He's got the hammer, but by the head, not the handle.
It's not quite paranoia: merely... misplaced.
By Moe Lane Posted in Blogosphere — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Thanks to Megan McArdle we have this chuckler of an Unqualified Offerings post ("Stark Weather"):
But in the wake of the humiliation inflicted on Pete Stark today by his own leadership, I’m forced to ask, “So, who did win the elections last year anyway?”
...
Here’s the thing to realize: Pete Stark is a powerful guy. I won’t argue that he’s one of the Secret Masters of the World or anything, but California’s most senior Congressman, ranking member on some powerful committees, has a lot more status and access than you or I do.
And his own party leadership joined their supposed minority opposition in rolling Pete Stark in his own [feces]. The message is clear. Whatever you want to call it - The War Party, the Beltway Consensus, the institutional structure of contemporary American politics, the Movement, whatever - will not brook consequential dissent. Individual congressmen aren’t that consequential, but they matter a lot more than anyone blogging.
I would like to take the time to note, once and for all, that the whatever-it-is that is running the country is not going after Pete Stark. No, indeed. The very idea is absurd. It should be obvious to a child what's going on, in fact.
They're going after you, Jim.
Read on.
First, let's kick to the side what happened to Pete Stark. He messed up, that's all: what plays well on Left-wing websites doesn't necessarily play well in people's living rooms, and there are way too many freshmen Democrats in Republican districts and States who were not willing to take the chance that the GOP wouldn't plaster that meltdown of Stark's - and their votes on the censure resolution - all over the airwaves next summer. So they went to Nancy Pelosi - who by the way hates you guys over in the left 'sphere now - and she went to Pete and told Pete to save the bile for the Lefty blogs. Probably told him to lay it on as thick as he could; she might have even given him a trowel with which to spread it. So he did, and the GOP snapped its collective fingers wistfully, while savoring the moment in the short term. So it goes.
That solves a problem, but not the problem for the Democrats. The problem for the Democrats is that its online cheering section is truculent, intolerant of... intolerant, and exceptionally arrogant about both its rightful place in the world and the caliber of its opposition. Good for money, all right for votes, bad at playing well with others. And don't think that the Establishment Democrats haven't noticed that, either.
I originally thought that the hammer would thus come down some time in the last few months, but that was silly of me: there were still at least two quarters of fund raising at stake. Once the primaries have shaken themselves down, the Democratic nominee will almost certainly find herself in an excellent financial position; one good enough to let her play Sister Souldjah with a widely-known, carefully-encouraged, but not-very-powerful group. Just in time for the conventions... and if they can scream for the cameras, all for the better. And after that? Hey, if she wins, she runs all sorts of government agencies. Like, say, the IRS. Nothing like a visit from the tax man to make a man thoughtful; particularly when the tax man was given the nod to go, you know, looking.
Now, if Jim - or any of the other Left-bloggers out there who aren't tested geniuses at navigating the tax code - wants to avoid this, they've got only one real option. They need to go find themselves somebody important in the Democratic establishment, and make themselves friendly with him or her. Real friendly. That way, once the purge comes down, they can get their patron to shield them. Sure, you'll have to regurgitate press releases and give an edge to a bunch of vanillas, but that beats tax evasion, right?
What about us? What about us? The right 'sphere just wanted to get dealt in, kids: we were never about taking over the table. Put another way: we're not the elemental threat to the system that you guys wanted to be. Which is why we're going to be fine when the auditors swoop down... and, hell, why we're going to be waving bye-bye at you.
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He's got the hammer, but by the head, not the handle. 2 Comments (0 topical, 2 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
"What about us? What about us? The right 'sphere just wanted to get dealt in, kids: we were never about taking over the table. "
I'd probably be considered more to the left by most people on this site, but this quote explains exactly why I actually enjoy reading sites like RedState, RealClearPolitics, and other right leaning websites over anything I've found on the left so far, that far too often come across as annoying. The respective attitudes quoted permeate's through entire websites, and to be honest I think it's pretty clear that both Democrats and Republicans in washington treat the right netroots more seriously (i.e. as more than a cash flow and photo op). I recall a time when (I believe it was) Dick Durbin came to RedState to ask for ideas for one reason or another on a bipartisan issue and was treated respectfully. The fact that a very liberal Democrat would feel comfortable doing this is very telling of quality here, and is not something I would expect the left netroots to handle well. Meanwhile I get the sense that even Democrats avoid interacting with the left net on their home territory. There are exceptions among and withing websites, but in general the right blogosphere is just more sensible.
but you are also a bit over simplified. First, there is an old rule in war fare, divide and conquer. Politics is not that much different. If the left wing base is fighting with the more moderate wings of the party then that is ultimately good for the Republicans. Second, you are right that ultimately the Soros wing of the party is every word you use, however the Dems have even bigger problems. The reality is that they have all sorts of wings, the DLC, Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Blue Dogs, etc. You get the idea. It is difficult to manage a party when you have so many different agendas at once. That is why the leadership is having so much trouble because in order to get anything done they have to horse trade with all sorts of factions, furthermore, the DLC, the Blue Dogs, are essentially political enemies of the Soros wing. If any one of these wings falls off their majority is a minority, so good luck holding the Soros wing and the Blue Dogs together on most pieces of legislation.
Ultimately, the biggest problem is that the public in general likes the Blue Dog view of the world the most, however the Soros wing is the most powerful wing within the party. Again, try and lead with that dynamic.
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