Sunday, March 13, 2016

This Week In Going Full Driftglass: Neal Gabler



From Neal Gabler writing at Moyers & Company
Blowing the Biggest Political Story of the Last Fifty Years

The shocking story isn't the rise of Donald Trump but how the GOP slowly morphed into a party of hate and obstruction.

BY NEAL GABLER | MARCH 11, 2016

The media have been acting as if the Trump debacle were the biggest political story to come down the pike in some time. But the real story – one the popularity of Trump’s candidacy has revealed and inarguably the biggest political story of the last 50 years — is the decades-long transformation of Republicanism from a business-centered, small town, white Protestant set of beliefs into quite possibly America’s primary institutional force of bigotry, intellectual dishonesty, ignorance, warmongering, intractability and cruelty against the vulnerable and powerless.

It is a story you didn’t read, hear or see in the mainstream media, only in lefty journals like The Nation and Rolling Stone, on websites like People for the American Way, and in columns like Paul Krugman’s. And it wasn’t exactly because the MSM in its myopia missed the story. It was because they chose not to tell it – to pretend it wasn’t happening. They are still pretending.
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Well good on you, Neal. I agree 100% and keep up the good work.

However I do have to kinda wonder why am I not on your roll of honor?  I mean, considering that I have written some variation of this exact this same story at least once a week for the last 11 years...

Here is a random sampler...

From me in 2007:
...the most important story of our generation 
From me in 2007:
As I have said before, it’s a helluva story.
The most important story of our generation.
Too bad we no longer have a free and fearless press interested in reporting it
From me in 2010:
Sunday Morning Comin' Down -- “The Most Important Yet Underreported Story of the Decade” edition.
From me in 2011:
In fact, this fetish [for Fake Centrism] became so obsessive that, in the end, it became the great, tragic irony of David Broder's professional life. Because at last he simply could not bear to part with his fantasies about what he wished America to be and face the brutal realities of what America was actually becoming, David Broder -- this "Dean of the Washington press corps" -- totally missed out on covering the greatest story of his time; the utter collapse of the American news media and the mutation of the GOP from a political party into a dangerously fascistic cesspit of oligarchs, lunatics and rubes.

It was a story which his background and years of hard work had almost uniquely prepared him to cover, and one that was literally staring him in the face for much of the last 20 years.

And he completely fucking blew it.
From me in 2013:
This is by far the biggest, most important story in political journalism today.
It's too bad we don't have a press corps that has any interest in reporting it.
It's is a very long list.

8 comments:

dinthebeast said...

It is a long list, and thank you for it.

-Doug in Oaklandf

Tengrain said...

...and you were not alone! But that the filthy hippies were right all along is probably a close runner-up for the most under-reported story of all time.

Regards,

Tengrain

bowtiejack said...

Whatever happened to that Cassandra chick. She had the same problem.

Rena said...

There's no justice, driftglass. Thank you for persisting anyway.

Mr XD said...

King James Bible Luke 4:24
And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Yeah and Verily ~ from one Dirty Hippie to another - nobody said it was gonna be fair

DonP said...

I caught a televised speech by some guy over the weekend at a fundraiser, and he went FULL Driftglass. I think his name was President Barack Obama; keep an eye on this guy folks, he could be going places.

Robt said...

Dirty Fing Hippie TV?

There is only self esteem when it comes to the front lines. Actually talking with the Confederate squares. Discussion turned arguments usually ended with a Rush sound bite that had no substance.

For Trump Supporters repeating history is getting the choice (again) between Barabbas or Jesus to be set free..

Thanks for your sacrifice, DG.

Rodnchance said...

I have me some fine intelligent 'liberal' friends that tell me I spend way to much time paying attention to politics, apparently, they think that it is bad for me and might give me a less than 'happy' 'happy' outlook on life. Maybe I would be happier if I quit paying attention but I have been watching this train wreck since the Clinton Chase of the Gingrich nineties and just because I quit looking does not mean that more rail cars are not falling off the 'Fairness in Broadcasting Bridge' that St. Reagan blew up in the eighties.
I appreciate your efforts and would not be near as aware without you. Your ability to put thought to paper is totally amazing.
BTW I bookmarked you and BG to my Amazon page, hope that helps.