Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Today In Both Sides Do It: David Fucking Brooks and Bret Stephens




Wait for it...
The radicals split between pragmatists willing to work within the system and visionaries who raised larger possibilities from outside. Spreading their ideals, they pushed America forward. Living out their ideals, most were disillusioned. Reed lost faith in the Soviet Union. Lippmann lost faith in Wilson after Versailles. Bourne died marginalized and bitter during the flu epidemic of 1918.
Wait for it...
Bourne was the least important radical a century ago, but with his fervent embrace of a decentralized, globalist, cosmopolitan world, he is the most relevant today. He is the best rebuttal to both Trumpian populism and the multicultural separatist movements on the left, who believe in separate graduation ceremonies by race, or that the normal exchange of ideas among people represents cultural appropriation.
Bingo!

And you know what? Over and over again, the lazy and lucrative work of Both Sidering every single fucking Republican atrocity really does paid off. Because, for example. "Yeah but what about those Radical Campus Lefties?" has is not only become the Both Siderist Phrase that Pays for every single wildly overpaid intellectualfeatherbedder like Mr, David Brooks, but also last redoubt of every wingnut trying to slink away from yet another catastrophe of their own making:

You see, several years ago, respected political scientists Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein pointed out in measured, scholarly language what us Libtards have been saying for decades: that one of our two major political parties has gone mad and the other has not...
The Republican Party has become an insurgent outlier -- ideologically extreme; contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime; scornful of compromise; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
Of course, once they stated this patently obvious fact in measured, scholarly language they instantly stopped being respected political scientists and became just two more media pariahs who were suddenly cast into Liberal Snowflake Coventry and banished to from virtually every political teevee platform in America.

This object lesson has not been lost on wildly overpaid intellectual featherbedders like Mr, David Brooks.

And so, the Republican Party will go right on being nothing more more than a mob of angry and often bigoted idiots whose Very Loud Opinions can are be flipped off and on by Fox and Friends in the service of con men and oligarchs who do not give the tiniest shit about this country. 

And goofs like Mr. David Brooks of The New York Times will go right on driving their getaway car.

Update:

Rather than actually cross swords with anyone who might fundamentally disagree with him, one of carefully protected venues in which Mr. Brooks would permit himself to be booked was The New York Time's "Conversation", in which David Brooks and Gail Collins wold make awkward badinage about the Depravity of the GOP (Collins) and how Both Sides Are To Blame (Brooks).  Longtime readers might remember Mr. Brooks' very last attempt at this fake-cheerful-co-worker-interplay included this nugget of Elite Conservative Prognostication by Mr. Brooks

The big Republican accomplishment is that they have detoxified their brand. Four years ago they seemed scary and extreme to a lot of people. They no longer seem that way. The wins in purple states like North Carolina, Iowa and Colorado are clear indications that the party can at least gain a hearing among swing voters. And if the G.O.P. presents a reasonable candidate (and this year’s crop was very good), then Republicans can win anywhere. I think we’ve left the Sarah Palin phase and entered the Tom Cotton phase. 
--  David Brooks, November 5, 2014.
Of course, even after shitting the bed hard enough to launch the state of Delaware into orbit, Mr. Brooks remained Impossible to Fire for reasons that no one privy to them dares to speak aloud. However one thing that the Times and/or Mr Brooks seemed to learn is that, even in an environment as artificial and cngenial as "The Conversation", given half a chance, Mr. Brooks was going to humiliate himself in some brand-tarnishing way.  And so Mr. Brooks took french leave from "The Conversation", leaving Ms. Gail Collins to take up with a series of disreputable Serious Conservative suitors including but not limited to...

...Arthur Brooks...
How Dangerous Is This Moment?
Historical parallels can take us only so far, but the echoes of everything from the populism of 1896 to the violence of 1968 are audible in 2016.
...Matt Labash of The Weekly Standard...
Have These Been the Best Two Weeks of Trump’s First 100 Days?
Conservatives are practically fainting with relief. Gail Collins and Matt Labash ask whether they are justified in doing so.

...and, inevitably, "Box Turtle" Ben Domenech
When You’re Famous for 24 Hours a Day
The unusual problems presented by the first two-and-a-half weeks of the Trump administration.
...before settling in with David Brooks' Replacement-In-Waiting, Bret Stephens.

And boy howdy, how effortlessly Stephens has settled in to that big, cozy, New York Times serious Conservative Both Siderist Barcalounger:
Gail: One of my annual rituals used to be calling Bill Bradley at tax time and asking him how they did it. Basically, he’d say that people trusted one another enough to work together. Which sounds so remote it could be a scenario from Congress on the planet Krypton.

This is mostly the Republicans’ fault. Every recent attempt at bipartisan cooperation — remember immigration reform? — was shot down by the far right. And if Obamacare is a mess it’s in large part because the Republicans pulled out of the administration’s efforts to get a bipartisan bill out of the Senate.

Bret: On the breakdown in bipartisan civility, there’s more than enough blame to go around. Harry Reid smearing Mitt Romney as a tax cheat based on no evidence, anyone? But let’s not get into a fight about who started it or who was more uncivil and when: It reminds me of trying to adjudicate arguments between young kids...
And the beat goes on...

10 comments:

bowtiejack said...

