SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2024
Citizen Barro, please! Josh Barro may turn out to be right on the merits. At present, we can't rightly say.
That said, his essay in the Atlantic basically makes a pair of claims. Here's what the dual headline says:
Harris’s Plan Is Economically Dumb but Politically Smart
The vice president’s campaign promises make no sense to people acquainted with supply and demand—but they might win elections.
He may be right in that pair of claims. Still and all, Citizen Barro, please! This is the way he starts:
Harris’s Plan Is Economically Dumb but Politically Smart
The vice president’s campaign promises make no sense to people acquainted with supply and demand—but they might win elections.Until recently, the Kamala Harris campaign seemed allergic to setting a policy agenda. Finally, the campaign is starting to roll out its economic platform, and the substance likely won’t appeal to many people who actually know about economics. But it’s hard for me to argue with the politics...
Citizen, say no more! We couldn't quite get past this:
"Until recently, the Harris campaign seemed allergic to setting a policy agenda?"
Fellow citizen, please! "Until recently," there was no such thing as a Harris campaign! Why would a non-existent presidential campaign want to develop or present an agenda?
That sentence runs on the braindead theme which has been mass-recited all over the Fox News Channel. Everyone in that zip code knows they're supposed to say such things as this:
Why won't Candidate Harris hold a press event? Why won't she post her policy plans?
Presumably, everyone is bright enough to figure out a possible answer. Everyone except everyone currently working at Fox, and everyone but Citizen B!
His pair of claims may turn out to be right. But Citizen Barro! Please!
Bob forgot to say Josh Barro is a good decent person. Bless his heart.
ReplyDeleteTrump is a mental case:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XoR5v1bPNE
Did Jesus guide the bullet? (Btw, Megyn Kelly is either an idiot or pandering grifter - or both.)
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbnj1SyysLk
Jesus took the day off. The Holy Spirit guided that bullet.
DeleteIs that what the voices told you? How can you rule out the possibility that "God" opposes Trump and that it was actually Satan that altered the trajectory of the bullet?
DeleteBarro is not an economist (he does not understand inflation), was a Republican for most of his life (even interning for Grover Norquist), and regularly flip flops on issues because his main concern is creating opportunities that benefit himself.
ReplyDeleteGood on Somerby for calling out this clown, and noticing that whatever Harris is doing, it is working extremely well.
When you figure out an answer that isn’t crap, Bob, let me know.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow it will be be four weeks. She won’t speak extemporaneously because she’s horrible at it. And knowing she’s a lightweight in addition, the new Sarah Palin, her handlers will not let her until they have to. You’ll see. This is not meant as an advocacy of Trump. It’s just the way it is. Hopefully they’re training her and she’s working really hard to be able to speak competently in interviews and press conferences. She will never be able to completely make up for her lack of talent in this department, but she could improve enough to contain it.
ReplyDeleteOk.
DeleteShe'll win the election, regardless.
DeleteOverturning Roe v Wade will be looked back as the moment the GOP made themselves into a rump party.
As long as Harris surrounds herself with smart people, the way Biden did, her Presidency will be fine, except for the media trying to trip her up because she's a Democrat.
She sounds fine to me.
Delete5:37 Maybe with some really hard work and the tutelage of someone considerably more skilled at this you will be able to comment in a less ludicrously and transparently biased manner. But I doubt it.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTrying to compare Harris to Palin is just trolling. When asked, Palin couldn't come up with a single Supreme Court case that she disagreed with. Do you think a former Attorney General of California who was inspired to become a lawyer by people like Thurgood Marshall would struggle with such a softball question? Palin couldn't name a single journalistic publication that she gets her news from. She claimed that Russia's proximity to Alaska meant she had foreign policy experience. I haven't seen Harris come anywhere close to this level of cringe-inducing dumbness.
DeleteAs far as extemporaneous speech goes, it might not her strong suit, but at least she's coherent and knowledgable -- which is more than can be said of Trump. She did just fine in her debate against Pence, for example. With regard to her recent dearth of interviews, who cares? "One thing Harris understands is that the purpose of the demand for interviews/policy websites is not to inform the public about the policy consequences of the election, it’s to cherry pick something that can be used to build a “she’s a flip-flopper” of “she’s a kooky liberal” story around. And when she talks about policy the complaints won’t end because you can always demand more detail . . . . Harris will have a policy website and will start doing more press interactions, but it’s healthy to remember that there’s no High Civics going on here — reporters and politicians both have their own interests, and reporters obsessing with gotcha process questions don’t incentivize politicians to talk to them."
