According to Charlie Sykes ...

... it's only a flagrant act of democracy when the result is favorable to bellicose troglodytes conservatives. Today he is claiming that the union thugs in Madison are responsible for Supreme Court Justice (nice ring to it) Kloppenburg's victory because they voted overwhelmingly for her.

Humph. I wonder what the result would be if his math was applied to conservative strongholds in the city of Waukesha and Washington county?

Hate Radio

Indefensible

This is why Rick Esenberg, brilliant though he may be as a lawyer and writer, saddens me because he has become such an apologist for the indefensible – be it WMC, George Bush, Sarah Palin, the Iraq War or right-wing talk radio – namely Charlie Sykes and his caddy, Jeff Wagner. This paragraph written by Esenberg is a good example of his fall from grace.

I understand that Belling's schtick is outrage, but Sykes and Wagner are hardly breathing fire. We have embarrassments like G. Gordon Liddy and Michael Savage. The left has Randi Rhodes and Keith Olbermann.

Keith Olbermann?

I can understand that Esenberg doesn't like Olbermann. He doesn't back down from the fight. And he doesn't apologize. He also calls it as he sees it, regardless from the left or right. And, whereas most of the media personalities are too afraid to take on the GOP machine, Olbermann relishes the fight. I'll agree that his “Worst Person” series is not always the most mature, but it's hardly fire-breathing. Comparing him to Liddy and Savage? That's just nonsense.

The Brew City Brawler has already covered Sykes and his inane shenanigans. And Wagner is not worth the time. But neither is in Olbermann's league as far as providing serious commentary from the heart. This video by Olberman (below) says volumes about the man. He claims not to have had a vested interest in whether Proposition 8 passed or not. Yet, he defends those who want only what others already have, the right to marry.

I have a vested interest because I have a brother who is gay. He is the kindest person I know. His partner passed away about six months ago and while I don't ever remember hearing any talk about taking that next step in their relationship, I wonder if they would have if it had been legally available.



I've never heard Sykes or Wagner come close to this in eloquence. They're both second-tier squawkers who if they had hearts might actually have a heart. Esenberg defends their dreck, their lies. That's indefensible.

h/t Emily Mills at The Lost Albatross

It's a Matter of Context

Charlie Sykes lies so often about everything that it's got to be difficult for him to keep track. Just this morning (I turned WTMJ on to listen to Wayne Laravie's recap of the game -- not on) Charlie said he would be covering two things in depth that Barack Obama said the previous day. "... and I'm not taking these out of context," he breathlessly exclaimed.

Charlie admits that he does take things out of context. Really. Lying Charlie Sykes admits he's a liar.

It's going to be a good day.

Stupid People and Their Distractions

Thanks as always to the genius of Tom Tomorrow.

Captain Blowhard Strikes Again

With, again, sincere apologies to my inspiration and the genius of Tom Tomorrow.

Click on image to enlarge.

The Demise of the GOP

I've been saying the same thing myself. There are many honorable conservatives/Republicans. Unfortunately for them (I'm not terribly unhappy) their party has been hijacked by the wackjobs like Limbaugh, Coulter, Dobson and a seemingly vast number of rude, uncouth and vulgar conservative commenters that you can read regularly on local blogs. This in its entirety from the Anonymous Liberal.

In his column in the New York Times today, David Brooks explains the collapse of the Republican brand this way:

To put it bluntly, over the past several years, the G.O.P. has made ideological choices that offend conservatism’s Burkean roots. This may seem like an airy-fairy thing that does nothing more than provoke a few dissenting columns from William F. Buckley, George F. Will and Andrew Sullivan. But suburban, Midwestern and many business voters are dispositional conservatives more than creedal conservatives. They care about order, prudence and balanced budgets more than transformational leadership and perpetual tax cuts. It is among these groups that G.O.P. support is collapsing.

John Cole, a Republican-voter as recently as 2004, strongly dissents and offers a different explanation:

Like me. It had nothing to do with Burke, and everything to do with what the party had become. A bunch of bedwetting, loudmouth, corrupt, hypocritical, and incompetent boobs with a mean streak a mile long and no sense of fair play or proportion. . . .

Screw them. I got out. They can have their party. I will vote for Democrats and little L libertarians and isolationists until the crazy people aren’t running the GOP. The threat of higher taxes in the short term isn’t enough to keep me from voting out crazy people and voting for sane people with whom I merely disagree regarding policy. Hillarycare doesn’t scare me as much as Frank Gaffney having a line to the person with the nuclear football or Dobson and company crafting domestic policy.

