The Politics of Spite

[JohnnyD]

Many that have read my posts know my disdain for the approach the GOP has taken with their opposition to health care. "You libs", "Obamabot", and "You praise whatever the Lord Obama does" are just a couple of the deep, thoughtful comments that occur in reply to any comment that remotely agrees with *anything* Obama has done.

There is a laundry list of items that I strongly disagree with when it comes to the current administration, health care and the auto bailouts to name a few.

I was reading this Op-Ed (Cue scott giving me crap for posting about an editorial )

This Op-Ed clearly describes the basis of my contempt for how the GOP addresses any Left-wing related topic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/op...gman.html?_r=1

A couple excepts:

...when the International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago’s bid to be host of the 2016 Summer Games.
“Cheers erupted” at the headquarters of the conservative Weekly Standard, according to a blog post by a member of the magazine’s staff, with the headline “Obama loses! Obama loses!” Rush Limbaugh declared himself “gleeful.” “World Rejects Obama,” gloated the Drudge Report. And so on.

"the episode illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America."

There are justified reasons to be against many of Obama's actions since January, but do the opposing points that are being presented have substance or are they just a clubbing for the sake of being against the current administration.

[spence]

You forget that during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Libs wanted American troops to die so Bush could fail.

At least that's what the WeeklyStandard and Rush told me.

-spence

[scottw]

Originally Posted by spence

You forget that during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Libs wanted American troops to die so Bush could fail.

-spence

they sure worked hard to encourage our ememies....

the surge has failed and the war is lost....Harry Reid Senate Majority Leader
I hate the Republican party and everything it stands for...Howard Dean DNC Chairman


works both ways JD....always will....quit whining...

OBAMA SUCKS


the Obama ass kissing media is just upset because they thought the Peacock in Chief would just strut over with Patrick Ewing and Oprah and charm the pants off of the adoring world....but as usual...Obama and the media made it all about him....what a clown...

[spence]

Originally Posted by scottw

they sure worked hard to encourage our ememies....

What with all that "rule of law" and "practice what you preach talk". Didn't they know that all "rules" were deemed null and void on 9/11?

the surge has failed and the war is lost....Harry Reid Senate Majority Leader
I hate the Republican party and everything it stands for...Howard Dean DNC Chairman

Both politicians engaged in political rhetoric.

the Obama ass kissing media is just upset because they thought the Peacock in Chief would just strut over with Patrick Ewing and Oprah and charm the pants off of the adoring world....but as usual...Obama and the media made it all about him....what a clown...

The "Obama ass kissing media" has been on him since about week two by my reckoning. Hell, he can't even get a shake on SNL these days

-spence

[scottw]

Originally Posted by spence

The "Obama ass kissing media" has been on him since about week two by my reckoning. Hell, he can't even get a shake on SNL these days

-spence

by "on him" you mean, they've been humping his leg non-stop

[spence]

Originally Posted by scottw

by "on him" you mean, they've been humping his leg non-stop

No, not really...

-spence

[fishsmith]

Peacock in Chief would just strut over with Patrick Ewing and Oprah and charm the pants off of the adoring world...

Ewing, that's funny!!

[detbuch]

[QUOTE=JohnnyD;715771]There is a laundry list of items that I strongly disagree with when it comes to the current administration, health care and the auto bailouts to name a few.


If you would ever spell out this laundry list, with the same contempt that you reserve for republicans, you might have some credibility.

This Op-Ed clearly describes the basis of my contempt for how the GOP addresses any Left-wing related topic.

Again, since you claim not to be biased, give some equal contempt for how the leftists address the G.O.P., as in the article you chose.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/op...gman.html?_r=1

Paragragh II: He equates cheers with spite rather than happiness, takes words out of context, and uses slanted language.

III: unfounded, unclinical, and biased accusation.

IV: The same can be said about Dems and actually was said about them by conservatives during the Bush years.

V.: He calls opposition spite.

VII: He picks one Dem argument that is consistent with their ideology, but leaves out the rest of their hissyfit, puerile tactics, and leaves out how G.O.P. offered choice of private accounts, or to stay in Soc. Sec. as it is, or to combine the two.

