Rightwing Bloggers Marching in Lockstep (Again!)
Rightwing bloggers have been so fixated on John Kerry’s dumb comment, I’ve almost forgotten what they used to write about. What happened to “family values,” “stay the course,” “gay marriage,” “cut and run?”
The rightwing automatons must have been running out of ammunition, because Kerry’s “botched joke” sure has given them something to blather about. I don’t know who’s been sending out daily instructions to thousands of rightwing bloggers, but they sure did get the memo.
Flocks of birds will often swoop and zigzag in unison, but Homo Sapiens doesn’t operate that way. If several thousand people are walking along, you won’t see them stopping and starting and turning in lockstep (unless they’re military recruits following their Drill Instructor). Do rightwing bloggers have a drill instructor? Does Karl Rove have the e-mail address of each and every one of them?
Surfing through the traffic exchange sites, it’s all you see. One rightwing blog after another: Kerry this, Kerry that, Kerry insulted the troops, Kerry hates America…The lemmings are on the march. It’s kind of like that scene in Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian” where Jesus/Brian called out to a huge crowd “you are all individuals.” And they all responded in unison with “yes we are all individuals.”
posted by Tom Harper @ 12:10 PM
24 Comments:
I got a comment from one of the zombies almost immediately. I dispatched it with my usual thoughtful prose...
They do get instructions, via RNC talking points bulletins. That much is true-there really is a reason they all say the same thing, almost verbatim.
I think Major Conflict said it best re. the Kerry flap... the GOP was running on empty, and Kerry drove right up and put a couple of gallons into their tank...
They probably won't get as much mileage out of it as they think they will, though. They really seem to be grasping at straws at this point, and this election season it isn't really about one Dem making a gaffe re. Bush and Iraq at the last minute; it's about the united Dems (and many Republicans joining them) pointing up Bush's failures, and that's about like shooting fish in a barrel... The administration walks around in circles with a huge bullseye painted on it, and they're getting kicked while they're down. I would like to see the kicking continue.
I think the Kerry stuff will all blow over. He should have apoligized immediately... but he did apologize. He did the right thing by removing himself from the campaign trail for the last week of action. I don't think his dumb-ass mistake will give any Congressional elections to any Republicans. The GOP is so desperately hungry at this point, they'll pounce on just about any scrap, edible or otherwise. I don't think they will find much nourishment here...
It was nice that the White House counsel fellow, "BONER" I think his name is, was making comments that basically put the blame for the Iraq failures on the shoulders of the generals. It was also nice to hear that Democrats were demanding that he apologize for his comments.
So, it isn't the fault of Rumsfeld at all, but the fault of the people on the ground, i.e. the generals? Oh well, Bush rarely listens to generals anyway, so a comment like the one The Boner made is probably to be expected. Yes, he should apologize to the generals. We don't want the troops to be demoralized, but how about the people who lead the troops in Iraq? Heh! The White House ought to be thinking about the generals' morale too.
Is anyone else besides me going to be glad when this election is over and we don't have to watch and listen to all the blatant campaign b.s. coming from both major parties for a while?
Jolly Roger: Yeah, there's no way they could all be saying the same thing without being prompted and instructed.
Whether it's fostered or genetic, it is "beehive mentality".
Having watched the whole speech, I can't imagine why this became SUCH a big issue. I think "desperation" is the word of the week.
What is even more worrisome than the apparatus that jolly roger points out, is the willful following of the plan. But you are right, there is no way they could be doing it without this, so I guess it is at least 50-50. 50% diabolical authoritarianism and 50% lemming.
Although I have to admit, there was a time not that long ago when I felt that way about certain leftist movements. Doctrine and blind, unquestioning followers.
But this is a major plurality we are talking about, not some fringe groups. That is scary.
Snave: Beehive — that’s a good description of them.
Dustin: Yeah, I think desperation is what it is. They desperately need something, anything, to grab onto and cling to.
Prague Twin: Yup, it’s that combination of an authoritarian leader and lots of lemmings who need someone to look up to. I’m sure lots of fringe groups, Left and Right, operate this way. But this is the first time I’ve seen either of the mainstream parties marching in lockstep like this. It’s not a pretty sight.
This isn't the first time that I've seen either party lockstep like this. The 2004 elections was a big one for that sort of thing.
But frankly, Kerry's comment was stupid and insulting. He may have intended it as a joke, but delivery is important and he made an ass out of himself on that end. Not much of a surprise.
they can cling to diebold.
it's the ultimate trump card.
on the contrary, kerry's commentary was right on the money.
his point was that bush and his cronies are idiots who have gotten this country into a huge mess.
what part of that do you disagree with?
The wingnuts have been desperately milking this situation for all it's worth but the polls show it hasn't had any effect on the upcoming election. Maybe the public has finally wised up!
