Klavan On The Culture

March 4th, 2009 6:16 am

Pants on Fire

I used to know a girl who was a pathological liar. She’d lie about everything and when you caught her in one lie she’d simply replace it with another. Every now and then, when I wasn’t paying very close attention to her, I would find myself believing her. It was always a mistake, of course, but believing what people say is my default mode. When I was inattentive, I simply failed to put in the extra energy necessary to doubt her.

That was many years ago and you’d think I’d’ve gotten wiser over time, but no such luck. The same thing happened to me just the other day.

I had to leave C-PAC before Rush Limbaugh delivered the final speech. I’ve been dashing around New York ever since with barely enough time to grab a cup of coffee. I only caught news stories about the Rush speech out of the corner of my eye, on a café television or a newspaper in a store. I saw words like “disappointing,” “angry,” “red meat,” and I figured, well, I guess I didn’t miss much.

What on earth was I thinking? No, I mean, really. What on earth?

Fortunately, doughty Big Hollywood maestro Andrew Breitbart alerted me to the MSM deception in his column in the Washington Times. Yesterday, I woke up early and watched Rush’s speech in my hotel room. Warm, funny, intelligent and wise, it was a wonderful and necessary reminder of what conservative principles are all about. It could even be an energizing game changer if enough of us heed the call. Which is pretty much what you’d expect from Rush and exactly why the media works so hard to demonize him. If they can keep you from listening to him, they don’t have to debate him. If they debate him, they’ll lose.

All of which is by way of a reminder to myself: you gotta keep paying attention to that news media, dude, because they lie and lie and lie.

OH, AND SPEAKING OF WHICH…

Not-really-conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote yesterday that he was shocked—shocked!—to find the Obama he voted for is really a left wing radical. And he’s so dismayed because the only other intolerable option is to join the extremist “Rush Limbaugh brigade.” That would be Rush Limbaugh, the guy who knew exactly what Obama was while Brooks was getting it exactly wrong. In another time, Brooks would be given a pistol and left alone to do the honorable thing.

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25 Comments

1. heathermc:

the pistol in the parlor: those Victorians understood about honour and reputation, and how terrible it is to lose them.

David Brooks will, I suppose, go on, dragging his immorality behind him, clattering like Marley’s Ghost.

Mar 4, 2009 - 11:41 am 2. Righteous Bubba:

So you were alerted to the MSM deception by a guy writing for the Moonie newspaper and decided to pick up on the wisdom of a drug-addict sex-tourist.

No wonder people are flocking to the Republican fold.

Mar 4, 2009 - 1:21 pm 3. Carbon:

I suspect that Mr. Brooks is just constructing a piece of artificial evidence to demonstrate at some future time, if things really get ugly, that he wasn’t part of the problem, he was merely a victim who was duped. Plausible deniability is what its called.

Maybe in his case it should be called “reputation insurance,” if you will. Because when it gets down to pundits, whether they’re called “journalists” or not, your reputation is your meal ticket. If it drops too low you might have to accept a job writing the obits in some smalltown newspaper.

Mar 4, 2009 - 1:37 pm 4. Carbon:

YOU DATED HILLARY CLINTON!!!!!!!!!
–damn

Mar 4, 2009 - 1:40 pm 5. flownover:

I love Carville’s moniker de plume, Righteous Bubba.

Mar 4, 2009 - 1:46 pm 6. Leo:

Rush’s speech: all bread and no meat.
Was left wanting more. More being an articulation of what those ‘conservative principles’ actually are.
anything about borders, no.
anything about language, no.
anything about culture, no.
just mostly, “democrats bad, republicans good.”
yes, i may be regurgitating what a much wiser man has already said, but it’s the blinding ruth.

Mar 4, 2009 - 1:53 pm 7. Simba B:

Fortunately, doughty Big Hollywood maestro Andrew Breitbart

T key must be stuck.

Mar 4, 2009 - 2:09 pm 8. Malignant Bouffant:

If it drops too low you might have to accept a job writing the obits in some smalltown newspaper.

Case in point: Bill Kristol. Oh, wait a minute … No. The free market fails once again.

It could even be an energizing game changer if enough of us heed the call.

And yet, if not enough (& there aren’t) of you heed the call, it won’t be an energizing game changer. Wow, how does that work?

Mar 4, 2009 - 2:21 pm 9. Angainor:

“So you were alerted to the MSM deception by a guy writing for the Moonie newspaper and decided to pick up on the wisdom of a drug-addict sex-tourist.

No wonder people are flocking to the Republican fold.”

AWESOME COMEBACK!!! You told him. You must have honed your debating skills on the Harvard debate team. This kind of response from the left makes me proud to be sharing the same country.

