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'My Pet Goat' doesn't count

Liberals read more than conservatives, and the head of the book publishing industry's trade group thinks she knows why.

"The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: 'No, don't raise my taxes, no new taxes,'" Pat Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, said in a recent interview. "It's pretty hard to write a book saying, 'No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes' on every page."

Schroeder, who as a Colorado Democrat was once one of Congress' most liberal House members, was responding to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that found people who consider themselves liberals are more prodigious book readers than conservatives.

She said liberals tend to be policy wonks who "can't say anything in less than paragraphs. We really want the whole picture, want to peel the onion."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, "Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I'm not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals."

Given that the Bush White House is made up of obfuscation specialists, whose mendacitry is unrivaled in modern times, maybe the left should take that as a compliment.

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111 Comments
hadenuf's picture

I really hate that onion analogy.
Absolutely nothing inside, and they make you cry.

But then, I'm a well read liberal.

JC's picture

Liberals read one more book per year then conservatives, 9 to 8. I wouldn't call that much of anything. Really not an eye opener to me.

Petro's picture

hadenuf @ 1:

I really hate that onion analogy.
Absolutely nothing inside, and they make you cry.

But then, I'm a well read liberal.

Now that's funny. An Existentialist Zen Master. ;)

kdjid's picture

Now that's spin. If conservatives read more, I'm sure they'll jump all over that. If they read less, it's because they don't complicate simple issues. How convenient.

The Decider's picture

We get our money buy selling gubnermint bonds. Then when a democrap getsin office, they have to raise taxes to pay off the bonds with interest. That way, only the RIGHT people get to spend money cause thats the RIGHT thing to do.

do-si-do's picture

Does this mean "Godless" is a coffee table book?

John Galt's picture

Really bad move on allowing adverts in the same column as the content guys.

ed's picture

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

He added, "You're either with us or against us; 9-11 changed everything; culture of life; war on terror."

Andy K's picture

JC @ 3:

Liberals read one more book per year then conservatives, 9 to 8. I wouldn't call that much of anything. Really not an eye opener to me.

The difference is in what each group considers a book. 6 of the 8 books read by conservatives happen to be collections of The Family Circus.

As evidenced by the Plame and Attorney General scandals, the conservatives love the Not Me character.

Carmikl's picture

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

Or you could look at it this way. The King James version of the Bible uses less than 6000 different words. William Shakespeare used roughly 20,000 words. If you confine all of your reading to the Bible, you're only gonna learn 6000 words.

nullbull's picture

Who cares who reads more? Here's what I want to know: Who governs better?

Reading shows intellectual curiosity, desire for knowledge, and a lot of other intangibles that are no doubt positive. But, then, I elect people so they can BE MY PRESIDENT OR MY CONGRESSPERSON - not a MEMBER OF MY BOOK CLUB.

nullbull's picture

PS - I think at this point in history, Democrats govern better.

The Decider's picture

Definition: "loquaciousness" (I never seen this word before)

1.Very talkative.

Thesaurus: chatty, garrulous, talkative, verbose, long-minded, prolix, wordy, babbling.

Uh.....I never seen these words before either. Isn't "Thesaurus" from the Flintstone era?

MargeAggedon's picture

Conservodroids hate intelligent people because they're a hell of a lot harder to lie to and scare.

Radically Moderate's picture

Well we know that Bushco LLC all read "Art of War' by Sun Tsu but were completely baffled by the Yin-Yang concept.
Good/Bad, Yin/Yang, Action=Reaction, Truth/Lies, With Us/Against Us, Wash Hands/Wipe Pants........
.......you know it's hard work........and we're working hard........

Radically Moderate's picture

MargeAggedon @ 15:

Conservodroids hate intelligent people because they're a hell of a lot harder to lie to and scare.