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2024/08/it-is-good-for-candidates-to-try-to-win-the-election
You’ll see in time. Remember, you defended Biden as being fit as a fiddle, not too old and not wandering off during photo shoots. And you were wrong. You’ll see on this one. She’s the new Palin.
DeleteAs far as the new Palin goes, the ditzy space cadet who is totally out of her element, the plan is:
DeleteKeep her on prompter as much as possible.
Teach her to fake having gravitas.
Keep her away from speaking extemporaneously but when she has to, keep it short, under 15 minutes, have her memorize 5 or six lines to get through it and just reap the whirlwind when she inevitably fucks up.
Try to keep her halfway sober.
Employ twitter armies to gaslight people into denying the obvious and not believing their own eyes.
Surround her with flacks and gaslight, gaslight, gaslight.
Behind the scenes, try to control the emotional havoc the whole process will unleash on her.
It's possible to get through the election keeping her scary incompetence under wraps although it won't be easy. There will have to be ruthless and strong leadership behind the scenes. If she gets in, it will be impossible to hide but it will have to be managed as best as possible. DNC bots will stay in self denial all the way through. The rest of us will have to suffer through the international embarrassment of having the intellectual equivalent of a teenager as president. Her enemies will have a field day. That will just have to be managed day by day. But it's definitely possible. Biden had no chance at winning. With Harris, there's a good chance she could.
We made it through a Reagan Presidency, and that was only the worst in the history of the nation. How bad could a Harris Presidency really be?
DeleteYes, this is exactly the calculation but the difference is Reagan was practiced at playing a part. So the underprepared ditz will have to step up. But I agree. It can be done and how bad could it be?
DeleteBut Reagan was the worst President in the history of the country. How does that compare to Harris at all?
DeleteAgree that Harris will need to step it up, since she's going to win the Presidency easily.
DeleteShe's young and vibrant, unlike Biden and JD Vance, so I expect her to grow in the job as President with very little problem.
BTW, no one is accusing you of advocating for Trump. You'll already made your concern about old, cognitively declining, diaper wearers being President.
You’re the one who made the comparison.
DeleteYou're the one who got the photo shoot wrong. You bought into the narrative that Biden was wandering aimlessly because his brain broke. It turned out he was just engaging with some of the other skydivers.
DeleteThe only thing I got wrong was I didn't think Biden would do so poorly at extemporaneous speech, especially during the debate. But that's about it. He still seems capable of being president -- for instance, his judgment isn't so addled that he doesn't know which side to support in a proxy war between a murderous anti-democratic dictator and western free society, which is more than can be said of you and Trump.
Biden wandered off during the photo shoot to engage with some of the other skydivers. We agree. Thanks for explaining that and your assessment of Biden's current leadership capabilities.
DeleteReally, when Biden wandered off from that photo op, it was the apotheosis of North Korean level propaganda on the part of Morning Joe and all the major newspapers in defending Biden from the concerning, age-related incidents that we all know now everyone in Washington knew about for over a year. The lies they told about not wandering off were really the climax and the issue's most blatant and absurd moment. The debate debacle was two weeks later and his campaign was over three and half weeks after that. But we should all remember how blatantly disingenuous the media were about it.
Delete(edit)
DeleteReally, when Biden wandered off from that photo op to engage with some of the other skydivers, it was the apotheosis of North Korean level propaganda on the part of Morning Joe and all the major newspapers in defending Biden from the concerning, age-related incidents that we all know now everyone in Washington knew about for over a year. The lies they told about not wandering off were really the climax and the issue's most blatant and absurd moment. The debate debacle was two weeks later and his campaign was over three and half weeks after that. But we should all remember how blatantly disingenuous the media were about it.
