April 18, 2020

"[Trump] has managed in this crisis to tell us both that he is all-powerful and that he takes no responsibility for anything."

"And I suspect that this creepy vaudeville act, in a worried and tense country, is beginning to wear real thin. A man who claims total power but only exercises it to protect his personal interests, a man who vaunts his own authority but tolerates no accountability for it, is impressing no one. While governors are acting, Trump is chattering. While people are dying, Trump is bragging about his own ratings, signing his name on stimulus checks, pushing quack remedies, and abetting conspiracy theories about Chinese laboratories. And although there is a rump group of supporters who will follow Trump anywhere and may launch tea party–style protests against social distancing on his behalf, I suspect this fundamental unseriousness after responding to the virus so late is finally taking its toll. The emergency I feared Trump could leverage to untrammeled power may, in fact, be the single clearest demonstration of his incompetence and irrelevance. Combine this with a calamitous depression and I’m beginning to wonder if it matters that Biden is the Abraham Simpson of American politics. Maybe Biden doesn’t need to win this thing. Maybe Trump could lose it all by himself."

That's the Andrew Sullivan perspective (from this week's NY Magazine column).

I wondered — because I'm always looking for the exit door — whether there really ever were vaudeville acts that could be called "creepy." The internet quickly served up "The Dancing Pig" (from 1907):



I laughed and even squealed at one point (toward the end, so watch the whole thing).

Here's how I summarize the story in that vaudeville video: If a male chauvinist pig would just become a woman and dance, we could all be happy — maybe too happy.

Oh, I went back in the door. I read the quoted Sullivan passage carefully. I said out loud "Who's Abraham Simpson?" I thought it was some English reference I needed to research — someone in the orbit of Wallis Simpson perhaps — familiar to Andrew Sullivan but out of the range of things I've ever been interested in. I resorted to the intent again. D'oh! It's Grampa Simpson from "The Simpsons." Sullivan seems to just be conceding that Joe Biden is a mentally impaired senior.

126 comments:

Ken B said...

Never Trust Andrew when he is emotional. He is almost alway emotional.

Iman said...

Trig Palin would disagree.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

It's another way of saying "We hate Trump and are stuck with old Joe. Go Joe! "

next.

oh and Trump never said "He is all powerful" never said it.

Trump never said "he takes no responsibility" never said it.

How is a virus - that came from China (a nation run by communists who quid pro Quo with Hillary and Joe) Trump's fault?

Ken B said...

I am amused by election predictions now. Isn’t it obvious that what happens in the next few unprecedented months will upend any crystal ball gazing?

JPS said...

"The emergency I feared Trump could leverage to untrammeled power"

Found nowhere in the article: "I was wrong."

As for conspiracy theories about Chinese laboratories: For them to have cooked this up as a bioweapon and released it on purpose strains my credulity in several respects.

For them to have brought bats from a region where they're known to be a reservoir of coronaviruses, to study in their vaunted labs in Wuhan, would make perfect sense. Of course they would. For the SOPs in those labs to be not quite what they should be, so that someone got infected and spread it, wouldn't surprise me in the least.. Their government's actions since then would fit perfectly. All this makes at least as much sense to me as the unlucky-shopper-Wuhan-wet-market theory, which sounds to me like the kind of cover story you would put out if one of your labs screwed up.

And I generally hate conspiracy theories.

Shouting Thomas said...

I watched the presser.

Trump made a mistake and he knew it. He quickly disavowed the "all powerful" bit and stated that there wouldn't be any problem coordinating re-opening the economy with the governors because he and the governors were in accord.

Since, Trump has repeatedly stated that he's leaving the choice of re-opening to individual governors.

So, this is another BS gotcha piece with zero substance.

Yancey Ward said...

It is the media that is schizo, not Trump.

Paul Zrimsek said...

Isn't that what government always tells us-- that it's all-powerful but takes no responsibility for anything?

Bay Area Guy said...

Grampa Simpson reference to Joe "Bush-Wacker" Biden?

Hmm. That kinda sounds familiar......

Lucien said...

Wait: you mean there are some people who don’t concede that Biden is a mentally impaired senior?

Wilbur said...

Creepy vaudeville act? Try The Banana Man.
https://vimeo.com/151272076

Drago said...

BBH: "How is a virus - that came from China (a nation run by communists who quid pro Quo with Hillary and Joe) Trump's fault?"

Whoa!!

