30 Comments

1. Nomenklatura:

I believe the proper term for publicly targeting innocent members of a community in order to pre-emptively scare off the others is ‘terrorism’.

There’s no need to recoil from this use of the term simply because there is no blood here – this used to be, just a short time ago, the plain and simple meaning of the word.

Nov 14, 2008 - 4:38 pm 2. RWE:

A while back Wretchard described the Weather Underground’s plans for the subjugation of the USA. I did not enter that discussion, but what struck me was that the group was supposedly at the vanguard of the Alternative Lifestyle counterculture of the 60’s, which basically said “If it feels good, do it.” All philosophies were acceptable, all lifestyles equally Relevant. Unless the Weather Underground got their wish, and then it would be as they dictated.

And here we go again. The appeal of the Democratic Party in general and Obama in particular is that they are on the side of the Common Man. Workers of the World Unite. Back in the 90’s when a certain multi-millionaire football player got fined by his team for staying home with his pregnant wife, the Clinton Admin even came out solidly and publicly on the side of The Worker, even multimillionaire football player workers.

But Joe the Plumber is not treated by the Dems as the Common Man or The Worker, despite the fact he is just that. Some are Common Men but some are More Common than others. An Obamanation!

Nov 14, 2008 - 5:09 pm 3. NahnCee:

Is Joe suing? I would have thought it would have been announced by now. Perhaps he’s interviewing lawyers to see who will promise him the biggest payout.

Nov 14, 2008 - 5:30 pm 4. whiskey:

Of course, two can play at that game. Expect a populist backlash to dish all the ugly dirt on various public figures associated with Democrats, including media types, and officials, and so forth.

Along with a whispering campaign to take advantage of the media’s lack of credibility. When they are in the tank so visibly for Obama, they lose credibility against whispering campaigns that can have lots of people believing many things about Obama.

Nov 14, 2008 - 6:17 pm 5. Demosophist:

I believe the proper term for publicly targeting innocent members of a community in order to pre-emptively scare off the others is ‘terrorism’.

Strictly speaking, if I recall my Arendt references correctly, it’s just called “terror.” That’s what they called it in 1790s France, and in 1930s Russia. But also, strictly speaking, terror as a system really does involve blood. Take the oft-referenced concept of “political correctness.” The term actually refers to an old joke in the USSR where a number of party planners gather around a table to plan the next year’s crops, and there’s an empty seat. Someone says: “Where is Ivan?” and the reply is “Well, Ivan was “politically incorrect.”

There’s definitely blood involved, but the threat to livelihood and career counts as a kind of “blood threat,” no doubt about it.

Nov 14, 2008 - 6:50 pm 6. Starko:

Whiskey I’d like to believe that, but it’s difficult for that kind of thing to make it into the mainstream because, well, the mainstream media holds everyone accountable but themselves.

Nov 14, 2008 - 6:52 pm 7. Pay Attention:

That damn Bush. He’s such a fascist.

Nov 14, 2008 - 8:52 pm 8. James:

If the economy tanks, what happens to Google’s business model? Running the servers takes $$. I’d suggest that a lot of freebies will start to go away–including free blogs. That reduces the number of non-MSM information channels.
We rely on Google (and similar firms) a lot, but if they can’t make ads pay for it it’ll either have to be subscription (and shriveling), or nationalization/subsidy (with cleanup: no porn, no hate sites {broadly defined}, etc).

Nov 14, 2008 - 9:16 pm 9. Beverly:

Bush = Goldstein (1984).

Orwell = genius.

We’re very close to these bastards dragging citizens through the courts to retaliate against them for political dissent: witness the Missouri case. Thank God the governor of that state has a backbone. And is a Republican.

Time to uproot some serious weeds from our garden, folks.

Nov 14, 2008 - 11:00 pm 10. anton:

All of the state employees that accessed the computer infomation can be tracked. Nobody gets into those systems except by password controlled terminals, and the system records who gained access and exactly what information was looked at. These people should all be fired and criminally charged.

Nov 15, 2008 - 12:27 am 11. veng:

Anton,
Aint gonna happen – Dem controlled state.

