Getting shrill

I suppose it was bound to raise eyebrows when, in the midst of the YearlyKos convention, John Edwards said, “We’re about to enter the seventh year of this phony war…and we’re losing.”

What’s more, Fox News is bound to play up remarks from Barack Obama, who noted that a black male in Detroit is more likely to go to prison than graduate from high school — and the GOP doesn’t care. “How can we tolerate systems more likely to send young Americans to prison than college?” Obama asked. “Republicans have this maniacally dumb idea of Red versus Blue. They say, Detroit is a blue place, so we’re not going to go there.”

Chris Dodd, meanwhile, will no doubt get hammered by the right for arguing that instead of the current counter-terrorism strategy, we should focus on energy independence. “We have to have a national energy strategy, which basically says to the Saudis, ‘We’re not going to rely on you.'”

And Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, took the opportunity to blast the Republican Party’s basic approach to government. “Republican political doctrine has been a failure,” she said. “Look at New Orleans. How can you say that was a success? Look at Baghdad… I don’t think you can look around and say that was a great success.”

Wait, did I say Democrats at YearlyKos? Actually, all of these comments came from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, during a speech at the Young America’s Foundation National Conservative Student Conference in DC.

My mistake.

Yes, and according to the report (read it over at Balloon Juice), while Newtie got thunderous applause from all the Brittanys and Jareds when he was first introduced, after he threw that bucket of reality icewater on the little shitbirds, the applause was “tepid” at the end, and they were wondering if he had had “real conviction” in his voice when he said all that.

Young America’s Foundation – 40 years ago they were the Young Americans for Freedom, who we called Young American Fascists. That name obviously still fits, and the existence of all these little “heroes” – none of whom are any more likely to serve in the military than their war-supporting fathers were when I confronted them 40 years ago – proves “evolution works.” I used to call out their fathers when they would heckle this antiwar Vietnam Vet speaking at their campus, and I’d ask them “so, since you’re such a patriot, when are you going to drop out of school like your dad did in the Big One and join up for the front lines, like he did?” Of course they shut up at that point, being the cowards they were and are. And of course, their “patriot” fathers were all reluctant draftees in WW2 who did their best to serve “in the rear, with the gear” like their hero Nixon.

  • Good one, CB. You reeled me in – all the way in.

    I read a report about Newt’s speech yesterday. I couldn’t believe that he was saying some of those things even though they’re… true!

    I blame Newt more than any other person for the poisonous atmosphere that exists in politics today, as well as for a lot of the “conservative” Republican doctrine that has been such a disaster when put into practice.

    But if Newt wants to repent and climb aboard the Demo train, let’s welcome him. Maybe we can trade him for Lieberman.

  • And what’s Newt going to do about it? Jump into a phone booth – if he can find one – and change into his tights and cape and fly in to save the GOP from itself? How?

    Sure, he can be their devil’s advocate, but what’s the end result? They’ll turn on him to make him shut up.

  • Here is how to get shrill:

    Bernie Sander’s supposedly “ripping” the new nominee Jim Nussle over the huge divide between America’s poor and rich:

    http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/08/04/bernie-sanders-rips-into-budget-office-nominee/

    Notice that Bernie doesn’t shout.
    He is calm. He shares chuckles with Nussle as Nussle evades and skates around the issue.
    It is all good and civil fun!

    Here is how not to get shrill:

    If I was Bernie I’d have stood up… lifted my chair over my head and smashed in on the table. Hopefully… after that… I’d have one sharp chair leg in my hand that I could shake threatening at the pork-pig Nussle while launching into a triade about rich white Amiercan crooks and I can’t take this #$%# anymore! I’m moving to Canada @$$4o[3s!

    Someplace inbetween thest two is where Obama’s and Edward’s shrillness lands.
    Bless them.
    I knew there were still some men left in American politics.
    It is time for them to stand up and swing some chair legs…

  • i’ve allways been fond of reading about Newt Gingrich, sort of in the same way bored high school girls are fond of reading books about serial killers.

    /the man is a creep. I’m sure the Young America freaks had no idea how to deal with one of their speakers helping create a consensus reality.

  • Good one, CB. So was this Newts Sistah Soljah moment or was he so confident of the base that he’s started to reach out to (aka bamboozle) the middle?

    PS I was wondering what the alternative translations might be for the arabic/persian expression that this Admin interprets as Al Quaida in Iraq.

  • PS

    My mistake too…

    I didn’t read CB’s “punch line.”
    Which is… a la Bernie… that there is no punch…

    Once a Dimocrat always a dimocrat…
    If you want broken chairs… root for newt.

  • Ah yes, the ever brilliant Karl Rove (aka Turdblossom) and his brilliant politicing.

    And if Dick Cheney says this: We didn’t get elected to worry just about the fate of the Republican Party. Where does that leave the Republican candidates who never, ever questioned the Bush/Cheney doctrines and policies?

    Out in the cold, I guess. Cheney and Bush would smear anyone – not just Dems but anyone that opposed them, Dem, Repug or otherwise – not that the GOP didn’t have a good time going right along with these two criminals.

    Perhaps old Newt Gingrich walked into that room like he knew Salon reporters would be there. I distinctly remember dear old Newt Girngrich saying that there was nothing wrong with making Corporate lobbyist pay high amounts money and favors so legislation could be written in their favor – it’s why Murdock likes Gingrich so much and wants him to run for president – because Newt sees NOTHING wrong with giving American away to the highest corporate bidder. Something Murdock has no problem with either.

    SOOO – under that “we Repugs made a mistake” facade is a cold, calculating anti-American wolf – don’t let him pull the liberal wool over your eyes. In ever facet of his being, Newt Girngrich is every bit a Dick Cheney twin.

