Looks like the conservative cry of “Never Forget 9-11!” has been replaced by “Never Forget 9-wha? wha?“
To quote one of the commentors, “The sad part isn’t that Ms. Perino said it, it’s that she and the former Bush Administration actually believe it.”
Typically, I avoid the worst of the Neo-Conservative blogs and message boards. Don’t get me wrong–I hate the Echo Chamber effect that’s so inherent on the Internet, so I’m all about reading opinions of folks that I disagree with. But I decided a while back that I will only read the ones that are well-reasoned and insightful. Too many of the far-right/neo-con blogs and message boards don’t even try to bring logic–or for that manner, facts–to the discussion (I’m looking at you, Free Republic!).
So imagine my surprise when it was pointed out on a non-political message board I participate in that LittleGreenFootballs.com, once one of the most notoriously far-right political blogs in the blogosphere, has moved to the left in the last couple of years, and now can be fairly described as a center-right blog.
For those unaware of this blog, Little Green Footballs gained fame for raising doubts about the authenticity of the Killian documents. These were the documents that 60 Minutes presented as being highly critical of George W. Bush’s service in the National Guard during the 1970s. The issues surrounding the documents eventually led to the firing of a 60 Minutes segment producer, the resignation of three senior 60 Minutes executives, and–some claim–the resignation of CBS anchorman Dan Rather.
I’m late to this particular party, because according to Wikipedia this shift occurred back in 2007. (I comfort myself with the knowledge that I’m not the only one to just now notice). Charles Johnson (who runs LGF) says he is an agnostic and considered himself center-left before 9/11. After 9/11 he started reading up on radical Islam and became strongly pro-Israel, anti-PLO, pro-Iraq War.
But…he’s also always been anti-climate-change-skeptic and anti-Intelligent-Design. In 2007 he started commenting about American conservatives being involved with neo-Nazi groups, and his disenchantment with the American right-wing has grown since then.
Johnson explains his shift in focus thusly:
Why I parted ways with the Right.
The American right-wing has gone off the rails, into the bushes, and off the cliff. I won’t be going over the cliff with them.
And much, much more.
The end result is that lot of right-wingers really, really hate Charles Johnson of LGF. He’s not just (by their standards) a “dirty librul”, he’s a traitor to their Noble Cause.
Well, I say good for Johnson. His list nearly perfectly mirrors the reasons why I stopped calling myself a GOP-er, only I did it towards the end of the GWB’s first term. I would question his timing, as much of the crap Johnson references has been happening for a long, long time–since the Reagan administration at least (see points 1-5, and 9). I mean, seriously, he only just now noticed the pro-life, anti-science, racist, bigoted bent of the GOP?!
I suspect that the recent overtness of the neo-con hatred has gotten to the point that even a prominent right-ist blog like LGF can’t ignore it anymore. Any GOP-ers that have witnessed the activities of the Tea Party folks in the last several months can’t help but be appalled.
LGF isn’t the only neo-con blogger to wake up and smell the coffee. Balloon Juice, another prominent right-wing blog, started a similar shift a little while back, and the team of bloggers there has been refreshingly blunt in their criticisms of the current GOP leadership. When you see kind words for Michael Moore’s Farenheit 9-11 on a right-wing blog, the feeling of disorientation is akin to that experienced while watching some of the better Twilight Zone episodes.
Anyway, these are two conservative blogs who, best I can tell scanning recent entries, have finally been won over by the facts. Don’t think they are letting Obama off the hook, however. At least their concerns with his policies demonstrate a willingness to investigate the issues and bring intelligent critical thought to them (check out this recent post on Balloon Juice about Obama and Afghanistan). That certainly can’t be said about Hannity, Beck, Limbaugh, Palin, or any random Tea Party supporter.
I certainly hope that these former neo-cons can make their voices heard above the cacophony being consistently delivered by the GOP by way of the far-right crazies (If CNN’s execs were smart, they’d give LGF and Balloon Juice their own shows, directly opposite Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck). I believe that there are many, many GOP moderates and liberals who want, nay need to know that they aren’t alone out there, surrounded by the crazies. Those guys and gals are the hope for the future of the GOP. Too bad the GOP is so beholden to its insane base that they scared to cultivate them.
