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Unhinged

By Big Tent Democrat, Section
Posted on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:37:24 AM EST

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I personally have had good exchanges with conservative legal commenter Ed Whelan of the National Review so I was a bit surprised at his dustup with Glenn Greenwald. But this is a funny quote from Whelan about Greenwald - "I’m not familiar with this guy. Is he always so unhinged?" - when you consider what he writes today at NRO:

[T]he survival of the historic American experiment in representative government will be in serious jeopardy if Barack Obama is our next president….

Um, a bit unhinged wouldn't you say?

By Big TentDemocrat, speaking for me only

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    Funny - I think the Great American Exxperiment (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by scribe on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:42:23 AM EST
    in representative government may well survive the greatest threat to its existence, but only if Obama is elected.  Otherwise, we get a doddering militarist dictator with a theocrat-militarist in waiting.

    I hate that cr@p (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by coigue on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:45:50 AM EST
    the GOP likes to define American as people who agree with them....totally ignoring the facts of history that we have collectively been arguing aboyut the same stuff since before the revolution.

    Unhinging? (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Stellaaa on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:57:17 AM EST
    What did Bush do the last eight years?  He unhinged every one of the American institutions and efed the economy as well.  What is left to jeopordize?  

    Name one (none / 0) (#8)
    by bocajeff on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:02:36 PM EST
    institution that was truly unhinged, i.e. can't be put together quickly with some duct tape of legislation??? I'm not saying I agree with most of what has been done, but your rhetoric is hyperbole rather than fact...

    As the good men once said, "these things shall pass..."

    Parent

    The Justice Department comes to (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by ThatOneVoter on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:05:29 PM EST
    mind.

    Parent
    That will take some time... (none / 0) (#13)
    by Fabian on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:09:07 PM EST
    I look forward to a wave of resignations - not the usual resignations - but resignations of people who are relative newcomers to the DOJ.  I'm sure some will adapt, some will tough it out, but some will decide to leave for the "private sector".

    Parent
    Did you say duct tape? ;) (none / 0) (#15)
    by CaptainAmerica08 on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:18:07 PM EST


    Parent
    THe EPA, the FDA, NASA (to a lesser extent) (none / 0) (#27)
    by coigue on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:14:36 PM EST
    just off the top of my head.

    Many of these orgs have been packed with GOP idealogues and we all know how difficult it is to fire cvil servants.

    Parent

    The Federal appeal courts (none / 0) (#30)
    by Manuel on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:46:00 PM EST
    The NYT has an article today that provides examples on how the courts have changed.  Now I am not sure I would go as far as to call it unhinged but it has definitely been a significant changed that won't be undone quickly.

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    All of the Armed Forces . . . (none / 0) (#31)
    by wurman on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:11:20 PM EST
    and every other aspect within the Dept. of Defense, as well as the military "intelligence" services.

    Parent
    Here's a short list of key "unfixables" (none / 0) (#33)
    by wurman on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:22:04 PM EST
    National Intelligence Council [NIC]
    National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)
    National Counterintelligence Executive [NCIX]
    Central Intelligence Agency
    National Security Agency
    National Reconnaissance Office
    National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
    Defense Intelligence Agency
    Federal Bureau of Investigation
    Department of Homeland Security Office of
               Intelligence and Analysis

    And, over at the State Dept., there's the Office of Intelligence & Research.

    It seems likely that Sen. Obama's cabinet officers will spend the 1st year dismantling the nonsensical "anti-intelligent" pastiche of "h-idiocies" produced by ol' Buckshot Cheney & Rummy Dumsfeld.


    Parent

    Yes (none / 0) (#38)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 12:07:35 AM EST
    There is going to have to be a huge cleaning. They'll have to hire construction dumpsters to haul away the nonsense and garbage fed into our government the last eight years.

    Starting with all those signing statements...

    Parent

    I drove my wife to the polls (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Xclusionary Rule 4ever on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:04:08 PM EST
    this morning at 9 when they opened.  There was no place to park and a line a hundred yards long.  EVERYBODY is voting this year.  This is a shining happy moment for representative government.  I was 8 in 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr was shot, and Bobby Kennedy, and there were riots in the streets, kids getting shot at Kent State, massive demonstrations against the war.  Would you rather have that, or a massive turnout at the polls??  This is what democracy looks like.

    Heh (5.00 / 6) (#10)
    by TheRealFrank on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:05:26 PM EST
    Obama is playing into this over-the-top rhetoric a little now. From his prepared rally remarks in NC:

    By the end of the week, he'll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in Kindergarten.

    I like it.

    that's hilarious (none / 0) (#29)
    by coigue on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:16:09 PM EST


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    Unhinged? (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by Fabian on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:06:29 PM EST
    Ah, thanks for the info.  The next time I suggest to someone that they do a rudimentary online search before they issue accusations (bordering on CTs), I'll be prepared when they call me "unhinged".

    It's a sad commentary on the intellectual integrity of the right when Greenwald says "Hey, you are wrong and here's the proof." and we see this huffy reaction repeatedly.

    US System of Govt in Jeopardy NOW??? hahahaha (5.00 / 2) (#19)
    by satchmo on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:28:13 PM EST
    So with Obama "the historic American experiment in representative government will be in serious jeopardy"??

    This is another good example of the way an almost psychotic level of projection and denial is a basic feature of reactionary discourse and thinking.

    Where were these pseudo-patriots when BushCo gutted and violated "the historic American experiment in representative government" for 8 years?  When BushCo was flushing the constitution down the toilet, invading countries illegally, torturing, politicizing the DOJ, covering up the Plame lies, etc. etc. ad infinitum?

