October 16, 2010

Christine O'Donnell drives the liberals nuts.

Bill Maher has put together a video montage — intended, of course, as an attack...



1. Does this really work as an attack? I mean, as an attack on O'Donnell? Is it not instead or also an attack on the gaggle of liberals who gang up on and mock her? Maher brings on one woman — undoubtedly partly because she's pretty — and makes a punching bag out of her. They are so cocksure of themselves — both of their politics and of their funniness. It's really rather creepy and embarrassing for them.

2. O'Donnell is charming and game and she's stirring them up, that is, doing what she was brought on the show to do.  She holds up bravely, while they have each other, and they knew when they went on that they'd have each other to make things easy for them. They'd even have the fun of bashing a pretty woman. Look at all these guys — ugly guys — getting ugly on her. That was the entertainment model, a turnaround from normal social life. She had her reasons for doing the show, but I want to give her credit for doing it bravely and well. The courage of the comedian-liberals was not tested. And the show was structured to guarantee that.

3. We should take note of who drives people on the other side nuts. That person has a special power. It's not witchcraft, but it is power that they are afraid of. The more they deride her, the more those who agree with her politics should notice how desperately they want you to reject her. Think about what that means. (As Rush Limbaugh loves to say: They will tell you who they are afraid of.)

4. Remember when it was oh-so-terrible to take a person's statements out of context? In particular, in the montage, we hear the author Clive Barker say "You have to tell me about the ex-homosexuals." But what does she say? Obviously, the notion of curing homosexuals is highly inflammatory, but why are we hearing Barker's words and not hers? Did she say sexual orientation can be changed by some sort of therapy or did she refer to the religious belief that homosexual behavior is sinful and say that it is possible to refrain from conduct? (I'm not suggesting that the idea that gay people should refrain from engaging in sexual activities isn't also a problem, but it is a belief widely shared by many people, especially religious people, and if they are not hypocrites, they will also reject all sexual conduct outside of a marriage.)

5. As Bill Maher admits, introducing this montage, he has no more clips that will be "earthshaking." He's reached the end of the treasure trove archive he bragged about a few weeks ago. So, he got a lot of publicity for himself, but in the end, pretty much all he had was her assertion that she "dabbled into" witchcraft when she was a kid. Ha. He made us look.

115 comments:

themightypuck said...

I don't know what an attack is in this context. Maher is mocking O'Donnell to be sure, but that is Maher's whole shtick. It works for Maher because as you said, we looked.

Tank said...

Man, he IS ugly.

And she is cute.

Um, was there something else?

ndspinelli said...

I would like to see Olbermann, Maher, and Meacham is a cage smug match to the death. I think Maher is the King of Smugness, a small kingdom just north of Santa Monica Blvd. He would probably win.

TMink said...

This is what is done with women that do not support abortion and minorities who do not accept that they are oppressed.

It really is a small tent. Only victims and the elite need to apply.

Trey

DADvocate said...

This is what is done with women that do not support abortion and minorities who do not accept that they are oppressed.

Yup. The left can't argue on rational grounds so they resort to ad hominems. They betray there own hypocrisy by failing to abide by the tolerance that they preach so loudly.

She is cute, very cute.

Fred4Pres said...

I wish there were better choices for Delaware than O'Donnell, Castle and Cooms, but given what I have seen in this race, I so, so, so hope O'Donnell pulls an upset and wins.

And Bill Maher, fuck you too.

Lincolntf said...

The Left can't help but beclown themselves, especially when they're on the defensive.

Between Maher, Olby, the crones from The View, David Letterman, etc. I think the country is finally beginning to get the picture concerning the MSM. They are not entertaining or informing you, they are only deceiving and manipulating you.

Sprezzatura said...

Am I missing something? This is a comedy show, and the audience is laughing hysterically. Mission accomplished.

Sheesh.

BTW, did Meade or any of the other TPers see the end of last night's show. Obviously Maher was (speaking euphemistically) much less than intellectually rigorous, but he did enjoy needling (something Rush and Althouse can only appreciate in one direction) you cons.

Phil 314 said...

Ironically, she came out looking pretty good in those clips. I despise Bill Maher but it seems he has a soft spot for Ms. O'Donnell.

This is becoming the same phenomenon as this

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
pm317 said...

Ah..The lefty comedians and blogger boys who can't get laid going after these women (on the left and the right) who scare them in more ways than one. Read this hard hitting commentary , if you will.

I think she did well ( though haltingly) in the debate clip Ann had a few posts down. I may not agree with these women but I like their spunk (especially when they stand up to pock marked arrogant adolescent men who think they can ridicule these women for just being who they are). The lefty media and entertainment are just one big freak show.

traditionalguy said...