EDITED TO ADD: My word, the Salon.com article that I linked to above has certainly got folks out there in Blogistan talking. Dennis the Peasant calls Johnson’s “parting ways” post “a complete load of bullshit” and superimposes his reasons for Johnson’s defection on the list. Robert Stacy McCain traces Johnson’s “descent into madness” to the attendance by certain right-wing bloggers at a certain not-at-all-racist-or-Islamaphobic 2007 conference in Brussels. Andrew Sullivan (currently one of my favorite conservative bloggers) calls Johnson’s post “full of emotion, but also honesty” and contributes his own list of reasons for leaving the Right back in 2003 (right about the time I did. huh.). And Metafilter (which has had its own memorable run-ins with Johnson over the years) seems to be taking an “we’re glad you’ve taken this step, but it’d be a lot more impressive if you admitted your own culpability in creating and supporting the current crazy-winger atmostphere you’re now abandoning” stance.
Having taken a little time to root through the old archives of LDF, I have to say I see what everyone’s concerned about. Johnson’s blog was a hate machine, pure and simple. He spent years calling people crazy and anti-American for debating a war and hoping for peace in the Middle East. He was a leading promoter of racist, insane ranting as a substitute for insightful political debate. Why now? Why is Johnson just now getting upset about the very things he himself was a part of?
Maybe the Peasant has a point. Johnson’s star has faded among the far-right, and with Bush’s wartime errors and crimes coming home to roost he can’t continue his warmongering. The only sane move, if he’s going to keep making money on his blog, is to start putting distance between himself and the crazies.
More and more, this episode reminds me of certain prominent neo-cons, like David Frum and Richard Perle and Kenneth Adelman, who spent ages calling for a war against Iraq despite all the best possible advice against such a move; once the shit hit the fan, they began blaming Bush & Co., while denying their own responsibility. Vanity Fair quotes Richard Perle thusly:
“Huge mistakes were made, and I want to be very clear on this: They were not made by neoconservatives, who had almost no voice in what happened, and certainly almost no voice in what happened after the downfall of the regime in Baghdad. I’m getting damn tired of being described as an architect of the war. I was in favor of bringing down Saddam. Nobody said, ‘Go design the campaign to do that.’ I had no responsibility for that.”
I’m rambling, but my point is this: if Johnson wants to be taken seriously by anybody, now that he’s abandoned the crazies, he’ll have to (a) do some serious mea culpas for the role he’s played in America’s political discourse in the past decade–he can’t pull a Richard Perle and blame someone else for his racist posts and warmongering, and (b) endorse some candidates (GOP-ers or Dems) who support his moderate-to-left views. His actions, in other words, are going to speak louder than his blog. Otherwise, he’s just a blogger than neither side can trust.
I missed this story on Gawker.com when it was originally posted, because my dad had to be hospitalized that same day. Nonetheless, it’s finally come to my attention, and it’s evidence to me that the Palins are flakier than I thought:
Gawker.com’s posting of the John Coales’ Scientology memo
Who, pray tell, is John Coales. you ask? One of Sarah Palin’s top advisors, and allegedly the driving force behind her “SarahPAC” (the organization dedicated to Palin’s future presidential ambitions). A Scientologist attack-lawyer and husband of Fox news anchor Greta Van Sustern, John Coales is reportedly tasked with using his political influence to advance Scientology’s agenda, such as their war against psychiatry and psychology.
Apparently the Powers That Be in Scientology decided that the Palins might be good recruits, because Coales managed to worm his way into the Palin camp.
To Sarah Palin’s credit, she was reportedly aghast to learn of Coale’s involvment with L. Ron Hubbard’s Ponzi scheme, and has since started to distance herself from him. Which is a no-brainer move. After all, few things would alienate Palin from the Neo-Con’s Christian-hypocrite base faster than thinking she’s a Scientologist (Mitt Romney already has had difficulty with acceptance within the Republican Party as a Mormon).
The fact, however, that this guy was not only in her organization but was the head of “SarahPAC” is yet another example of the stunningly bad judgement Palin and her cohorts are capable of.
I’m sure Palin doesn’t have the resources to conduct extensive background checks on everyone that wants to help her out. But Coales has been a vocal advocate for Scientology for decades. Not knowing he’s a highly-placed Scientologist is like not knowing that Mitt Romney is a Mormon.