Sure. On the one hand, you have Morning Joe giving viewers MORE information, MORE context about a misleading video, to show WHY Biden had taken a few steps away from the group (i.e., to engage with some of the other skydivers). And then offering their interpretation of the full video. And on the other hand, you have North Korea propaganda that claims dear leader made 11 holes in one the first time he played golf. Essentially the same. Similarly, that time Biden's team asked a radio station to ask him certain questions during an interview is just like an authoritarian regime. Do you realize how ridiculous you sound with such over-the-top statements? I get it, it's not cool to support the mainstream. You want to be a fiery, independent thinker -- smarter than everyone else. But you end up saying utterly daft, over-the-top shit like this.
DeleteMorning Joe spins it the same way you do during their propaganda piece. They spin it to say - "Biden didn't wander off. The Republicans are lying to you. They don't show the other angle - that he was merely giving thumbs up to other para-shootists." That is obvious spin.
DeleteThe reality is Biden did wander off from the photo op ... to give thumbs up to some other para-shootists. That's how they played ya. It doesn't really matter "WHY" he wandered off. It's a straw man to say people are claiming he wandered off for no reason. That was never the point. The point is he wandered off. That's all. As we all know now, his wandering off from the photo op (to give thumbs up to some other para shootists) was in keeping with his cognitive decline that everyone in Washington knew about for years but lied about and/or kept hidden.
This shows Biden wandering off from the highly choreographed, prearranged photo op. Morning Joe showed it to at the beginning of their propaganda segment but never went back to it as they spun it for the rank and file. To great effect!
https://x.com/search?q=biden%20wandered%20off%20morning%20joe&src=typed_query&f=top
That episode of North-Korean-level propaganda was really the zenith of the hardcore propaganda efforts on the part of our government and it's partners in the media regarding Biden's obvious and sad cognitive decline. The whole thing completely crashed 5 weeks later and their propaganda and lies were exposed for the whole world to see. It's really interesting. You should take note of it.
Here's the Morning Joe piece. It's hard to look at.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaETKH5XN4A
They use the term "disinformation" 12 times! While misinforming themselves. SO hardcore!!!!
For the record, we actually don't agree. I don't agree that what Biden did constitutes "wandering off." You mentioned "spin" . . . well, constantly referring to it as "wandering off" is also spin. And I don't agree that what he did is indicative of some sort of dementia. That's your interpretation. That's your theory as to why he took a few steps away from the group and gave the troops a thumbs-up. You have no way of knowing that, of course.
DeleteRegarding the absurdly hyperbolic claim about North Korea, if anyone is crazy enough to still be following this lunatic debate, I encourage you to watch that video of Morning Joe, and as you do, keep in mind that this is what the doofus @7:23 is claiming is the "apotheosis of North Korean-level propaganda."
Again with the "WHY". It doesn't matter why. I'm not claiming when Biden took a few steps away from the group during a photo op it was indicative of some sort of dementia. Just that it was indicative of a very old man doing old man things. And that it was embarrassing to the White House and to our country because it showed he was very old and out of touch with the choreographed photo shoot he was taking part in, not sharp and together as the rest of the world leaders were. When he took a few steps away from the group in the middle of a photo op to give the troops a thumbs-up, the White House found themselves embarrassed and went into full North Korea mode. That was about the apotheosis of North Korean level propaganda in defending Biden from the age-related incidents that had been occurring for years and had been common knowledge within all of the press core including the Morning Joe show. I watched the segment twice today. It's disgusting and they are lying and they know they are lying. It's really something. But the media works in tandem with the government like this all the time. That particular incident was the apotheosis of North Korean level propaganda in defending Biden from the age-related incidents that had been occurring for years. But our country has engaged in North Korean level propaganda for years. You see it all the time. Like the propaganda that Trump said neo nazis were very fine people. Did you know that was propaganda? It was stated as fact for years including by Biden a few months ago. The propaganda in this country is as bad as North Korea, maybe worse. I know you are still a true believer so sorry to have to break that to you.
DeleteDoes Trump engage in North Korea level propaganda?
DeleteYes, of course. He doesn't have the institutional infrastructure that the duopoly has. But he has Fox and lots of Breitbart types of online outlets with which to spread it. It's not as enormous and entrenched as the corporate duopoly but if it was, he would gladly use it and to the same degree. Probably more effectively because he has an incredible knack for media manipulation.