Great post from our great Professor. I also see that the more things change the more they stay the same. Emperor Maher and his procounsels are enjoying a ritual of throwing an Italian Christian to the lions on the TV's version of the Colosseum. The Roman Empire is reviving itself before our eyes together with its immorality, cults, and cruelty. Mabe this will force fence sitters to take a side, which is a good thing. Win or lose in this her third senate campaign, Christ-ine is a winner to me.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I think this post was just overwrought enough to show everyone who's desperate.

Unknown said...

The Lefties don't the idea that while married and more intelligent women vote Republican. Up to now, they've always been in the background. This time, they're the forefront of the Tea Party movement. The idea of all the June Cleavers in the country rising up scares them witless, so these uppity women have to be destroyed.

Maher's act is getting stale and, yes, he made us notice her (since she did well in the debate, she's down by 10 and possibly less - some people say Rasmussen's sample is a little small), and, yes, in this country, a bunch of men, even if they are girly men, don't get points for ganging up on a girl.

Maher forgot the first law of show biz - there's no such thing as bad publicity. Just make sure they spell your name right.

And he did.

Ann Althouse said...

Remember when it was oh-so-terrible to take a person's statements out of context?

That only applies to Republicans. You know that.

We should take note of who drives people on the other side nuts. That person has a special power. It's not witchcraft...

Oh, but it is. A good-looking, determined woman on a mission reduces the Lefties (and the RINOs) to quivering nothingness. And the part that drives them insane is that they're powerless to stop them.

They tried with Sarah Palin, then Sharron Angle, now Meg Whitman and Christine O'D.

PS She didn't 'exasperate' Coons, she swept the floor with him.

WV "shorat" The only part heard of what you say just before the tidal wave hits.

Anonymous said...

One reason I have to work hard is that there are a lot of bad Democrats -this Maher show, Journ"o"list, etc.

These people are turning of GOP/Tea Party supporters who voted for the president in 2008. But, we are making grounds.

It is now becoming clear. We will get at least 54 seats in the Senate and at least 224 seats in the House.

I know DE GOTV. It is terrific. O'Donnell will lose badly. But, our victory would have been better had not for bad people like Maher, etc. I just hope they do not screw it for us for 2012. I work 24/7 and am paid handsomely for Democrats to win.

NB: I plan to work in Chicago for the Mayoral election, as of last night. My record is simply the best.

Paul said...

"Remind you of anyone else? "

Yeah. Just about every decent looking female on the planet.

Bill Maher is the poster child for the disgusting blend of smug arrogance, colossal ignorance, and bullying cowardice that encapsulates the soul of the left. One look at his ugly face is enough to make me see red.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Oh, but it is. A good-looking, determined woman on a mission reduces...

What if she wasn't "good-looking", Ed?

Of course, you can't admit that this is all that matters to you. Her financial incompetence is suddenly a lot less of a problem to Tea Partiers now that they've got their maid of honor to show up.

I'm Full of Soup said...

In the dictionary, with the definition of Liberal Whining Pussy, there is a picture of Bill Maher.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Geez Paul. Why not just admit that Maher's lack of attractiveness is making your latent feelings of homophobia and repressed homosexual attraction bubble to the surface?

Unknown said...

Well, we now know the one viewer Bill Maher has.

Ritmo Brasileiro said...

I think this post was just overwrought enough to show everyone who's desperate.

Glad you can admit it. That's the first step.

Oh, but it is. A good-looking, determined woman on a mission reduces...

What if she wasn't "good-looking", Ed?


You mean Hillary?

Well, Barry did have the flying fickle finger of fate out for her.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Ah..The lefty comedians and blogger boys who can't get laid going after these women...

Shhhh....! Don't tell pm317 that O'Donnell is a celibate, single, anti-masturbation crusader!

Something about her is really bringing out the stupid in our brutishly rightward friends. Or maybe they're just reverting to getting confused about the whole Madonna-Whore complex.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

What's the strategy, Ed? Just take every honest fact and invert it?

Do you even let an idea swirl around in your head for a second before putting it through the political poo-flinging vortex?

traditionalguy said...

Ritmo...How do you find that O'Donnell is financially incompetent? Her Tea Party associations are the only political group not determined to steal all the can get from a sinking ship of state by throwing out life boats of dollars to their friends and themselves while watching the Ship of Fools go down by the bow into dollar devaluation and depression era poverty. The ONLY financial SOS rescue ships are the Tea Party attitude of brave men and beautiful women.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Good to know you've got your priorities straight with the whole beauty thing, TG.

