Danny Doom’s Booze Cabinet

It could be Marc Thiessen. And that’s sad because the world does not need another Bill Kristol. But this guy really has some kind of media stronghold that is hard to understand. Read Conor Friedersdorf’s “Why Self-Respecting Editors Should Be Embarrassed to Publish Marc Thiessen” and Glenn Greenwald’s “High Standards at The Washington Post” to fathom the former Bush speechwriter’s rise.

Anyway, here’s part 2 and part 3 of that Jon Stewart interview. Punch punch punch.

I saw this last night and had a hard time not wanting to punch the face of Marc Thiessen through the screen. Eminently punchable. If you watch this it goes on for three parts–after the allotted time is up Thiessen whines about not getting to talk. If I were The Daily Show I would do a count and show the minutes each spoke. This guy’s such a baby. The problem? Your point is garbage!

Sullivan: “Thiessen’s arguments were both morally repugnant, legally absurd, McCarthyite and ignorant.” Yep, they were that too.

Okay, need any further proof? Nope, me neither. That summit was a farce. Basically, the Democrats and Obama have wasted a year-plus trying to get the GOP to work with them on this. And yet, six more weeks he’s giving them?!? Why? Why bother? You could put in tax cuts for the rich, outlaw abortion and throw in a war with Iran and they still wouldn’t vote for it. They have no interest in giving the appearance of success for the Obama presidency. And passing a healthcare reform bill would be a success.

It’s over. Pass the bill, ram it through, whatever. Funny that term, “ramming it through.” I’ve never heard of an over year-long debate preceding anything that was “rammed through.” If only the Iraq War debate were so. Man, I’m so sick of politics.

Let’s put it this way: if the roles were reversed the Democrats would have helped the Republicans pass healthcare reform AND begged them to throw in an illegal bullshit war for them to vote for. And it would have been done in three months.

A thought, as the health summit has begun today:

Are Democrats, as they exist today, the only group who can take a resounding election victory and a 60 (now 59) to 41 majority and interpret it as a need to, time and time again, reach out for bipartisan support before doing anything? I respect Obama’s attempts but at some point it has to be quite obvious that these Republicans have no interest whatsoever in agreeing on anything the Democrats propose. Come on!

Okay, I’m back and bigger and better than ever. No time, really, to prattle on about bullshit but I’m going to have to take back what I said last week or whenever about that nutbag (who shall not be named). There was a moment where I thought “Oh god, she’s going to keep gaining credibility in the media and suddenly be considered a real candidate and be taken seriously and next thing you know, boom, she’s president.”

But that was stupid. There isn’t the slightest chance in hell that’ll happen. In fact, after watching some clips from the wackjob conference (that she didn’t even attend) I think this whole conservative wave is completely overblown. These people really are fringe characters. Let’s forget about it and focus on the right-wing Democrats who are stalling Obama. There’s the real problem.

I’m not sure why Democrats should be upset with Evan Bayh retiring, any more than they should be upset about losing the 60 vote super-majority in the Senate. They didn’t anything with it while they had it, no thanks to Mr. Bayh. What’s the big difference now?

Not much to add on this besides what Bill Maher said here. Right friggin’ on.

A great column by Steve Chapman over at the Tribune on The Subject I Just Can’t Bring Myself to Write About. Why? Because it’s just so depressing and it fills me with hopelessness. I know it’s fringe activity, and it should be treated as such, but…what was John McCain thinking, foisting her upon the scene and giving her legitimacy?

If her speech made anything clear, it’s that the shallow, ill-informed, truth-twisting demagogue seen in the 2008 presidential campaign is all she is and all she wants to be … facts have never been Palin’s strong suit. Nor do they matter because what infuriates her is the mere idea that constitutional protections would apply to “a terrorist who hates our Constitution and tries to destroy our Constitution.”

This is not some bizarre paradox. Lots of people who despise our Constitution — Nazis, communists, Klansmen, Alaska secessionists — enjoy its protections. Does she think the Bill of Rights should apply only to people who share her views? That would not leave much of the document she and the tea partyers claim to revere.

There is so much that makes no sense. So much that contradicts itself. So much that goes against everything I believe in and defies all reason and logic. And so it’s depressing because despite her very small group of loyal followers, the media will continue to cover her like she is Obama’s equal until she is eventually perceived that way by most of the country.

And then all bets are off.

I thought I got rid of this guy. Kristol Ball, always wrong, but I guess he still has a forum somewhere, like anyone else. The Economist, thankfully, tackles his ridiculousness in solid form here:

He seems to get most things wrong, but I have a perverse fascination with his logic, largely because it is so unsound.