ARM has made it very clear that there is no real evidence this virus came from China. ARM has been quite adament on this point for several days now. Quite adament indeed.

It could just as easily come form the NRA, or the Republican National Committee, or any of the assorted Tea Party groups in the US.

I am sure at this very moment FISA warrants are being slapped together within the bowels of the DOJ/FBI (which will leak shortly) which Adam Schiff will claim show provable intent, beyond circumstantial evidence, of real crimes by these US groups.

I wonder if Mueller is still available to investigate?

Funny Skit Idea: Mueller interrogates Joe Biden over Burisma

rcocean said...

Is there any point in reading Sullivan anymore? He's been trashing Trump and calling him every name in the book EVERY WEEK for the last 4 years. EVERY column is variation on ORANGE MAN BAD. He's always been weird, now he's just boring.

He's only usefulness, is concisely stating the current "Hate Trump" meme of the day. As everyone predicted, having falsely accursed Trump of wanting "absolute Power" to reopen America, the MSM/Dems are now claiming that he's "backed off" this, and is cravenly off-loaded all responsiblility for the reopening to the states.

Sullivan can't be wrong about Trump's original attitude, so he has lie and claim Trump was wrong TWICE. Somehow in Sullivan's mind, Trump is always going from one wrong extreme to the other, without ever being right. He's a Joke. But then we knew that way back in 2008-2010 when he spent column after column discussing Palin's uterus.

Iman said...

I think the copious amount of weed that Sullivan has admitted to smoking are a problem. Stupefying blasts of intoxication do have a debilitating effect over time.

rcocean said...

The bigoted stereotype about Gays is they are overemotional, given to drama, and prefer fantasy to facts.

Sullivan helps the bigots.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

“To persevere in one’s duty and be silent is the best answer to calumny.” George “G $Money” Washington

AlbertAnonymous said...

Sullivan’s a jackass! None of this is Trump’s fault. He doesn’t need to “take responsibility” for anything.

But he does take responsibility for the actions he’s taken to deal with the virus. He thinks he’s doing a great job. Of course Sullivan would probably says that’s all due to the governors.

And Sullivan says Trump was too slow (again with this narrative), but it was Cuomo and other governors who were slow (certainly slower than trump).

It’s as if you can read Sullivan and just think “the opposite is true”.

And does it make these people feel better about themselves to write shit about Trump voters/supporters? Seems like they have to denigrate them in every article they write. Too stupid to know what’s good for them/racist, sexist deplorables/Neanderthals who don’t care about others... whatever. There’s always a slam at them/us.

F you Andrew Sullivan.

NCMoss said...

CYA in this matter doesn't bother me much since the president has been (and will be) accused of personally killing millions of people.

Limited blogger said...

I thought Andrew Sullivan had retired?

His unique style of hysteria has never been appealing

Big Mike said...

Sullivan has HIV-associated dementia. Nothing else fits.

tim maguire said...

Sullivan is a great writer. He is sometimes a great thinker. Sometimes.

Richard Dolan said...

So, today seems to be an all-Trump day chez Althouse. The only blog so far that is not explicitly Trump-focused deals with the usual culture war stuff in Raleigh, and as they say, that's close enough to the main theme for gov't work.

Amazing. Trump dominates the national conversation like no other. Obama got a lot of focus, adoring and sycophantic from the lefties and the opposite from the opposing team. But it was never quite so all-encompassing, either here or more generally, as it is now.

Frankly, it's all so repetitive. At this point you can name the author of the piece -- you know what Sullivan or Ruth Marcus or Maureen Dowd or Bill Kristol is going to say or write, just as you do Hannity or Rush or the Redstate guys. A while back, there were comic routines that worked off that idea -- too bad it's all gone from the occasional not-so-funny joke to the only subject of non-conversation.

tim maguire said...

Paul Zrimsek said...
Isn't that what government always tells us-- that it's all-powerful but takes no responsibility for anything?


That is the basic message behind sovereign immunity.

I never case to be amused by people who keep taking about the dictatorial aims of the only president in modern times to actually roll back the power of the presidency. But I'm more amused when those same people criticise that same "dictator"for not being dictatorial enough.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Universal Truth: The left can convince themselves, collectively, that Biden family enrichment schemes are a Big. Fat. Nothing.

The left can excuse any D-crime.

