliocentric pov would be more progressive than the pundit-centric view. The end of history of x etc
Lots of bright professors who are not geniuses, seem to think they are – they think they are breaking new ground, when they are not. Noticing banal shifts, they think they see things others do not see –
It must be frustrating to be on the other side of Posner in court or in class – when he would be summarily dissmissive of what he considers settled or passe or infantile.
Shorter Posner – these religious-cons are no longer very useful are they? On to the next thing.
It will be interesting to see how the rise of the Asia – and the coming flood of new ideas, marginalizes and renders many US and UK academics into a flail.
Alex says
Re Posner: did you notice that there are Signs and Portents? Clearly he is still an acolyte.
Also, so very, very old.
Comment says
Alex – Posner in Chicago must have read our comment about Bush being a catalyst for a shift to the left.
Check this out – a pretty good summation – a bit about himself, but overall he captures lots
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2009/05/is_the_conserva.html
Lord Black, no doubt, would take issue with Posner’s bona fides – since he was quite mocking of Conrad’s appeal when it came before him
But Conrad Black’s status as a conservative was always emotional with his supporters – To Mark Steyn, he looked like the Capitalist he imagined from popular entertainments. But Black’s love for FDR shows the love of the grand gesture and grand performance over dogmatism or policy conservatism
Comment says
LOL – Bush – secret community organizer – early training at Yale Skull and Bones (studied native american skull fragments) then a DKE frat brother of notorious Beltway communist cell leader Lanny David.
-Then Bush tried to organize the Texas oil workers against his Dad’s friends, but got sidetracked with the rise of feminists from SMU.
Hey – it’s not just the workers who need insurance – We just heard from some ex-bankers who tried to start a business freaking out because they had no idea it costs so much to buy insurance
Alex says
Bush probably did more to move the country to the left than anyone in US history
Indeed. Example from comments at the WaMo. Rick:
Think of non-universal health care as a kinder gentler version of the right-wing death squad. It’s very randomness is essential in achieving terror. Fear of an uncovered illness strikes fear into the working class and keeps them subservient, willing to accept lower wages, and unwilling to make larger political demands.
Perhaps the former-regime loyalists will eventually rationalise Bush as having been a secret community organiser, infiltrating their movement to raise the consciousness of the masses through cultural Marxism?
Comment says
“Other Republican conservatives, of course, take issue with the Brock-Rhodes stance [GOP has been neglecting minorities and its Lincoln heritage]. Writing in the New York Times, Patrick Buchanan belittled a “rattled Republican chairman,” i.e., William Brock, for his decision to “hurriedly set aside $750,000 for black Republican missionaries to carry the gospel to the inner city.” It is simply a fact, Buchanan concludes, that the legitimate self-interests of the black community and of the Republican party clash. “The Republican philosophy of limited government is seen as colliding head-on with Federal power.” He wants the Republican party to “face facts,” to write off the black vote because it is part of the Democrats irreducible core, and to concentrate on the white petite bourgeosie.”
~Where Have All The Voters Gone
The Unmaking of the Republican Party
Everett Carll Ladd Jr. (1977)
Comment says
re Steele – IMO – Obama was pitch perfect in his teasing of Steele – anything more would have been too much.
We’re totally in the tank for Obama – we admit it – Sometimes it sounds embarassing to be a fan, but we need a break too from the relentless negative mindset Bush put us for some many years.
Bush probably did more to move the country to the left than anyone in US history – support for conservatives collapsed among the educated classes – Christianity took it on the chin by its associate with Bush, torture, war, and hypocracy. We know plenty anecdotal examples of kids being appalled by Bush and so moving away from their parents religion – Maybe Chris Buckley speaks to them
Consider again that Archbishop – personally slothfull in appearance and dripping with contempt for a beloved American at the height of his popularity. The Archbishop is deeply aware that more people – Catholics esp – regard Obama as good Christian than say the egregiously criminal Cardinal Law – his VC colleague. But this fact forces him to turn on his own church — defining people out of it – negation/ Sort of like those GOP super patriots who seem to hate half their country.
Again – it’s not limited to the RC Church – as we noted earlier – But if we were casting the movie we’d get Wallace Shawn to play Cardinal Burke.
Comment says
We were especially amused to see that he got Eli Lake to engage and spout some pablum about moral equivalence.
This reminds us a bit of reading antiwar recently and being surprised they were able to get Tom Ricks to denounce them by name – in a peevish outburst that Ricks will regret for some time.
