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It’s been interesting, watching the seamless transition many conservatives seem to be making now, from brainless war-drum-beating to Randian isolationism. Six or seven or eight years ago, I seem to remember, anyone who even hinted that not using military force to resolve any foreign policy dispute, no matter how trivial or how imaginary the justification, was to be considered a traitor.
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Matt Taibbi “Out of Power, Right-Wing Hawks Turn Dovish | Rolling Stone Politics” | Taibblog | Matt Taibbi on Politics and the Economy 6/20/11 I remember that the GOP was this way over Kosovo, with Clinton. They had become isolationists all of a sudden. None of this should be construed as support for the prevailing approaches to either Kosovo or Libya. |
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Oh, Matt. Tell us what you really think about Böhner. I think Taibbi strays too much into false equivalence, as those in the entertainment industry seem wont to do. Moreover, I think he lends too much credence to the Tea Party, not withstanding its “serious” “grassroots” “leaders” like Littleton. But clearly Böhner is more colorful, both figuratively and literally, than Newt Gingerich, his co-author of the infamous Contract Out on America. I think this whole piece is worth a read.
The new speaker is a lazy, double-talking shill for corporate interests. So how’s he going to fare with the Tea Party?
John Boehner in Washington, DC, November 2, 2010.Chip Somodevilla/Getty
John Boehner is the ultimate Beltway hack, a man whose unmatched and self-serving skill at political survival has made him, after two decades in Washington, the hairy blue mold on the American congressional sandwich. The biographer who somewhere down the line tackles the question of Boehner’s legacy will do well to simply throw out any references to party affiliation, because the thing that has made Boehner who he is — the thing that has finally lifted him to the apex of legislative power in America — has almost nothing to do with his being a Republican.
The Democrats have plenty of creatures like Boehner. But in the new Speaker of the House, the Republicans own the perfect archetype — the quintessential example of the kind of glad-handing, double-talking, K Street toady who has dominated the politics of both parties for decades. In sports, we talk about athletes who are the “total package,” and that term comes close to describing Boehner’s talent for perpetuating our corrupt and debt-addled status quo: He’s a five-tool insider who can lie, cheat, steal, play golf, change his mind on command and do anything else his lobbyist buddies and campaign contributors require of him to get the job done.
This article appears in the January 20, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available now on newsstands and will appear in the online archive January 7.
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What should be a renewed opportunity for public debate about what we are doing in Afghanistan is hidden behind the smoke of McChrystal’s indiscretions. This is not about personalities, people.
Discussing the broader message of the Rolling Stone article is clearly not something the White House wants—and neither do corporate media, preferring the personal drama of military officials making politically damaging comments about political leaders, and the White House’s attempt to assert control.
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Earlier today, I posted a link to a Salon.com opinion about the tokenism in Archie Coming’s first gay character. Similarly, Angry Asian Man noted to the Sociological Images blog that as diverse as the cast is, this cover suggests that only the white characters count. To that, lisa adds
With panties, of course. Because without panties, there would be nothing at all going on on this cover.
Pop culture? Forehead, meet palm.
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