You could be paraphrasing Pol Pot,or Dick Cheney on that one.

hadenuf's picture

kaT @ 2:

Still watching the CNN special on religious zealots. Really, one of the huge problems in America is all of the foreign lobbies who scream if their own governments don't represent them and respond to their needs, but then they pressure the U. S. government to support their objectives which are very injurious to American citizens.

If people love Israel or Cuba or Mexico, they should stay in those countries and work to make them what they want. But they should stay out of the United States and other countries and not expect us to ignore our own best interests to help their countries.

I'm watching this special and it's just unbelievable how selfish and insular these religious zealots are.

I have no idea what your point is.
Was there anything in the show about the religious zealots in THIS country? You know, the ones trying to kill, censor, obstruct, deny, obfuscate, chill science?

As if CNN is news....

Johnny2Bad's picture

The Ryt donut reed mush atall. Thay seam ta perfur Desprit Houswyvz.

phlounder's picture

Bushbots don't read books because they already know everything there is worth knowing.

Mugsy's picture

Conservatives don't liketo read. They like their Talking Point brief and with as few details as possible.

I know this from (familial) experience.

Carmikl's picture

Carmikl @ 11:

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

Or you could look at it this way. The King James version of the Bible uses less than 6000 different words. William Shakespeare used roughly 20,000 words. If you confine all of your reading to the Bible, you're only gonna learn 6000 words.

Let me correct this before someone else does.

Or you could look at it this way. The King James version of the Bible uses less than 12143 different English words. William Shakespeare used roughly 31534 different English words. If you confine all of your reading to the Bible, you're only gonna learn 12143 different English words.

I'm getting older and I really shouldn't trust my memory all that much

The Decider's picture

What me read?

hadenuf's picture

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

The exact opposite is true. The undereducated and/or brainwashed like things simple. It doesn't require a quantity of words to obfuscate. Often repeated lies suffice. The well educated, those who think, may not require someone else's loquaciousness, but may have more patience for it, to see if the speaker is actually logical. Or sane.

slippytoad's picture

Now that we've established that conservatives are intellectually lazier than liberals, let's see what that gets us: in a more complex world where information is severely important and ignorance can cost you your job, your business, your family, your life, and your planet, what advantages can conservatives expect over liberals? "Less Obfuscation?" I doubt it. How about "Lack of Motivation?" Or "No Unnecessary Information?"

Face it, Fratto, you're the latest mouthpiece of the most successful C student of all time. Conservatism has been put into a crucible by the Neo-Cons and boiled down to the most basic truth: ignorant and incurious people can appeal to the lowest common denominator and seize power without taking any trouble to demonstrate their competence. I dub Conservatism to be the founding principle of a new style of government. Not a monarchy. Not a Democracy.

A Mediocracy. Government by the least capable.

Rick Duncan's picture

"Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals" -- Tony Fratto.

Hey Fratto, here it is, short and sweet " DON'T FUCK WITH MY COUNTRY!"

Short enough for ya?

BC's picture

Liberals think more than conservatives too. This reading revelation is nothing more than more evidence the the fact.

=my2c
BC

hadenuf's picture

The funny thing is, the audience Fratto's talking to won't know the meaning of the words he's using. I would think he'd be alienating them with those 4 syllable words.

moniker's picture

I read three internets this summer.

baylaw73's picture

ed @ 9:

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

He added, "You're either with us or against us; 9-11 changed everything; culture of life; war on terror."

What he meant to say was: "The ignorant jackasses that vote for Republicans don't have the mental capacity to read anything of substance. We prefer well-trained monkeys who live off of sound bites and Orwellian spin." On the other hand, the number of books read tell us nothing. WHAT books do libs and conservatives read? Isn't that a more meaningful comparison?

tyree's picture

JC @ 3:

Liberals read one more book per year then conservatives, 9 to 8. I wouldn't call that much of anything. Really not an eye opener to me.

yeah but when you consider most thoes books the conservitives read are comic books or eight page bibles well enough said!

tyree's picture

look at the movie industry they have had to start makeing movies based on comic book heros to satisfy the mentality of the repigs!

jr's picture

The connie anchors and hosts condition the mouth-breathers that education is what the "cultural elites" care about

Radically Moderate's picture

Carl Rove has probably read as much as Paul Krugman. So beside the obvious, what's the difference between these two?
Cognitive Dissonance vs Critical Thinking
Carl Rove=bad Paul Krugman=good
Oh Snap! Am I showing my Liberal bias again?

