Vichy Dems

Al From on trial

Goddamn you Dr. Black, just when I want to get in some fragging time on Rainbow Six, you come up with these posts.

Taibbi on who's behind the campaign to shun the icky people.

Marshall also signed, at the outset of the war, a letter issued by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) expressing support for the invasion. Marshall signed a similar letter sent to President Bush put out by the conservative Social Democrats/USA group on Feb. 25, 2003, just before the invasion. The SD/USA letter urged Bush to commit to "maintaining substantial U.S. military forces in Iraq for as long as may be required to ensure a stable, representative regime is in place and functioning."

One of just a handful of Marshall's co-signatories on that letter was Bruce Jackson, who also happens to be the head of the PNAC (whose letter Marshall also signed) and the founder of the aforementioned Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. Jackson is not only a neo-con of high rank and one of the chief pom-pom wavers for the war effort. He was also a vice president in the weapons division of Lockheed-Martin between 1993 and 2002—meaning that he was one of the implied targets of Bowling for Columbine, which came out in Jackson's last year with the company.

Clearly, Marshall was thinking about the good of the Democratic Party, and not the integrity of his grimy little network of missile-humping cronies, when he and Al From made the curious—and curiously conspicuous—decision to denounce Moore, Hollywood and France at the DLC meeting in early November.

I'm tired of the collaborationist Dems.

Here's a hint: Michael Moore isn't your fucking problem, it's your inherent collaboration with the GOP. You support a foul, failed colonial war and you're now talking about a movie director being the wrong face of the Democratic Party? What the fuck is wrong with you? He makes movies. He isn't a party official. His opinion is no better or worse than any other person who votes Democratic.

Why are you people Democrats? What do you stand for?

My best guess, yourselves.

You don't represent anyone but your wallets. I have no use for the rich dilliants of Counterpunch and the ineffectual Greens. At the same time, you people, always ceding ground to the GOP make me sick. Either lead, fight or get the hell out the way. And given that the DNC is looking hard at Howard Dean as their next chief, you might want to sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up, as the SEALS say.

And here's a message to Kevin Drum, Big Media Matt and the rest of the Vichy Left:

Stop sucking up to your enemies.

Kevin, we knew you were gutless when you turned on Kos. You ran to jump on his back without pause. Now it's Atrios. I'm sorry they're more successful than you, but you keep running to the right be respectable whenever it serves your purposes. Michael Moore has real guts. You may not like what he says, but he doesn't run from his words. Do you think we're impressed with your straw man support for the Afghan War?
Moore took a stand and didn't flinch. You might learn from his example. Character can be catching.

Besides, you're going after the wrong person. You need to come after me and Kos, who oddly enough, have opposed the folly of Iraq from day one. I'm no scholar, but I can tell the difference between bullshit and fact. I've got two years of posts ridiculing you guys for your folly of supporting our colonial venture in Iraq. So if you want to jump on anyone, this is a good place to start. But since calling either one of us a pacifist would make even Glenn Reynolds laugh, you might want to go after my spelling or my prediction of a Kerry victory. Or the fact that Kos looks like he needs to be carded.

But going after Atrios for calling you on your bullshit is silly. He's not the man making the argument you guys fucked up. Get it right.

One day, you might actually admit that our colonial war in Iraq was futile and a waste of human lives, like most colonial ventures were. Until then, why should we take you seriously?

Matt, associating with Kevin Drum and Peter Beinhart is about as smart as wearing a Yankees cap in Fenway Park. You're a bright guy, but sucking up to the powers that be, or the Beltway Bandits will not get you a career. Drum couldn't wait to turn on Kos when he could make a contrarian point, and he'll jump on you when it suits him.

Josh Marshall did a bright thing: he moved to New York. Why is that bright? Because journalism in Washington is a fetid swamp of conflicting interests and backscratching. People like Beinhart have already sold out to a future of punditry and meaningless comments.

Being a contrarian is fine, just don't fall into the trap of having your enemies define your values. Michael Moore is your friend. He may not say things you like the way you like, but he shares your values. Don't let the GOP and their Vichy allies define him for you. When they attack him, they are attacking your core priniciples. Now, I may not agree with everything he says or does, but I know the people against him are not my friends. I know that they will attack him one day and me the next. Offering him up as a sacrificial lamb only gives aid and comfort to our opponents. It will not gain one democrat's support. So if you're jumping on Moore to get some sort of approval, you're wasting your time. Your friends will not defend you, and frankly, a lot of people are tired of you using GOP talking points, and your opponents will not defend you.

Atrios was not talking about "no enemies on the left", but not shitting on your friends. Moore, warts and all, is a friend. The Beltway Bandits defend the openly odious Pat Buchanan, despite his fascist views. There are plenty of people on the right who hate him, but they don't jump on him. Moore is not the enemy here. Blaming him as the face of liberalism is falling for GOP talking points. No one tags Buchanan as their face, do they? So don't play that game.

A lawyer's saying goes "never take advice from the opposition". Well, don't let the right define who your allies are or aren't.

posted by Steve @ 8:30:00 PM