O'Donnell's inability to afford the lifestyle she had before getting the opportunity to now subsidize it with campaign funds is well documented. I'd say "look it up" but obviously your mind is captivated by other things.

DADvocate said...

Am I missing something?

Yes, you did. Maher is dead serious about labeling O'Donnell "crazy." Comedy show or not. What demographic do you think bothers to be in the studio audience or watch his show?

pm317 said...

Ritmo Brasileiro said...
Shhhh....! Don't tell pm317 that O'Donnell is a celibate, single, anti-masturbation crusader!
----------
Who cares what O'Donnell is.. my point about the blogger boys still stands.

Unknown said...

Yes, it's very interesting how Maher structured that clip. It focuses on them rather than her. Sort of like bullies who beat someone (or worse) so others can watch them being brave or manly.

roesch-voltaire said...

How quickly we forget that she also drives Karl Rove nuts. The negative response to misinformation and simplistic solutions is something shared by liberals and conservatives alike.But I think Althouse is having fun dangling red meat for the base of her blog.

Lincolntf said...

The consistent female bashing by Liberal males is fascinating. I don't know if it's because they all secretly want to be women, or if they are getting vicarious revenge for all the high school/college nights they spent in desultory masturbation. Either way, they keep pointing out how ineffectual and just plain childish they are every time they play the "pretty girl = dumb" card.
Get a new meme, Libtards, that one died with "I Love Lucy".

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

That wasn't your point, pm. You specifically referred to the motivation of having sex with Christine O'Donnell.

Are you embarrassed to admit that sex with a celibate female candidate is what motivates your vote?

Too many breadcrumbs I can leave on this trail.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

1jpb said...
Am I missing something? This is a comedy show, and the audience is laughing hysterically. Mission accomplished.


Lefties have a very risible way of mistaking snark for public policy. This accounts for their slandering Sarah Palin using an intentional misquote about seeing Russia from her front porch. In fact, she had shown herself to be an effective governor on the international stage in her dealings with the oil companies and with Canada concerning the gas pipeline.

The left is so enamored with satire that they even elected one of the most vile clowns on the scene to the Senate, where he has continued to be a vile clown. He is finding out that satire does not engender effective legislation.

Of course the left continues to want to have it both ways. When one of their favorite vile clowns, and Maher is about the best example, says something offensive (about every other day), they say "he was just joking." Otherwise, this vile clown tries to maintain that he is speaking truth to power.

This attitude was epitomized perfectly the other day when Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar walked off the stage as an insult to Bill O'Reilly. Goldberg has just published a book on civility in public life, Is It Just Me, which I quote,


Have you noticed that things aren’t as civil as they once were? Or that rudeness is no longer an exception but a lifestyle? Sure you have. All you need to do is set foot outside your door to see that bad manners are taking over everywhere. People are yakking on cell phones in restaurants, even at church. Folks in carpools wear enough cologne to make our eyes bleed. Complete strangers think it’s OK to rub a pregnant lady’s belly. Passengers abuse flight attendants, family outings to the ball park are ruined by rowdy drunks . . . a congressman heckled the President of the United States.




Apparently irony goes both ways.

chickelit said...

I think this post was just overwrought enough to show everyone who's desperate.

I think that comment was just underwrought enough to show everyone someone's playing with us. Then the author went on to express opinions on:

(1) The role of looks in politics
(2) Homophobia
(3) Madonna/Whore psychology
(4) Vortices

The tells are beginning to tell, even for the casual observer. Keep it up and the mask will fall away completely.

We look forward to seeing naked truth.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I love lincolntf's bashing of "liberal Males" when sexual fantasies of a celibate woman is clearly a strong motivator in Republican politics these days.

Thanks for describing your sexual ideal so clearly, Irrelephants! It's a fascinating view of us you offer - from a clinical standpoint, of course.

Tyrone Slothrop said...
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Tyrone Slothrop said...
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traditionalguy said...

Ritmo...O'Donnell is still looking for her Trust Fund trustee. In the meantime she went on Maher to make a living and pay her bills. Trying to make her an example of a bum living of stolen money only reveals that The Ritmo has also run out of weapons against Palin/O'Donnell type common sense conservatives. The accusation that some one does work for money is like the accusation that someones epidermis is showing. Can't you can do better than that, as Bob Scheiffer responded to Obama's lie about the Crimes of the Chamber of Commerce being caught supporting commerce in public.

garage mahal said...

But I think Althouse is having fun dangling red meat for the base of her blog.