JohnnyThief's picture

Radically Moderate @ 16:

Well we know that Bushco LLC all read "Art of War' by Sun Tsu but were completely baffled by the Yin-Yang concept.
Good/Bad, Yin/Yang, Action=Reaction, Truth/Lies, With Us/Against Us, Wash Hands/Wipe Pants........
.......you know it's hard work........and we're working hard........

Nope. Sun Tsu would never have approved of the Iraq war,... a war against a country that posed no threat, to make the top 1% richer? Not in a thousand years,...

Snowball's picture

Nobody but Rupert Murdock and Richard Mellon-Scaife buy Conservative books anyway so they can give them out for free. Regnery is a corporate subsidized industry that has no real consumer base.

Dave's picture

Liberals read more because they're not busy check their online financial statements every hour.

Google_Meister's picture

tyree @ 32:

look at the movie industry they have had to start makeing movies based on comic book heros to satisfy the mentality of the repigs!

Thank you! Years ago, I studied the Entertainment industry in Los Angeles, although and excellent educational experience that has helped me in life and career, I came to realize these 'movie people' are the biggest pussies of all, caving in to sanitizing, whitewashing, and outright propaganda for the 'conservative commentators', and real thought and art is just a pipe dream...sad, but true

Dahgrostab'ph-r-i's picture

I've always said Republicans are ignorant and this just goes to show!

Snowball's picture

slippytoad @ 25:

Now that we've established that conservatives are intellectually lazier than liberals, let's see what that gets us: in a more complex world where information is severely important and ignorance can cost you your job, your business, your family, your life, and your planet, what advantages can conservatives expect over liberals? "Less Obfuscation?" I doubt it. How about "Lack of Motivation?" Or "No Unnecessary Information?"

Face it, Fratto, you're the latest mouthpiece of the most successful C student of all time. Conservatism has been put into a crucible by the Neo-Cons and boiled down to the most basic truth: ignorant and incurious people can appeal to the lowest common denominator and seize power without taking any trouble to demonstrate their competence. I dub Conservatism to be the founding principle of a new style of government. Not a monarchy. Not a Democracy.

A Mediocracy. Government by the least capable.

I'm not sure. Having worked in the corporate world my entire life I've observed being ignorant, docile and ruthless towards your workmates is the fast track to being promoted. Being tall doesn't hurt either. That said, I'm short, hard working, amiable and helpful to my workmates. Yes, I can keep a job and get good reviews, but I also don't get those nice promotions.

tyree's picture

Google_Meister @ 38:

tyree @ 32:

look at the movie industry they have had to start makeing movies based on comic book heros to satisfy the mentality of the repigs!

Thank you! Years ago, I studied the Entertainment industry in Los Angeles, although and excellent educational experience that has helped me in life and career, I came to realize these 'movie people' are the biggest pussies of all, caving in to sanitizing, whitewashing, and outright propaganda for the 'conservative commentators', and real thought and art is just a pipe dream...sad, but true

yes its so sad that the movie industrys become no better then tv, their was a time when movies were well made and really had great lessons for life and a time when novelests wrote books worth makeing movies from , now its mostly trashy dime novels and trashy not worth a dime movies , many are made but few have what it takes to intertain!

BDM's picture

What's mendacitry?

Google_Meister's picture

BDM @ 42:

What's mendacitry?

:-) I think it's a misspelling, men·da·cious means: given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute (I had to look it up!)