Why???? Because Trump speaks in plain language and is often inarticulate.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If it was Obama striking the balance between an untold number of Americans Dead and the willful decapitation of the American Economy, there wouldn't be enough internet bandwidth to handle the flood of praise heaped upon the Nobel Peace Price Winner.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Drago - ARM is actually hinting the virus came from the TEA party?
Taxed Enough Already folks - in the lab?

LOL. Yeah - sure.

Ken B said...

Big Mike
Steroids. The man started taking lots and lots of drugs about 15 years ago.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The collective left won't be happy until Trump assures everyone he is guilty of every Maddow-crime Trump has been accused of.

rcocean said...

The dancing pig was funny. I liked when she got hold of his(?) tail.

Bay Area Guy said...

In general, Andrew Sullivan has been vexed by the pussy, since birth.

Regrettably, as an adult, he got vexed once again by Sarah Palin's uterus.

The man is highly vexatious.

Night Owl said...

Who cares what Trump-hating hysterics have to say? They've lied to us for over three years and have zero credibility. I won't waste my time reading the article.

Trump was right to close the flights from China and Europe; he was right to listen to the "experts" who encouraged social-distancing, which led to over-zealous governors interpreting that to mean house-arrest and shutting down the economy for a month. He was right to cut through the bureaucracy so that testing, PPE and new drugs could be made available quickly. And he's right to encourage the reopening of economies where risks are low.

Once can always argue that these things should have been done sooner. But back in January even the experts were saying this disease wasn't a big risk. And oddly enough it may end up that they were right to begin with, if it turns out this flu has been around since last fall.

chickelit said...

Shorter Sullivan: "I don't like Trump" and "I don't like Biden either." Neither is newsworthy nor likely to go viral as opinion. Both messages are in fact stale and highly predictable.

Sullivan could be more vastly mores useful telling us what he for rather than against. But that would require him to think again for a living.

Jon Burack said...

This from Sullivan jumped out at me (not like that pig, but it did anyway).

pushing quack remedies, and abetting conspiracy theories about Chinese laboratories.

Who does Sullivan think he is kidding? The "quack remedies" he refers to are being rigorously tested now by many legitimate professionals, and plenty of them report positive anecdotal results at least, about drugs well known already for other uses. The "conspiracy theories about Chinese laboratories" likewise are getting increasing attention from others, attention well deserved given the obvious deviousness of China's dealings with this virus, which contributed in a major way to its being inflicted on the entire world. I don't mind if Sullivan wants still to criticizes these two things in some responsible way. His demonization of all opposition is NOT responsible, though it is all too typical these days.

Wince said...

If Sullivan's fusillade of baloney is enough to convince Democrats that Biden should be their candidate, I can get behind that.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Andy so wanted Trump to go all Hitler on the states. He already had that hit piece set for publication. Now, nothing to do but pout like Charlie Brown after the football is yanked away yet again.

Sebastian said...

"a man who vaunts his own authority but tolerates no accountability for it"

A man who vaunts his authority tactically, to increase pressure on governors to take responsibility. A man who "tolerates" quite a lot more from the hostile MSM, and knows full well that whatever he "tolerates" is irrelevant in the narratives being spun against him. He does fight, of course, as he should.

"is impressing no one"

Huh? Trump's calls were mostly correct. He "followed the experts" more than I would have liked, but that was OK as CYA toward the alarmists and their media lackeys. He kept an optimistic outlook, as he should have. In retrospect even his "underestimating" of WuFlu risk will turn out to be better than what it seemed at the height of the panic.

"While governors are acting, Trump is chattering."

Wait, I thought progs thought Trump had no power over states. So if he asserts authority, he violates newly discovered federalism, and if he doesn't, he just chatters?

chuck said...

Andrew babbles. Thank G*d I don't have to pretend to have new insights every week.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

The dancing pig may be more memorable than anything Andrew Sullivan has ever produced. The pig switches from wanting the woman's food to wanting the woman. As the write-up says, apparently attempting to take her from the rear. Then there's the tongue, clearly suggestive of a penis. The movies have always had this Id, sooner or later, regularly coming to the surface. Part of it is woman undressing--hinting that she's going to undress, doing so partially, being threatened or forced to undress, and so on. The woman in the video shows a lot of her knickers toward the end, and this seems to get the pig excited. My son and his fiancee, both 30, pretty proud of their progressive political views, recently saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid together. So much fun, such an adventure despite the violence at the end. I didn't say anything, but what stands out for me now is Robert Redford forcing Katherine Ross to undress at gunpoint. Yes, a kind of lovers' joke, but still.

wendybar said...