Mostly it's her burning hatred of liberals. So, complete projection here. Hilarious. Sprinkle a dose of insecurity and immaturity and you get posts like this.

They think they're smarter than us!

Lincolntf said...

Ritmo, name one Liberal male in the media who doesn't go absolutely batshit at the sight of Palin/O'Donnnell. You can't.
They all have a visceral, deep-seated need to diminish these women that they never have with conservative males.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Whatever Pollo. The attitudes I observe in every commenter since can't just be reduced to projection. Unless defensive psycho-babble is your only game.

Yes, Althouse's initial post is insanely overwrought. Stop confusing that with the comments, Sir.

Tyrone Slothrop said...
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DADvocate said...

she also drives Karl Rove nuts.

Because she's not an establishment, insider Republican.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...
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Sprezzatura said...

TS,

She did say that part of her foreign policy experience consisted of the fact that it was possible to see Russia from some parts of Alaska.

And, what's so impressive about picking a contractor for a pipeline when they haven't even worked out the property rights required to get all the way through Canada?

You also forgot to give your "interpretation" of her support/non-support for the bridge to nowhere. How was that an example of mean libruls picking on Sarah the Great?

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Ritmo, name one Liberal male in the media who doesn't go absolutely batshit at the sight of Palin/O'Donnnell. You can't.
They all have a visceral, deep-seated need to diminish these women that they never have with conservative males.


There are intelligent conservative females. The two fertility cult goddesses are not examples of them.

Other women actually resent your replacement of an emphasis on intelligence in a female candidate with an emphasis on beauty. Why not just admit that your lust for O'Donnell or whoever is clouding your judgment?

Opus One Media said...

ann wrote "O'Donnell is charming and game and she's stirring them up, that is, doing what she was brought on the show to do."

She isn't running for the local junior league now. she is running for the US Senate. You can portray her however it makes you feel good to do but the fact remains that she is fresh out of the Palin, Angle soundbite and blinky-eye mold and if God forbid I was a dittohead I'd be embarrassed to look at this powderpuff as a potential leader.

D. B. Light said...

C3 -- thanks for linking to the Iowahawk piece. It's one of his best and I had forgotten about it.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Ritmo...O'Donnell is still looking for her Trust Fund trustee.

Too bad the voters aren't in the mood to play that part anymore. Or so they say.

pm317 said...

Ritmo Brasileiro said...
---------
Separate my first para from the second. First para is not just about O'Donnell but about all the women these sex starved, women hating blogger boys go after. It is about pretty women, Hillary, Palin, now O'Donnell, and (oh throw in) Angle (who says 'man up' and the lefties are in a tizzy, shock, shock that there is gambling going on..) that they can't control. More power to these women, left and right who get these pock marked adolescent lefty men in a fit.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

pm317 said...

"Babble babble babble."

Like a brook.

Lust is a strong cup from which you drink, there.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

So how many more deadly sins will the Republicans add to their platform? We had greed, now add in lust. They've been accused of sloth - and I believe that one's got merit too.

Y'all have become nothing more than the party of sin. No principles at all. Just a hydra of character flaws and naked ambitions of power packaged as a governing philosophy.

Ann Althouse said...

What's with reposting the same comment over and over? If you think that's a way to get your question answered, you are mistaken. It's the opposite.

Roger J. said...

Mr Ritmo--you asserted that "sexual fantasies of a celibate woman is clearly a strong motivator in Republican politics these days."

Please cite your evidence for that assertion--polling data, peer reviewed sociological studies etc.

Thanks

Unknown said...

HDHouse said...
ann wrote "O'Donnell is charming and game and she's stirring them up, that is, doing what she was brought on the show to do."

She isn't running for the local junior league now. she is running for the US Senate. You can portray her however it makes you feel good to do but the fact remains that she is fresh out of the Palin, Angle soundbite and blinky-eye mold and if God forbid I was a dittohead I'd be embarrassed to look at this powderpuff as a potential leader.


But HD has no problem singing the praises of The Zero and Halo Joe.

I seem to recall Miss Sarah ate his lunch in the debate.

YA BETCHA!

Paul said...

"Lefties have a very risible way of mistaking snark for public policy."

I would say they equate snark with intelligence and cynicism with wisdom.

In other words they are emotional stunted at the middle school level. Maher & Co. demonstrate this perfectly, as do the juvenile lefty commenters on this blog.

Wince said...

I've never been a fan of O'Donnell, but those clips made her look better than I remembered her. Perhaps the more Maher et al clip O'Donnell, the more attractive she appears to people who otherwise would not be predisposed to liking her if they saw her prior appearances in long form.

