tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post3229053999540247042..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Oy, PoliticoJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-18762090198205423172013-09-12T21:20:54.284-05:002013-09-12T21:20:54.284-05:00Some interesting observations. I'll add that ...Some interesting observations. I'll add that the partisan hypocrisy of anti-Obama Republicans seems to work in favor of the Republicans who actually oppose Obama's actions on principle. I'm mostly thinking here of Rand Paul. It's hard to cast Paul as being on the fringe when so many Republicans voted with him.Couveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00926561539205771774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-85641687248207338902013-09-12T21:10:49.997-05:002013-09-12T21:10:49.997-05:00I've always thought of Jonathan as a Partisan ...I've always thought of Jonathan as a Partisan Actor.<br /><br />...not that there's anything wrong with that.<br /><br />...and some of my best friends and family are partisan actors on the left.Couveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00926561539205771774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-90509943199428125462013-09-12T21:08:32.511-05:002013-09-12T21:08:32.511-05:00Ok, this is the first time I've felt anything ...Ok, this is the first time I've felt anything like a tech guru... When I do an advanced google search of "teabagger," limited to the domain http://plainblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com, I get eight hits. Not that it means anything.<br /><br />"...came into use because early leaders of the movement did in fact call themselves such until they rather hilariously discovered its more common meaning."<br /><br />I think that's a liberal myth. It's true only if you define "early leaders of the movement" as some anonymous guy with a sign.Couveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00926561539205771774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-78496020565058491842013-09-12T21:03:32.627-05:002013-09-12T21:03:32.627-05:00I don't think Syria is proof that parties are ...I don't think Syria is proof that parties are becoming weaker (if anything, it's the exception that proves the rule in this regard). But I also don't think that it's primarily explainable by partisan dynamics. Yes, there is a strong anti-Obama pressure in the GOP. But on the Democratic side there is an equal, if not greater, pro-Obama pressure. Clearly, many Democratic lawmakers _wanted_ to support the President, but it was more important for them to make their constituents happy.<br /><br />This is one of those rare issues in which ordinary people came to a decision on an issue without looking at it through a partisan prism. Congressmen took notice of this -- partisanship explains why there are more Republican and fewer Democratic lawmakers opposing the President's policy, but it does not explain the overall groundswell of popular opposition, which was the authentic voice of the people, mostly unorchestrated and unmediated by faction. Couveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00926561539205771774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-576153816982188272013-09-11T23:36:33.072-05:002013-09-11T23:36:33.072-05:00@phat, thanks for uncovering that info. However, I...@phat, thanks for uncovering that info. However, I think the commenter (perhaps identifiable by use of "excellent adventure") has commented before. I don't think this is satire, but thanks for showing that it's nonsense.ModeratePolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-92006903121088095592013-09-11T13:56:43.164-05:002013-09-11T13:56:43.164-05:00And there's of course the distinction that a t...And there's of course the distinction that a term like "teabagger", while obviously disrespectful, came into use because early leaders of the movement did in fact call themselves such until they rather hilariously discovered its more common meaning. I don't consider it on par with idiotic terms like "Dumbocrats" or "Repukelicans", though of course it's not a term conducive to constructive debate and thus should correctly not be used in a forum such as this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-71149296465823216312013-09-11T09:26:33.261-05:002013-09-11T09:26:33.261-05:00Whoops! Meant to say "Terribly unaccomplishe...Whoops! Meant to say "Terribly unaccomplished in the high blogging art of sycophancy"CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-17237381562256767542013-09-11T09:24:01.776-05:002013-09-11T09:24:01.776-05:00Points all granted, Anastasios, though it seems to...Points all granted, Anastasios, though it seems to me that's precisely the stuff that makes love-bombing so powerful: nervous that your partisan association with Carter carries tremendous baggage? Don't be! We love love love him, and we love you too. <br /><br />You give our host credit for calling it like it is; I say he is a terribly unaccomplished sycophant.CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-64800661651368812722013-09-11T07:49:08.121-05:002013-09-11T07:49:08.121-05:00OK, my googling skills leave something to be desir...OK, my googling skills leave something to be desired.<br /><br />OTOH: that's four citations from comments, over four years. And one is by a commenter who has had a strike called, by me, for partisan/disrespectful rhetoric. So unless there are far more than that...Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-82011554162931498602013-09-11T07:24:53.865-05:002013-09-11T07:24:53.865-05:00CSH,
In fairness, Carter was never particularly p...CSH,<br /><br />In fairness, Carter was never particularly popular with liberals, who even during his presidency rallied to figures like Birch Bayh and Ted Kennedy. It's true that they supported him against Reagan (no real choice there) and that there wasn't enough antipathy to throw him overboard in 1980 (although that speaks to the institutional advantages of incumbency more than anything else, even if you do want to blame Kennedy's admitted failings as a primary candidate), but the sourness they had for him was real enough even in the 1970s. Even in 1979 many were saying that Carter, out of pig-headedness and lack of interest in the issues, had squandered a golden opportunity to achieve national health care and important labor legislation -- and they were probably right.Anastasiosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-62183824484638204172013-09-11T02:38:55.771-05:002013-09-11T02:38:55.771-05:00Google for 'teabagger'.
