home

Kristol's Last Column

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Media
Posted on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 07:32:44 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Via Attaturk, happy trails to Bill Kristol:

This is William Kristol’s last column.

After failed stints at Time and the NYTimes, it is now time for Kristol to make room for some new GOP hacks.

Let's make this an Open Thread.

Speaking for me only.

< SAG Awards Tonight | CIA's Rearguard Action In Favor Of Torture Working? >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Kristol's Last Column | 45 comments (45 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    Good!! (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Radiowalla on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:08:04 AM EST
    If Maureen Dowd would follow him out the door,  perhaps the NYTimes would get its reputation back.

    Morning Joe Program lead (none / 0) (#16)
    by BackFromOhio on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:00:58 AM EST
    this morning with the utterly baseline meme that Hillary was behind the trashing of Caroline Kennedy's "losing" the NY Senate appointment.  They stated this meme as irrefutable fact. No a shred of evidence that I've seen.  What's more, Obama called Gillibrand to congratulate her and issued a public statement that was quite complimentary.  

    Will others please assist me in writing MSNBC to tell them if we want fairy tales, we'll go to daytime soaps.  

    Parent

    No need to write (5.00 / 3) (#22)
    by Inspector Gadget on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:42:47 AM EST
    Will others please assist me in writing MSNBC to tell them if we want fairy tales, we'll go to daytime soaps.

    Threats mean nothing to them. You have to actually stop watching. It's easy. None of those people have ever said anything I couldn't live my entire life having not heard.

    I stopped watching MSNBC nearly a year ago.

    Parent

    You are right (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by BarnBabe on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:57:50 AM EST
    Been there done that. No results. Stopped watching. Then I don't have to hear the garbage thrown out. I feel better at least.

    Parent
    If everyone who threatens (none / 0) (#32)
    by Inspector Gadget on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:26:03 AM EST
    eventually backs up their words with actions, something will have to happen. They can't pay those guys if the sponsors won't buy ads for lack of viewers.

    The price of advertising has its foundation in the ratings.  If you are going to write to anyone, write to the sponsors of the programs that raise your blood pressure and tell them to use their influence and that you ARE boycotting their products until they do.

    Parent

    No one watches ... (none / 0) (#33)
    by Robot Porter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:40:40 AM EST
    MSNBC already.  Its ratings are abysmal.

    Ten times the people watch USA's repeats of NCIS, than a new episode of KO.  And KO's the only show on MSNBC that gets any ratings to speak of.

    Parent

    And FOX... (none / 0) (#35)
    by jbindc on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:56:35 AM EST
    even killed them during the inauguration...

    Parent
    KO's only chance of ... (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by Robot Porter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 11:09:38 AM EST
    breaking the top ten is appearing on Sponge Bob or Hannah Montana.

    Parent
    Good riddance (5.00 / 0) (#15)
    by Steve M on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:59:54 AM EST
    Bring us some real conservatives!!!  What an intellectually bankrupt movement.

    They died off in the (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by ThatOneVoter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:38:36 AM EST
    Cultural Revolution of the 80's, the killing fields of rational conservative thought.

    Parent
    I wish there were an emphasis (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by BernieO on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:18:35 AM EST
    on journalistic malpractice. Anyone who repeatedly gets it wrong - bad predictions, erroneous facts, etc. - should be shunned by mainstream media. This is no abridgement of their right to speech, it is having professional standards. For example, Tom Friedman is frequently wrong about serious issues yet he is a media darling. He should be ignored.

    From the NYT to the WaPo! (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Anne on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:23:47 AM EST
    From Think Progress:

    But now Kristol's tirades against all things progressive may have found a new home. Politico's "Playbook" reports this morning that "he's now beginning a monthly column in The Washington Post." Aside from the monotony of Kristol's opinion pieces, it might be worth reminding the Post's editors and readers what they're in for: factual errors.

    And Fred Hiatt is probably thrilled at this "get."

    I feel bad, (5.00 / 0) (#40)
    by KeysDan on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 12:04:23 PM EST
    that today, of all days, I did not read Bill Kristol's article all the way to the end, thereby missing the most significant ending ever--that this was his last column.  Mr. Kristol's articles, while not necessarily 'must reads' for me,  did educate to the right wing propaganda of the day. However, after reading just the first paragraph's delusional victory laps, I could go no further.

    Hack vs. Free Speech (3.00 / 2) (#9)
    by STLDeb on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:17:15 AM EST
    Bill Kristol is a hack, per post by
    BTD and the comments below.  One of the most cherished rights as Americans is freedom of speech.  

    You may and do disagree with Kristol vehemently but to wish the opposition poorly is, in my humble opinion, is poor taste.  

    To not have differing opinions and only opinions which we agree is not good for the country.  It silences opposition from speaking out, regardless of which side of the political spectrum you are from.