  • The Democratic and Republican parties need to be careful preaching this War on Terror, talking about using Nuclear weapons and sending troops all over the world looking for some off the wall kid in East Asia who might bringing an A-bomb to LA. Most of the big political middle sees this War on Terror as a way to keep in power, reward friends and supporters but sooner or later a guy like Newt can find a political idea that appeals to people and suddenly you have a guy at the helm who really deep down believes this crap and wants to pull the trigger.

  • “I think it’s easy to go back now and second-guess. But when I look back and I think about what we felt in February and March and April, I think it was the right war, it was the right decision.” — Gingrich, on Fox, Hannity & Colmes, 12/8/03

    “I think it’s quite clear…that bin Laden and his lieutenants are monitoring the American news media, they’re monitoring public opinion polling, and I suspect they take a great deal of comfort when they see people attacking United States policies.” — Gingrich, 1/19/06

    “Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich says America is in World War III and President Bush should say so. In an interview in Bellevue this morning Gingrich said Bush should call a joint session of Congress the first week of September and talk about global military conflicts in much starker terms than have been heard from the president.” Seattle Times, July 15, 2006

    How many guys can there be named Newt Gingrich and so desperate to worm back into a position of relevance American politics?

  • Just because Newt can see the same problems I do, does not mean he would craft solutions with which I would agree. I was especially touched by his declaration that the GOP political doctrine was a failure. Much of it is his legacy; he simply wishes to distance himself from Bush’s lousy execution. Newt needs drop his amphib moniker and take his name from a reptile: Chameleon.

  • Anytime the Newt says something sensible, a rare occurance, I immediately wonder what he’s up to. This poisonous hypocritical bastard is only out for himself, and he has himself largely to blame for the extreme partisanship that infects our politics today even though he decries it for a young audience, which evidently treated him as a god on the way into the hall. His exit was far more muted, I read. Not having heard his hour-long speech, I have to wonder what he thought were the answers to the total failure of Republican rule he outlined for those young impressionable minds. More of the same? Elect him? One party rule? His party? The Newt Party? How can anyone take this lying, prevaricating, dissembling son-of-a-bitch seriously, no matter what he says.

  • I’m not vouching for Newt, but, the funny thing is, those would have been great lines for those candidates- and CB assigned them perfectly.

  • 1. Well Newt Gingrich obviously didn’t come as far as he has in politics without learning how to pander.

    2. I can’t wait to hear how all these problems can be solved by cutting taxes on the rich picking the pockets of the middle class, hanging the poor out to dry and and giving big big business more leeway to rape the environment…

  • My rebuttal to Michael Ignatieff‘s “Getting Iraq Wrong”, which contains some of the most ridiculous and pathetic excuses for getting it wrong back then.

    If you haven’t read his mind-blowing article in the NY Times Magazine that rationalizes being a war drum beater four and a half years ago and how he still denigrates those who were right about opposing the war but for the wrong reasons, follow the link at my place.

    And if you haven’t done your part to take this idiotic Canuck down then you’re wasting the opportunity of a lifetime.

  • Newt goes where the wind blows. He’s tryng to get ahead of the other repubes and maybe even be able to do a little sabatage along the way. Give just enough truth to get them tobelieve in you again. Then they wll followyou off the next cliff as well.

    The repubes are so far behind reality all they can do is choke on the dust (and American blood).

    I’m a mighty Liberal and the only thing I can honestly say is I hope Newt gets off our side. Reality has enough problems being heard without a Repubelican blow hard whippin’ up a sandstorm of banality. Or worse, giving the stepford pundits a foothold to lead the Drones of the Status Quo into another money sandtrap. Or is it all just a sandy moneytrap? I forget.

  • So was this Newts Sistah Soljah moment or was he so confident of the base that he’s started to reach out to (aka bamboozle) the middle?

    Neither; he’s preparing the GOP to regroup when a Dem (probably HRC) wins in 2008 and to start attacking him/her for not doing enough to fix things. Their ‘solutions’ will be meaningless, but Newt’s laying the foundation on which to build their next Dem destruction machine.

  • You guys may blame Newt, but some of us look fondly back upon an opponent who at least agreed to stay in the same reality – even if their solutions differed.

    He may have taken the first step in this direction, but Rove et al shoved him aside to gut themselves at the trough; Newt is squeaky clean in comparison to today Republicans.

    The irony here, of course, is that no one but us will listen to him.

  • We have to have a national energy strategy, which basically says to the Saudis, ‘We’re not going to rely on you.’”

    Would the Saudis really care, that those trouble causes infidels were taking their Western oil contracts and going home? I mean, it’s not like Old Europe or China wouldn’t pick up the lost resources in a NY minute if those Repugs said “we don’t need these stinking contracts anymore”. And the Saudis did kick our mililitary out of their country and it IS one of the reasons we’re build those billion dollar military bases in Iraq. Hey, it’s why we fight them there. Because they have lots of oil and Saddam wouldn’t give us, Mericans any oil contracts.

    The Saudis don’t care if we rely on them or not. Repugs, they always have some kind of con-game and/or lie up their sleeves. Always. Everytime, you can bet on it.

  • http://www.house.gov/house/Contract/CONTRACT.html

    This was not the GOP of Tom DeLay and Dubya.
    Most of it was comparatively low key, nuts n’ bolts kind of stuff.
    .
    I was not thrilled with the no US under UN command stuff. It struck me as jingoistic. Can you imagine this attitude in WWII? “Sorry, Monty, none of our boys can go with you. We think you foreigners are total knuckleheads.”

  • “Young America’s Foundation National Conservative Student Conference in DC.|”

    What the hell are they still doing in America when there are two wars on?

    Wusses.

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