Great Digby rant on Dowd, Greenfield & Co. Trashing of Dem Candidates!

[KoKo]

Removing The Stinger
by digby

Via TPM, I see that Jeff Greenfield has responded to the blogosphere's exasperation athis story comparing Barack Obama and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's mode of dress. Just as his fellow entertainer Rush Limbaugh always does, he claims he was joking and that bloggers are hotheads, trying to feed their blog beast with silly stuff like this.

Greenfield says: "I figured there was no way on planet Earth that anyone could possibly take such a presentation at face value. I was wrong."

-snip-

We have found, among many other things, that there is an obsession among the press corps with a very peculiar form of gender stereotypes which they affix to the political parties. This may be a function of what seems to be their terminal immaturity (and perhaps it has simply become reflex after all this time), but it is also part of a long term political strategy on the right to paint the Democrats as being odd, untrustworthy, hysterical, overly sensitive and soft --- what neanderthals think of as traditionally negative female characteristics. Not only does this narrative feed into these negative sereotypes, which benefits traditonal power structures in general, it feeds into a positive male leadership archetype, which has been appropriated by the Republican Party. It is what allowed a halfwit, manchild to be elected as a "grown-up" while the real adult was derided as some sort of Blanche DuBois character who had lost his grip on reality. The kewl kidz laughed and laughed while the rest of stood there dumbfounded and paralyzed at this bizarre interpretation of reality. We aren't paralyzed anymore.

Is it a sin, in and of itself, that Greenfield trivialized Barack Obama for his wardrobe and compared him to a holocaust denying psychopath? Not really. Is it a major goof for Jeanne Moos to simultaneously go out on the street and ask people if they think his "weird" middle name means that he can't be elected? Probably not.

But you'll have to excuse us hotheads for reacting strongly when we see these things because the last time the media decided to have "fun" and tell "jokes," this way, enough people believed them that it ended up changing the world in the most dramatic and violent way possible. We are in this mess today at least partly because these people failed to do their duty and approached their jobs as if it were a seventh grade slumber party instead of the serious business of the most powerful nation on earth.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_digbysblog_archive.html#116605008142700458

[lancdem]

1. Maureen Dowd is not one of us, and never will be

That's why I ignore her trashing of Bush. That way I'm not a hypocrite when I disregard her bashing of Obama, Hillary, etc.

[wyldwolf]

2. When will he come down on Huffington, KOS, Sirota, etc. ...

Who have made their careers lately trashing Dem candidates?

[KoKo]

4. There's a big difference between "trashing" Dem Candidates & "Questioning."

If you don't know the difference....well what can one say.

[wyldwolf]

5. nah. The real difference is in who the Democrats are, right? LOL!

If you AGREE with the trashing, it's merely questioning. Right?

[lillilbigone]

6. Actually, No, there really is a difference between

questioning someone's policies and ridiculing their style of dress, their name, their taste in entertainment, etc.

[wyldwolf]

7. well, that is true

but trashing is trashing and when the trashing being done (for example, by Huffington) is inaccurate, petty, and hypocritical, then that puts the bar even lower than ridiculing their style of dress, their name, their taste in entertainment, etc.

The way Huffington goes after Hillary, you'd think they wore the same dress to a party or something.

[blm]

9. Speaking of inaccurate, petty, and hypocritical...how about Hillary scolding Kerry

for dropping a pronoun that she KNEW was part of a joke, and instead sided with Bush that what Kerry said was "inappropriate'....and after millions of us Democrats defended her husband for YEARS for dropping his pants.

Surely, the hypocrisy is amazing - no matter WHO it comes from, eh?

[wyldwolf]

10. hypocrisy is amazing, yes, though we're discussing it coming from the media

But how was the incident you mention hypocritical? To have been hypocritical, Hillary would have had to condemn Kerry for something she also did.

In addition, blm, you seem to have developed a personal jihad against the both the Clintons and, it seems, me, because you enter threads I'm in and (attempt) to change the subject to Bill Clinton.

But back to the original point, do you not agree that "personalities" like Sirota, Huffington, Kos, etc. spend an enormous amount of energy trashing Democrats? (perhaps more so than even Republicans.)

[lillilbigone]

11. Why don't you provide some examples of what you are talking about?

These 'inaccurate' criticisms of Hillary by Huffington - could you please provide a link, quote or reference to them? If they exist.

[wyldwolf]

12. sure, why not!

The inaccurate:

In her piece "Hillary's too vane to be president" we see Huffington accusing Clinton of "remaining curiously silent" on Iraq, but truth is Clinton issued a statement the Wednesday before the piece ran in response to the Iraq Study Group report calling for the "redeployment of American troops."

The petty:

Huffington chastises Clinton for preparing for 2008, she makes no such criticisms of Sen. Barak Obama (D-Ill.), who is, of course, taking the same steps toward the same campaign.

The hypocritical:

Huffington called Clinton "the quintessential political weather vane." Yet Huffington, as Peter Rich said, is a social-climbing former conservative Republican until (until her then-husband Michael Huffington was soundly defeated in his race for governor) who then saw the handwriting on the wall in California and suddenly became a social-climbing left-wing Democrat.

[lillilbigone]

13. LOL , you quote three words of an article to make your case?

Let's see the actual context of those three words, thanks... Link please.