DeleteIt's interesting in that one of the reasons they hate Trump so much and disseminate propaganda about him that he is a threat to democracy is because he exposes the corporate propaganda model as a part of his rhetoric. By claiming "fake news", he takes a lid off of the entrenched propaganda model and exposes it to his followers which is very effective in the age of social media and Twitter. His followers can check the raw footage. It's plain to see that Trump never said the neo-nazis were very fine people. It's right there on tape that he says the opposite. For years! But the entrenched propaganda model doesn't have to address this. They can just keep repeating that he did and people that hate Trump will fall victim to confirmation bias and not check the raw tape. This is where the entrenched propaganda model really falls short in this new age of media and information. You can look at the Youtube or Twitter comments of Joe Biden walking off or walking a few steps away from that photo op. People can see with their own two eyes what really happened. And Trump can point to segments like on Morning Joe about that or all of the Russia collusion accusations that were false and based on leaks and claim "fake news" and he is right. His viewers can see it. It's beyond dispute. And this gives him enormous amount of power.
DeleteIt's a very interesting time for disinformation and the corporate propaganda model that has been in place for decades. The people behind it are going to have to come to terms with how information is spread and how it limits to an extent what they can do. And how the model can be turned and used effectively against them. That is something they did not have to deal with even 15 years ago. Even 10 years ago. But Trump stepped in and used it against them. But don't get me wrong, if Trump had access to it, he would use it like a maniac.
Once again with a bunch of reductive, pseudo-intellectual bullshit. Sure, "the media" is all one thing, and it's a big conspiracy to propagandize the American public -- no different than North Korea, "maybe worse." I'm curious, do you take Adderall?
DeleteJust think if you were an ordinary impartial citizen without a dog in the hunt. And you watched the debate and you see Joe Biden say Donald Trump is a threat to democracy and he refers to neo-nazis as fine people. You would probably think this guy sucks and is really bad. What a horrible thing for someone to say that. Well, a Trump supporter could come along and say 'you know actually Trump didn't say that'. And they can show them the raw tape where Trump says the neo-nazis "should be condemned totally". How do you think the citizen would feel then? What do you think they would think about Joe Biden? Do you think they would still think Trump is the one who is a threat to democracy? It's all so interesting. The story is still playing out. When it is finally written Twitter and 2016 will be a huge part of it.
DeleteNo Mike L, I get that you don't understand it and it sounds like crazy, reductive bullshit to you. And I get that it may even make you angry and upset. I understand and respect that. You should read Manufacturing Consent and Listen Liberal just for some perspective on it.
Delete11:23: That citizen had a chance to do just that, in 2020, after Biden denounced Trump for his Charlottesville remarks. Guess what? Well, you know what happened in 2020, unless you’re an election denier.
DeleteIt sounds like crazy, reductive bullshit because it is. I know you want to feel smarter than everyone else, and I know the Adderall makes you want to weave everything together into one unified whole, but for the sake of your mental health, please step away from the reductiveness.
DeleteRegarding the "fine people" thing, Biden got that (mostly) wrong . . . although there's more nuance and context to it that you're glossing over. But let's just say Biden got it wrong. Ok, that's ONE thing. Now, how many things has Trump gotten wrong? How many likely crimes has he committed? And if you don't think Trump is a grave threat to our democracy, you're fucking delusional.
I do get that discussing the propaganda model Is disorienting and can make you feel bad and even mad. I respect and understand the way you feel.
DeleteAnd I totally get that you need to feel like a fiery, independent intellectual and therefore try to map all of messy reality onto some grand, unifying theory. It makes you feel special. We all want to feel special. Most of us eventually grow out of that teenage-like phase. But I totally understand that sometimes it takes certain individuals longer to do so.
Delete"It's interesting in that one of the reasons they hate Trump so much and disseminate propaganda about him that he is a threat to democracy is because he exposes the corporate propaganda model as a part of his rhetoric."
DeleteThey'll get over it by virtue of Trump's HUGE tax break for corporations.
BTW, were you for that tax break, or are you a Democrat?
Republican voters could care less that Trump gave a huge tax break to corporations, and wants to free corporations from regulations.
DeleteThey care that Trump is a bigot. A lot. In a way that feels like it's the only thing they care about.
I stopped believing the fake news when they told me Republican voters are "economically anxious", and not just a shit pile of bigots.
DeleteI was born at night, but it wasn't last night.
