September 16, 2008

"They became a Wurlitzer for Barack Obama..."

Big Tent Democrat on why the netroots don't get respect.

IN THE COMMENTS: rhhardin said:
Obama needs the talent to play the Wurlitzer for the turn of phrase to work.

I'd go with iPod.
Obama played the nutroots like an iPod.

Bissage said:
I want respect.

So I’m not going to post a stupid joke about an enormous organ.

Too obvious.

33 comments:

Unknown said...

In other shocking news, Sun appears to rise in the east, each day of the year.

TMink said...

"Credit where credit it due, the Netroots has been doing the politically stupid thing focusing on Palin because they really hate her."

So hatred, having the wrong focus, and hurting your candidate are things Democrats respect?

Wow.

Trey

rhhardin said...

Obama needs the talent to play the Wurlitzer for the turn of phrase to work.

I'd go with I-pod.

Original Mike said...

I would have just said "because spittle is so unattractive."

George M. Spencer said...

Perfidia!

With a sad lament my dreams are faded like a broken melody
While the gods of love look down and laugh
At what romantic fools we mortals be

(Ventures, 1960)

Jukebox!

Original Mike said...

In other shocking news, Sun appears to rise in the east, each day of the year.

Actually, SteveR, this is shocking news to lefties(see the correction): Sun actually rises in the east

Bissage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bissage said...

I want respect.

So I’m not going to post a stupid joke about an enormous organ.

Too obvious.

Anonymous said...

why the netroots don't get respect.

The nutroots get no respect for the same reason nerds and dorks have trouble with women.

To compensate for this you need to appeal to women with a sense of humor.

The nutroots combine nerdy dorkiness with unrelenting pissed off bitterness and humorlessness.

Humorless, morally outraged dorks typing out their bitterness tend not to earn the respect of anybody.

Balfegor said...

So hatred, having the wrong focus, and hurting your candidate are things Democrats respect?

Wow.


I know you're just being ironical, but let's be fair -- he's respecting the fact that they're independent, not completely Axelrod's stooges, even if they sometimes seem like it. They have their own likes and dislikes, and they're not afraid to express them in the strongest possible terms, even when it hurts their candidate.

Fen said...

PLease go easy on Big Tent Democrat - I've been lurking at TalkLeft the last month, and disagree with him on most things, but he's a ringleader for those in that community that are reasonable and fairminded.

As opposed to Jeralyn, who bans even loyal longtime readers for posting anything outside the day's mythology. She rountinely reminds commenters to write "Obama" instead of "Barack", threatens to ban anyone with an indpendent thought, etc.

BTD is Ivestia, Jeralyn is Pravda.

[...]

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised to find a significant minority of Democrats that aren't drinking the Kool-aide, although that might have more to do with Hillary fans who have been subjected to they typical Obama Disciples we see here.


Ann, there shouldn't be a need to thank you for being such a free-speech advocate on your own blog, but hanging out at the Totalitarian TalkLeft has given me a new appreciation for freedoms I've taken for granted. Thank you for championing free speech.

Unknown said...

Mike: I was trying to be nice.

Henry said...

A well written essay. This argument is very well put:

I am a partisan Democrat it is true. But the reason I am is because I know who we can pressure to do the right thing some of the times.

You pick your issues, then you pick the party that can move your issues, then you hope for the opportunity that they actually will.

This is also why I'm independent. I'm with the Democrats on several social issues. I'm with the Republicans on free trade, judges, and -- despite their utter incompetence on the issue -- fiscal restraint. Why give Republicans any credit whatsoever on that last point? Because they have Senator Coburn and the Democrats don't.

By the same token, why would I expect the Democrats to act on principle when it comes to issues like same-sex marriage? Because they have Senator Feingold and the Republicans don't.

On the other hand, I disagree vehemently with Feingold and McCain on their campaign finance monstrosity.

What surprises me about any thoughtful partisan -- such as Big Tent Democrat or some of the conservatives who comment here -- is how focused their definition of "the right thing" is.

Original Mike said...

It was generous of you, SteveR. We should cut them some slack. Avoiding science class was the reason they went into journalism.

Fen said...

/edit, to be more precise, I should have written:

"As opposed to Jeralyn, who bans even loyal longtime readers for posting anything that disagrees with the day's mythology."

My prior remark made it sound like Jeralyn merely deletes off-topic comments.

chickelit said...