I know! I'm too smart! 'They' are going to knock down my door and I'll never be heard from again!

Radically Moderate's picture
Charlie's picture

If conservatives don't read, who is buying Ann Coulter? Oh, that's right AEI.

editorkid's picture

People are overlooking something obvious: Republicans read fewer books because they write more books. For every book they write to set forth a new policy, they have to write a book to explain why the reason the policy failed was the Democrat Party.

FreeDUMB's picture

More interesting I think is the choice of book to read. Conservatives seem much more interested in the glorious past than they are of preparing for a sustainable future.

Whoa's picture

How many books does one need to read to scream, "Nazi Repugs!!"

Jim's picture

It's mendacity, not mendacitry - so much for our side being "well-read," eh?

burt's picture

a republican world is a simpler world. less reading. use a bigger hammer

daveinboca's picture

[Deleted. Try to make your point, in any of your four languages, without insult or namecalling. Shouldn't be too difficult for such a clever conservative?]

Ellie's picture

Liberals have been so vilified by Repugs and ass-kissing Dems alike, that we're just always bad and always to blame, even in the same breath.

I remember a food critic being interviewed on an Air America morning show going from expounding on how liberals were slaves to their desires to directly asserting-- with the enthusiastic agreement of the "liberal" hosts -- that the people more likely to eat with honest to goodness gusto were "real" conservatives with their lusty REALness blah blah blah. Apparently liberals had morphed into picky fussy eaters.

This occured in the same sentence!

No one participating in this circle jerk wondered about the contradiction of the depraved appetite-driven liberals going from being incapable of controlling themselves around things like FOOD to being incapable of eating with abandon. Yep. We're just plain rotten.

YBNurmal's picture

“Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

^ Pot please meet kettle. v

“Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of republics.”

alley's picture

Read a book? If you so much as suggest reading a book to most people they will tell you they don't have time to read.
I tell them yes you do, You don't have to sit down and read it cover to cover in one sitting and that they can do it over several months if they like and maybe they just might find a book that they can't put down and they will find they really do have the time to read.
But today books can be published yet book burning exist for it has been replaced by a state of mind.

Radically Moderate's picture

daveinboca @ 51:

[Refers to deleted "conservative" whine]

TROLL ALERT!
Troll telling fart jokes gotta be a White House Aide!

Eternal Vigilance's picture

Lamentably yes, the presiding Attorney General's obfuscatory propensity knows no satiety.

Zenrage's picture

simple minds can only handle simple slogans.

OxyCon's picture

Repubs can't help themselves but to be mendacious, deceitful liars. Take Fratto's comments for example, which proves that a Repub's goal is never to educate or arrive at the truth, but rather to deceive, muddle and confuse. The study in question arrived at the fact that Liberals read MORE books than right wingtards, NOT LARGER books, which Fratto's comments suggest.

Shell5960w's picture

"White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

hahahahaha I love his using "obfuscation" and "loquaciousness." Words his base wouldn't understand.

This is easy -- BUSH's book of choice is My Pet Goat. The only book he's read in 30 years, no doubt.

rcm's picture

I agree. Beyond the sloganeering.. the GOP is hollow nut.

Dr. Matt's picture

Reich-wingers are too busy drooling while watching their Faux and listening to their a.m hate radio to bother opening a book.

sharkcellar's picture

John Galt @ 8:

Really bad move on allowing adverts in the same column as the content guys.

I fucking second this big time! Isn't that what the gutters are for?

[...] ‘My Pet Goat’ doesn’t count » This article link is from an article posted at Crooks and Liars on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 [...]

ticktock's picture

Love the liberals and I am one too..

But you can easily lose an audience's attention whose priorities are feeding, clothing, and putting a roof over their families heads...

Not politics...

So I do believe we could benefit not from slogans but from clear, concise, intelligent, and direct statements that have an impact on people...

And clarify our position regarding these issues...