    That is the one thing I am most proud of being an American.  I can and will respectfully disagree with dissenting opinions from my own but I, in turn, respect their opinion, i.e., agree to disagree.

    Just my little ole 2 cents worth.

    kristol is a hack (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by lilburro on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:21:39 AM EST
    exhibit a:

    Since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, conservatives of various sorts, and conservatisms of various stripes, have generally been in the ascendancy. And a good thing, too! Conservatives have been right more often than not -- and more often than liberals -- about most of the important issues of the day: about Communism and jihadism, crime and welfare, education and the family. Conservative policies have on the whole worked -- insofar as any set of policies can be said to "work" in the real world.

    Who on earth could look at our economy and say Conservative policies have worked?

    and wtf does that even mean - conservatives are more right than liberals about family?

    Parent

    Losing a paying gig in the pages of (5.00 / 2) (#13)
    by Anne on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:48:03 AM EST
    the NYT is not an infringement on or abridgement of Kristol's freedom of speech, so let's stop pretending some constitutional tragedy has befallen him.

    Seeing the back of Mr. Kristol moves us no closer to being in anything that even resembles an echo chamber, but there might be a little room for more progressive voices that have been strikingly absent from op-ed pages for years now.  You may see Kristol's departure as a bad thing, but given the man's track record of being wrong for so long on so many issues, I prefer to see it as a plus - at least until we see who will be replacing him.

    You are preaching to the choir here when you say that it is not good for the country to silence the opposition and repress dissent; we know that, all too well, because it is exactly what we experienced throughout the Bush years.

    And for the record, Kristol has a right to his opinions and has a right to assert them, but he has no automatic right to have those opinions respected.  Seriously, given how wrong he has been on so many issues, how smug and self-satisfied he has been even as he was shown how wrong he is, I can say without qualification that I have not one shred of respect for anything he says.

    Parent

    Hey guy.. happy trails! (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by ThatOneVoter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:46:58 AM EST


    Parent
    Kristol's trail is winding its way to (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Anne on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 11:32:25 AM EST
    the WaPo, where he will be writing a monthly column.

    So says Politico.

    Parent

    Krystol's Freedom of speech? (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by Repack Rider on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:16:14 AM EST
    William Krystol has the same degree of First Amendment rights that you and I have.

    Perhaps you can show me where the First Amendment says that your rights are being infringed if you don't have a newspaper column.

    Parent

    There is a difference between (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by Faust on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:52:25 AM EST
    wishing someone ill and wishing their ideas ill. There are some ideas not worth respecting. The earth is not flat. The tooth fairy does not exist. There are no squares with 5 sides. Kristol in general is not a man with ideas, he is a generator of an absurd reality distortion field. I have no ill will toward the man as human being, but the bulk of his commentary should not be classed as anything other than manifest stupidity.

    Parent
    Happy trails (none / 0) (#12)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:30:19 AM EST
    is the opposite of wishing him ill.

    Does anyone read anymore?

    Parent

    Maybe they just don't ... (5.00 / 3) (#14)
    by Robot Porter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:52:13 AM EST
    remember Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

    ;)

    Parent

    No problem with factual falsehoods? n/t (none / 0) (#43)
    by sallywally on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:11:37 PM EST


    Parent
    Kristol's factual falsehoods. n/t (none / 0) (#44)
    by sallywally on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:16:21 PM EST


    Parent
    I nominate JMM. (none / 0) (#1)
    by ThatOneVoter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 07:42:37 AM EST


    Perfectly summed up (none / 0) (#2)
    by Matt in Chicago on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 07:46:38 AM EST
    "After failed stints now at Time and the NYTimes, it is now time for Kristol to make room for some new GOP hacks."

    Anyone who disagrees is a hack.  Anyone who spouts the corrent BS is enlightened.  If that sentiment doesn't sum up our problem nothing does.

    As long as we allow labels to guide our thoughts, we are always going to be thoughtless.

    Case in point, Pelosi defends including millions for birth control in the "stimulus package" because kids are expensive.  Never mind that we need more children to fun Social Security etc. down the road.  And from our side?  Nothing but silence because she is "progressive".

    Politics used to be the art of the compromise, now it is left to the angry mob who can hate the most.  Hope and Change at its finest.

    Bite-size profundity (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by Addison on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:45:09 AM EST
    As long as we allow labels to guide our thoughts, we are always going to be thoughtless.

    Please sir, can I have another bumper sticker?

    Kristol has just been wrong over and over while still getting a paycheck. He doesn't do a good job. If he were a contractor all his houses would have fallen down, then he would have said, "wow, contracters need to learn to build houses better."  

    Parent

    We are supposed to deny poor women (5.00 / 2) (#26)
    by BernieO on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:12:31 AM EST
    access to contraceptives so they can churn out kids to pay our SS? Wow.

