Joe Scarborough offered a stirring denunciation of the "professional left" and "far right" today

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

It was such good-old-fashioned home-spun common sense... really brought a tear to the eye.

You see, we have sane people in the middle trapped between the "professional left" and the "far right." (His terminology.) Both parties need to reject these equally pernicious elements so that we can walk forward into the glorious sunlight of centrism.

Here's the thing... I know why Joe Scarborough equates the tea-baggers and what some so wittily call the "left baggers."

He's a fucking Republican.

So of course when the Republican Party is clearly and uniquely wrong about everything he will resort to "both sides do it." That's a convenient stance for him, since both sides do not, in fact, do it.

As to why any ostensible Dems and even some ostensible progressive Dems buy into the Scarborough frame of glorious centrism (guaranteed to never have the right answer, but to be off by a little less than the worst possible answer) pinioned between two walls of lunatics... beats me.

There are some lunatics on the left. They have no influence. None. Zero. And they tend not to even be Democrats. Quite unlike the nut right which has been at home in the pug party since at least 1980. (There is no RW equivalent of the Green Party that has a stable identity and is routinely on some ballots at all levels. All attempts to have a small but steady far-RW party are short-lived and assimilated into the Republican Borg.)

No Democratic politician anywhere says, "I don't think people should throw blood at anyone wearing an animal hide" or "military force is sometimes necessary" or "there is something to be said for private competition in an economy" and then has to retract it the next day.

Mainstream Republicans routinely have to apologize for accidentally admitting to a belief in evolution or climate change or suggesting that coarse racism might not be the core of an effective 21st century governing strategy.

The tea-baggers are insane, their policy proposals are suicidal, they are WITHIN the Republican Party and their delusions are the DOGMA of the Republican Party.

What is the equivalent left within the Democratic Party?

The people with the right answers. The freak-show "professional left" within the Democratic Party is some smart liberals who support policies that are clearly superior, as policy... policies that best address our real problems with real solutions based on evidence of efficacy.

That is the loony left. People who want things like single-payer that everyone concedes is correct-but-impractical policy that is the only real solution to our long term debt issues. People who cannot see why we cannot scrape by with a military only 75% as expensive as the rest of the world's military spending combined, instead of 100%. People who were able to do the math and knew that nothing the centrists did or even contemplated in 2009 was going to be sufficient to avoid a years-long employment and demand crisis.

There is no equivalency.

We cannot look at a proponent of making snake-handling the official religion of the United States and a policy-wonk noting (shrilly) that only single-payer can prevent a spectacular budgetary crisis down the road and seek to equate the two.

[Uzybone]

1. they have plenty of influence on DU and blogs etc.

but yes in the real world they have no influence, apart from helping buttress media memes which in-turn help discourage the real voting left.

In the real world liberals of any kind (the rational and the always whining lunatics) haven't had much influence since the 60's. Id argue they have way more influence now than they've had since then.

[Hello_Kitty]

4. Oh wow did you miss the point of the OP.

I mean, like, totally.

[Hello_Kitty]

2. I see some centrists are unreccing this.

I recced it.

[Enrique]

3. I guess Jon Stewart is doing something similar

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/09/19/stewart

(...)

I think Jon Stewart is one of the most incisive and effective commentators in the country, and he reaches an audience that would otherwise be politically disengaged. I don't have any objection if he really wants to hold a rally in favor of rhetorical moderation, and it's also fine if, as seems to be the case, he's eager to target rhetorical excesses on both the left and right in order to demonstrate his non-ideological centrism. But the example he chose to prove that the left is guilty, too -- the proposition that Bush is a "war criminal" -- is an extremely poor one given that the General in charge of formally investigating detainee abuse (not exactly someone with a history of Leftist advocacy) has declared this to be the case, and core Nuremberg principles compel the same conclusion.

Leave aside the fact that, as Steve Benen correctly notes, Stewart's examples of right-wing rhetorical excesses (Obama is a socialist who wasn't born in the U.S. and hates America) are pervasive in the GOP, while his examples of left-wing excesses (Code Pink and 9/11 Truthers) have no currency (for better or worse) in the Democratic Party. The claim that Bush is "a war criminal" has ample basis, and it's deeply irresponsible to try to declare this discussion off-limits, or lump it in with a whole slew of baseless right-wing accusatory rhetoric, in order to establish one's centrist bona fides.

It's admirable to want to apply the same standards to both sides, but straining to manufacture false equivalencies doesn't accomplish that; sometimes, honestly applying the same standards to each side will result in a finding that one side, at least in that regard, is actually worse. When that's the case, a person engaged in truly independent, non-ideological inquiry -- rather than the pretense of such -- will expressly acknowledge the imbalance, not concoct an equivalency where it doesn't exist. By stark contrast, Stephen Colbert's "March to Keep Fear Alive" seems extremely well-focused and on-point.

(...)

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

8. Yeah, he seeks a veneer of even-handedness

but his heart isn't in it.

He's a comedian and the pugs really are much funnier.

Comedians are supposed to nip at the status-quo so he has to try to remain skeptical of Dems, and has plenty of ammunition for that skepticism.

