Monday, July 08, 2019

Centrism: Like Strontium-90 In The Milk, Ctd

In retrospect there is only one thing I would change about this post:
On this blog, I have made the point thousands of times over the last seven years that Fake Centrism is our most dire and dangerous political problem. Without a Fake Centrist narrative, Conservatives have no place to hide their lies, slander and depravity. With a Fake Centrist narrative, there is no Conservative fraud or treason so large that the media will not* bury it under an avalanche of reflexive, "Both sides do it"-ism.
This no longer a point I have made thousands of times over the past seven years.  

This has now become a point I have made thousands of times over the last 14 years.

After all this time, Fake Centrism/Both Siderism remains the retrovirus that is killing our democracy's capacity to defend itself from its internal enemies: it is the immune-system-destroying disease which allows every other kind of Hate Radio/Fox News opportunistic political malignancy to run wild through our body politic.

And man, once you start to notice how automatically every water-cooler Cicero and two-bit Tom Friedman uses Both Siderism to prop up their lazy arguments, it's really creepy.

This week's textbook example comes from super-right-wing-Government-is-evil-Libertarian-guy, Justin Amash (who has a perfect 100% rating from the whack-jobs at FreedumbWorks), who bought himself a dozen headlines and glowing op-eds, and a seat at the Sunday Gasbag Cavalcade by announcing, on the Fourth of July, that he was quitting the Republican Party.

But Justin, why now?  Why not twenty years ago?


Because of the Kr'upt Duopoly!  From The Washington Post (with emphasis added):
Justin Amash: Our politics is in a partisan death spiral. That’s why I’m leaving the GOP.

...
These are consequences of a mind-set among the political class that loyalty to party is more important than serving the American people or protecting our governing institutions. The parties value winning for its own sake, and at whatever cost. Instead of acting as an independent branch of government and serving as a check on the executive branch, congressional leaders of both parties expect the House and Senate to act in obedience or opposition to the president and their colleagues on a partisan basis...

In this hyperpartisan environment, congressional leaders

We are fast approaching the point, however, where Congress exists as little more than a formality to legitimize outcomes dictated by the president, the speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader...

 ...party leaders distract and divide the public...

This all combines to reinforce the us-vs.-them, party-first mind-set...

These same independent-minded Americans, however, tend to be less politically engaged than Red Team and Blue Team activists...
And because the Gods of Liberal Blogging Content Provision are generous and have a terrific sense of humor, what do I fine crouching in the corner just yesterday on the Letters to the Editor page of my dying local paper? 
Letter: In the grip of the inept

The past 10 years have shown that we as a country are allowing idiots to run our government. This has been highlighted by the election of TOTUS (Twitterer of the United States).

The two main political parties have failed to do their jobs by abandoning the “bipartisan” method of governing. We as voters have allowed and gone along with their inept and deceitful operations by keeping them in office in spite of the facts that show them up for their poor judgements.

Politicians have always been self-serving but the seat fillers we now have brought government service to a new low. It appears that they would rather lie to us than be honest about what they are doing and allowing some public discourse. What we get now are soundbites, buzzwords and dog whistles that raise our hackles rather than inform...

Note the time-line the letter writer identifies as the Age of Idiots,  Ten years.  I can virtually guarantee you this goof is a Republican who, if cornered, would now swear he's an "independent".  Who thought Barack Obama was a monster, and was cool with Trump, but now has buyer's remorse because of all the Tweeting. 

After all these years, Both Siderism remains the most durable political Big Lie in American politics because it still gives every coward and imbecile a reliably safe place to hide out from their consequences of their idiocy. 

It's everywhere.

It's the political Strontium-90 in the milk.

And it's killing us.




Behold, a Tip Jar!

7 comments:

bowtiejack said...

Independent - a Republican with a sense of shame.

Pagan in repose said...

A double yes-in-dee-dee-doo-doo.

And speaking of doo doo, I had never listened to ole' up chuck turd (by choice)until he moderated, if that is what you can call it, the debates. Holy mother of vomit in the name of uncontrollable flatulent sharts...there is no word to describe the sound of the creatures screeching and howling from the forest begging for it to stop. Why Rachel Maddow didn't squash his nether regions flat is beyond me.

As always keep up the excellent work.

Brad in Dallas said...

There's a way you could read this as progress. A handful of sturdy souls of extraordinary self-control are starting to emerge from the muck of Fox-hypnotism, and can at least sign their names to a letter saying "Trump bad". If you criticize them for not also being able to shake off their reflexive hatred of Democrats, which they imbibed with their mother's milk and Limbaugh brand baby food, are you being a bit too inflexible? Nurture them along a bit, man, give them a chance to get the scales from their eyes.

Unknown said...

Now, Drifty...

It's only killing YOU.

The fact that my Conservative hair and teeth are falling out and I'm losing vision in my Conservative eyes means NOTHING. I am perfectly healthy in Trump's Paradise, and the milk is fine.

So shut up and drink it.

/SARCASM!!!!

Victor said...

Nothing new here.

The GOP, unsurprisingly, just took a page from the old Nazi 'Big Lie' theory, and updated it for newer mediums - TV, the internet, social networks.

So it's basically the same thing - only the RepubliKKKlans do it better.

But one thing is for sure:
'Both-siding' is death for a representative democracy.

Robt said...

There is only one side that indulges in socialism. That would be those wascally Liberal-Democrats. Which of course makes all Democrats "Liberal socialists.
It is a low cost at any price spoof repeated through Conservative party welfare to hold their Citizens United money is speech and that expensive billionaire funded media to keep the very thirsty quenched with Kool Aid.

You can see this when Trump (republican) devotees when asked the simplest of questions of Trump. How they answer/
- When Trump stated on the 4th of July speech that Gen. Washington took over the the airports which led to victory over the British.?
The respond, He didn't say that! Trump is right and our actual history is deep state fake lie history!

It is centrist For a GOP senate majority ton inauguration day of an opposing party president from a Senate opposing majority leader to state, "It is his number one goal to make that president a one term president".

The Both sider purgatory is a space for the non self critical thinging minds. To have a sense of safe, basic protection for sitting on a fence.

Like mentioned in post (above) Rep. Justin Amash is in conservative fascist metamorphose. He has not fully evolved. Is still maturing a slow growth process of denail and inability to learn from misakes.
perhaps this can change.

His geogrphical change by leaving a republican party he was never really part of but made every attempt (successfully) to infect with his libertaiean fanatic oligarch rule notions. have come to a measure of reality and he runs from it. Now he is Independent? Hogwash. he is the same libertarian asshat projecting purity to a constitution he has consistantly made every effort to scrap because it does not fit "His" strange ideals.
Which concludes, his Swearing to the Oath of his office on his Bible to his God to "Uphold that constitution".

None of it is meaningful. He just lied and went through the motions because it was required. Required like being a republican you must check the box to be anti Abortion. Check the Box make all your statements to strike it down. Strike down the law(s) supposed to defend.
The go coerce the woman you got pregnant in your affair to go have an abortion to hide your affair and lake of your Biblical family religious values.

The GOP in their re branding (to come soon). merely need to run their guy as an independent conservative. have the GOP support it. I mean, they allowed Trump to run in the GOP without conservative legacy.
Like the hannity who claims, he is not a registered republican. He is a patriotic/proud referred member of the "Conservative party".

I mean is he hep or what?

Neo Tuxedo said...

Why Rachel Maddow didn't squash his nether regions flat is beyond me.

I'm not sure there's anything to squash. At the very least, it's as tiny a target as it would be on any other small mangy nocturnal rodent.