    Parent
    Of Course (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Wile ECoyote on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 11:49:18 AM EST
    not, we just deny the kids they do have to their choice of schools.  

    Parent
    no idiot (1.00 / 2) (#30)
    by Matt in Chicago on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:19:44 AM EST
    The point is that Pelosi's argument makes no sense... if you want to provide access to contraceptives just do it, but don't use illogical reasoning to try and make a bad idea into a good one.

    Fewer kids are fine, but don't be shocked when their are other (and apparently unintended) consequences.  

    Parent

    Denying poor women (none / 0) (#45)
    by sallywally on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:19:20 PM EST
    contraceptives isn't so likely to result in children who become able to pay our SS.

    Just saying.....

    Parent

    Kristol is a hack because (none / 0) (#3)
    by ThatOneVoter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 07:52:34 AM EST
    he's been completely wrong, over and over, not because he's conservative. If Pelosi spoke as you quoted, I think that was flip.

    Parent
    Heh (none / 0) (#8)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:14:40 AM EST
    Try thinking before commenting next time. Or even reading. And when I say read, I mean the actual words on the page, not the ones in your head.

    Parent
    I think calling Kristol ... (5.00 / 2) (#10)
    by Robot Porter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:20:45 AM EST
    a hack is mighty charitable.

    Hacks generally have some basic level of proficiency.


    Parent

    uh huh (2.00 / 1) (#28)
    by Matt in Chicago on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 10:17:27 AM EST
    Perfect.  Mock away.  How very progressive and intellectual of you.

    Pathetic.  

    Do me favor, please delete my account with this site.  What used to be an interesting forum for discussion has turned into a partisan wasteland of anger (even after we one) and accusations for anyone who doesn't agree with your bile.

    One week in office and you're already back to being an a$$.  

    Parent

    Finally (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by jnicola on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 11:00:41 AM EST
    Talkleft's getting its very own ErrinF.

    Parent
    Punditry (none / 0) (#4)
    by Pat Johnson on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 07:58:19 AM EST
    O/T,but last night Geraldo on Fox dragged out Alberto Gonzalez for his views regarding Guantanomo.   As long as these criminals are hosted and feted as "experts", i.e., Rove, Gingrich, Kissinger, and all the other failed voices who have led us to our current status, nothing will change.  

    Kristol is nothing but a partisan hack who has yet to be proven right on anything.   But the NYT has slid in stature for years.   Nothing new.

    Kristol is a riot! (none / 0) (#6)
    by gyrfalcon on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:10:14 AM EST
    He defines conservatism and liberalism in this column solely in terms of "defense of liberty" by which he explicitly doesn't mean whining about "rights," but only external enemies (oh, plus the horrors of the "new left" in the '60s, those wascally wabbits who so threatened the rest of the country).

    In boasting about how conservatives got "almost everything right," he very wisely leaves out the economy.

    What a p**z.

    Is it to early to start to judge Obama? (none / 0) (#7)
    by Saul on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 08:14:21 AM EST
    Should wait or start now.?

    Maybe we need an Excel sheet with the following columns and keep a running record:

    What he said during his nomination campaign
    What he flip flopped on or altered after he was nominated

    What he said during his election campaign
    What he flip flopped on or altered after he won the election

    What he said and did after he was inaugurated
    How his actions after inauguration  compare to his rhetoric during both campaigns above and list any inconsistencies if any.
    There's already a site that does that (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by jbindc on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:16:06 AM EST
    Track all 895 promises here

    Parent
    Wow Thanks (none / 0) (#19)
    by Saul on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:28:13 AM EST


    Parent
    Maybe Kirstol is the lucky one? (none / 0) (#17)
    by Slado on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:01:29 AM EST
    The NYT's is bankrupt and losing more and more credibility as the days go by.

    Kristol is the smart one to be moving on.

    The NYT's is nothing but a shell of a once great newspaper.  When it folds it will be good riddance.

    Remind me when it was that the (none / 0) (#20)
    by ThatOneVoter on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 09:37:20 AM EST
    right wingers have ever thought the NYT was a "great newspaper". Certainly not since the Pentagon papers, and probably not before that either.

    Parent
    One could quibble with their politics (none / 0) (#41)
    by Slado on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 01:20:55 PM EST
    but they didn't blantantly get stories wrong or attack an administration and undermine it's policies until recently.

    Now it does all of that as well as report poorly on issues both sides of the political spectrum care about.

    Nevermind that it is poorly run and hemoraging money.

    Good riddance.  

    Parent

    Im with Slado (none / 0) (#42)
    by jondee on Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 04:15:09 PM EST
    Why, you'd think the paper had been taken over by the leader of a screwy religious cult with a messianic complex, or something.

    Plus, any paper named Neeeoow York anything's gotta be run by America-hating yankee agitators. Shoot, everybody knows that.

    Parent

    Kristol's Last Column | 45 comments (45 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment