Pundit Overload...Best...Rant...Ever

[Oilwellian]

Pundit Overload
by Hunter
Sun Oct 30, 2005 at 05:18:03 PM PDT
Can I just say something straight-up here?

Having Ann Coulter on your network debating the "meaning" of the Fitzgerald investigation isn't relevant. It isn't useful. It's like watching a dog crap to music. There's some percentage of the country that would probably tune in to that too, but it doesn't make it "news" or even "analysis".

And you can repeat that statement, to a less overtly crass degree, for nearly every Republican and Democratic professional spinner, on both sides. During this particular week, we have actual news. It means something, something important. We don't know all the facts yet, or even whether or not a man is guilty or innocent, and finding out is deadly serious business. So how about we start finding out the facts? How 'bout the media start, instead of turning this story into the same Rolodex-emptying game of Hollywood Squares that producers have managed to turn every major national story into, these last ten years?

Interviewing reporters who have been breaking new information in this story -- I'm sympathetic to that. Interviewing longtime Washington hands who can shed light on what it means to have something be "classified", or legal figures who can explore where the case could go, by all means. But there is something flatly wrong about the ongoing, incessant Pundit-O-Matic that presumes that just because someone is a partisan, they have relevancy to this story.


I'm sick of Republican pundits expressing doughy vindication that there is, according to them, only one potential felon in the White House. That's the standard, now? "Just one felon" is fine? And it's only for a cover-up, and not the "actual crime", so hell, that's just dandy? That's the damn standard, nowdays?

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[mestup]

1. "watching a dog crap to music"

I just lost it when I first read that Coulterzeitgeist.

:bounce:

[ElectroPrincess]

7. Oh yes, I'm filing that away for future reference ...

Too funny! :P

[Why Syzygy]

2. He needs to talk.

If his indictment is about obstructing justice, then he needs to get busy un-obstructing and let the juice flow.

TALK, LIBBY.

[Peace Patriot]

3. Now there's an opening sentence! "Having Ann Coulter on your network...

...debating the 'meaning' of the Fitzgerald investigation isn't relevant. It isn't useful. It's like watching a dog crap to music."

Kudos, Hunter! And thanks, George Oilwellian, for the post. (You have a great handle, too!)

I caught some of this dog crap chatter on, I think it was some MSNBC show --I don't pay much attention--not Coulter, some other glib, fascist emptiness--and I know what Hunter means. I just laughed at it, and turned it off fairly quickly, thinking gloomy thoughts about the human race.

I am not especially happy to see these murderers and thieves start to get indicted. It is too appalling, what they have done. If I have any positive feelings about it, it is because of the hope that we might be relieved of the danger they have put us in, which is extraordinary on all fronts--from the war, from financial disaster, from assaults on our democracy and the rule of law. But I am too aware of how far we have yet to go to get our country back, to feel much joy in the truth coming out. We are back at square one. We do not have the right to vote to change this. THAT's the problem. (It's so obvious--with Bushite companies having gained control of the vote tabulation with "trade secret," proprietary programming code. I mean, come on....).

I also think that things are so bad, what we need is a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission," such as they did in South Africa after apartheid. (Those who fully confess their wrongdoing can avoid prosecution.) The crimes committed are so bad that they will rip our society to shreds, as they come out, and there will be turmoil and desire for vengeance, at a time when we must commit all our energy and creativity toward repairing our democracy, recovering from the junta's massive theft, and saving our planet (!).

If we can ever get to the point of "Truth and Reconciliation." For now, all we can hope for--from the Plame and AIPAC investigations--is truth, and that is a quavering hope. Will we even get truth?

[whirlygigspin]

4. Best line ever

"Having Ann Coulter on your network debating the "meaning" of the Fitzgerald investigation isn't relevant. It isn't useful. It's like watching a dog crap to music."

ROFL

:hurts: whatch me pull a Coulter!

[Burried News]

16. All in all she's just another Turd for the Wall.

[shenmue]

5. Coulter/dog crap line...

Funniest thing in the history of the world!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Stockholm]

6. Nominated: funny and driving home a valid point.

EOM

[unblock]

8. today's interviewees could just fax it in.

i'm old enough to remember when political interviews helped you learn about the person being interviewed. they came to the show with their own opinions and perspectives, based on their own interests/agenda and their particular constituency.

once upon a time, congresscritters had their own areas of expertise and focus, and their colleagues respected that.


nowadays, the banana republicans are completely interchangeable, since all they bring to the interview is the fax lie of the day. sure, they vary in their ability to pull it off or sell the lie. but their opinion? check out any of a dozen interviews that same day, with a dozen different banana republicans, and you'll hear the identical talking points, with the identical catch phrase.

what's the point of showing up? bypass the middleman. the interviewer should just get a copy of the banana republican fax du jour and read it. this is today's lie from the banana republicans. now here's a democrat who may or may not agree with it. we had to bring him to the studio to ask.

[Marie26]

13. There was a great post about this

The American public isn't buying the talking points anymore. Someone posted this C-Span interview w/Viet Dinh, author of the Patriot Act. He tried the same faxed spin about the "criminalization of politics," but people actually called him on it! If you're feeling down about the punditocracy, this video will give you a little hope(and also make you laugh).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5200196&mesg_id=5200196

[wookie294]

9. As long as Dems tune-in to her rants, she'll stay on the air

Liberals even quote the Drudge Report. LOL. People actually visit Drudge's website.

:rofl:

[No Exit]

10. Excellent!! You

know, vis-a-vis that "dog crapping to music" reference, I would like to say that Ann Coulter has always kind of reminded me of an Afghan hound.

Mega-apologies to Afghan hounds everywhere.

[Miss Chybil]

11. Who's Ann Coulter?

Bwahhahaaahhaaa! Bitch.

[tk2kewl]

12. Never mind Coulter. I find it completely absurd that convicted Watergate

criminals are marched out as experts. :crazy: :banghead: :grr:

[RandomKoolzip]

14. That's a brilliant post. "Doughy vindication!"

Love it.

That's the standard, now? "Just one felon" is fine? And it's only for a cover-up, and not the "actual crime", so hell, that's just dandy? That's the damn standard, nowdays?

:rofl:

[BrklynLiberal]

15. Thank you for posting it. It is fantastic. I have forwarded it to everyone

[ginnyinWI]

17. Newshour has had the best coverage

They've actually taught me something in the process of discussing the CIA Leak case. And Charlie Rose, to some extent.

Nothing from cable news, just hot air.

And for you Mark Shields fans, he's been on Newshour more often lately, since all this stuff started breaking. Thursday, Friday, and today.