I think Cole is much closer to the truth here than Brooks. I think the reason the Republican brand has suffered so much of late is because many people have become embarrassed by and no longer want to be associated with the party's public representatives; its most visible television personalities, radio hosts, writers, bloggers, and activists, are by in large, obnoxious, crazy, and embarrassing. It's a clown show. Intelligent conservatives cringe when they see people like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh on television spouting their toxic nonsense, but this toxic gasbag contingent has come to dominate the GOP. And while this stuff might be red meat to much of the Republican base, it's scaring away the more educated members of the party.

I know this because I know a number of people who, not so long ago, were very proud Republicans and were not at all embarrassed about saying so. And now they're all very disillusioned and quick to tell you that they're not that kind of Republican. The problem for the GOP is that it has allowed a bunch of rabid loons to take control of its messaging and they are tarnishing the brand with their relentless idiocy. As long as this continues, there will continue to be an exodus from the party of people like John Cole, who may not agree with the Democrats on everything, but are just sick and tired of the GOP clown show.

Sykes Hearts Jenna Jameson

Now we know what Charlie does when the wife and kids are not home, and it's dark and he's lonely. He reaches out to Jenna Jameson, porn star.

The More They Open Their Mouths ... the More Obvious Their Disdain for Humanity Becomes

For Jessica McBride, Charlie Sykes, Peter DiGaudio and all the other short-sighted right-wing individuals who think that David Ehrenstein’s op-ed about Barack Obama – the “Magic Negro” – now gives you license to expose your racist hearts with impunity (oooh, the naughty left said it first), here is a comment from a fellow anonymously named “Fabtemp” at Media Matters for America (you know, the scholarly site, not the blogsite authored by the woman named McBride who poses as a scholar). It's about Rush Limbaugh's new found playground word that he has claimed he will continue to use it until someone says it originated with him ... thereby, and only in his twisted mind, confirming that it's all about him.

Wow, Rush! Are you surprised that you found an LA Times editorialist who is only slightly less racist than you are?

The "Magic Negro" is a denigrating term for a two dimensional character so often used in film stories. He is never allowed to be a "real" person with fears, weaknesses, psychological complexities or even much of a personal history. He has counter parts in the "Magic Asian Master" and the "Magic Gay Man".

If you wish to see a form rebellion against the "Magic Negro", watch films in which Denzel Washington wanted to be a part. He's made a career out of avoiding playing the "Magic Negro", routinely choosing instead rather complex characters, some with extraordinary personal flaws like homophobia, alcoholism and even sublimated socipathology.

Ehrenstein, of course, confuses film story lines with real life. What he perceives to be some sort of "mystification" of Barack Obama is racist in its perception already. Obama is not an angry, black man shouting colorful speeches about civil rights. He's a polished son of academia who rose to the position of United States Senator - not social issue gadfly.

As Chris Rock would mock about what was so often coined about Colin Powell "What do you EXPECT the man to sound like???"

It's Ehrenstein who has the problem of seeing Barack Obama as "real", not the Dem voters supportive of his candidacy.

And here you come, Rush, gleefully happy that someone you think is "on the left" (BTW, Would that be because of Ehrenstein's previous columns, his paper or his surname? Perhaps all three?), legitimizing your repeat of "Magic Negro" like a three year old who has learned a new "bad word" to gain attention from his parents.

You and your grazing herd will never quite understand the CRITIQUE inherent in the creation of the "Magic Negro" character in story lines and how inherently OFFENSIVE a character he is. All you want is the legitimacy to scream what you think is an offensive, racism term - because you needed some "leftist" permission to do so.

So scream it all you want to your beer-swilling, dashboard fist pounding, insecure legions. Barack Obama and his supporters aren't paying attention to either YOU or the soft bigotry contained in Ehrenstein's column.

Those who pay attention to racist stereotypes in American media were already well aware that "Hollywood" ain't exactly a factory in which true social equality dreams are made. Only you people look to "Hollywood" as some representation of "liberal" thought.

Are you SURE it's not about the surnames, Rush?

Geez!

Just wanted to echo Jay Bullock’s comments over at folkbum’s rambles and rants. The incident at the Army recruiting center is deplorable. I hope the perpetrators are caught and they spend some serious time for their stupid, inane actions. The only thing they have accomplished is to besmirch those who protested this illegal war with compassion, honor and respect.

Having said that, another prediction is coming true that the wing-nuts would be jumping all over this. Charlie Sykes used the phrase “well-coordinated” four times during the short amount of time I actually was able to listen this morning … this phrase obviously designed to give the impression that this kind of behavior is breaking out all over the country in perfect synchronicity. It’s not, by the way.

What is really well-coordinated is the constant assault of the right-wing noise machine (and their blogger sycophants) as they spread the verbal equivalent of human feces on the airwaves.