![]() TRUST US, THE VOICES HAVE SAID! Kagans friends keep telling us rubes to defer to their wonderful judgment: // link // print // previous // next //
FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2010 Doggone it: Doggone it! Yesterday, we were called away from our desk again, on another mission of national import. For that reason, we will postpone our ongoing series until Monday. What was wrong with that recent survey on raceand with the liberal worlds reaction? If we liberals actually care about race, we think we ought to know. To review part 2 of our report, see THE DAILY HOWLER, 5/12/10. TRUST US, THE VOICES HAVE SAID (permalink): On Wednesday night, you got your answer from the Maddow Show. Sorry! When people spew total falsehoods on TV, you will not see such statements fact-checkedif the spewer is well-connected, if his spewing occurred on Maddow. In this case, the spewer in question was Larry Lessig, whose keister got thoroughly kissed by Maddow herself on Monday nights program (see THE DAILY HOWLER, 5/12/10). On that evenings Maddow Show, Lessig spewed quite a bit of blatant nonsense about Glenn Greenwald. On Wednesday night, when Maddow returned to the air, you got exactly no explanationno correction, no clarification, nothing resembling a fact-check. Remember when the liberal world was promoting the idea that TV news programs should fact-check their guests? Lets make sure we know what we really meant: TV news programs should fact-check their guests, unless the guests are connected liberals. TV news shows should fact-check their guestsif they come from the other tribe. Wednesday, on Democracy Now, Lessig and Greenwald continued their debate about the Kagan nomination, with Lessig dropping the blatant falsehoods he spewed on Monday night. To watch their improved debate, just click here. But when it comes to the Maddow Show, you can just stick it up your fat keisters. Larry Lessig is part of the clan. Maddow will not fact-check or clarify his blatantly bogus remarks. But so it has gone as a fraternal/sororal order promotes Kagan, who is one of their own. For ourselves, lets make it clearwe have no idea what kind of Justice Kagan would turn out to be. Greenwald has argued that this makes Kagan a shaky choice; we think his argument has obvious merit. But all around the world of the clan, clan membersmade menhave been stepping forward, telling us to settle down and trust their superlative judgment about their colleague and friend. Trust us, the Voices said. So wrote Robert Frost. How many Voices have told us to trust them in the matter of Kagan? Before we review Dionne and ODonnells recent advice, consider this letter in the New York Times from a college associate of Kagans. Today, Brian Dickerson is an editor at the Detroit Free Press; well assume hes a very good one. But for our money, he doesnt even seem to understand one prime critique of Kagan:
Kagan was spontaneous in college! If she kept her trap shut in the past decade while Bush as dismantling the known legal world, its just because she aspired to hold a high office! She was just looking out for Number One! That would explain why she didnt speak up! For ourselves, we cant tell you the truth about Kagans motives. But Dickerson doesnt seem to realize that his letter reinforces one concern about Kagans character. In yesterdays Washington Post, E. J. Dionne became another Voice saying we should trust him in the matter of Kagan. He knows Kagan too, he said. Beneath a wonderfully ironic insiders headline (The Elena Kagan you wont see), Dionne assures us that wed be thrilled if we could just know Kagan personally. He praises her lovely sense of humor, then lists some of the traits that will make her an excellent Justice. Trust me, this second Voice says:
In a generally fatuous list of points, Dionne tells us that Kagan would make a good Justice, in part because she once spoke with genuine feeling about her respect for the military. (People should know that Kagan has expressed this sentiment in private, we are told, from behind the curtain.) Does Dionne know that some people are troubled by the possibility that Kagan may perhaps be too deferential to the preferences of such authorities? Singing the praise of his fellow clan member, the gent doesnt seem to have heard. Last evening, Lawrence ODonnell completed the hat trick, schooling us about Kagans suitability while serving as guest host on The Ed Show Attention rubes, he all but cried. Dear Leader has chosen this person! At the end of a generally fatuous analysis, we were offered this fatuous homily:
Good lord. That was straight from the clan! Elena Kagan is no Thurgood Marshall? The real complaint has been somewhat different. According to the real complaint, Elena Kagan is no Diane Woodno Harold Koh, no Pam Karlan. But its just like members of the clan to treat us rubes like low-IQ proles, to offer us such perfect pabulum in the place of an actual argument. Kagan could never fool Wise Leader, this primal clan member told us last night. Does ODonnell know that some people are troubled by the idea that Kagan may have been chosen because shes inclined to defer to Wise Leader? Singing the praise of Obama, the gent doesnt seem to have heard. Dionne and ODonnell offer arguments which amount to two words: Trust us. Unfortunately, there is a very grim back-story here. Dionne and ODonnell belong to a clana clan which has served you very badly over the years. The clans judgment has been astoundingly poorand its character has been even worse. Like Kagan, clan members have kept their traps shut at pretty much every critical juncture, thus protecting their own career status. Its no wonder they leap, as if by muscle memory, to defend the fellow-traveler who kept her own trap shut all through these past many years. She would have spoken up, were told. But she wanted to land that good job! This clan is powerful, and it lives for the clan. It has served you amazingly poorly over the course of the past twenty years. You are in Iraq because these perfumed losers refused to speak when the speaking was dangerouswhen it meant opposing the views of the clan. This dates to 1999, of course, when the clan went to war with a candidate. (ODonnell helped drive that war. Dionne refused to complain.) And now, in the matter of Kagan? Trust us, these Voices have said. The benjamins and the sump pumps: Maddow must be the worlds biggest hustler, intentionally or not. She left you barefoot and pregnant this week, failing to clarify or explain the total falsehoods you heard on her high-minded program. But land o goshen! She really knows how to push your buttons concerning the other tribe! In a self-glorying report last night, Maddow complained about the big money Sarah Palin makes, without discussing her own giant salary. And, as always, she broadcast her contempt for the cultural proles of the worldfor the utterly low-class losers who make things like sump pumps:
Maddow constantly punches your buttons about the big money Palin makes. But how much money does Maddow make? She always forgets to tell you! And this may be an actual problem; you see, people like Maddow may allow connected guests to spew total falsehoods to protect their own access to such mountains of dough. People will put up with lots of crap to maintain such big-keistered pay-days. Saddest of all, Maddow never misses the chance to mock the kinds of low-class people who produce low-class objects like sump pumps. Its second nature for players like Maddowand its one of the ways liberals lose. Why did Lessig spew total falsehoods? Screw you for even wondering, this last Voice has now said.
So it goes inside the clan which has screwed you blue for decades. Can you spot the patterns here? Or do these plainly high-minded people seem to be on your side?
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