'When you tak...<a href="https://www.google.com/#q=bernstein+plain+blog+politics+teabagger" rel="nofollow">Google</a> for 'teabagger'.<br /><br />'When you take into consideration the IQ of the adverage[sic] Teabaggers it's no wounder we are being screwed'<br /><br />' So much of modern American conservatism is based in unreality, prejudice and ignorance - one need only look at the willful delusion leading into the Iraq invasion, birthers, 12ers, teabaggers to see it all in action.'<br />David Tomlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-20002523266897970452013-09-11T01:15:09.578-05:002013-09-11T01:15:09.578-05:00Okay, I was pretty much convinced that this partic...Okay, I was pretty much convinced that this particular anon was an attempt at satire. I had to double check to see if UKIP even had any seats in the House. They don't. They have a handful in the European Parliament.<br /><br />But the leader of UKIP is claiming a "UKIP effect" on the vote. His claim is that a handful of districts with slim majorities of the leadership coalition would have gone UKIP in the next election had it not been for this effect.<br /><br />So, I see where this is coming from.<br /><br />It sounds like palaver to me. I think it'd be very difficult for UKIP to turn its council election wins into actual seats in Parliament. I REALLY can't imagine that those seats would hinge on this.<br /><br />But, anyway, not satire. Funny, nonethelessphathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07711722602776883761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-5336780904654601692013-09-11T01:12:37.630-05:002013-09-11T01:12:37.630-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.phathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07711722602776883761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-79618068849346467112013-09-10T23:01:54.951-05:002013-09-10T23:01:54.951-05:00"Oy, Politico" is making a nice run at b..."Oy, Politico" is making a nice run at becoming my favorite plain blog feature. Drewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-1525265870763411832013-09-10T19:07:53.984-05:002013-09-10T19:07:53.984-05:00http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleea...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10277430/Lib-Dem-president-fails-to-back-Clegg-on-Syria.htmlphathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07711722602776883761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-58703532002014385772013-09-10T18:53:45.156-05:002013-09-10T18:53:45.156-05:00I should totally leave it alone, as this is none o...I should totally leave it alone, as this is none of my business and I know nothing of what I speak, but my impression is that cults work by love bombing their targets. Its not quite the same thing as a cult, but the partisan sycophancy of which Prof. Bernstein is accused would certainly be in that direction, no?<br /><br />If he's guilty as charged, shouldn't we easily be able to produce - at least - <i>one</i> evaluation of Jimmy Carter that isn't pejorative? Heck, I'm no liberal, but the Carter antipathy back here even makes <i>me</i> feel a bit uncomfortable...I can't imagine how it makes the true believers feel.<br /><br />If this place is an outlet for liberal sycophancy, its <i>really, really</i> bad at it. You didn't get the Carter memo, Jonathan?CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-66350535186957240732013-09-10T14:57:10.663-05:002013-09-10T14:57:10.663-05:00I suppose I should also put a general warning in: ...I suppose I should also put a general warning in: I'm zapping an anonymous commenter; I'm not going to spend too much time on it, so I may overreach (and the spam deleter may also overreact). My apologies to other Anon commenters, but I'll renew my request to regular commenters to find themselves a handle - it makes for better conversation. I'm not going to turn off the possibility of anon commenting, but, well, please consider adopting a regular handle.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-17149328354530796082013-09-10T14:50:51.752-05:002013-09-10T14:50:51.752-05:00Anon was zapped (just the most recent comment, for...Anon was zapped (just the most recent comment, for now), but I'll take the last word, just for fun. Zapped Anon:<br /><br />"you lefties consistently reference the Tea Party as "teabaggers", as we see consistently and often on this site"<br /><br />A quick search:<br /><br />"No posts matching the query: teabagger."<br /><br />No doubt that blogspot is just using a lefty search engine (and to tell the truth it's hardly perfect, so I wouldn't be shocked if a commenter used it at some point)...<br /><br />But it's good to confirm that misclassifying Plain Blog as a "lefty" site goes along with imagining rhetoric not actually used here.