Aside, on last night's Real Time Dana Loesch got more respectful treatment as a representative of the Tea Party, but she was just not prepared to counter the dubious economic and policy arguments Dan Neil delivered as the pro-Obama stringer Maher brough in to the round table.

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Unknown said...

Ty, you can delete those multiple posts by clicking the trash can underneath them when you're signed in.

(I know, it's happened to everybody - except Ritmo. He does it on purpose)

Lincolntf said...

Tyrone-
I'm no expert, but listen to me anyway. When you are posting something long, or the site seems to be having problems, here's what you do. Make your comment, drag your mouse over it to "copy" the text, do the password thing, etc. and hit "publish your comment". If it fails, hangs up, tells you it was rejected, etc., log off the site and then right back on. Your comment will probably have been posted properly, if not you still have it saved and can probably break it into two parts.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

I have to apologize. Some kind of weird error kept telling me the comments page could not be updated. I didn't know my one comment was being published every time I hit the button. Now I can't trash all of them. So sorry.

Kirby Olson said...

I wonder if all this attack attention will boomerang and make her into a second Palin. She should at least get a big book out of all this, and put her debts behind her. Rasmussen has her 11 points behind with two weeks to go.

You never know: her supporters might be the ones to get to the polls, as in the Scott Brown case.

Everyone by now hates the liberals with a vengeance. They're such vicious bigots.

Ann Althouse said...

Apology accepted. I deleted them. Please try not to do that again.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Roger,

Since you are sincere I'll try to take your question seriously. Of course I haven't gone to any academic studies to conclude what I have found through simple observation and parsimony. Maybe I'm wrong in asserting lust as the reason that right-wingers will lambaste the left for daring to criticize the intellectual capabilities or financial acumen of a twice defeated Senate candidate who merely happens to conform to their idea of physical beauty - despite their obsessive fixations with that last point over any credible defenses of the former.

Obviously the accusation goes both ways. If cultural warriors on the right want to accuse the left of digging ugly chicks and not being able to handle one whom they find attractive, it's not that much a stretch to say that perhaps lust is their strongest - (i.e. of those on the right), or even sole motivation. If physical beauty constitutes their strongest defense of O'Donnell, why is it any less certain a conclusion, that that's the most important thing to them?

Ann Althouse said...

I've had that happen to me too, by the way. Check to see if the comment really does post, and use the trash can to get rid of any duplicates you accidentally post.

pm317 said...

Ritmo Brasileiro said...
------------

Is that the best you can do?

Tyrone Slothrop said...

1jpb said...

TS,

She did say that part of her foreign policy experience consisted of the fact that it was possible to see Russia from some parts of Alaska.


How exactly is that a negative for Palin? Or do you maintain that what she said was counterfactual? If so, you expose your own ignorance. There is a place in Alaska where you can see Russia. Little Diomede Island (Alaskan territory) in the Bering Strait is about two miles away from Big Diomede Island (Russian territory). You can practically hit it with a rock. Once again, proof that lefties just like to say shit without regard for facts.

Unknown said...

Ty, The Zero told us his foreign policy cred came from living in Indonesia from the time he was 6 to 10, so PB&J is blowing smoke (surprise).

Miss Sarah negotiated a trade deal with the Russkies and the Lefties feel obliged to shout that down the memory hole.

Funny how that works out.

Roger J. said...

Mr Ritmo--I was in fact quite serious--since you have formulated an hypothesis it should be testable. Now I doubt you have the time or resources to actually test it, but at this point it is simply your hypothesis but an interesting one. Nor do want to take the time or effortto test it, haven taken up golf and bagpipes at my advanced age, both of which occupy my time in addition to fast women, fast horses, and small batch bourbon..

Blogs are wonderful for exchanging opinions and insults; less so for exchanging facts. At this point, I think it is safe to say, that you have expressed an opinion and not a fact about republicans and celibate women, and you probably should be a bit more circumspect in applying your assertion to others as if it were fact.

Anyway--off to the golf course followed by a glass of woodford reserve.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

@Lincolntf

Thanks for the help, but I tried all of those things. I saved my comment. When I hit "publish" it first asked me if I wanted to navigate away from the page with unsaved material. When I clicked "continue" it sent me to an error page that said that it was unable to load the comments page since it had expired. I tried going back to the home page, opening the comments page, pasting my comment and clicking publish only to be told again that the comments page had expired. As you saw, I did this far too many times. As Ann said, the first time it happened I should have checked to make sure that my comment was actually not coming up before I republished.

Sprezzatura said...

Ed likes this.

I like this.