YAWN....I'd rather watch paint dry, then to read more Hate Trump articles from the Media who must have been asleep for the last administrations scandals. (which they either ignored, or lied about)

Wince said...

You want creepy?

How about Piggy Cook the cannibal cooking ham and eggs?

Michael said...

“While people are dying”. This trite hack phrase. While people are dying Andrew Sullivan is sheltering in place whining about trump.

Michael said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Darkisland said...

Wilbur,

The Banana Man was a recurring character on Captain Kangaroo in th days of my youth.

https://youtu.be/yfJqLKM3dtw

John Henry


narciso said...

only the huntress could inspire such bowel noosening fear,

sam said...

“Since the dawn of time it has been mankind’s dream to blot out the sun.” – C. Montgomery Burns great work dear keep it up Analysis and Tutorial of Corona Platform Development

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

This seemed to be a fair summary of the situation.

Bob Boyd said...

Sullivan's opinion of Trump is a product of incest.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

There is some empirical data to support Sullivan's thesis. Trump's modest 'bounce' has largely disappeared.



Robert Cook said...

Every word of Sullivan's statement excerpted here is absolutely dead on the nail. Except for his ending hypothetical posting that Trump may "lose it all by himself." Trump will win again, because, against all likelihood, his opponent is as incompetent and objectionable as he, and far less compelling personally.

Robert Cook said...

"I never case to be amused by people who keep taking about the dictatorial aims of the only president in modern times to actually roll back the power of the presidency."

Has he? When?

hombre said...

Andrew Sullivan’s intellectual prowess was clearly illustrated by his preoccupation with Sarah Palin’s uterus.

This is just more cherry picking, hashed over TDS absurdity. Trump is who he is, but his narcissism shouldn't obscure the good he does, just as Obama’s narcissism shouldn’t have obscured the evil he did. The leftmediaswine don’t even work as well as the proverbial broken clock.

tim maguire said...

Robert Cook said...Has he? When?

When he repealed thousands of federal regulations and guidance memos that previous presidents have used to unconstitutionally legislate from the executive.

Narr said...

Delightful, and not creepy, old routine. Thanks!

Narr
Andrew lost his marbles long ago.

Gahrie said...

Sullivan seems to just be conceding that Joe Biden is a mentally impaired senior.

At this point it is undeniable. What they are doing to Biden is simply cruel at this point.

Gahrie said...

“While people are dying”. This trite hack phrase.

People are literally always dying.

William said...

I wonder if they were vaudeville headliners. Someone took the trouble to film their act so it must have had some fame. It's vaguely obscene, especially the pig's fat ass with the little tail sticking out. The cute girl dances around him in mockery or homage. I can't figure out what it all means, but it must have something to with sex. I guess in 1907, your entertainment dollar didn't go all that far.

Robert Cook said...

"When he repealed thousands of federal regulations and guidance memos that previous presidents have used to unconstitutionally legislate from the executive."

Such as?

Bilwick said...

Are we in the End Times when State-fellators like Robert Cook are discovering the virtues of federalism and limited, constitutional government? My stars and garters!


Re the "creepy" Banana Man, I remembered him from his Captain Kangaroo appearances and I went to YouTube hoping there'd be a video of him. There is, and what I found more "creepy" (too strong a word, but what the heck) was the captain's intro. It's interesting to me that the B. M.'s segment , minus the captain's intro, is about six minutes, and his act seems unusually long. I guess this was before we all got ADD. I doubt if kids today would have watched more than three minutes of his act before getting bored with it.

I have it on good authority (a New Age crystal reader) that the Dancing Pig was Joe Biden in a previous lifetime.

Buckwheathikes said...

"Who's Abraham Simpson?"

The ivory up in your tower must be pretty white.

Lurker21 said...

Trump is multi-tasking. He does his comedy routine while he takes care of business. Same thing with Cuomo and the brother act. No need to pit Trump against the governors. They have different responsibilities. He does his job. They do theirs.

Andrew, stop saying "White people are dying." Black lives matter too.

And Andy, love ya buddy, but please don't use the work "rump" in your columns. You know why.

Drago said...

Robert Cook: "Has he? When?"

tim maguire: "When he repealed thousands of federal regulations and guidance memos that previous presidents have used to unconstitutionally legislate from the executive."