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-83391810651506936402013-09-10T14:46:12.213-05:002013-09-10T14:46:12.213-05:00I think Vlad Putin should address the American peo...I think Vlad Putin should address the American people tonight, and tell them why he was forced to bring the foolish Obama to heel, and enable his climb down from his reckless <i>"I've decided by myself to punish Syria for their actions because the Brits say it's OK er ooops they voted it down but wait maybe I'll wait for Congress to authorize it no wait it looks like they're not going to authorize it so I'm going to have to go bombs away no matter what they say or I'll look like an idiot but wait my approvals are dropping like a stone I can't do that but wait Vlad says he'll put out a press release stating something or another so maybe if I agree with him now I won't look like a fool anymore but everybody already knows that I'm a fool but maybe if I just l blame it all on Lurch nobody will notice."</i><br /><br />;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-50131560026037363932013-09-10T13:09:51.271-05:002013-09-10T13:09:51.271-05:00Well, in addition to your comments, we can add tha...Well, in addition to your comments, we can add that the reflexive "Obama is wrong" contingent has been doing backflips in the last couple of days. Essentially, <br /><br />1. When he intervened in Libya, they said he was wrong<br /><br />2. When he failed to intervene in Syria last year, they said he was wrong<br /><br />3. When he declared the use of chemical weapons to be a bright red line, they said he was wrong<br /><br />4. When he declared that Bashar had crossed the line, they said intervention was wrong<br /><br />5. When he went to Congress to discuss the matter, they said he was wrong<br /><br />6. And now, when they've found a diplomatic solution with Russia, they say he is weak.<br /><br />You can compare it to corporate structure, but they're completely post-policy in their responses to actual world situations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-17087311196948805572013-09-10T13:07:49.129-05:002013-09-10T13:07:49.129-05:00I suppose I'll have to call a strike on this p...I suppose I'll have to call a strike on this particular anon. I don't know that we have anyone here who would be offended by childish slur names against a relatively minor UK party, but that sort of language is strongly discouraged around here. So cut it out, please.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-73595255262763097142013-09-10T12:55:07.007-05:002013-09-10T12:55:07.007-05:00(And, as I just posted above, it's also descri...(And, as I just posted above, it's also descriptively incorrect about American parties, regardless of whether that's normatively a better or worse model than we have)Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-56420247313369174572013-09-10T12:53:32.901-05:002013-09-10T12:53:32.901-05:00Not to pile on, but your comparison of, really, al...Not to pile on, but your comparison of, really, almost anything on American parties to UK parties is the worst part of it. <br /><br />Not that they don't or can't have similar ideologies. But they are structurally quite different.<br /><br />Politico's piece is wrong precisely because it assumes American parties are like parliamentary parties, with top-down command structures. They aren't. They are bottom-up parties, with leaders that serve at the whim of whoever happens to be strong within the confines of the parties at that time. Not saying that American parties are somehow "better" because of this; they're just different. (In fact, I think top-down parties have a lot going for them, from a democratic (small-d) standpoint)<br />Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-72993420684012293092013-09-10T12:07:03.973-05:002013-09-10T12:07:03.973-05:00The Tea Party may be united in hating Obama, but t...The Tea Party may be united in hating Obama, but they aren't united in foreign policy. The only group within the GOP that is united against US intervention are the libertarians, and they aren't identical to the Tea Party. As for your formulation that UKIP = Tea Party, I doubt it. The political landscape in the UK is quite different. Some similarities, lots of differences. Your bluster over your keen understanding of politics is a sham. Just to rub it in, what was your prediction for the 2012 election? ModeratePolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-84396062194859681132013-09-10T12:06:19.461-05:002013-09-10T12:06:19.461-05:00The Lib Dumbs voted for Obama's excellent Liby...The Lib Dumbs voted for Obama's excellent Libyan adventure, lad. Clegg, teh Lib Dumbs Deputy Prime Minister, made the passionate closing remarks in support of it, minutes before it was voted down. <br /><br />It was UKIP wha' dun it, lad. They forced Cameron's backbenchers to rebel, and forced Miliband to reject his stated position, and his previous Libyan support.<br /><br />It's UKIP that has Cameron vibrating like a tuning fork, much like the Tea Party.<br /><br />Again, you lefties really need to expand your studies, and learn about politics. It's a great big beautiful world out there. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com