Different strokes for different folks.

GMay said...

1jpb asked: "Am I missing something? This is a comedy show, and the audience is laughing hysterically. Mission accomplished."

Yeah it's a comedy show. The reason it's important is because these types of comedy shows are how a disturbingly large number of liberals try to inform themselves.

Sprezzatura said...

If it wasn't clear my second link was an allusion to the reauthorization and strengthening of Nunn Lugar the BHO sponsored in the Senate.

GMay said...

Ritty accused: "Why not just admit that Maher's lack of attractiveness is making your latent feelings of homophobia and repressed homosexual attraction bubble to the surface?"

Ah Ritmo, the blog's undisputed master of projection, wielding the accusations of homosexuality like a butterknife.

Honestly, with juvenile crap like this, I'm baffled how traditional guy thinks your ass is worthy to kiss.

jacksonjay said...

If Ms. O'Donnell was wearing a burqa or hijab would she be ridiculed? It seems to me that her views are moderate compared to the views of "moderate" Muslims.

Sprezzatura said...

Alhouse Doctrine:

1)The other side exhibits proof that they have been driven nuts when they are condescending, hyperbolic or unjustifiably dismissive when they discuss a political opponent.

2)When the other side is driven nuts (as defined by rule #1) their underlying motivation is their fear of the the political opponent that has driven them nuts.

3)When Rs are condescending, hyperbolic or unjustifiably dismissive it's because their fears are based on thoughtfulness and wisdom, hence they're incapable of being condescending, hyperbolic or unjustifiably dismissive.

Makes sense to you, and many of your commenters. So that's good enough for you, and many of your commenters. Some of us are probably going to hold out for the Althouse Doctrine 2.0.

MamaM said...

Experiencing a Blizzard of Ritmo, reminds me of the time I was stuck in a traffic jam on the ring road outside of Boston during in a blinding nor'easter snowstorm, accompanied by thunder and lightning. I was hours from home and alone, with no radio or phone contact. Getting through and surviving was a matter of focus, recognizing the reality of the drama and intensity around me, while refusing to be distracted and disheartened by it.

Finding D.B. Light's thanks to C3 for a link to "Hi Neighbor" on Iowahawk provided the light I needed to laugh, adjust my focus and regain perspective. Iowa's most recent post on "Beltway Adventure" also brought laughter and appreciation for a piece well done. Although applied to our current president, his format is one that would work for a review of any president, regardless of party.

I continue to be amazed at the power of one. One comment, one thank you can matter and make a difference despite the power, noise and reality of the surrounding blizzard.

Lincolntf said...

1jpb said...

What's really interesting is when a political Party goes for a full-on assault against two women, neither of whom is currently serving in public office, and there's not a peep from all the supposedly "anti-misogynist" Lefties out there.
It's getting disgusting watching the Mahers and Olbermans of the world simultaneously leering at and spitting on the two women.

Paul said...

Mama M,

It's helpful to recognize certain commenters as SOBs, as in Scroll On By.

Life is short, time is precious, and these assholes are a pure waste of it.

D. B. Light said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
pious agnostic said...

Christine O'Donnell comes across as "articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking" gal in those clips.

The Crack Emcee said...

As long as none of her critics on the Left point out Bill Maher is best friends with cultist Arinnna Huffington, and shares her wacky quacky cultist beliefs, these attacks are dishonest and mean nothing to me.

Martin L. Shoemaker said...

We should take note of who drives people on the other side nuts. That person has a special power.

Driving the left insane? No great trick there. Talk to me when she finds the power to drive them sane.

jamboree said...

The thing that weirds me out about this attitude is that it's usually older guys using the smugness they honed as kids or young adults against their parents' generation - I'm thinking early SNL clips.

There's something kind of creepy about using it on someone younger than themselves - especially much younger as O'Donnell is in these old clips. It just doesn't work. It's awkward and uncomfortable, but not in the way intended.

Think of when Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham went on the bimbo attack against Meghan McCain - what worked when you were the younger one during the Clinton admin, doesn't when you are the older one.

jamboree said...

It was the same with Palin - it's like some playbook dating from the 60/70ss battles against the 40s/50s Church Lady was brought out (maybe Anita Bryant or Phylis Schafly?), a straw man was created, and then they were constantly surprised when Palin turned out to be okay with sex, with weed, with feminism, when she did well on her SNL appearance keeping rhythm better than any of them could hope to, etc. She was constantly accused of hypocrisy solely because she didn't meet the standards of some ghost in their heads.

Hagar said...

Quite so, and she is not a Democrat, and the Republicans of Delaware chose her to represent them.