Scientology is already on trial in France, with prosecuters seeking to put them completely out of business on the grounds that the “church” is nothing but a front for criminal fraud (article in French). In Germany, Hubbard’s scheme isn’t recognized as a religion at all (and neither should it be). And of course, Scientology’s history in the United States alone is uglier than homemade sin.
The United States has some of the broadest freedom of religion laws on the planet, which is why Scientology (and other cults) thrive here. And to be honest, I like it that way. Even as a Christian myself, I’m a strong believer that religious exploration is healthy.
However, it’s also dangerous, and Scientology is an excellent example of this. Without question it is a criminal organization masquerading as a church, and should not be allowed to continue to operate as a church in this country. I applaud the German government, and the efforts of the French, to once and for all bring this long-running con to heel. And if Sarah Palin has any sense, she’ll do the same thing.
It "went on the wrong email"....
I saw this via the good folks at CrooksAndLiars.com, a website everyone should read, IMO.
First of all, for those of you about to come at me with the “isolated incident” and “don’t judge that entire party by the behavior of a few of its members” and “But Michael Steele is black!” arguments: you can just stow the bullshit right now. This is the legacy of the GOP’s famous “Southern Strategy” of the last forty years.
This is not an isolated incident. From the past year alone:
This is all on top of such actions as making established racist senator Jeff Sessions the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the recent efforts by the California GOP to resurrect Proposition 187 (blaming illegal aliens for the state’s economic problems is a California tradition), and the simple fact that when you turned on coverage of the GOP’s convention last year, you realized just how white the party of Lincoln has become: out of 2300 delegates, only 36 were African American.
Did the party leadership really believe that they could appeal to America’s racist fucks without actually becoming racist fucks themselves? Forty years of exploiting racism makes you racist, period–no matter what political payoff is. You lay down with dogs, you’re gonna get up with fleas.
The L. A. Time has an article about how conservatives–surprise, surprise–have changed their tune and are becoming increasingly critical of how the mainstream press reports on the war. Excerpts:
“The eminent military historian Sir John Keegan, now a military analyst for Britain’s Daily Telegraph and a great admirer of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, informed us that the embeds’ experience of training and serving alongside fighting troops would create a new generation of journalists, free of the skeptical and adversarial taint that has poisoned combat correspondence since the Vietnam War. Keegan’s American confrères more or less agreed.
As the war ground on — and so much of the news became so inconveniently bad — the tenor of this commentary changed. More recently, there has been a drumbeat of criticism alleging that the press corps in Iraq is misleading the American people because it is either too cowardly to leave the relative safety of the Green Zone, or too culturally biased to recognize what they see when they do….
“…THIS week, moreover, many of the right-wing’s most ardent press critics did a 180 and denounced correspondents for reporting too much out of Iraq. The stories they find so objectionable concern allegations that U.S. Marines executed as many as 24 civilians, including women and children, in the village of Haditha and, earlier, another civilian in Hamandiya…Thursday, the BBC obtained videotape that appeared to corroborate a report filed March 19 by Knight Ridder’s Matthew Schofield that U.S. soldiers may have executed as many as 11 Iraqi civilians in the town of Ishaqi. The victims included a 75-year-old woman and a 6-month-old infant.”
Pathetic. Just pathetic.
Look, I support our military. I absolutely believe in innocent until proven guilty and those soldiers are entitled to that right (the UMCJ notwithstanding, of course).
But the “conservatives” (read: Neo-cons, because they aren’t traditional conservatives, not by a long shot) need to understand something. This ain’t a World War II movie, where our soliders and our allies are the guys in the white hats. Our men and women in uniform are just as capable of committing atrocities and ignoring human rights during wartime and occupation as anyone else–moreso, IMO, thanks to the current political leadership.
If the Neo-cons were the loyal Americans they seem to think they are (ha), they’d call for a full investigation into any jackasses who are hurting the American effort by pulling this shit. And if said jackasses are found guilty, then they’d call for the jackasses and their leaders to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If a solider does this sort of thing, he or she is a traitor to the country. Period.
Too emotional to blog intelligently about this now….
