I’m So Happy to Get This Advice – From a Neo-Con
Bret Stephens, a loudmouth Neo-Con who regularly pollutes the opinion pages of the New York Times and right wing media, gave the Dems some very important advice Friday with the ominous warning, “Democrats are Blowing it, Again”. Stephens, known as a vehement climate denier, Kavanaugh defender, torture supporter, and Trump apologist, believes he has the answer to all of the Dems woes, and that is, don’t be so mean. Using the odd metaphor of becoming unattractive by piercing your tongue, Stepehens goes through a long litany of offenses the Dems have committed in his view:
- Hillary said you can’t be civil with someone trying to destroy everything you stand for.
- House Rep. Jerry Nadler dared to say that he would start an investigation of Kavanaugh and the whitewashed FBI “investigation” should the Dems take control of the House.
- Cory Booker and Kamala Harris really blew it when the spoke out against the Kavanaugh nomination with “histrionics” and turning the hearings into “audition tapes” for the presidential bids.
- Chuck Schumer chose to turn the Kavanaugh catastrophe into a campaign issue.
- The New Yorker really blew it by publishing Deborah Ramirez’s account of Kavanaugh’s sexual assault. Never mind that the FBI refused to follow up on that account and that of dozens of others who tried to testify to the veracity of her account.
- Dems denounced Susan Collins, calling her a “gender traitor” in a a NYT op-ed. Shame on the NYT, his employer.
Now here’s a guy who thought invading Iraq was a great idea, discrimination against Muslims is just dandy, and that Israel should strike against the Palestinians. I know he has a depth of wisdom about all things Democratic (that’s sarcasm, folks), but perhaps his time would be better spent reviewing the truckloads of bullshit that he’s been peddling for years. I know the NYT has him as a columnist for “balance”, but Jesus – there’s no one else?
Since the Times already employs David Brooks and Ross Douthat, how about some balance for their balance? Charles Blow must feel mighty lonely.
This is the print equivalent of standing in front of a crowd of knuckle-draggers screaming “Lock ‘er up!” (about any woman you can name) and calling Democrats an angry mob.
1I so want a blue baseball cap that reads “Part of the Angry Mob.”
2The real reason why Republicans keep advising Democrats not to stir up Democratic voters’ emotions – is that Republicans know this is a very effective tactic.
3Yeah, Jefe, I get it: You hate pretty much everyone to the right of Che Guevara. Seems to me, though, that you lost track of Stephens’ point, viz. that liberal whining will, as usual, be totally counterproductive by simply giving free material for pumping up the legions of right wing Neanderthals. Go back and read Stephens’ last four paragraphs.
4No need. Stephen’s does what every other conservative does when he/she doesn’t know what the hell they’re talking about. This piece is designed to do one thing and one thing only: slow down momentum with ominous warnings about being too aggressive/too mean. I call bullshit.
5@Carl de Villar: The idea of Democrats needing to keep from enraging Republicans assumes that Republicans won’t make stuff up. Pizzagate, Birtherism, Hillary’s e-mails, Al Gore inventing the Internet – they’ll always find something.
Republican get out the vote efforts hinge on making their base angry. It has won many elections for Republicans. Perhaps Democrats should see whether it works for us.
6Agree with El Jefe. There is no sort of equivalency here at all. The NY Times has been emailing me for some time selling their paper at a special rate. Normally, I would jump at that BUT psychotic clowns like Stephens just turns me off completely. He remind me way too much of the mob that marched on U/VA’s campus after dark and then the riot in the streets the following day.
7Considering the imitation of a surrender monkey that shumer has been doing on judges and other appointments are you sure he is not on shumers staff?
8@RepubAnon: Of course Repubs will “always find something”, but Dems often give them nuclear level freebies. Case in point: “… basket of deplorables”, which was likely a huge driver of 2016 results.
Until Dems develop the kind of message discipline we see in the Repugs, all may well be lost.
9No, there isn’t anyone else who can put forth any reasonable, well-thought-out, truthful opinion for the Republicans because the party is totally devoid of any policy other than protecting and promoting the interests of their wealthy paymasters while they retain their positions by playing into their supporters’ fears, prejudices and obsession with controlling lady parts. So…Stephens, Douch-hat (another beauty employed by the NYT), cranky ‘ole George Will — doesn’t matter, they got no one.
10Bret Stephens is a fire breathing Neo-Con who hates Democrats. But now, he’s (out of the goodness of his heart) offering helpful suggestions for Democrats which will make them more appealing, and presumably help get them elected? Is that about right?
Sure.
11@Carl de Villar #9
12Once you let the opposition define what one can say and how you have lost the arguement.
The problem with her comment about deplorables is that she backed off the truth.
She showed that it was possible to scare her out of a truthful and accurate statement thus showing political cowardice.
Best thing is ignore the gish gallop of lies, exargerations, fantasies and delusions that is the thuglican party and “speak common sense to the american people”.
Amazing how many people respond to strength of character and willingness to stand for something and are turned off by acts of cowardice.
What Democrats need to do more often is to call out GOP lies as LIES. No more of this crap of using words like prevarication, misspoke, inaccuracy, and the rest of it. When Trump or any other member of the crew tells an outright lie, say it’s a LIE. Journalists should do this too. They’re wearing out the other words. And when Kavanaugh did it repeatedly during his testimony, and it could be proven, the Democrats examining him should have used the words LIE and PERJURY right there on the teevee. I’m sick and tired of being too damn nice to these people. They sure as hell aren’t nice to us.
13@ Rhea # 13
14Yes, Yes.
@Rhea#13
here,here
15I love Michelle, but that “when they go low, we go high” stuff lost us the House, the Senate and the White House. Turning the other cheek gets us nowhere with this new GOP. It’s time to stop taking a feather pillow to a street fight.
16@Cheryl: I find myself agreeing with Eric Holder: “When they go low, we kick them.” We don’t have to lie or cheat, but we have to call a lie a lie, every. single. time. If we don’t call them out, nobody will. We can’t rely on the media–any of it–to do that for us. They’re busy trying to turn the election into a horse race, to attract viewers/sell airtime/sell newspapers. We can’t let Republicans dictate the issues, and we can’t let them lie about Democrats.
17All snacilbupeR, few good and mostly bad, need to give the loss of their party to Trumpanzeeism an ineffable rest. Face it, admit it, you screwed the pooch and thus have a madman as the titular head of your party. We do not want your advice, your trolling ‘help’ or any part of you. Go fix your own mess and kindly stop trying to hijack our party, after wrecking your own.
18@Jane & PKM #18
19But don’t you understand that the d’s were so mean by actually competeing that they had to push for the worst possible option just to “own the libs” now if the D’s would just take their cue from some of their elected such as shumer and cuellar and start acting like good well trained dogs the thugs wouldn’t be forced to wreak havoc upon the world.
See its all the d’s fault.
They should just learn from rahm, shumer, dws and cuellar and stop resisting thuglican theft.
Oh, if only Obama had gotten his first candidate for SCOTUS, Gonzalo Curiell (you know, the midwestern born Mexican) we might have averted so much harm. As for you, Mr. C deV, thanks for your balance here on this forum, saves having to risk our computers from going to Fox or the Blaze.
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