Mike, I get scared sometimes too. I would look at who owns the media and how much they rely on corporate and government sources for their information and homogeneous coverage, particularly with regard to foreign policy if you are interested in further exploring the subject. And of course, just read Manufacturing Consent and draw your own conclusions.. Nobody is saying that Trump is good. We all want to believe that we are living in a free and fair system because it makes us feel safe.
DeleteNorth Korean style propaganda - probably worse:
Deletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/GVOqorJXIAALMBc?format=jpg&name=large
Mike L, here they describe you at 35:15
Deletehttps://youtu.be/BQXsPU25B60?t=2060
"Nobody is saying that Trump is good."
DeleteRight. Only that Trump is definitely better than the entrenched alternative.
Mike, pro tip for the future. If you’re in an argument with someone and trying to prove a point, when you start to insult the person to whom you were trying to prove the point, you have lost.
DeleteMike,
DeleteWhatever you do, don't mention that Trump gave a HUGE tax break to the corporations which run our fake news industry.
The Right hates to be reminded of that, almost as much as they hate to be reminded that a bunch of Right-wing snowflakes threw a childish temper tantrum at the United States Capitol, just because black people's votes counted in the 2020 Presidential election.
I'm here to help.
I can't, in good faith, vote for Trump if he promises to shut-down the Pentagon and zero out our Defense budget, because Trump can't keep his promises.
Delete(Some people call him a liar, but it's probably just his incompetence).
Cuckoo bird read a book and now thinks they have everything figured out. Adorable.
DeleteTrump will have a Crime & Safety rally in Howell MI.
ReplyDeletehttps://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/you-should-know
Fine people on all sides.
DeleteTrump’s just keeps accidentally meeting white supremacists, like in Howell, MI.
Delete“I watched Sheldon sitting so proud in the White House when we gave Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian, it’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor," said Trump. "But civilian version, it’s actually much better because everyone [who] gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they're soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead. She gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and they’re rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and she got it for — and that’s through committees and everything else.”
ReplyDeleteTrump. Mojo. It’s back.
And, sadly for them, none of those wounded warriors were billionaire donors. Would you like that receipt in hard copy or e-mailed, Miriam?
Delete"...and they’re rated equal>"
DeleteThis is Trump's brain. What are the "ratings"? What is the cost? Which one in a more advantageous transaction?
It turns out that funding destabilizing West Bank settlements that drive Palestinians out of their rightful homes is rewarded with a Freedom Medal.
Delete“Nope, no tampons in boys’ bathrooms”
ReplyDeletehttps://jabberwocking.com/nope-no-tampons-in-boys-bathrooms/
Links to a CNN report by Daniel Dale.
Republicans love to lie.
And Bob could have linked to this to set the record straight for his readers.
Did anyone with half a brain think that tampon dispensers were installed in boys bathrooms in Minnesota?
DeleteNo. Not even the people insisting it was true.
DeleteOne of the shocking omissions in the coverage of the last few days is that President Trump came out for the ACA. He said, well, he accept it anyway unless “we” come up with something
ReplyDeletebetter.
This suggests that Trump knows his supporters are A) too stupid to know the ACA
Is Obamacare, or B) don’t really care what he says about anything.
I can’t fault Bob too much for letting this slide, as most of the press has too ( MSNBC showed it, but didn’t offer any comment that I saw), but it does denote a painful lack of concern for the average person’s health care needs on Bob’s part.
It could be that Trump's appeal to his base, especially at his rallies, is that he uses the simplest language of any presidential candidate -- the fewest unique words, the most monosyllabic words and fewest complex, polysyllabic words, the lowest grade-level vocabulary, of any president since Herbert Hoover (when measuring was started)? That would account for the lower levels of education among Trump's base. He attracts people because they feel they can understand him better -- he doesn't confuse them with unfamiliar info or complex ideas. He is truly the Idiocracy candidate. Here is data about Trump's lack of vocabulary and the simplicity of his language:
ReplyDeletehttps://digbysblog.net/2024/08/17/masterbrander-fail/
This isn't a recent decline but was measured during his presidency.
Another fine example of a pundit finally, finally seeing her long-demanded policy positions--and then using them for horserace predictions!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, trolls are going on and on about how the Democratic candidate must talk about policies.
DeleteTo continue: A two-pronged strategy.
DeleteKevin tells the truth about crime rates:
ReplyDeletehttps://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-crime-under-five-presidents/