And Palin mentioned being able to see Russia from some places in Alaska (not just the Diomedes, the mainlands are just 50-55 miles apart) as an example of why USA-Russian relations are of immediate practical concern to Alaskans - it is not just intellectual theory. If I remember right, she went on to say that once a week or so, Alaska would have a problem with either Canadians or Russians infringing on U.S. territorial rights, or getting into a scuffle with Alaskan citizens, or whatever, and her government, and frequently herself, had to get involved to straighten out the problem.

garage mahal said...

Oh dear. Poor Christine. Poor Sarah.

Sadz

tim maguire said...

Agreed, that could almost be an O'Donnell campaign commercial. A brave and game woman trying to make a point while obnoxious (white) liberal men shout her down.

Liberals try to use her good looks to draw parallels with Sarah Palin, but here's one more way she is like Palin--she has all the right enemies.

Hagar said...

I post with a Google account. Is that significant?

I do not see the "trashcans," etc. that commenters say I should see in order to delete posts, if I should wish to do so.

Also, if I try to "link," the link just posts as text, it does not connect to whatever I tried to link to.

AST said...

I kept wondering why she came back on his show so often. If she saw it as an opportunity to "testify" about her faith and morality, she was casting pearls before swine, which Jesus said not to do.

Hagar said...

She was a regular on the show because they paid her for it.

Hagar said...

Palin and O'Donnell have this in common and in contrast to most (all?) of the prominent Democrat women politicians; they neither inherited nor married great wealth.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

Hagar said...

...once a week or so, Alaska would have a problem with either Canadians or Russians infringing on U.S. territorial rights


My uncle was a USCG captain commanding the Kodiak base when they made the first boarding of a Soviet fishing vessel inside the newly-declared economic zone. He said it was very tense, all the coastguardsmen were armed to the teeth when they seized the vessel and towed it into Kodiak.

The Russians still fly Bear and Bison bombers into Alaskan air space to be intercepted by USAF or Alaska Air National Guard fighters. That's a situation that the governors of New York or Maryland haven't had to deal with since 1815.

Cedarford said...

I sort of wonder if this is not a very good "misdirection" ploy by liberals and progressive Jews in the media. Keep all the focus and national attention on a surefire loser, so that the true close races do not attract national money and attention.

Talk all you want about "cute and spunky Christine", you outside Manhattan and 'Frisco rubes!" Just ignore:

Dino Rossi's contest against Patty Murray. It's of no significance, no matter worth media time.
Don't pay any attention to Linda McMahon's battle with Democrat Prince Dick Blumenthal.
Just ignore Boxer and Fiorina.
Remember that the Brown-Whitman contest is not worth your attention as long as you have more things to say about how adorable Christine is, and how she needs to be defended and get more money! She's a Palin, Jr.!!
Please keep talking about cute and spunky O'Donnell is and how important her race is to "send a message" - and keep the Reid-Angle contest, of no real consequence, off the radar screen!
And if you know everything about O'Donnell's mean critics and nothing about the Buck-Bennett toss-up race in Colorado or the Kirk-Giannoulis toss-up in Illinois and did nothing to contribute or help because you are now infatuated with perky Christine, 18 points behind - the Dem's media allies have done their job.

Sprezzatura said...

Ty,

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin "extremely responsive and smart" and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.

But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.

Sprezzatura said...

"the Dem's media allies have done their job."

It's not really a conspiracy. Those other contests are boring. The viewers are driving the ship here, not the content providers.

We want trivial banter, and we get it. As if any of us commenting at Althouse needed to be reminded of that.

tim maguire said...

Cedarford, none of those races are being ignored. You list several more worthy in your view. Fine. But if Althouse posts about one of them, is she ignoring all the others? If she posts about all of them but one at a time, is she ignoring them all in shifts? Does she have to post about all of them in every political post?

Seriously, your comment is about as thoughtful as those "is that all you got?" snarkfests that pretend you have to talk about "all you got" every time you open your mouth or hit your keyboard.

Hagar said...

1jpb,

The Alaska state government very much get involved when Russian nationals want to buy or sell fish or whatever in Alaska, or Alaskan residents get arrested in Canada, or for that matter in Russia. (I understand the Inuit is not any more impressed by these stupid international borders than some of our local natives down here.) And of course the other way around. Where there is a border, people are going to cross it in both directions, and there are going to be problems for officialdom to deal with.

Cedarford said...