Stephanie: I think Republicans surpass the Democrats when it comes to marching in lockstep. It’s just the nature of the beast. Democrats are unfocused and going off half-cocked in five directions at once, and Republicans do everything in unison. Those are stereotypes but I think there’s a certain amount of truth to them.
I haven’t paid much attention to Kerry’s comment. It was either dumb or he meant to word it differently, or something. But the way so many rightwing bloggers and commentators have grabbed ahold of this and clung to it, it’s mindboggling.
Spaceneedl: Yup, Diebold to the rescue. (God, say it isn’t so.)
J. Marquis: I’ve even seen polls showing that the Republican mass tantrum might be backfiring on them. But their desperation is amusing to watch.
let's please not forget that the actual prepared text that he botched was in fact a shot at Bush:
“I can’t overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don’t study, if you aren’t smart, if you’re intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq.”
Now, that being said, the reason the rethugs are jumping up and down is because they have nothing else.
Except for them islam0-fascists and the gays that want to get married, of course..
Mike: Boy, one missing word can sure change the meaning.
What do you mean, the Rethugs have nothing else? What about, uh...I guess you're right, they don't have anything else.
The problem is history. Kerry has repeatedly fell on his sword when ever he speaks in relation to the military. His speech writer should know this and avoid the subject completely.
We see other Dem's running for cover after Kerry spoke or mis-spoke. Even Don Imus has asked Kerry to please Shut up.
Ablur: I think Republicans secretly like Kerry since he gives them so much ammunition. They pretend they're just horrified that he might run again in 2008, but I think that's actually what they're hoping for. A Kerry nomination would hand the White House to the Republicans; they couldn't ask for a better gift.
Tom,
"Those are stereotypes but I think there’s a certain amount of truth to them."
While I agree with your stereotypes (excepting the individuals who don't fit them), when it comes to responses to Bush, the Dems march in lockstep in an equally silly manner. I've experienced the same thing going to liberal blogs that you're describing about conservative blogs.
"I haven’t paid much attention to Kerry’s comment. It was either dumb or he meant to word it differently, or something."
Neither have I. I've heard it once, and that was enough for me. I will compare what Kerry said to you're earlier post concerning Limbaugh & MJF. Your original post (which I believe you've now changed) was ambiguous and could be taken either way. Kerry's comment was very similar. However, concerning Kerry's past defamation of the troops who fought in Vietnam, it's more difficult to assume he was speaking about Bush instead of the troops themselves. To me, it seems very much like a Freudian slip, instead of a bad joke.
As for rightwing bloggers, it's just a little bit more ammunition that Kerry just handed to them to paint the Dems as soft on terror and against our troops.
Tom,
"A Kerry nomination would hand the White House to the Republicans; they couldn't ask for a better gift."
Well, you're right about that. In 2004 something I heard a lot was a plea to vote for Kerry because anyone was better than Bush, not much to instill confidence in a man that intended to lead our nation.
I love how they're all saying Kerry now hates the troops, esp. since he is a vet himself. Like this even has anything to do with the upcoming elections, or should.
Stephanie: “Kerry’s past defamation of the troops” — Uh, I think we have different takes on this. I hadn’t heard of John Kerry during the Vietnam period (yes, I was there; I’m old), but it sounds to me like he was protesting what soldiers were doing under orders. He was protesting the “leadership” of the war, not the soldiers themselves. He’s a veteran himself; I can’t imagine him doing or saying anything against the troops.
I’m not sure if I’m up for a long discussion of Vietnam, or whether criticizing a military operation is the same thing as “defaming” the troops. In any case, Kerry is a veteran and most of Bush’s henchmen who got us into Iraqmire wouldn’t know a military uniform if it fell on them.
I don’t think much of Kerry; he’s too wooden and too phony. I voted for him in ‘04 as the lesser of 2 evils but I hope the choices are better in ‘08.
Laura: Yeah, it doesn’t make much sense to say that a veteran “hates the troops.” But the Republican campaign is desperate and they’ll grab at anything right now.
Keith Olbermann has an interesting take on who should be apoligizing to whom. It is at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14912584/
Snave: That's a very good speech by Olberman. Too good -- his plane will be leaving for Gitmo shortly.
Tom,
"I voted for him in ‘04 as the lesser of 2 evils but I hope the choices are better in ‘08."
I voted for Bush, but for the same reason and with the same hope. I really hope we have some sort of viable third party by 2008, but that feels rather like whistling in the wind at this point.
However, after watching those two go at it for two + years this is my assessment of Kerry/Bush:
They're both elitist creeps, but at least Bush has the sense to pretend not to be once in a while.
Stephanie: I agree they're both elitist creeps. Kerry's probably even less likeable as a person than Bush. I don't know if that good ol' boy "someone you'd like to have a beer with" personality of Bush's is real or manufactured, but he at least comes across as more likeable than Kerry. But I don't think Kerry would've been this powercrazed if he had gotten elected president. (I guess we'll never know.)
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