Cookie doesnt know about anything if it hasnt been printed in a World Workers Party pamphlet.

Yesterdays lefty talking point: OMG! trump has deregulated so much he will get us all killed!!

Todays lefty talking point: When did Trump ever reduced the power of government

Tomorrows lefty talking point: (insert the newest version of "truth" here)

Lurker21 said...

"Creepy vaudeville" was what Joel Grey was doing in Cabaret. Okay, "creepy cabaret," but close enough. Looking back long after vaudeville's demise, the whole thing seems pretty creepy. Some of the seediness lives on in nightclub and lounge acts, but they are dying as well. Maybe government should step in to preserve them.

n.n said...

He's managed to put the fear of the market (e.g. democracy) into many wicked and uncivil competitors and interests. However, shared/shifted responsibility, no, the twilight fringe is progressing, receeding.

hstad said...

Blah, Blah, Blah! Just another Liberal/Leftist getting on the current 'Meme'(Lie) of the week, month to meet his stupid writing quota for his audience. Not one item Sullivan mentions is original thought just a regurgitation of Liberal talking points.

AA why are you adding to this junk? That's exactly what the propagandists want, repetition, repetition, etc.

Mark Twain stated it best: “A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.”

Howard said...

Bottom line is the covid-19 deaths. Too many in flyover, Trump loses. Otherwise he can beat Biden unless Joe decides to juice.

stan said...

Andrew Sullivan's hatred has turned his brain to crap.

As Kim Strassel pointed out in her interview with Peter Robinson, everything Trump's administration has done has had the effect of weakening the federal government. Deregulation, tax cuts, all of it.

Even when Federal District Courts have made rulings that are truly bizarre, he has been deferential to the courts. He gave Mueller total access to his administration. He has been far more transparent than Obama ever was.

How the hell do the facts square with the rantings and ravings of idiots like Andrew Sullivan? Doesn't anyone care about facts any more? What kind of cocoon does he live in?

Bilwick said...

"Todays lefty talking point: When did Trump ever reduced the power of government?"

Tomorrow's: "Trump reduced the power of the government! The horror, the horror! People are dying!"

Dave Begley said...

"pushing quack remedies, and abetting conspiracy theories about Chinese laboratories"

HCQ has saved lives. The Wuhan Virus started at the Wuhan Lab.

This Sullivan guy is a liar and a nut. TDS.

J. Farmer said...

Wow, a lot of triggered snowflakes in the comments. So long as you remain mindful of Sullivan's weaknesses (a tendency to being overwrought, to overreact to the significance of any day's headlines), he is an interesting thinker and worth reading, regardless if you agree with his analysis or not.

Michael said...

Trump was acting while the de Blasios and Pelosis were telling everyone to take the subway and hang out in Chinatown. Sullivan has periods of real lucidity but then lets his prejudices get the better of him.

rcocean said...

No, he's not an "Interesting" thinker. He's not a thinker at all. He USED to be a interesting writer 20 years ago, when he would occasionally stray from the Liberal-left Party line. Then the Pot and AIDS rotted his brain.

rcocean said...

Of course anyone can find anyone interesting. Some people think Whoppi Goldberg or Joy Behar interesting deep thinkers.

rcocean said...

Some people think Ishtar is a great comedy, think Neil Sedaka is the greatest singer ever, and assert John Scalzi is the greatest SF writer ever, ever.

Some people believe all kinds of crazy crap.

Charlie Currie said...

From The Aspen Beat, via Instapundit:

"In a classic Trump move, he picked a fight with Democrat governors beforehand over who had the authority to dictate the openings. With his usual bluster, Trump insisted that he did. Suddenly discovering federalism, the governors insisted that they did.

In the end, Trump gave the governors the authority they demanded, though the Feds will still supply the data and the non-binding guidelines. That was the outcome Trump desired all along, I suspect, and his fight with the governors was only to bait them into the position he wanted."

I've been saying this elsewhere and I believe Althouse has also said it here.

Francisco D said...

Howard said... Bottom line is the covid-19 deaths. Too many in flyover, Trump loses. Otherwise he can beat Biden unless Joe decides to juice.

I think the bottom line is economic.

Covid-19 will turn out to be a bad flu season for the country in general, but not all that much if you don't live in NY or NJ. The big concern about overwhelming the healthcare system which has not happened and will not happen.

When we sort through the statistics, we may find no excess number of deaths compared to other years. At that point, Trump will be blamed by the usual suspects for overreacting.