    Iraq, Abu Ghraib, "Signing Statements," Guantanamo, illegal wiretapping, New Orleans, etc.  Not to mention the wave of felony convictions and basic corruption from Enron to Delay to Stevens.  Yep, the GOP has been protecting "the American experiment in representative government" alright.

    These guys really don't understand irony.  And apparently they don't own mirrors.  

    Heh (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Steve M on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:31:48 PM EST
    The Federalist Society types are all freaking out because, guess what, they're not gonna be getting any more judicial appointments for a while.  Sometimes the job-seekers are even more passionate than the ideologues.

    This is the best (none / 0) (#22)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:35:32 PM EST
    moral-booster of the day.  Thanks.

    Parent
    "Morale" (none / 0) (#23)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:36:07 PM EST


    Parent
    Perhaps both, inadvertently. (none / 0) (#34)
    by wurman on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:24:04 PM EST


    Parent
    Unhinged hyperbole.... (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by kdog on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:46:56 PM EST
    is what drives traffic and gets readers.

    Reasoned discourse is rather boring, we must admit.  It's sexier to call Obama a marxist and Bush/McCain fascists.

    rofl (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by Faust on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:51:22 PM EST
    funny post with great comments in this thread. A veritable chuckle fest.

    I think after the last eight years maybe we are all getting a little unhinged.

    Ummm (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by jarober on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:52:40 PM EST
    I seem to recall many people on the left claiming that Bush wouldn't yield the office, and that if he wasn't impeached, American Democracy would be at an end.

    The fear runs both ways

    You could argue (none / 0) (#36)
    by Socraticsilence on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 03:03:37 PM EST
    That the suspension of Habeas Corpus was a serious blow to the American Democratic Experiment-- but hey I'm silly about something that's been a bedrock part of Western Democracy for 300+ years being suspended.

    Parent
    Unhinged? Yes. (none / 0) (#3)
    by CaptainAmerica08 on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:48:28 AM EST
    Any different from most of the hard-right these days? No.

    Talking about Whelan's piece not GG. (none / 0) (#18)
    by CaptainAmerica08 on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:27:43 PM EST


    Parent
    Should listen to Morning Edition! (none / 0) (#35)
    by Fabian on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:54:26 PM EST
    They were talking about the coming GOP fallout and commenters were ALL over the map on the topic!

    One claimed that conservatives "achieved their goals".  Roe v Wade still stands.  Spending hasn't been cut at all.  That's just two things I can think of.

    Another said that there are no true conservatives in Congress, that the (D)s and (R)s all vote (and spend) alike.  I admit that true conservatives are rare - but the blame lies squarely on the GOP who drove them out.

    And so on....

    Much unintentional humor there.  The real culprits are GWB and the GOP that supported him.  Everyone else is just a scapegoat - and that includes McCain and Palin.

    Parent

    Exactly, (none / 0) (#4)
    by bocajeff on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:48:44 AM EST
    Considering the stuff that has been said on the left the past 7 1/2 years anyone on the right saying that the end of the nation is near is just a mimic...

    Heh. (none / 0) (#7)
    by liminal on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:58:55 AM EST
    Did see John Oliver's segment on The Daily Show last night?

    Parent
    Do educated people really (none / 0) (#6)
    by ThatOneVoter on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:58:20 AM EST
    discuss whether the Constitution will be turned into a "goodie-bag" for left wing projects?
    silly left wing projects like... (none / 0) (#28)
    by coigue on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 01:15:41 PM EST
    education equality
    civil rights
    voting rights
    reproductive rights

    heh

    Parent

    But wouldn't Obama have to be a left winger (none / 0) (#39)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 12:09:45 AM EST
    for that to happen? Obamba has show few progressive tendencies, and wants to govern from the 'middle', where ever that is.

    Parent
    Most of Bush's actions (none / 0) (#14)
    by NYShooter on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:17:20 PM EST
    Had one concurrent theme....consolidate power in the Oval office.

    The FISA flip-flop indicates Obama doesn't plan to rock the boat, now that he's picking out curtain patterns and colors.

    Let's hope you are wrong. (none / 0) (#16)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:23:16 PM EST
    But I am worried about Sunstein.

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    As long as Sunstein isn't (none / 0) (#17)
    by CaptainAmerica08 on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:25:10 PM EST
    a Supreme Court nominee...

    Parent
    If the goal is to undo the (5.00 / 2) (#21)
    by oculus on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 12:34:23 PM EST
    Bush's erosion of the U.S. Constitution, Sunstein is not the advisor I would prefer to sit at the right hand of President Obama.  

    Parent
    Somebody definitely pulled the thread (none / 0) (#32)
    by Exeter on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 02:13:32 PM EST
    on his sweater... as he walked away.

    "Unhinged" is a major understatement (none / 0) (#37)
    by pluege on Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 04:21:47 PM EST
    The collective conservative "mind" such as it is, and for lack of a better word, is accelerating its epic explosion as the United States hurdles toward the possibility of a POTUS that is a racial minority. Fragments of the flotsam of lizard ganglia have been flying off for some time, but real fissures in the containment vessel of evil magma of conservative consciousness are starting to spasmodically open, revealing the true nature of the rotting cankerous effervescent primordial ooze as it escapes like projectile vomit spewing forth as acid on all humanity. All should be forewarned to shield themselves from the life-consuming sputum tsunami headed our way.

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