[wyldwolf]

14. LOL! First you ask for an example, then you play the "out of context" game.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-huffington7dec07,0,3661250.story?coll=la-news-a_section

[lillilbigone]

15. Alright, let's look at the facts.

You falsely implied that Huffington's characterization of Sen. Clinton as "remaining curiously silent" was meant to say that she had never said anything ever about Iraq.

However, reading the full article reveals that the criticism is not at all so narrowly defined. In fact, viewed in context, the 712-word article out of which you cherry-picked 3 words, is not at all a criticism of Senator Clinton based on some ridiculous notion that she has never uttered a word or statement about Iraq, but an indictment of her overall lack of leadership on the Iraq issue. Perhaps you disagree (and if you'd like to further support your views by showing some instances where the Senator has showed leadership on the issue, I'd love to see them) -- but characterizing a disagreement about a something as subjective as 'showing leadership' as an inaccuracy is at best, sloppy reasoning, and at worst, simply dishonest.

[wyldwolf]

16. Alright let's do

Huffington stated outright that Hillary has remained "curiously silent on Iraq." How else is anyone to take that? Either Hillary has been silent or she had not been. Either way, someone as learned as Huffington should know - especially if Clinton release a statement mere days before the piece in question ran.

Sure, reading the full article reveals that the criticism is not at all so narrowly defined because Huffington never defines it. She jumps from one fuzzy point to the next and never focuses on anything except she doesn't like Hillary, a point she gets across in true hypocritical style.

But it just occurred to me why Huffington is out to get Hillary. Her past speaks volumes. She worked for House Speaker Newt Gingrich during the days of the GOP witch hunt for Bill Clinton. Afterwards, in 2000, she championed the candidacy of John McCain.

Maybe she's still hot for McCain and wants to make sure he doesn't have to face the Clinton machine. Starting to make sense now...

[lillilbigone]

17. OK, keep pretendng those three words were meant literally.

It's so much easier than rising to my challenge of "showing some instances where the Senator has showed leadership on the issue", isn't it?

:hi:

[wyldwolf]

18. keep pretending they didn't

[lillilbigone]

19. Can you show any instances of Hillary showing leadership on the Iraq issue?

Please do.

[wyldwolf]

20. didn't you just wave "goodbye" in your previous reply?

I've shown where Hillary hasn't been silent on Iraq, contrary to McCain Girl's claim.

[lillilbigone]

21. I'm asking you to show where Hillary has displayed leadership.

Perhaps, it is impossible to show something that has never happened.

[wyldwolf]

22. provide me with a good recipe for chicken salad.

See, I can divert from the original point, too.

[lillilbigone]

23. Unlike examples of HIllary's leadership, good chicken salad recipes are easy to find:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22chicken+salad%22+recipe

now, it's your turn: let's see an example of Hillary acting as a leader on Iraq policy.

[wyldwolf]

24. but not good ones. And we're not taking turns. Learn to stay on topic

Wonder why McCain girl doesn't devote numerous columns to trashing John McCain?

[lillilbigone]

25. What is Hillary's position on Iraq? Do you even know?

[wyldwolf]

26. Wonder why McCain girl doesn't devote numerous columns to trashing John McCain?

[lillilbigone]

27. Hillary wants to send more troops to Iraq, just like McCain?

Is that your point? I asked about Hillary's Iraq policy... what is it?

[wyldwolf]

28. do you think Gingrich and McCain have locker room stories about Arianna?

As presidential contenders themselves, they sure are given the easy treatment by their former employee, Arianna.

[lillilbigone]

29. If Clinton hasn't been 'curiously silent' on Iraq, could you tell us what she HAS said about it?

[wyldwolf]

30. Who do you think pays Arianna? The RNC or John McCain? Maybe both?

[lillilbigone]

31. What is Hillary's position on Iraq?

Your silence on this question speaks volumes.

[wyldwolf]

32. Who do you think pays Arianna? The RNC or John McCain? Maybe both?

Your diversion here (and litmus test thread) speaks volumes.

[lillilbigone]

34. Has Hillary spoken on this issue since 6/21/06? She seems curiously silent.

I did find this speech from June: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/speech/view/?id=953

Does that sum up her current view?

[wyldwolf]

35. Who do you think pays Arianna? The RNC or John McCain? Maybe both?

Oh, you think "my candidate" is Hillary?

[lillilbigone]

36. Why did you claim Hillary was not "curiously silent", if you can't think of anything she's said?

LOL. this is fun.

[wyldwolf]

37. Who do you think pays Arianna? The RNC or John McCain? Maybe both?

[KoKo]

38. Who Pays Ariana......What if she's an "OP" for our Lefties? Should we trash

her for this? :shrug:

[AX10]

3. The "punit class" is 100% in the GOP's corner.

They are what passes for "newscasters" these days. It's been that way for the last decade now.

[grasswire]

8. Ed Rogers also said he was "teasing" Obama by using his middle name.

Yep. He excused his emphasis of Obama's middle name "Hussein" by laughing about it being a joke.

I know that Rogers is not a journalist. But he sits with them regularly and his ugly face is on cable news shows.

[calimary]

33. He was not teasing. He was trying to plant seeds. Seeds of doubt

He was trying very hard, in a subtle, below-the-radar way, of planting suspicion that SOMEHOW, however illogical, completely unhinged, unfounded, ridiculous, and STOOOOOOOOOOOPID, Obama is with the terr'ists.

There ARE some people he can reach with that. The knuckle-dragger contingent or those who just resolutely will NOT see or hear the truth. You know, kinda like that guy they worship in the Oval Office.