Clyde said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Charlie Currie said...

Trump: I have absolute authority.
Governors: No you don't, we have authority over our state.
Citizens: Open up and let us out now.
Governors: Can't, Trump's guidelines won't let us.

Clyde said...

Well, if Trump has lost Andrew Sullivan, then I guess it's all over now, baby blue.

Not Sure said...

Sullivan hasn't been quite right ever since Reagan gave him AIDS, but blaming Trump for both a "late" response to the virus and a "calamitous depression" is over the top even for Andrew.

J. Farmer said...

No, he's not an "Interesting" thinker. He's not a thinker at all. He USED to be a interesting writer 20 years ago, when he would occasionally stray from the Liberal-left Party line. Then the Pot and AIDS rotted his brain.

For my money, anyone who inspires this kind of blind rage has to be at least a little bit interesting. The notion that Sullivan tows a "liberal-left party line" is ridiculous. His orientation is pretty Tory-ish.

Birkel said...

MSM: Trump did not do enough. He is responsible for all deaths.
Trump: I closed down flights from China. Here are videos of the MSM saying I overreacted.

MSM: If Trump opens too early, he will be responsible for all deaths.
Trump: I can order everybody to open up.
Governors: we are in charge of our states.
Trump: Those guys will make the decisions and accept the responsibility.

Sullivan: Trump refuses to accept accountability.

Me: Trump is better at this game.

rcocean said...

Blind rage? hardly.

More like boredom and amused contempt.

J. Farmer said...

Blind rage? hardly.

I was doing a Sullivanism ;)

Not Sure said...

If I found emotional outbursts of illogical arguments "interesting" I'd still be with my ex-gf.

J. Farmer said...

If I found emotional outbursts of illogical arguments "interesting" I'd still be with my ex-gf.

Something drew you to her in the first place.

Not Sure said...

Something drew you to her in the first place.

Indeed! Another difference between your tastes and mine. :)

effinayright said...

Robert Cook said...
"When he repealed thousands of federal regulations and guidance memos that previous presidents have used to unconstitutionally legislate from the executive."

Such as?
**********************

Let me help you out here, cookie...


https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/tracking-deregulation-in-the-trump-era/

J. Farmer said...

For what it's worth, Sullivan's column fro last week, It's Time for Conscious Uncoupling With China, is quite good.

J. Farmer said...

Indeed! Another difference between your tastes and mine. :)

Certainly. And contrary to the famous aphorism, whether you buy the cow or not, the milk is never for free.

JPS said...

J. Farmer,

I agree that Sullivan is a fine writer and can be interesting. But before I follow your link at 2:09, I'm going to go wayyyy out on a limb:

Since he is arguing a position with which Trump would broadly agree, Sullivan makes damn sure his readers know he's not doing so in support of Trump, and that he finds Trump appalling.

Now I'll go see whether I am being unfair.

J. Farmer said...

@JPS:

There are a few anti-Trump bromides thrown in but doesn't distract from an overall good piece. I'll definitely grant Sullivan's over-the-top Trump hate. Bill Maher is another example. But I still consider both interesting and occasionally worth listening to.

Wince said...

A sign at the Michigan protest: "Heil Witmer" (sic).

Have to admit that made me chuckle.

William said...

I wonder if there are any well known Democrats that Sullivan would prefer to Trump. I'm sure if Weinstein made bail and by a remarkable series of events became the Dem nominee, Sullivan could find compelling reasons to vote for him over Trump.....Give Sullivan some credit. At this late date, he finds new and interesting ways to insult Trump....Off topic remark: If Biden, in the days of his prime, couldn't advance beyond the prelims in primaries, what new powers has he developed over the years? Are people are more forgiving of plagiarism in the old?

J. Farmer said...

Off topic remark: If Biden, in the days of his prime, couldn't advance beyond the prelims in primaries, what new powers has he developed over the years? Are people are more forgiving of plagiarism in the old?

The last gasp of the New Democrats desperately trying to hold their coalition together.

Skippy Tisdale said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Skippy Tisdale said...

Who writes this shit? And who in the world actually believes it?

Skippy Tisdale said...

Robert Cook said...
"When he repealed thousands of federal regulations and guidance memos that previous presidents have used to unconstitutionally legislate from the executive."

Such as?

4/18/20, 12:24 PM

--------------------------------------------------------

"I know you are, but what am I?" It gets old.