Mar 4, 2009 - 2:37 pm 10. Stella:

Bubba, Obama is a cocaine snorting, pot smoking drug addict…. but he’s just the POTUS.

Mar 4, 2009 - 2:58 pm 11. Gerard Knorr:

He’s dismayed that it isn’t easy being on the other side from the fascists, so he’s going to stay where he is, with the fascists, because he is a moral coward. Moral cowardice, of course, is the reason he voted for him in the first place. I guess he lied to himself that Obama was secretly centrist, despite all evidence. Or felt he had sufficient cover to pretend he thought so.

Mar 4, 2009 - 4:16 pm 12. Janie:

Hmm, pathological liars……MSM, Obama, liberals

Mar 4, 2009 - 4:36 pm 13. Big Shooter:

One thing that always made sense to me about what Rush and others of his ilk have said about the Left- when they don’t have an argument they turn to name calling. What a vacuous “argument”.

Mar 4, 2009 - 4:51 pm 14. AtheistConservative:

Why, exactly, is it that a person being overweight and having an addiction is so intolerable to the ‘tolerance’ crowd? Have you ever seen people more full of hatred than liberals?

Mar 4, 2009 - 5:21 pm 15. Blarty Blarckleblart:

“Why, exactly, is it that a person being overweight and having an addiction is so intolerable to the ‘tolerance’ crowd?”

Trust me, it isn’t. We liberals love that your de facto leader is a weak, lying drug addict whose hateful rhetoric disgusts most of the country. It was hilarious when Michael Steele was forced to kiss his cyst-infested ass.

Mar 4, 2009 - 5:56 pm 16. Righteous Bubba:

You may wish to read what Rush Limbaugh thinks of drug addicts.

Mar 4, 2009 - 6:00 pm 17. ricpic:

Rush rules. And in times like these when every oar in the water counts who needs centrist Brooks and his ilk, who can’t even decide which side of the boat to paddle on.

Mar 4, 2009 - 6:18 pm 18. photoman:

Righteous Bubba (and his ilk): I believe you have made Mr. Klavin’s point. Don’t even attempt to debate the ideas just attack the mouthpiece. You are to be pitied.

Mar 4, 2009 - 6:28 pm 19. Knight:

I just finally watched Rush’s CPAC speech – after reading and listening to all the hullabalu re Michael Steele’s gaffes, the White House’s strategy to demonize Rush – and, while appreciating much of what Rush said and recognizing it must be said over and over again – watching his performance with 20/20 hindsight was painful – he simply put his chin out there for the punch(es) – and pranced and preened for the same adoration that Obama receives. His message got lost. It truly will take all of us to stand up and be counted just as Rush said. But at least he said it!

Mar 4, 2009 - 7:24 pm 20. delta george:

Rush hit the left right between the eyes. David Brooks is a rino nerd, a Chris Matthews lackey if you will! David Frum and Peggy Noonan are in that camp as well!

Mar 4, 2009 - 7:36 pm 21. elvis:

We are calling what David Brooks did “the Britney Spears”. First the crying, then the wringing of the hands, then to rehab.

Great article and like Rush … full of COMMON SENSE!
Elvis

Mar 5, 2009 - 5:10 am 22. Pops in Vienna:

In another time, if Brooks didn’t do the honorable thing, it’d be totally appropriate for El-Rushbo to challenge the wimpy little milque toast to a duel.

Speaking of CPAC, I think they’ve done a horrible job of PR. Why aren’t all of the great speeches made at that event on YouTube? Let the people (especially the younger people) hear and see what was actually said. If we have to rely on the MSM to get the information it will obviously be distorted.

Mar 5, 2009 - 5:28 am 23. Righteous Bubba:

Righteous Bubba (and his ilk): I believe you have made Mr. Klavin’s point. Don’t even attempt to debate the ideas just attack the mouthpiece.

You are evidently not a listener of Rush’s show.

Mar 5, 2009 - 7:01 am 24. coondog:

Fantastic! Mr. Klaven, you have written a most excellent piece. The dig on Mr. Brooks is fair. He sometimes gets it right but this time missed the mark wide left! Brilliant!

And Righteous Bubba: Your man is an addict too–to nicotene! No shame there, really. But don’t go knocking Rush for his personal faults when we all have them. Obama’s team misfired. You took a hit. Deal with it!

And delta George, I agree about Frum. But not Noonan! No, not sweet Peggy! Noooo!

Mar 11, 2009 - 10:00 am 25. Huston:

Cool, comical conservative Klavan correctly calls conformist, collectivist culture corrupt.

Moronic media mistakenly mandates muddled mentality. Liberals listlessly libelize Limbaugh like lazy losers.

Mar 20, 2009 - 8:15 am