Svelt's picture

Tony Fratto completely validated Colbert's whole Truthiness rant. Don't trust the words. Truth is something you feel in your gut, not understand with your brain. Words are the enemy.

tiredofitall's picture

“White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

Someone needs to remind Tony Fratto of what should be a self-evident truth - that the president is president of ALL the people - not just conservatives. By singling out liberals for his condescension, he demonstrates that this administration remains unwilling to rise above petty politicization.

So um Tony...how many words are required "to catapult the propaganda?" Hmmm?

jimbo92107's picture

“Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles..."

Oh, really? Does lying usually require a lot of words?

- Compassionate Conservatism (biggest lie of the 21st century?)
- Culture of Life (violent fanatics who shoot doctors, harass poor women, and scream for the death penalty - for blacks)
- Spirit of Bipartisanship (record numbers of filibusters, veto threats and recess appointments)
- Support Our Troops (BushCo sent 160 thousand troops into a needless war/occupation with inadequate weapons, supplies and medical care)
- Clear Skies (a free-for-all of pollution deregulation for the coal industry)
- Faith-Based [you name it] (the utter abdication of the vital separation of church and state, thus poisoning both)

How many of the malignant, deceptive initiatives of this administration fit neatly onto a bumper sticker? This is just a small sample of the deliberately over-simplified bullshit that has emerged from the Madison Avenue sharks hired by BushCo to bamboozle the American people.

The only real difference between the truth and lies is that the truth can be verified, measured and counted by legitimate scientists and researchers. Just so happens that scientists and researchers are the enemies of people like Tony Fratto. That's why BushCo works so hard to shut them up.

x174's picture

Teh Chief Obstructionist

x174's picture
Ellie's picture

ticktock @ 64:

Love the liberals and I am one too..

But you can easily lose an audience's attention whose priorities are feeding, clothing, and putting a roof over their families heads...

Not politics...
...

Why would you assume that because I -- like any one here -- am interested in politics, we're not looking after family or struggling to make our way in the world? For me, concern about the state of things is part and parcel of looking out for myself and my family.

It's not some abstract leisure activity for idle gentlemen to indulge, l ike billiards at the fancy club or port and cigars while the ladies have an hour of breathing time outside the confines of their corsets.

I care about "politics" because I want those that I love who are older not to be deprived of the security they deserve after putting so much into the system that promised they would be cared for,

I want those younger than me to have the opportunities to flourish while developing the best in themselves rather than rotting away at three McJobs that won't even support a family, just because that's the extent to which Bush/Cheney raped the economy.

So no, "politics" isn't some pointless, empty brain exercise. There's a lot of hard work, talent and generosity in the blogosphere from people willing to share their expertise and passion to pick up where public servants and media have abandoned their responsibilities

ruth's picture

[Deleted. Flamebait-Sitemonitor]

frank's picture

Comic books do not count!

Another typical fascist strategy:
* denounce the intellectuals
iirc it is even in Goerings famous quite.

myiq2xu's picture

The AP-Ipsos poll found 22 percent of liberals and moderates said they had not read a book within the past year, compared with 34 percent of conservatives.

Among those who had read at least one book, liberals typically read nine books in the year, with half reading more than that and half less. Conservatives typically read eight, moderates five.

By slightly wider margins, Democrats tended to read more books than Republicans and independents. There were no differences by political party in the percentage of those who said they had not read at least one book.

The poll involved telephone interviews with 1,003 adults and was conducted August 6 to 8. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

There are so many issues here. First of all, the validity of the survey is questionable. It's like surveys that ask people what they watch on television, and they claim to watch way more PBS and way less Jerry Springer than they actually do.

Secondly, what books are they supposedly reading? Fiction, non-fiction, poetry or what?

What I found most astounding was that moderates supposedly read only five books, compared to nine for us DFH's and eight for wingnuts. Are these the voters that Old Weird Harold at the DLC covets so badly?