Nov 15, 2008 - 2:01 am 12. A Conservative Teacher:

Don’t be surprised at this. I’ve been personally blacklisted too, for asking too many questions about the liberal slant of the state-mandated tests in my state- they kicked me off the committee when I got objected too much about a question that favorably compared Mao with George Washington. Take a look at my site- I talked about it in more detail there. And I’m not alone- I’m sure this stuff is happening more and more often as our country descends into fascism.

Nov 15, 2008 - 6:18 am 13. marymcl:

Joe should sue everyone in sight. He will win. Any public employee will tell you what these people did is against the law. Period.

If they got into his medical record, he can go federal. I work in a county hospital administered by the state and unauthorized access to medical records is a federal offense and one of the few things that will get you fired on the spot. If you’re reading this, Joe, tell your attorney to google up HIPAA

Nov 15, 2008 - 7:56 am 14. Peter Rice:

Concerning: Dans ce pays-ci, il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encourager les autres.

Joe The Plumber is not an admiral, not in the Royal Navy, not in the 18th century, rather he is a thought criminal for having asked the Messiah a question that was inappropriate, in that the Messiah’s answer was used against him.

For those not familiar with the French above, it is: that to encourage the others, that it is good from time to time to hang an admiral (of the Royal Navy). The admiral in question was not aggressive enough in his relief efforts of a British garrison under seige.

Nov 15, 2008 - 8:12 am 15. elby:

In previous posts, Wretchard has encouraged us to take back the culture. In general, I agree with his idea. We should be on textbook committees, school boards, in the media, writing films, etc.

However, taking over the culture is not going to happen all that easily, as witnessed by the response to Joe the Plumber. He merely asked a question. He wasn’t even trying to take over a culture. And look what happened to him.

The left knows how to play the game. Any attempts to influence education (K-grad school) will be quickly and visciously nipped in the bud. Read what the poster Conservative Teacher at #12 wrote. This person ‘asked too many questions,’ and was blacklisted as a result.

How far can we get under these circumstances? Sure, one or two conservatives may slip onto a school board, into a newsroom or into Hollywood. But as soon as these people show any conservative tendencies they will be neutralized either through character assasination or blacklisting.

One thing conservatives have done is set up a parallel system. Homeschooling and private and christian schools. Talk radio and internet blogs. But we still have no access to the mass culture. Our only hope is that the leftist addled major cultural outlets collapse on their own and people will turn to our alternatives.

Nov 15, 2008 - 8:31 am 16. SpeakEasy:

Terrorism does not necessarily involve blood but there is often an implication. In previous readings (years ago) I recall the practice of kidnapping family members of the opposition to influence certain outcomes. The detained were well kept and released unharmed in any way– as long as the outcome was what was desired. A technicality, but an accurate one.

Nov 15, 2008 - 8:40 am 17. elby:

“If we lose freedom here, we have no place to escape to.”-Ronald Reagan, 1964

Nov 15, 2008 - 8:47 am 18. SpeakEasy:

elby,
This is a distinct possibility. I know a number of home schooled students who are well above average as a result. When the publicly schooled students become the second-tier, the system will indeed collapse. Conservatives should make that our common goal, vigorously repairing the damage that the socialistic, public school system has caused over the years. Who knows, maybe quality goods may one day be designed and built in America once again.

Nov 15, 2008 - 8:47 am 19. elby:

In the fallout after the election there has been much debate about why the republicans lost. Was it the religious right, for turning off the hip and cool and smart voters? Or the country club wing, for being essentially no different than democrats?

The best analysis I have found so far is James G. Gimpels article over at National Review, “Center? What Center?” Here is the money quote:

“The research suggests that those who at various times occupy this center, often described as moderates or independents, are not very knowledgeable about or interested in politics. They do not follow campaign coverage closely, are inconsistent in their policy views, and are often not able to identify what positions are liberal or conservative.

What characterizes the centrist voter is not some peculiar set of policy positions, but rather ignorance of policy issues in general, coupled with vague impressions of the “goodness” or “badness” of the times. So-called centrist or moderate voters can’t even be counted on to vote.”

This is important to understand, because elections are one or lost on the how the muddled middle feels. The muddled middle will not homeschool their children, that takes way to much time and effort. They aren’t looking for schools to teach their children conservative lessons in history or economics.