Eli Lake was a conveyor belt for neocon lies in the lead up to the Iraq war – His NY Sun columns were absurd propaganda – not even subtle. He must deeply resent Greenwald – a non-serious outsider — getting some ink at his expense now that he has succeeded establishing himself as pseudo-lib in the Obama era.
Ricks has a careful brand – His COIN fetish (“Nagle is brilliant”) is his calling card – We had to laugh when
he did a ritual rant of hate against Bush and Cheney on the Daily Show/
Both Ricks and Lake are playing a game – and they are getting called on it. Greenwald is far more level headed than the sometimes crazy sometimes bright guy at antiwar, so it’s a surprise Ricks slipped.
Comment says
We think Greenwald strikes gold here – It won’t win him any friends in the slothfull and slattern DC media world – But we think this is his best post since he Shanghaies Mort Halprin – Halprin was expecting the usual BS worship he gets from media liberals – Maybe a chat about some ‘brave’ stand he took against Nixon or whatever, but Greenwald started asking him uncomfortable questions – Charlie Rose would have choked on his pretzel if was watching this grandee being queried. But anyway – we totally agree with this sanctimony crap:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/11/journalists/index.html
Comment says
David Frum’s wife writes some unintentional humor for HuffPo:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle-crittenden/white-house-correspondent_b_200445.html
Crittendon column is totally vacuous – Without the Frum link, her views would have no theoretical monetary value – She obviously wants to be part of some sort of power scene. Recall
she’s the one who spilled the beans about her husband writing the “axis” line.
Comment says
Why don’t all those Beltway conservatives just move back to their red state home districts and help rebuild the Heartland economy from the grass-roots.
Look at the wonderful work Dan Quayle has done for Cerberus.
Comment says
re GOP remnants – There is also some resentment – from what we hear – of those Republicans who have a solid place in the mil-indus complex, but the later aren’t happy anyway.
“car loans” – so goes the Reagan Revolution.
Comment says
Yeah – we see that downstream too, when we inspect some of the direct mail that goes to some oldsters we know – Lots of foam-at-the-mouth stuff – Some of it borderline hate mail.
Poor Newt — He probably resents Al Gore’s wealth – just like Tweety. Newt was on TV yesterday saying: “to the extent Notre Dame still thinks of itself as Catholic ..”
He just joined the RC Church and he’s already trying to kick people out – We hear this “small church” movement is a growing force in right wing church circles – Sort of bizarre.
But it’s not just a Catholic thing – when we pointed out to a friend that Jimmy Carter was treated like a rock star at Brandeis – so much for Carter being the next nazi – His response was that “Brandeis isn’t really Jewish”
Ofcourse, Obama won the Jewish vote by 77 percent – and he handily won the Catholic vote –
Dr Leo Strauss says
The Ivy League and near Ivy League remnants in the Republican detritus are particularly feral because they know better than the rest how limited their career and income choices are now. Democratic control of government renders their marketability as lobbyists below par. Lobbying the House Minority is a waste of time. And there are mortgages, car leases, alimony and other recurring costs. In addition, the collapsing economy forecloses many other options that would have allowed a more genteel political persona to emerge. Think tanks are shaving staff and axing fellows across the board, especially those without a constituency within the Administration. Print is dead and cable news is scaling costs way back. Unless one is specifically designated a MSNBCNNFOX ‘contributor’ – they get paid $500 to appear – in all likelihood the appearance is free. Can’t send in vid clips to the bank for the mortgage.
A cornered animal is as they say the most dangerous. An educated Movement type in extremis all the more so. It’s a fools game asking if they really believe themselves saying X,Y,Z. They have to. For them it’s literally singing for supper.
Comment says
Also Bibi’s shiftyness – used to have certain ‘don’t kid a kidder’ charm to it. That’s gone – what little subtlety he once had has sort of faded in the rough edge of a factional leader
Comment says
IMHO – the only that can save the GOP from Obama going on 8 year spree of political ass kicking is a foreign war disaster in Iraq or Afganistan, or maybe something Israel related (though Obama is playing a good game with Israel – totally in the tank with public support while shifting key areas of policy in a bold new direction without generating serious opposition. Obama is luck Tzipi did not win – Bibi is getting old and angry looking. Lieberman is PR nighmare Id manifest. )
Comment says
Just watched Ross Dothat on Brian Lamb – Ross will evolve slowly into a contrarian center/center-lib from his current right wing status.