DavidUW said...

Somehow I don't think a gay Brit has a real clue about what Americans are thinking.

DavidUW said...

this is a fundamentally unserious epidemic of staggeringly boring proportions.

the only thing serious is the level of stupidity displayed by "experts"

RMc said...

Wow, a lot of triggered snowflakes in the comments.

I'm pretty sure the "snowflakes" are on the other side of the aisle, mac. (Unless you're looking into a mirror.)

Lurker21 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lurker21 said...

Sullivan is English and doesn't respond well to American conservatism. He particularly dislikes Trump, but there's much about American political issues and American style that leave him cold. He's an establishment guy, a transatlantic man with no love for American nationalism or populism.

Curiously, Sullivan thinks much better of Boris Johnson, who has a lot in common with Trump. Johnson's playing a similar populist role in challenging the Establishment. Sullivan and Johnson knew each other at Oxford, and a little Eton polish goes a long way to establishing legitimacy in Andrew's eyes. You can try to overturn the Establishment, but you have to have panache and the right Establishment credentials for Sullivan to approve.

At this point, I think Andy realizes that Trump is his bread-and-butter. It's much easier to turn out an anti-Trump column than to write anything original. Plus there's a fascination in hatred or contempt or whatever you want to call it. The intense hatred that some people feel about Trump now, and felt about Johnson or Nixon or Reagan or Bush or Clinton or Obama in the past is something as deep and consuming and as emotionally charged as love.

bagoh20 said...

So another jerk who bitched about Trump not being presidential is now bitching that he acts like a normal President. Turns out he has a phone and a pen just like the rest of them.

bagoh20 said...

If you separate out downstate NY (12 million people) from the rest of the country, those 12 million lead the world in cases and deaths over all other countries, and the rest of the US doesn't even make the top 10 in either.

The Dems are hoping to run the guy who governs those 12 million and beat Trump. Seems to me that Trump should win the vote among those 12 million, but he won't because TDS.

bagoh20 said...

Link: https://pjmedia.com/trending/heres-how-much-downstate-new-york-is-skewing-the-united-states-coronavirus-numbers/

chuck said...

Sullivan is English and doesn't respond well to American conservatism.

Agree about Sullivan, but I think Christopher Hitchens had a pretty good sense of who we are. Sullivan just doesn't comprehend the American character, it is alien to his understanding. I do miss Hitchens.

h said...

This is one of Trump's favorite negotiating strategies: "Don't throw me in that old briar patch!" In this case:

Trump: "I'm in charge of everything".
TDS governors: "No you're not, each state is different; the governors need to be charge ."
Trump: OK.

narciso said...

Sullivan lavished high praise with Obama, so much so, that his kramerican intern friedersdorf had to tone it down, I remember how he predicted either major civil unrest or a major war in the middle east, his crystal ball has been very cloudy,

Gk1 said...

"He USED to be a interesting writer 20 years ago, when he would occasionally stray from the Liberal-left Party line" This. So this. I know exactly what Sullivan is going to say about trump so why bother? Like trying to wade through a tedious Charles Blow brain fart. Sullivan HAD interesting thoughts like rcocean said 20 years ago. When he wrote in the New Republic he could occasionally wander off the neo-liberal plantation but that was very long ago.

bagoh20 said...

A lot of us drone on and on with our point of view and biases here, I certainly do, but why does Sullivan get his own post for doing the same thing?

Is it the spelling? The punctuation? The closet full of women's clothes?

J. Farmer said...

@RMc:

I'm pretty sure the "snowflakes" are on the other side of the aisle, mac. (Unless you're looking into a mirror.)

Believe me, conservative snowflakes are real, even if the problem is more prominent on the other side. Ben Shapiro rails against social justice warriors, but when the topic is Israel, he talks exactly like one.

J. Farmer said...

@Gk1:

I know exactly what Sullivan is going to say about trump so why bother?

Read him on topics other than Trump. He is good on a lot of leftist shibboleths. Sullivan, like everyone, has a set of blinders, but partisanship isn't one of them. His views are clearly his own.

Paul said...

It is not that Trump does not take responsibility. He does.

What he does not take is Monday night quarterbacking, 20/20 hindsight, AND CARPING. All these people do is nitpick, carp, and second guess.