They won’t listen to talk radio (unless its sports). That takes too much thinking. They simply pick up by osmosis the general mass medial consensus: They don’t read. The barely, if ever, watch the news. They aren’t news junkies. Their diet of news is looking at headlines as they walk past newspaper stands and catching a few minutes of news if their remote control stops during a newscast. Then they go on to the sports or entertainment news.

I can gaurantee you that the vast majority who voted for Obama haven’t even heard of card check and have no idea of its implications. They have no idea of or any thoughts on Obama’s likely policies in Afghanistan. They don’t understand what is wrong with health care costs and delivery, don’t really know what Obama might do to fix it, just that somehow or other he will ‘fix’ it. And understanding thefinancial problems and consequent bailout? Fuggedabout it. Lesson delivered (and absorbed by the muddled middle) via mass culture: Those Wall street guys sure are greedy. Whatever. Now back to ESPN and watching guys paid multi millions to play games or to Entertainment Tonight to see what new 50 room mansion the celebrity of the day has bought. Irony is lost on the muddled middle.

The problem is: without the mass culture to set the tone and frame the debate our (conservative) way, then how do we deal with the muddled middle?

Nov 15, 2008 - 9:15 am 20. SpeakEasy:

Daily life in America has lost most of its struggle so people are by and large on cruise control. Oh they complain a-plenty, they just are not exactly sure why or what to do about it. I see a disturbing lack of concern for how “things work.” It will take a crisis of staggering proportions to wake them from their sleepwalking. Those of us at least trying to understand will have a distinct advantage as we watch things unfold. At least that is my hope.

Nov 15, 2008 - 9:31 am 21. NahnCee:

Sleep-walking or just not intelligent enough to be able to wrap their minds around Constitutional complexities?

Frankly, living 21st Century life in NY or LA or any city is complex enough just getting to work in the morning, figuring out where to park so you don’t get towed, making it home without crashing into anything, and being able to get a meal on the table without having to take the time to also worry about what Putin’s up to and whether or not Ayers is a terrorist or repentent.

Then if you throw in other not-daily details like figuring out your income taxes, whether little JOhnny is building a pipe bomb in his bedroom, or whether it’s more important for little Susie to be a cheerleader or to wear a McCain t-shirt, there *really* isn’t a lot of IQ or time left over to be fighting the 51% of your neighbors and colleagues who voted for Obama.

In the hierarchy of life’s needs, politics would be at the very tippy-top of the pyramid and not something that people would perceive need attention on a daily basis. As long as people have food on the table (even if it is just Ramen noodles) and a car in the garage and a color TV set, their basic needs have been taken care of.

Safety / security is a 2nd basic need and most people will not pay attention to politics or Putin or the Taliban unless they see those things being directly linked to their own personal safety; i.e., 9/11 was a pretty good link for most Americans.

I don’t think it’s fair to lump Americans into a huge ignorant mass just because they’re living their lives and are focused on those lives. Americans hire or elect people to take care of politics and wars just like we hire or elect people to put out fires and arrest criminals. So if you want more Americans to participate, you really have to answer the question, “what’s in it for me” and not just depend on guilt trips and “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”.

Nov 15, 2008 - 10:49 am 22. steveaz:

#10. Anton,
This will be more difficult than it sounds.

By firing the perpetrators, these government agencies’ administrators risk falling a-foul of Ohio’s established employees-union rules for “undue termination.”

You can bet that the union will fight the government every step of the way. Superficialities like the terminated employees’ skin colors, sexual preferences or genders will feature highly in the union’s attempts.

Just a prediction. But the Helenic meritocracy as we knew it has been stood on its head…anything could happen.

Nov 15, 2008 - 11:31 am 23. NahnCee:

If the government agencies are sued into bankruptcy then they’ll have to let the perp’s go anyway due to lack of money, unions be damned.