VIII: He portrays the Repubs only objections to the Dem HC plan as death panels "and so on," and that it will destroy Medicare which is, supposedly, at odds with the party's tradition. He doesn't mention the several other objections such as lack of tort reform, too expensive, loss of choice, destruction of private insurance plans, etc., or even that Repubs offer an alternative--all of which are IN LINE with the party's tradition.

IX: He continues to go on about the supposedly "only" objection of Repubs to Dems HC plan is that it will destroy medicare.

X: Pure lie about G.O.P. becoming a passionate defender of ineffective medical procedures and overpayments.

XI: At this point, he has slanted, lied by omission, lied purely, so much, that his characterization of the G.O.P. as "so ruthless, so willing to embrace scorched-earth tactics. . ." is just journalistic demagoguery, meant to inflame opinions against the G.O.P.

XII: What he says about G.O.P since Reagan being dominated by radicals who do not accept anyone else's right to govern is exactly what right wingers have been saying about Dems since Carter.

XIII-XV: More of the same.

XVI: Then he claims his slanted, biased, selective demagoguery is the truth.

Isn't this the kind of stuff you hate about right wind talk radio? How, then, do you so easily accept it from a media lib lilke Krugman?

[scottw]

what has changed is the discourse in the Obama media...this is THEIR president and he's proving to be a colossal failure...the quotes from last week and the weekend and articles like this are hilarious...THEY put him on this pedestal, THEY chose him for all of the reasons that the left choses a candidate...superficial....you still have "well respected" members of the mainstream media commenting that "we really don't know much about this guy"..huh?.....they built Obama up and carved his face and giant ears on Mt. Rushmore before he'd ever accomplished a thing, this is the Peter Principle on a grand scale....Obama does not have the best interest of the country in mind, he is pushing his radical left wing ideology regardless of the circumstances, he's trying to force a square peg into a round hole and it will not fit...he can dress up Acorn members in lab coats and claim that all doctors and nurses agree with him but his credability is continually sliding making dog and pony shows like yesterday laughable....he's so insulated from reality and self absorbed that he will push forward regardless of the consequences and with any means necessary....

Rush had the line that should have been on Drudge


OBAMA and MICHELLE...BITCH SLAPPED!

[JohnR]

What has me SO unaffiliated with any party is the Rhetoric that has been going on for years From Bu$htiler to The Messiah

Rhetoric, rhetoric, rhetoric. Deep & divisive and turning into hate from all corners.

I've see this from many people I work with on an individual basis over the past few years.

Rush, Savage, Olberman, Madow - they all suck and it isn't getting any better

[RIJIMMY]

So its the GOP Johnny? Where have you been the last 8 years? There was no glee in Bush's failings?
I have a very good friend, a stereo-typical liberal, lives in Berkely CA (need I say more). He is a professional, works as a CFO for a major company, drives a mercedes AND a vw bus. Great guy. Post Katrina, he calls me up joyously telling me "we got Bush now" , "no way he cannot take the blame for this", etc, etc. The media echoes his glee and naturally all the blame was on Bush, not the minority mayor nor the female governor, both democrats.
So, this is nothing new, and if you hate the GOP for it, its 10 X worse on the Democrats side, you are just choosing to explain it away - see Oberman, Matthers, CNN, ABC, NBC.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by JohnR

What has me SO unaffiliated with any party is the Rhetoric that has been going on for years From Bu$htiler to The Messiah

Rhetoric, rhetoric, rhetoric. Deep & divisive and turning into hate from all corners.

I've see this from many people I work with on an individual basis over the past few years.

Rush, Savage, Olberman, Madow - they all suck and it isn't getting any better

It won't and it will only get worse.

Everything you mention above is repeatedly reinforced in this forum.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by scottw

what has changed is the discourse in the Obama media...this is THEIR president and he's proving to be a colossal failure...the quotes from last week and the weekend and articles like this are hilarious...THEY put him on this pedestal, THEY chose him for all of the reasons that the left choses a candidate...superficial....you still have "well respected" members of the mainstream media commenting that "we really don't know much about this guy"..huh?.....they built Obama up and carved his face and giant ears on Mt. Rushmore before he'd ever accomplished a thing, this is the Peter Principle on a grand scale....Obama does not have the best interest of the country in mind, he is pushing his radical left wing ideology regardless of the circumstances, he's trying to force a square peg into a round hole and it will not fit...he can dress up Acorn members in lab coats and claim that all doctors and nurses agree with him but his credability is continually sliding making dog and pony shows like yesterday laughable....he's so insulated from reality and self absorbed that he will push forward regardless of the consequences and with any means necessary....