Love the artwork! You are the Thomas Nast of contemporary political deconstruction.

mcfrank said...

Re Bret Stephens: Wow! What a classic Texas two-step!

Doctender said...

Both side are to blame. It's democrats fault. Let's not assign blame. - Bret Stephens

Unknown said...

Wow Bret, that's the last time the Democrats did something unfair to someone? That's a deep cut indeed. Also, I think he's somewhat exaggerating the affair to boot.

Robt said...

GW Bush
The unitary president GOP majorities could not stop if they wanted (they didn't want). Unable to accept responsibility for the negatives he unleashed.
Can't speak his name and must re-brand GOP as Tea Party. New outer label wrap for same product.In the end with all the devastation he left, "Bush wasn't really truly conservative.

Obama acting as Dictator.
:Our number one priority is to make him a one term president" McConnell and other top tier GOP on Obama inauguration day.
This guy has to be reined in before he thinks he is a unitary president.

Donny Trump
"I know how Gov't works (I have bribed congress to get what I want). I am the smartest, will hire the smartest people. "Only I can fix it".
Obstructs justice. Speaker Ryan says, ease up! "Trump is an ignoramus that he doesn't know what he is doing so leave him alone". Oh, y the way, Trump is a unitary president with a shit load of presidential powers congress has no authority over (unlike Obama).

There are a couple of issues I would like to suggest to Mr. Bothsiderist DFB.

* we need a law (with sharp K-9s to tear and shred). That No elected official can knowingly lie when speaking in an official elected capacity.

* Paid writing hacks (as Brooks) must wear a jacket with patches of all the paid sponsors for whom he is elaborating for. Like the race care drivers.

Acknowledging items like GW got drunk and drove the economic vehicle off the road and way down into the gully. That GW and GOP used "socialism" to gail out banks.
Obama had to get a crane, tow truck and a large crew to get that economic auto out of the deep gorge. While the GOP kept blockading the roads to get there. And accuse Obama of being a socialistic dictator coming for your guns and viagra. Distributing hate in many form like racism and superior race.

BFB needs to commit now, is Trump a conservative? If not, why are all the GOP giving the loyalty to look the other way?
If the GOP cannot work with Dems because they are the enemy for not being conservative. How is it the GOP can bend over and spread their cheeks for Trump?
In the end. Either removed or not re elected. Brooks like every other extreme partisan will do everything possible to deny 3 times before the cock crows the problem was somehow this NON Conservative got into white house and there was nothing they could do to stop him for every alternative reality excuse the highly paid stink tank word slayers can appropriate to print up a new label for the (not just the same ingredients) but the more contaminated version.

Brooks should face the fact, his prominence is based on conservatism social welfare with. A tax exempt welfare to promote deception and confusion to those vulnerable. That is his conservative "must work requirement" to receive welfare checks.
How long must we wait for Conservative donor class to demand urine tests from their propped up welfare propaganda puppets?
Oh Lordy, why has thou forsaken us,without urine tests for ?

Conservatism believes urinine tests on looked down on segments of population is a cure all. Brooks will tell you those on probation of drug related offenses. That Dems agree with this. Whallah! Both sides. So why not the Brooks-ies get tested to clean up their act.
Because taking Bothsiderism to its next level is , All Siderism" "Alternative siderism" may be the level after that.
-If you can attain it.

Dan Kleiner said...

we know EXACTLY when it started in the modern era:
1996. newton leroy gingrich. 'language, a key mechanism for control.'

fuck those fucking fuckers.

(also, did you read andy sullivan's latest fuckery? dude should really ship back up to england and STFU.)

karen said...

NB - DFBrooks -

Just what, pls, tell me, is conservative about wanting to take the USA back to 1850, you ignorant, entitled terrible writer? That is radicalism to the max.

A close friend of mine back in the 1980's used to say, "come the revolution, line the architects up against the wall...". Show me that wall and the both-sideriisrs will be at that wall along with the all radicals who want to take our country back to before the Civil War.

RUKidding said...

Harry Reid smearing Mitt Romney as a tax cheat based on no evidence, anyone?

What did RMoney pay in taxes that ONE year that he begrudgingly finally revealed? Something like paying 17%?

Yeah, not specifically cheating maybe but after the arrogant complaining about the lousy lazy lucky ducks in the 47% who "don't pay ANY taxes" - which means, no fed taxes but they sure do pay plenty of other taxes, plus 47% is way too high - RMoney deserves every single criticism thrown his entitled, rapacious, plundering, job-destroying way.

Oh Noes! I just simply cannot tell who started this and who's more responsible and who has all the corporate media behind them repeating the same nasty tripe bs. It's the fault of Both Sides! Both Sides! my azz.

Anonymous said...

I can die happy now - my tweet made the blog. ;)

Robt said...

You know, Both sides do it.

Let me prove it to you by going back in history somewhere and finding a select instance where it fits my narrative. because, Conservatism is showing it's failure.

Take political correctness. None of the GOP offers it to their opposing colleagues. Their GOP media spits on PC and trashes their perceived enemies (lefties).

So the country needs to come together and be conservative or your not PC and your being partisan.

Is it PC or not to point out The House of Representatives has as their number 3 man of the GOP House majority a " David Duke without the baggage". The White House has White Supremacists in top positions.

You need to be more PC and respectful of those hateful people.