Most conservatives we know who went to Ivy League schools are reacting against the leftist orthodoxy and liberal pieties that dominate – But they themselves end up being more liberal in mind and action than most American Democrats out in real America –
So you have a situation wher some conservatives like Kristol – ie mostly frauds who take out “positions” on things as sort of cover for a zeitgeist or less popular agenda –
We do know someone who worked at the Dartmouth Rev and is sort of ashamed and embarassed by his right wing rants back in the day. But forgets he didn’t really believe all of that stuff. It was make believe –
Lately, a lot of the fun has gone out of being a young right winger – Dubya sort of looked bad – Every time you turn on the tube, conservatives only seem to care about being pro torture and lying about it.
Contra Fred Hitz and Broder and the rest of the Beltway establishment — It is manifestly in Obama’s interests to keep this issue “out there” – Republicans look very ugly talking about this – and angry, thus skewing judgement.
It’s hard to quantify the politics of torture, but it has some tangible benefits for Republicans – ie quants can say x voters love torture and y voters like a cover up.
But it turns off people from coming into the party and it attracts the wrong people – embrassing riff raff who
give lie to the precious thoughtful-pose of Bybee or the more clubbable Yoo.
The redneckery of Palin ralies became embrassing to McCain because it violated the see-no-evil bias of the elite press.
The GOP culture wars just became trickier – it used to be you could have one message for the rubes, but that would not get in the face of wealthy gop woman who don’t like to see their cocktail friends and decorators insulted by ignorant southern preachers.
The pleasure of the torture debate – for a Dem – is seeing an example of forcing the GOP meanies (h/t Monica) on air to show some ugly rage – Prisoners are by definition helpless and everyone knows that the type of of person who hurts helpless people is a certain kind of person.
IT’s funny seeing the mushy center-lib establishment s*** in their pants about the torture debate – It shows that they do not see their interests and Dem party interests -broadly speaking – as the same.
Comment says
Leo, Have you seen “Observe and Report?” – pretty funny.
Comment says
It’s sort of funny, but Ricks and others at WaPo noted how the admin was sort of surprised that it seemed to be working to pay off the Sunni tribes in the surge.
In other words – people like being flattered and payed money for not killing you, but they do not like to be tortured or have their daughters disrespected. Also – illiterate voters like to be able to vote too, so signage helps.
Now, if the GOP could apply some of that thinking to the USA – If they can get over their pseudo-patriotic pride of not admitting that we have a semi-third world/second-world nation (60 million illiterate/2.2 mil in jail/millions of ex-felons) in our own borders, then
they could really make progress cutting deep into the black and hispanic vote.
Pat should start this himself by holding a funeral ceremony for “white America” – as part of the moving on phrase. Maybe a surrender cermony should be held, where Pat and some other GOP base-types surrender “Culture” to
the Marxists and then Marxists surrender “Capital” to
the Monitarists and then the Monitarists surrender to
the Keyensians.
Then we all get drunk.
Comment says
Part of Steele problem is that he does not fit into the prevailing GOP dichotomy (dumb but fun (W) vs. evil but effective (cheney/nixon))
He sometimes says some dumb things, but then sometimes he sounds bright – But then he runs off the Rush to say “sorry” which is sort of pussy thing to do.
There are lots of right wing blacks – mostly on cultural issues – Bush really blew an opportunity to carve into
that base vote, which could have been done if he threw a lot more cash around into poor areas (yet a fraction of Iraq’s costs). But the collective gop has too many probs
Anything but micro-Loans to poor people is almost always studip – AFTERALL, they are poor and often uneducated – many cannot read at all, much less legal fine print. But but gifts and grants are not. Neither is it dumb to start labor intensive construction projects that pay well – or transit subsidies.
Ram-schackled poor states like S. Carolina are the closest thing we have to socialism right now – lots of prison labor and prison workers – Plus too many others on the gov payroll.
Bush could have thrown a lot of money into poor black s. carolina that would be spent by private businesses.
Afterall – he helps his energy pals and Cheney was boodling money to his corrupt contracting colleagues.
But Bush was too stupid – he also blew an opportunity to create a huge new relationship with Mexico.
National Superhighway, my ass. It’s a disgrace that we don’t have good transit links with Mexico, along the border
If you’re gonna be black in the gop , you have to be spectaculr (or clinically insane like Keyes)
ohsopolite says
If there’s a food fight involving Steele there’s going to be an Oreo shortage–or at least that’ll be Steele’s story.
Comment says
If we were advising the GOP we’d tell them to get rid of Steele and don’t try to out-cool Obama or even get a policy nerd – Rather, go get someone in the Corporate establishment – a grey faceless type – who can just raise lots of cash with little fuss. Then just STFU for a while and wait for the prevailing winds to shift a bit. There is a time to pluck and a time to plant – But the GOP is now trying to dance, and all they will end up doing is crying, for sometime.