CanadianInChina's picture

I'm surprised the wingnuts hate Hollywood so much considering how much Hollywood has dumbed down the population and has made knowledge a thing to be ridiculed. The example that always come to mind for me was that show "Friends" where anytime the paleontologist character tried to educate the other characters he was quickly shot-down and ridiculed. It was complete glorification of ignorance. I have to wonder how many school aged children took cues from that. Sickening.

marie's picture

911truth @ 70:

the correct title is "The Pet Goat", not "My Pet Goat"

And I seem to remember that the children were reading the story to Bush. he wasn't actually reading it.

tHeGaMeOfLiFe's picture

turd the boy "genesis." What a fn joke.

Gawd, it never stops. chimpy and his gang continue to spew non-sense and lies.
repugs don't consider extra fees as new taxes nor do they consider taxes placed on selective items, such as the dereded "snack tax.
repugs don't consider taxes placed on services as a "new taxes." Who do they think they are fooling? My pockets feel very light these days. He sure ain't fooling the majority of the people.

The 29%ers, the minority, is fucking up everything.

Why aren't our reps listening to the majority? Surely they shouldn't care what the 29%ers think...the party that disregards the constitution and uses our troops to protect bigass companies and Israel.

"king" chimpy will never control of the Middle East. And why should he? Why should Middle Eastern countries comply and surrender to these so-called Western demands? Why should the Middle East answer to Westerns so-called self-made watch groups? Why should the Middle East be under Western standards? These repug assholes should face the truth, nukes are over there.

The whole Middle Eastern debacle is skewed. It stinks to high heaven. It's crooked as hell.

rove is a legend in his own turd.

Capabilty Jones's picture

People whose minds are closed feel no need to exepand their understanding. Look at the best seller's rack for the tripe that the typical conservatard reads.

fwacbar's picture

I have a majority of very right wing conservative anti-christ christian types in my familly. I know some of them only read the bible, and anything by James Dobson et.al. I picked up one of the Dobson books once, read a bit where the book had opened, and he was talking about how to 'beat the devil out of your children'. I confronted my sister and wanted to know if she beat her children, she said no and her husband, a very good dem agreed they did not beat their kids. My point is this, if they spend their time reading books that a) tell them everyone that ain't just like them is evil and should die, and b) they should beat their kids, this does not count as 'reading a book'. I bet the actual number of 'books' the pubes read is way less than 8 if you throw out the bullshit....

Brian's picture

Where did this Tony Frattoge come from?

[...] Liberals are better read than conservatives. Hardly a news flash. Liberals read more than conservatives, and the head of the book publishing [...]

pinhead's picture

so that's why i can't keep my comments essays short and am known as the babbling discombobulator (just kidding...that's usually not in their vocabulary) among wingnuts, who can only spout mere canned, platitudinous talking points & slogans, and sling words like "stupid" and "loony lib" in response...^_^

pinhead's picture

CanadianInChina @ 73:

I'm surprised the wingnuts hate Hollywood so much considering how much Hollywood has dumbed down the population and has made knowledge a thing to be ridiculed. The example that always come to mind for me was that show "Friends" where anytime the paleontologist character tried to educate the other characters he was quickly shot-down and ridiculed. It was complete glorification of ignorance. I have to wonder how many school aged children took cues from that. Sickening.

don't forget the high-profile/super-star hollywoodies they tend to nominate to play roles as governor and president- fred thompson, arnold swarzenegger, ronnie reagan...etc.

wvng's picture

Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

Several people have commented on this, but I want to weigh in as well. As with much bush&co-speak, the exact opposite is true. It is remarkably easy to say something that is untrue in a sentence. And it often requires paragraphs to refute. Years ago, a wingnut letter to the editor in the Harrisonburg, VA paper said that Stephen J. Gould's theory of punctuated equilibrium had disproved evolution by natural selection and offered nothing in its place. Absolute hogwash, of course, but refuting that sentence to a general audience required educating of that audience, i.e. paragraphs.