Nov 15, 2008 - 2:33 pm 24. slade:

NahnCee -

Nicely said. I’ve been thinking about that subject for awhile but I couldn’t find the words to do it justice. So now in addition to raising kids and finding the Parking Lot without the psycho killer attendant (and navigating the freeways which is a worthy subject of it’s own), we have to be Asian scholars or Russian scholars. The modern US is floundering for lack of a coherent foreign policy “paradigm.” American Exceptionalism is well let’s just say not fully supported by the empirical meltdown of the last two months. Isolationism, while hugely attractive (to me) is not realistic. But my preference is some derivative of non-intervention except in self-defense. At some point this country has to decide how tall the average Jihadist is – 12-ft or something less.

Obviously there is some blowback downwind to the general population – the credit card debt is one, if it is true, but my black and white view is that the “elites” – if that is what they’re still being called – failed. I particularly blame the regulatory agencies who failed to give warnings and Congress who failed to heed the warnings that were given – much more so than Wall St and investors, both of whom were doing what they do, what they will always do. The former were not.

Nov 15, 2008 - 2:33 pm 25. slade:

Irony is lost on the muddled middle. – elby

You think so?

Nov 15, 2008 - 2:41 pm 26. slade:

Plus this from Glenn Reynolds:

Plus this: “Federal appetites may know no bounds. But the federal government’s ability to borrow is not limitless. Already, our nation’s unfunded liabilities total $52 trillion — about $450,000 per household. There’s something very strange about issuing debt to solve a problem caused by too much debt.”

Nov 15, 2008 - 3:57 pm 27. elby:

Nahncee, the I’m too busy to think about the implications of my vote mentality isn’t going to fly with me. Everyone here on this blog has to navigate the obstacle course of modern life. I was talking about voters, not non participants. These people vote, but have no clue what they are voting for. Is it too much to ask that voters think through their choice? Otherwise they shouldn’t vote.

And I do not lump all Obama voters in with the muddled middle. Many people who voted for Obama thought through the issues and happen to agree with his political bent. That I can respect. At least you can engage some of these people in discussion.

Oh sure, eventually the pendulum will swing back. Something bad will happen when a democrat is president and then the muddled middle will help swing the vote the republican way. But the damage the democrats will do may be irrepairable.

The muddled middle will always be with us. I understand that. My point is that a media that is solidly on the side of the leftists will always drag that muddled middle to the left.

Nov 15, 2008 - 6:23 pm 28. FLAPJAWMAN:

ref – SpeakEasy:

Daily life in America has lost most of its struggle so people are by and large on cruise control. Oh they complain a-plenty, they just are not exactly sure why or what to do about it. I see a disturbing lack of concern for how “things work.” It will take a crisis of staggering proportions to wake them from their sleepwalking. Those of us at least trying to understand will have a distinct advantage as we watch things unfold. At least that is my hope.

Here is my take, SpeakEasy:
5% of the people make things happen
15% of the people watch things happen
the rest wonder what happened…
FLAPJAWMAN

Nov 16, 2008 - 1:51 am 29. NahnCee:

So, elby – under your proposed system, who gets to choose who’s too muddled to vote? Personally I think anyone who subscribes to the NY Times or the LA Times should be stricken from the voter polls, but you would probably call them well-informed and enlightened and allow their vote.

Nov 16, 2008 - 11:21 am 30. elby:

Nahncee, I have not said they should be stricken from the rolls. Read my post and the article I quoted. My point is how do we deal with those who vote based on feelings and emotions when the mass media is owned and operated by leftists who mold those feelings and emotions.

My further point is, when we do win, which we occasionally do, how do we further our agenda when the mass media plays on people’s emotions and makes our agenda look evil?

We need to stay very far away from the idea of taking away anyones right to vote, or to control the media by government fiat. Controlling the media is precisely what the so-called ‘fairness doctrine’ is all about. It can only end up in cutting of what few conservative voices there are.

Instead, I am merely suggesting that the rebublicans not get caught up in why we lost, and instead focus on how we can bring the muddled middle to our side. The muddled middle did come over to our side in 2002 and 2004 largely based on concern for our national security. But they left before we could get the job done.

Either we learn somehow to shape the agenda and influence the culture or our ideas will never get a chance to effectively change the direction of this country.

The muddled middle will always be with us. My point, again, is how do we govern and get anything done with a fickle public?

Nov 16, 2008 - 11:53 am

Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.