Lefty nutroots imagine themselves in a "big struggle" against fascism. They are like the Fwench partisan underground in WW II. They have their cause; they have their de Gaulle; they have their occupied nation. All they need is media compliance to cement their legacy. Fortunately, they best they'll get is an endorsement from Robert Clary.

ricpic said...

The netroots don't get no respect because the world has not gone entirely nonjudgmental...yet.

Fen said...

What surprises me about any thoughtful partisan -- such as Big Tent Democrat or some of the conservatives who comment here -- is how focused their definition of "the right thing" is.

Echo.

I tend to view both parties as a partnership or marriage, interested in what's best for America. It doesn't help matters if our spouse is off in the woods throwing temper tantrums and having a mental breakdown.

Fen said...

Lefty nutroots imagine themselves in a "big struggle" against fascism.

Those kind people always seem to have some hole in their soul. They pick up "causes" to make their life seem meaningful.

Its also an Indulgence for them, along the lines of "So maybe I molested the babysitter, but I take daily stands against those fascist neocons, so I can't be all that bad"

Fen said...

"...and did I tell you? I BELIEVE! in World Peace too!"

[come sit on my lap, baby]

MC said...

Big Tent Democrat has been refresingly reasonable.

I wish he had his own blog, he'd do better without Jeralyn. Ugh. She's got a shocking case of PDS, and it's annoying to wade through that crap to find BTD's posts.

Ron said...

Ah, but are the netroots driving the zamboni for McCain?

Roger J. said...

With respect to netroots: I accept the fact they are progressives; they have a world view that I don't share, but its their world view anad they have every right, indeed obligation, to use the political system to achieve their ends.

What I despise about them is their utter profanity; their total lack of a sense of humor; and their continual sense of moral outrage. Other than that, they are cool.

Trooper York said...

I would like to echo Fen's comment and say thank you for letting everyone voice their opinion without censorship. Including idiots on both sides of the aisle and the occasional moron who likes to post jokes, stories and other nonsense that have nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Anonymous said...

Lefty nutroots imagine themselves in a "big struggle" against fascism

A struggle against themselves?

Trooper York said...

Also, thank you for posting photos of dogs urinating and your naked body parts. It helps the work day go much faster.

Roger J. said...

Someone mentioned the Giants are the world champs..when did that happen? must have missed it.

Trooper York said...

That's what happens when you don't have a TV. If you didn't hear about it from the main stream media than it really didn't happen.

Where have you been man?

I'm Full of Soup said...

So Bissage is the skulker they are looking for at the Franklin Institute. He was last seen taking pics of organs. Heh.

Godot said...

Obama bought the Wurlitzer with his own money. It was a used spinet from a local madrasah. Like millions of men nation-wide, Obama has a passion for his organ.

blake said...

"So maybe I molested the babysitter, but I take daily stands against those fascist neocons, so I can't be all that bad"

Hey, she's 18, it's not molestation. Besides, it's a traditional bipartisan approach.

blake said...

Lefty nutroots imagine themselves in a "big struggle" against fascism

A struggle against themselves?


It's symbolic of our struggle against the Romans!

Wince said...

If the Netroots are being played, its probably no accident because that's how BHO felt about being a "community organizer."

John Judis's recent TNR piece "Creation Myth" about BHO's experience as a community orgaizer explains how he grew disillusioned with the Alinsky model. This propelled BHO toward the law and electoral politics.

QUOTE: But Obama didn't stop there. He had a litany of criticisms of Alinsky-style organizing that he wanted to put forward. He objected to community organizers' dismissal of charismatic leadership and of movements. Instead of making the point directly, he recalled a friend telling him of an IAF trainer who complained that "movements are rotten with charismatic leaders." Obama said his friend had responded, "That's nonsense. We want a movement. I would love to have Martin Luther King here right now." Obama argued that charismatic leaders and movements bring "long-term vision," and that community organizers cannot be effective without such vision.

Obama also criticized community organizers' "suspicion of politics." "The problem we face now in terms of organizing is that politics is a major arena of power," Obama said. "That's where your major dialogue, discussion, is taking place. To marginalize yourself from that process is a damaging thing, and one that needs to be rethought."

Before he was done, Obama had rejected the guiding principles of community organizing: the elevation of self-interest [of those being organized, not the organizer] over moral vision; the disdain for charismatic leaders and their movements; and the suspicion of politics itself.