Rush had the line that should have been on Drudge


OBAMA and MICHELLE...BITCH SLAPPED!

scott, sometimes you're a little to "right" even for me, but I have to say I agree with everyword you have above.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

It won't and it will only get worse.

Everything you mention above is repeatedly reinforced in this forum.

until you have leadership. plain and simple.

- and ps. aint nothing new. See US History 1855-1865.

[scottw]

I don't think Bush ever gassed any Jews...

but I'm pretty sure that there was wholesale Obama Worship going on with people fainting at his feet and other people claiming that he was going to pay their mortgage and put gas in their cars, drooling and praising him for speaking to them, school children chanting Mmmmm,mmmm,mmmm Barak Hussein Obama..mmmm,mmmm,mmmm... thus, the whole messiah thing....

things were much more pleasant when the mainstream media controlled the news, the democrats controlled congress and the republicans were just happy get along....

politics has always been rough and tumble, look at your history of politics in this country, it's never been pretty...

the problem...
one side loves to sling mud and will stoop to just about any level but whines and complains whenever responded to in kind, humorless hypocrits......makes you look small, petty

the attack dog mainstream media for 8 years of Bush have suddenly become lap dogs and simply because they share ideaology with the messiah, they are not doing the job that they are charged with, they are nothing more than an extension of the Democrat party...

if it were not for the hated talk radio heads and a few cable outlets it would be "Obama can do no wrong idol worship" all day every day...is that what you want????? put a freaking crown on his head now....

[fishbones]

This is really grasping at straws, even for a self loathing Republiphobic like yourself, JD. You feel the need to rip Republicans, so the best you can do is quote a blogger from a little known fringe conservative media outlet and Rush Limbaugh? We all know what Rush's game is and it shouldn't suprise anyone when he does or says something over the top.

I'm curious as to why you don't ever quote opinion pieces from bloggers like Oliver Willis? Or better yet, bring up quotes from guys like Keith Olbermann or Bill Maher who are the liberal equivalent of Limbaugh, only with a little more nastiness to their rants.

[JohnnyD]

FB, I don't typically read many Opinion pieces. I can form my own opinion. I was looking for a news article and that was on the sidebar. Rush, Beck, Olbermann and Maher (does anyone even watch his show) are a bunch of clowns and it's difficult to believe anyone still takes them seriously. **Edit** Add Ann Coulter to this list, since her banner ad was at the top of the page after I posted this **

As I mentioned in my original post, the article is someone what I've been discussing for a couple weeks now regarding the GOP approach to health care. While you criticize the quotes I put in, the actions aren't isolated to just those groups. Just look at these forums and the abundance of "Obama is only petitioning for the Olympics because his friends will benefit" - as opposed to the influx of jobs, tourism, foreign money coming here, etc.

I do find it amusing that you try to state that anyone has more nastiness in their rants than Limbaugh.

Feel free to continue with your hit and run posts in your attempt merely to criticize me regardless of the topic, as opposed to contribute to the discussion.

[Bocephus]

I think people celebrated the fact that Obama didnt the the Olympics for a couple reasons:
Some people just hate Obama, regardless of what he tries to do
Some people saw this as rewarding bad behavior if he did get it, you would have to be really dim not to see this would benefit his buddies in Chicago.
The timing of it wasnt good, there are more pressing issues at hand.
Michelle saying how much she sacraficed to do this, while getting her nails done on a flying mansion and hanging with Oprah. Pretty rough, hope she comes out of it ok. I was done being a republican a while ago, BTW. All the bums should be thrown out if you ask me.

[RIJIMMY]

Obama is only petitioning for the Olympics because his friends will benefit"

johnny, yes or no answer - if this was another city, do you think Obama would have went personally to Copenhagen?
- keep in mind, he didnt even travel to NYC, Pentagon, or Phil for 9/11.

