Thursday, May 05, 2016

Today in Republican Detachment Disorder: Eliot A. Cohen


According to his Washington Post bio (and why would they lie?) Eliot A. Cohen...
...served in the Defense and State departments in the George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations, respectively.
And so, being a loyal Bush family retainer, rather than a simple repast of crow and humble pie, Mr. Eliot has predictably order off the right side of the menu, where it's Bitter Recriminations and Third Party Absinthe for everyone!
Trump’s impending nomination means it’s time for a third party

It’s over. Donald Trump, a man utterly unfit for the position by temperament, values and policy preferences, will be the Republican nominee for president. He will run against Hillary Clinton, who is easily the lesser evil but is trailed by clouds of scandal and misconduct and whose party’s left wing poses its own threats to liberties of speech, religion, enterprise and association.

It is time for a third candidate, and probably for a third party.

Some people will dismiss this notion as absurd. However, only those prescient enough to have forecast Trump’s success have the standing to certify impossibilities. If the Trump candidacy has blown up every other aspect of political conventional wisdom, why not this one?
Well actually, Mr. Cohen, since I did forecast Trump's success, let me advise you to stop hanging around with depraved creeps like Bloody Bill Kristol.  He is not really your friend, Eliot, and the crank he deals is basically zombie bath salt crazydust cut with Frank Gaffney talking points.  It can lead to the eating of other people's faces and the writing of stupid things in the Washington Post.

Why do you think they call it "dope", Eliot?  Why do you think they call it "dope"?!?!



So why does Mr. Cohen really need a third party?

To fuck with the dirty hippies of course!
Even if a third candidacy still yielded a Clinton victory, it would be worthwhile. It would, first, deny the Clinton campaign the illusion of a mandate from American voters who would have, en masse, turned out to reject Trump. If nothing else, a strong third-candidate vote would send her a message to govern from the center, rather than in deference to her party’s increasingly powerful left wing.
And that's the real story.  Because right now I have no trouble at all believing that thousands of party elites and millions of dollars are being passed around like Benghazi-porn to see just how fast a third party can be stood up.  Not built on any identifiable foundation or principle, of course (Republicans no longer have principles) but a temporary, pop-up community in the desert -- a Koch Brothers Burning Man --  where the GOP donor class and Cruz "True Conservative" dead-enders and various other authors of the rise of Trump can park their vote this time around and pretend they are doing something meaningful. Pretend that, somehow, they had nothing to do with the long, grotesque, deliberate mutilation of their Party of Lincoln into the Party of Jefferson Davis.

Sorta like the Tea Party Scam, but for rich people.

And for a party that has spent the last 7.5 years doing nothing but cutting the brake cables and sugaring the gas tank of the man who won two presidential elections back-to-back with overwhelming majorities, it is a little late to start pretending that you actually care about whether or not Democratic presidents have mandates.

Also, as long as I am giving solicited advice, Eliot, a little bird tells me that the entire "Connecticut for Lieberman" party can be picked up for a song...

8 comments:

RUKidding said...

"...whose party’s left wing poses its own threats to liberties of speech, religion, enterprise and association."

Whut? Oh yeah, Bush Crime Syndicate loyal retainer? Check.
Ergo, just spew out some specious lie that sounds good. Check.
Cuz if it's da dreaded LIEbrul, it's badder 'n bad. Check.
But no need to provide links or examples or whatever. Check.

"It would, first, deny the Clinton campaign the illusion of a mandate from American voters who would have, en masse, turned out to reject Trump."

First Rule of the RFight Club: no matter by how large a margin a D pol wins an election, it's never ever a mandate from the proles. It's because the D pol only "won" through some devious means or another, or because the proles simply had no other choice.

Second Rule of the RFight Club: if the proles had no other choice than to vote - always reluctantly! of course - for a D pol, it's the fault of Both Sides, damnit!

Third Rule of the RFight Club: no matter what, make up sh*t about how the D Party is never correct, and even when they win by a landslide, the USA is still, at "worst," a Center RIGHT country.

Fourth Rule of the RFight Club: lather, rinse, repeat.

What's my prize?

Jimbo said...

"...whose party’s left wing poses its own threats to liberties of speech, religion, enterprise and association." Wow. once more, the right's psychological projection comes popping out boldly in print. The left have not had any power to oppress anyone at least since FDR's time (who actually rescued capitalism from its terminal greed and stupidity) whereas the right have systematically squashed human and civil rights whenever they are perceived to clash with their Christo-Fascist ideology. Crawl back into your hole Cohen.

Unknown said...

You know...the last time they didn't like a candidate this much, they killed him.

trgahan said...

I'm not surprised a paid Bush Family stooge would pen the predictable "Praying For Nadar's Return" column that acknowledges unless conservatives find a way to split the Democratic vote they are fucked on so many levels this November.

A conservative third party candidate would be a vanity project to, just like No Labels, try and divert blame from the conservative donor class for rise of Fascism in American.

Habitat Vic said...

Carl, I assume you're referring to Huey Long back in 1935. Although both Huey and tRump are (ostensibly) riding a populist wave, I don't think The Donald has hacked off the real owners of this country (ultra wealthy & big corporations) - at least not yet. Sure, he's brought up cancelling NAFTA & other trade agreements, maybe even going with tariffs or a VAT tax. But he's also talked about dropping taxes on the wealthy, cutting regulations. He's all over the map. More a fast-talking flim-flam man, IMO. A Sanders presidency would probably be more worrisome to the elite.

Huey Long really went after the big money boys: Taxing oil companies to fund social programs, a national income redistribution program called "Shared the Wealth," breaking up the big banks/Federal Reserve, spending on infrastructure, and so on. He stepped on a lot of toes.

Trump? Who knows? He's certainly ticked off the Republican party establishment, but I don't know that he's really frightened the Kochs/Edelesons/etc, or the Big Banks. Despite the yuuuge ego and whatever rabble rousing he spews on any given day, The Donald is still a greedy asshole billionaire. One of the club, in other words.

bowtiejack said...

Checked out our man Eliot. Yet another example (as though one were needed!) of how barking mad stupid these fascistic courtiers are. He is in direct line of descent from the American criminals who originally destroyed Iranian democracy and installed the Shah.

bluicebank said...

There are many levels of stupid in Elliot's article. Here's another.

"It is time for a third candidate, and probably for a third party."

Actually, the time for a "third candidate" was about a half-year ago. There are 50 states and as many rules for running as an independent. Deadlines for getting on the ballot are coming up fast (you have four more days to get on the Texas ballot), with many states EVEN allowing an indie a week or two after the conventions to gather signatures.

https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_for_presidential_candidates

Not even the feared hordes of Bernie Sanders could pull it off in all 50 states. Much less an imaginary Republican Unicorn.

Robt said...

From what I can tell, The 3rd party run. There is no sense in continuing rushing to the restroom if you already crapped your pants.

Many states have deadlines to register as third party balloting. That door is closed.

Keith Olbermann exploded after Citizens United Decision, On his show he documented the end times for political systems.
How it amputated the people's voice in elections.
Are the oligarch vampires now coming out in the light of day to feed?

The GOP is now the host of any wealthy vector who has enough money to afford to be a superior human being. Trump is not the first. There will be others.
Who next, jamie Diamond of Wall Street?
.