tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post7221723329824084657..comments2024-03-28T18:13:28.734-04:00Comments on the daily howler: Supplemental: All this week, playing with dolls!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-85362210939090412772014-08-12T16:11:20.457-04:002014-08-12T16:11:20.457-04:00@ 1:51 your analysis, even if it had not been nons...@ 1:51 your analysis, even if it had not been nonsensical, has nothing to do with my comment<br />@ 10:40 in reponse to the lead comment in this thread. Instead you want to engage in a tribal rehash of the primaries.<br /><br />David in Cal, to buy your argument you have to overlook the stance of complete Republican Congressional opposition to Obama before a health care proposal was made.<br /><br />Republican leaders in both the House and Senate worked to make sure the initial financial stimulus bill passed with no Republican support. <br /><br />The "Tea Party" was borne out of reaction against aid to homeowners swept under in the financial collapse. <br /><br />The debate over health care legislation certainly furthered the partisan divide, but if you can recall opposition to "Johnsoncare" being wrapped into a personal attack with posters of LBJ as Hitler in 1965, please bring us all some reminders. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-88596100918206748562014-08-12T13:51:24.708-04:002014-08-12T13:51:24.708-04:00In the primaries, Obama won the Red State caucuses...In the primaries, Obama won the Red State caucuses and lost the Blue state primaries. He was especially weak with the traditional liberal constituencies of working class and labor, Catholics and older women voters. Given those problems, he had to present himself as a unity candidate. Unfortunately, his kid, PUMA and independent voters abandoned the party and thus he had weak coattails. You can dress this up any way you want but it doesn't translate to much party-wise beyond personal opportunity for Obama.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-23814697903306249152014-08-12T11:33:30.416-04:002014-08-12T11:33:30.416-04:00I agree that Obama ran on a simple, unifying, non ...I agree that Obama ran on a simple, unifying, non tribal theme, it was "no red states, no blue states, just the United States". <br /><br />However, he has not governed that way. His actual governing style includes contempt for the views of his political opponents and for the opponents themselves. That's what motivated his opponents so strongly IMHO. <br /><br />This point is addressed in today's column by Megan McArdle at http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-11/when-obama-beat-hillary-we-all-lost<br /><br /><i>Liberals tend to write off this anger as racism, as irrational hatred of Barack Obama, or as perverse joy in denying health care to the poor, but at its root, it’s the simpler feeling that your country is making a mistake and you can’t stop it because the people in charge are ignoring the obvious. Yes, a lot of money and energy was poured into the Tea Party by rich backers, but rich backers cannot create a grassroots campaign unless the underlying passion is there in the voters (paging Karl Rove and Crossroads). The Obama administration created that passion with Obamacare.</i>David in Calnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-36485206272090158902014-08-12T10:40:28.815-04:002014-08-12T10:40:28.815-04:00If there was ever a Democrat who ran on a simple, ...If there was ever a Democrat who ran on a simple, unifying, non tribal theme, it was "no red states, no blue states, just the United States" Obama. <br /><br />It seems to me something else motivated his "loyal" opposition. I could suggest what it was, but you might find my suggestion tribal. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-49156730084597489572014-08-12T10:34:37.196-04:002014-08-12T10:34:37.196-04:00Walsh has no right to express hope until she expre...Walsh has no right to express hope until she expresses disdain for Chris Matthews. Preferably to his face, on the air, on his program. Until then progressives will always be a pack whose poorly communicated tribal aspirations are undermined<br />by his type of past behavior.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-91029624034573597932014-08-12T07:11:29.286-04:002014-08-12T07:11:29.286-04:00Bob argues against polarization, then he practices...Bob argues against polarization, then he practices it. Pretending you don't know that this is his little game for years now is sycophant behavior.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-2680693644573999612014-08-12T00:02:29.311-04:002014-08-12T00:02:29.311-04:00I think Walsh is hoping progressives will work to ...I think Walsh is hoping progressives will work to get senators and congressmen elected. That's all. Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288008924419574934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-9670463248920194312014-08-11T18:23:54.098-04:002014-08-11T18:23:54.098-04:00Well said.Well said.Geoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-78251192846631433292014-08-11T18:21:04.636-04:002014-08-11T18:21:04.636-04:00Somerby has been consistently arguing against pola...Somerby has been consistently arguing against polarization (which he calls tribalism). He has been arguing that we need to relate progressive values to real people's lives and talk in plain, not coded language about such issues. I see that as a specific improvement in our approach to winning more elections. There are lots of other things that can be done too but Somerby's ongoing suggestions that we reduce the distance between the extremes of both parties seems like common sense to me. Pretending you don't know that this is what he has been saying, for years now, is trollish behavior.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-89756908216197891772014-08-11T17:07:25.433-04:002014-08-11T17:07:25.433-04:00"All around our liberal news orgs, we think w..."All around our liberal news orgs, we think we see people playing with dolls. Do these people know how to influence voters?"<br /><br />Considering Somerby's thesis for fifteen years is that liberal media types elected Bush, I'd have to say the answer to his question is either "yes" or Somerby doesn't read his own blog.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-8876849381508148232014-08-11T16:34:35.948-04:002014-08-11T16:34:35.948-04:00I'm glad to see Bob take on Perlstein a bit.
...I'm glad to see Bob take on Perlstein a bit.<br /><br />His books are fun to read, but his depiction of most of post-1969 life bears no resemblance to anything that I saw at the time. I think he gives way too much credit to the Right and their supposed cleverness and stealth, and the cravenness of the public, and not enough credit to the -- I hate to say it - economic determinist reasons for the conservatives' later success. <br /><br />In many ways 69-78 or so were golden years, culturally and politically, but you'd never know this from his books. Perlstein makes it sound like nutcase time-- but I remember seeing people increasingly progress in their politics during that era. And I grew up in a right-wing community back then!<br /><br />Then, something happened. But I don't Perlstein's figured out what it was.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-2237678188021574152014-08-11T15:46:42.701-04:002014-08-11T15:46:42.701-04:00What would make somebody, other than Bob Somerby, ...What would make somebody, other than Bob Somerby, think Bob Somerby knows anything at all about electing anyone to any office?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com