Geeze.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

J. Farmer, except for the small detail that SJWs are vehemently anti-Israel.

J. Farmer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
J. Farmer said...

@exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil:

J. Farmer, except for the small detail that SJWs are vehemently anti-Israel.

It's the tactic I'm referring to not the opinion. Identity politics for me but not for thee. for

bagoh20 said...

Jews don't want special treatment, quotas, or for their views to be accepted regardless of their merit just becuase they are Jews, and they don't want everybody else shut up, and cancelled. That stuff is the definition of snowflake. Israel allows Palestinians in their government, even on their Supreme Court. Snowflakes won't even let someone like Shapiro speak on campus. Snowflakes are a lot more like Nazis than Jews, especially in tactics.

J. Farmer said...

@bagoh20:

Snowflakes are a lot more like Nazis than Jews, especially in tactics.

I am not saying anything about "Jews." I'm talking about one person (Ben Shapiro) on one topic (Israel).

J. Farmer said...

"Jews don't want special treatment"

That's precisely what Israel being a Jewish state is all about. It's an ethno-state. I support that. But you can't say you support Israel being a Jewish state on one hand and complain about identity politics on the other.

bagoh20 said...

I don't agree with Shapiro on everything, but I think he respects freedom of speech and other rights more than most people with a voice. What has he done that is anything like snowflakes shutting down speech on campus and demanding special rights over males, whites, cisgenders, conservatives, etc.? That shit is Nazi 2.0. If you watch some of them, they act exactly like Nazi youth in the 1930's. Shapiro simply expresses his opinion, which is pretty mainstream for at least half the country.

bagoh20 said...

I think you know why Jews need a state of their own. In their nation they give people who want them driven into the sea more rights than Jews were granted in most nations past and present. It's really extraordinary.

J. Farmer said...

@bagoh20:

I think you know why Jews need a state of their own. In their nation they give people who want them driven into the sea more rights than Jews were granted in most nations past and present. It's really extraordinary.

I support Israel being an ethno-state. I support America being an ethno-state. It's Shapiro who says, "I don't give a good damn about the so-called "browning of America." Color doesn't matter. Ideology does."

And for what it's worth, the tactic I am referring to is Ben's frequently deployment of "anti-antisemitism" against critics. This is the same way gender activist label people "misogynist" or racial advocates label them "racist."

bagoh20 said...

" "I don't give a good damn about the so-called "browning of America." Color doesn't matter. Ideology does."

I agree with him on that 100%, and it's the polar opposite of identity politics. There is good ideology and bad, or even evil. He's correct that color or any other such identity has nothing to do with the ideas being good or bad.

If Shapiro throws around the anti-antisemitism charge unfairly, then of course that's wrong, but I don't remember him doing that. He has talked about saying some things when he was younger (he's been writing on this stuff since he was 14) that he now regrets, and would not say today. I forgive anyone who does that when they admit a mistake.

J. Farmer said...

@bagoh20:

I agree with him on that 100%, and it's the polar opposite of identity politics.

Yes, he opposed identity politics for America but supports them for Israel. That's my point.

If Shapiro throws around the anti-antisemitism charge unfairly, then of course that's wrong, but I don't remember him doing that.

He considers any opposition to Israel as a Jewish state to be "anti-semitism." That's the equivalent of considering any opposition to gay rights "homophobia," a charge that Shapiro would vehemently (and rightly) oppose.

veni vidi vici said...

"pushing quack remedies", by which the idiot means HCQ.

If he's always this buffoonish, how does he have a career where anyone takes him seriously? His fellatio technique's THAT good???

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

J. Farmer,

For my money, anyone who inspires this kind of blind rage has to be at least a little bit interesting. The notion that Sullivan tows a "liberal-left party line" is ridiculous. His orientation is pretty Tory-ish.

I read Sullivan's blog for many, many years. IMO it went spectacularly off the rails when he acquired his bizarre interest in Sarah Palin's uterus, and never really recovered. Not coincidentally, that was Obama's first campaign, and the weird bro-fest w/Obama colored all his Palin coverage.

Not long after that, he shut down his own blog, and now I find myself paying attention to him only when (as here) someone else brings him up. Sad, really; there was all manner of interesting stuff in that blog once, not least "View From My Window" (that would be a great one to revive about now, yes?). I was constantly amazed at the scope and variety of his readership and how rapidly they managed to solve even the most (to me, anyway) generic of vistas. I sent one in myself, once, of our deck as seen from the kitchen window, with (unusually for Salem) a couple of inches of snow on it. He didn't run it :-(