[scottw]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

Feel free to continue with your hit and run posts in your attempt merely to criticize me regardless of the topic, as opposed to contribute to the discussion.

waaaaaaaaaaaa...ha...ha...haaaaaaah

[scottw]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

Obama is only petitioning for the Olympics because his friends will benefit"

johnny, yes or no answer - if this was another city, do you think Obama would have went personally to Copenhagen?
- keep in mind, he didnt even travel to NYC, Pentagon, or Phil for 9/11.

and he blew off the Dalai

"American officials told Tibetan representatives that "this president is not interested in symbolism or photo ops but in deliverables," the Asian diplomat said. "He wants something to come out of his efforts over Tibet, rather than just checking a box." (Washington Post) Both Tenzin Gyatso, who is the 14th Dalai Lama, and his representatives have been negotiating for months with the Obama administration to establish a meeting with the 44th President. He has met with the sitting U.S. President in the White House 10 times since 1991.

"We've got the classic case of a Western government yet again conceding to Chinese pressure that is imaginary long after that Chinese pressure has ceased to exist," said Robert Barnett, a Tibetan expert at Columbia University . "The Chinese must be falling over themselves with astonishment at what Western diplomats will give them without being asked. I don't know what the poker analogy would be. 'Please, see all my cards and take my money, too?'

this is freaking hilarious after they were passing out lab coats for a PHOTO OP yesterday


Reverend Wright- YES
Dalai Lama- NOOOOO

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

I do find it amusing that you try to state that anyone has more nastiness in their rants than Limbaugh.

Feel free to continue with your hit and run posts in your attempt merely to criticize me regardless of the topic, as opposed to contribute to the discussion.

You must not listen to Olbermann if you think Limbaugh is nastier than him. Olberman is as bad if not worse than Coulter.

And it's not a "hit and run" post. I was just calling you out for disparaging Republicans based on a couple of nitwit comments. While I may lean more to the right than you politically, I certainly don't criticize you "regardless of the topic". It's just spirited discussion as far as I'm concerned. You probably see things from both sides more than a lot of us in here. I'm much more likely to criticize Spence regardless of the topic because it's just fun to pick on him.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by fishbones

You must not listen to Olbermann if you think Limbaugh is nastier than him. Olberman is as bad if not worse than Coulter.

And it's not a "hit and run" post. I was just calling you out for disparaging Republicans based on a couple of nitwit comments. While I may lean more to the right than you politically, I certainly don't criticize you "regardless of the topic". It's just spirited discussion as far as I'm concerned. You probably see things from both sides more than a lot of us in here. I'm much more likely to criticize Spence regardless of the topic because it's just fun to pick on him.

The most I've listened to Olberman is while flipping channels, him being on and continuing to flip.

Touche on your last sentence.

[spence]

Originally Posted by fishbones

You must not listen to Olbermann if you think Limbaugh is nastier than him. Olberman is as bad if not worse than Coulter.

I completely disagree. While Olberman's rants can be acerbic and pompus, they are usually very well researched and thought out.

Coulter is instead nearly always focused on saying anything to get a rise out of people and beating the "liberals have a mental disorder" horse she's been milking for a decade.

-spence

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by spence

I completely disagree. While Olberman's rants can be acerbic and pompus, they are usually very well researched and thought out.

Coulter is instead nearly always focused on saying anything to get a rise out of people and beating the "liberals have a mental disorder" horse she's been milking for a decade.

-spence

Yeah, Olbermann's acerbic and pompous. And he definitely is smart. Probably almost 60% as smart as he thinks he is. As for researched and thought out, I'm not so sure. I doubt his racial slur during MNF wasn't part of his script. And making the guacamole comment about a Mexican American governor may have been funny to racists, but I don't think he meant to say it on the air. Now I'm pretty sure his Nazi salute while he holds up the Bill O'Reilly mask is intended. I'd put that in the same category as Coulters idiotic comments and schtick.

[buckman]

JD, I understand your disdain for the approach the GOP has taken. What I'm confused with is what people like yourself want . You jump all over anyone who is Republican, spout conservative views while defending most liberal talking points. Blame Bush for everything while (and this isn't really about you) using every excuse for Obamas behavior. I think there is a group of Obama voters here that are having some internal struggles now that they are seeing what they voted in.

He's just not the man many people thought he was, he's the man Republicans said he was.