I know what he means. Someone so off on everything–it’s compelling in a way. But, eh, not that compelling.

We give Obama a hard time on the left for not getting everything we want, but it’s good to read this report and get some perspective:

This Democratic Congress is on a path to become one of the most productive since the Great Society 89th Congress in 1965-66, and Obama already has the most legislative success of any modern president — and that includes Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson … Most of this has been accomplished without any support from Republicans in either the House or the Senate — an especially striking fact, since many of the initiatives of the New Deal and the Great Society, including Social Security and Medicare, attracted significant backing from the minority Republicans.

So yeah, that’s not so bad. Amazing how the media controls the message. But let’s get healthcare going and DADT repealed and we’ll be getting somewhere.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I highly recommend this video as an insight to what happens when the spin is gone and lies can be challenged and answered without any shouting heads. This is how it should be. Fantastic. They should do it once a month, or once a week. This is the guy I voted for, able to speak and go back and forth and, yes, school those who are distorting his words and actions.

I just got in and happened to see the very end of something quite amazing. I don’t know what the deal is, and I will look for the whole thing to go back and see it, but President Obama was talking with the House Republicans, having an open and honest discussion. I’ve only seen Sullivan’s take:

I’ve just watched the president address the Republican retreat in Baltimore. Address is not quite the right word, because it was a genuine – and remarkable – conversation between Obama and his political opponents – transparently on CSPAN … But here’s the key thing: Obama is best at this. He is best at defusing conflict; he is superb at engaging civilly with his opponents.

Whatever it was, I thought it was…unheard of. And great. But anyway, I’ll have to see what all happened and get back to it.

UPDATE:

I just love the sound of this:

In a sometimes-barbed exchange, he said some in the audience have attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects funded by the stimulus package they voted against. Obama also questioned why Republicans have overwhelmingly opposed his tax-cut policies, which he said have benefited 95 percent of American families.

“The notion that this was a radical package is just not true,” Obama said. “I am not an ideologue.”

GOP lawmakers pressed the president to pledge to support a line-item veto for spending bills and across-the-board tax cuts. Obama demurred, saying billionaires don’t need new tax cuts.

UPDATE II:

This has to be a good sign…in looking around for a story on this I couldn’t help but notice that Drudge has absolutely nothing.

UPDATE III:

Here’s a good account of it:

It was amazing television – watchable, interesting, feisty and even a little dramatic … Today, at the caucus meeting, he went right after Republicans on their turf and, in my opinion, owned them.

UPDATE IV:

Ha ha! This just gets better:

So effective was the president that Fox News cut away from the broadcast 20 minutes before it ended.

One other thing, about the Supreme Court being called out by Obama in his speech the other night: some have bitched about the legitimacy and prestige of the court being harmed by the exchange, but, let’s be honest, those qualities were damaged severely in 2000 with the interference of the election process. And with right-wing hacks like Alito now on board, well, what do you expect?  Whether the ruling is good or bad or what, I like that Obama said it in front of them. Screw ‘em.

A quick reaction to some of the speech’s highlights, for me:

At the beginning of the last decade, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. That was before I walked in the door.

Way to lay it out there. Sad that people need to be reminded; even sadder that they won’t listen.

To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills.

Um, yeah. That can’t be said enough, loudly enough, again and again. Grow a pair.

I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change…

Nice. A jab to the lower right abdomen.

Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.

A little more force would be useful here. It must be done!

We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this August.

Not soon enough!

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.

Just make it happen, this is silly.

The more that TV pundits reduce serious debates into silly arguments, and big issues into sound bites, our citizens turn away.

Yeah, they turn to FOX. The number one cable channel! Ah, depressing… Anyway, we just have to ignore the nuts and get the dummies to do something for once. Let’s get it done!

In what universe must someone be living to believe that the Democratic Party is controlled by “the Left,” let alone “the furthest left elements” of the Party?

- Glenn Greenwald

Oh, no need to get into it all, just another common theme that needs to be shattered on a regular basis. Getting tired of this…

The very idea that an administration run by Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel and staffed with centrists, Wall Street mavens, and former Bush officials — and a Congress beholden to Blue Dogs and Lieberdems — has been captive “to the Left” is so patently false that everyone should be too embarrassed to utter it.

Yet no one seems to be! It’s one thing for the usual right wing nuts to run with it but to hear the conservative Democrats…ah, I don’t know what more to say about it. This is the real kicker though:

All that said, and as horrible as the Democrats have been all year, the most amazing — and depressing — aspect of all of this is how Americans have so quickly forgotten how thoroughly the Republicans, during their eight-year reign, destroyed the country.