But again... the pugs are just too funny!

[bullwinkle428]

5. It sure seems like some DUers, who are quick to condemn

the MSM when they resort to the "both sides do it" false equivalency bullshit, are more than happy to do the very same thing when it suits their purposes...

[geek tragedy]

6. Policy-wise, the left certainly make a lot more sense than the

right or even the center.

The problem is that their approach to politics is counterproductive in many cases.

In contrast, the far right is policy-insane but politically very savvy. They terrorize the impure within the Republican party, but you can bet your last dollar that they will show up in droves in the general election.

The left, on the other hand, is all too willing to just shrug their shoulders and walk away from the fight within the broader left-of-center world as well as in the left vs right showdowns in November.

[Uzybone]

9. thats the key

the far right stands and fights, the internet "left" navel gazes, whines about this comment or that comment and sits at home.

Then we wonder why Democrats don't pay as much attention to liberals as we would like.

[Doctor_J]

11. I wonder if it's because the far right completely controls the media

:eyes:

[Uzybone]

12. I agree with that, they have a megaphone (the M$M) we don't have

and the only time they use our voice is when we are complaining about our own side.

I just hope we stop complaining long enough to go our and vote.

[nenagh]

7. Lets hope that Lawrence O'Donnell's "Last Word"..

starting soon on MSNBC refutes Joe Scar's am talking points... :)

[nashville_brook]

10. k and r -- we should stand head and shoulders above the politics of false equivalency...

alas.

great piece.

[Doctor_J]

13. There are plenty of DUers who agree with the intern killer

and many others in Big Media - the drug-addled pedophile, the rapist, the blotchy, lying falafel fan, and others. You might want to post a poll on whether Joe makes sense on this or not.

OTOH, I don't understand why anyone here would watch that swill. :shrug:

[madamesilverspurs]

14. Gotta love that false equivalency schtick.

Ken Buck pulled the same trick this past week during a debate with Michael Bennet. In an obvious attempt to lure unaffiliated voters, teabagger Buck said that he acknowledges that Republicans are as responsible as Democrats for the present state of the nation's economy. One of my unaffiliated friends was watching the debate with me; his response -- "So because I'm unaffiliated I'm supposed to be too stupid to know that it was a fucking Republican administration that dug this fucking hole?!"

--

[LaPera]

15. Man, these republicans like Scarborough keeping conning and conning,

decade after decade with the same garbage and absolutely no shame - as long as they can fool the people into voting for the wealth's desires and agenda....

The billionaire (Kochs) bothers who are financing the teabaggers to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, simply because they don't want their deficit raising tax cuts for the past ten years to be allowed to run out. - The deficit 3% tax cuts bring in hundreds of millions more dollars each year for the filthy rich Koch billionaires.

This is the same deficit raising 10-year tax cuts for the wealthy that have produced NO jobs ..as always, it's the workers and the middle-class and small business fault?

These are richest of rich that are financing the teabaggers & fighting that 3% tax cut scheduled to run out on them, if it's not renewed by the republican/tea-party to extend those tax cuts for the richest 2% -

Again we are being conned & manipulated by the republicans & the wealthy with their smokescreen financed tea-party taking us back to the same republican policies & agenda that put us in this economic mess like, huge tax cuts for the rich, deregulation of corporations, getting rid of health care for over 51 million Americans and privatizing everything for the collusive, corner-cutting, over charging corporate monopolies.”

[bvar22]

16. This is not just coming from the Media.

This WAS the EXACT message from the White House during the lost year of HCR debate.
Obama proudly "rejected ideas from the Right and the Left" in "seeking bi-partisan consensus".

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

17. That sounds right.

And it would be fine... if there was anything the least bit "extreme" about the left side of the issue.

Which there isn't.

[LaPera]

19. What in the fuck are you talking about?

President Obama has made it very clear over & over these past several weeks that he wants the deficit raising - NO jobs producing tax cuts for the richest 2% to expire!

And in place of the extremely unfair & unpaid for ten-year deficit raising tax cuts for the rich, Obama is desperately trying to get a bill passed that the fucking corporate republicans are lying and fighting against....Obama has been trying to get a tax cut bill passed for ALL workers, middle-class & small businesses making under $250,000.00 dollars a year ($500,000.00 filing jointly) that the media has all but ignored!

You should pay attention....I wasn't talking about the media I was writing about the republicans (which Scarborough is one) and their policies & agenda, working with the rich billionaires who are fighting Obama wants those tax cut for the wealthy to expire an end to the ten-year Bush tax cuts for the wealthy! who the fuck was talking about the always complicit corporate republican media?

[bvar22]

20. I do (and did) pay attention.

I have even praised Obama & The White House for suddenly rediscovering its Liberal Mandate during the last two weeks.
I find the populist Working Class rhetoric emanating from the Bully Pulpit to be a refreshing change, but I must confess an innate distrust for last minute JailHouse Conversions.
I PRAY this new found Populist Posturing turns into POLICY.
If Obama shows up for That Fight, I will gladly stand with him.

[Ignis]

18. K&R. There's no equivalency.

:kick:

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

21. ...