Tim McGuire - "Seriously, your comment is about as thoughtful as those "is that all you got?" snarkfests"

I think it is a well-thought out diversion by backers of the Dems to avoid making the other important races "national" and subject to the attention, combined, that CNN, The Washington Post, NYTImes are giving to the doomed "spunky candidate". Althouse tosses it out because she knows she has many posters that worship Palin as a Goddess and now have Christine to Adore...

You claim the horseraces are "boring" with able candidates (or semi-able with Reid and Angle) disputing major problems and completely different coherent philosophies all so uninteresting - but the race of the Tea Party's "boo-boo" 18 points behind the John Corzine wannabe...is compelling......
Control of the Senate is resting on the unsteady Angle, the able Fiorino, Linda McMahon's exceeding all expectations run, Dino Rossi...but a dead race has all Tim McGuires attention???

Less than 3 weeks left. The NYTimes, Washington Post, and CNN all want focus on perky, feisty, and unfit O'Donnell. And for voters and donors to ignore the other contests as a media blackout is set so the unions and special interest groups can work in the blackout a little more freely.

Unless you thing the stalwart liberal media is just serving "the vast public interest in O'Donnell's losing campaign" and has no ulterior motive for making O'Donnell their marquee Senate race???

former law student said...

but why are we hearing Barker's words and not hers?

Here we see a young woman giving as good as she gets from her ideological opponents -- the topics themselves don't matter in this group of quick snippets. I don't see this as an attack at all, but as a series of fencing match highlights. "Christine O'Donnell is Scaramouche! In 3-D!"

Sprezzatura said...

Cedarford,

It's really easy for the candidates in your favorite races to get national media coverage.

They need to say 'whore' or 'taliban Dan' or they could make fun of their opponent's hairstyle.

It's all about ratings. Fox covers this stuff as much as any of the so-called Lamestream Media. And, is it a coincidence that Fox (as the ratings winner) has packed its schedule w/ eye candy, and plenty of in-frame skin?

CNN, as the least sensationalized (and most boring) channel, was even getting beat by it's own Headline News--which found ratings gold by placing glitz and glib over substance. [BTW, is it just me or is Robin Meade really hot. Anyone think she's related to you know who.]

Nobody cares about Dino-the-perpetual-candidate, likewise for the rest of them.

David said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lincolntf said...

Can anyone imagine the treatment Hillary would get if she had been First Doormat to a Republican President instead of a Democrat? She'd be the most reviled figure in politics. But since the man who abused her and made her look like a fool is in the approved Party, all the Lefty scuzzbags pretend she's living the life of June Cleaver.

Sadly, most Liberals probably have a similar disregard for their own spouses, and consider cheating and lying to be par for the course. Some women crave abuse, and most of them call themselves Liberals.

traditionalguy said...

Gmay...Honestly, I believe that Ritmo verbally assaults others only because he feels insecure in his acceptance among the smart people here. By extending acceptance and love towards Ritmo, we allow him to lower his walls and make some very good comments usually well adjusted to the facts. I also enjoy his verbal adeptness, as I have also surprisingly enjoyed Elliott Spitzer's. At my age, there arises a certain affection for younger people who are struggling like I did when a younger man trying to find my acceptance from an authority figure...which is extra hard to find in today's social millieux.

Sprezzatura said...

t-guy,

Insecure folks don't choose to land themselves in the middle of an extremely hostile environment. These folks who seek out and thrive on being outnumbered are the opposite of insecure.

Duh. (as another Rimo type might say).

Trooper York said...

Ritmo is a pretty good guy with a good sense of humor. He just likes to mix it up. Nothing wrong with that.

As is traditionalguy. He is such a good guy I can even forgive him for being a lawyer.

Trooper York said...

Forgive. But never ever forget.

The only thing worse than a journalist is a lawyer.

JAL said...

@ Trooper The only thing worse than a journalist is a lawyer.

You get that Professor?

;-)

Robin said...

Its hilarious that people like 1pjb that sneer at Sarah Palin's citation of the foreign policy implications of being governor of Alaska don't realize that in 2008, Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials consisted of watching Canadian Second City TV on cable.

Or more likely they realize it but wallow in the hypocrisy as a hobby.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I don't think TG kisses my ass. I just think we respect each other. We know where to draw the line between humor, sparring and more serious matters.

TG's a good guy and I extend to him every grace he's always been willing to extend to everyone else.

(Now listen to Trooper make a joke using the word "extend". Heh.)

Opus One Media said...

Step right up. See the new femme fatale of the right. impressive. oppresive. represive. she walks, she talks, she chews gum...1 thin dime....yessireee 1 thin dime. get 'em while their hot. Watch her blink...watch her wheels grind...those eyes don't roll back by accident folks...step right up