I suspect that is true as a general rule. And the reThugs are masters at creating slogans that require laying some gorundwork to refute. Hard to do in our ADHD world - and they depend on that.

smchris's picture

liberals typically read nine books in the year, with half reading more than that and half less. Conservatives typically read eight, moderates five.

I guess if the extra book is Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, or something, I'd be impressed but the difference between eight and nine doesn't seem terribly significant. The statistic that moderates only read five books, on the other hand, is fascinating. Perhaps they should be called the "undecideds" because they haven't read enough to have firm opinions?

Big Dan's picture

Has anyone ever seen this? The day before 9/11 (9/10), Rumsfeld announces publicly, that the Pentagon has "lost" $2.3 TRILLION dollars. That $$$ was NEVER found, the issue was never pursued, and then you have Republicans always crying about some single "welfare Mom" collecting a hundred dollars!!!!

And $9 Billion CASH of our taxpayer $$$ was lost in Iraq, remember that?

How come these huge amounts of taxpayer $$$ are never pursued??? And the media stops reporting on these stories???

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UaMxaykpi5o

BaScOmBe's picture

repugs simply have a problem with the concept of thinking. the modern repug can't listen to more than a 15-second sound-bite.

even true conservatives think. not that there's anything good about a conservative, but they are at least able to explain their biases in sentence form.

sovereignjohn's picture

Bill Clinton bombed Iraq almost continuously his whole term in office he also held Iraq in sanctions that killed (at the time) 500,000 children to which Madlin Albright said was just. Today over a million Iraqis men, women, children and babies have died and Bill Clinton was part of the slaughter. So we Liberals may read more but apparently we're reading Mein Kamp.

Someday perhaps we'll tell the Republicats to go to hell.

BaScOmBe's picture

sovereignjohn @ 86:

Bill Clinton bombed Iraq almost continuously his whole term in office he also held Iraq in sanctions that killed (at the time) 500,000 children to which Madlin Albright said was just. Today over a million Iraqis men, women, children and babies have died and Bill Clinton was part of the slaughter. So we Liberals may read more but apparently we're reading Mein Kampf.

Someday perhaps we'll tell the Republicats to go to hell.

john bourne harbour's picture

BaScOmBe @ 87:

sovereignjohn @ 86:

Bill Clinton bombed Iraq almost continuously his whole term in office he also held Iraq in sanctions that killed (at the time) 500,000 children to which Madlin Albright said was just. Today over a million Iraqis men, women, children and babies have died and Bill Clinton was part of the slaughter. So we Liberals may read more but apparently we're reading Mein Kampf.

Someday perhaps we'll tell the Republicats to go to hell.

mein kampf??? no, . . we are actually reading "uncle john's bathroom reader"

Blue Buddha's picture

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

...he said in a loquacious manner. Wow, if he wasn't trying to be sarcastic, I'd say his statement is ironic as hell.

Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.
Exec #3: What was that about hats again?

myiq2xu's picture

Somebody should tell the wingnuts the difference between "book" and "bumper sticker."

Dr. Acula's picture

Didn't the chimp claim to read "3 Shakespeares"?

myiq2xu's picture

john bourne harbour @ 90:

Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.
Exec #3: What was that about hats again?

Faux News: Look over there, something shiny!

Into the Abyss's picture

Worthless troglodyte conservatives are too busy burning books to stop and read them.

Paul's picture

Principles!?! From Republican progandists??!??

Ok...Here's some of their simply stated principles:

"The seductive, eagerly-welcomed lie can always be simply stated."

"The Path of Least Resistance is the manipulator's Golden Path."

"Cultivate the worst and ugliest instincts in people and thus teach them the ways of the Path of Least Resistance".

"Never reason when you can manipulate".

"There is nothing so delicious upon the tongue as a well-crafted lie."

"If you can bring out the worst in others, they will serve you."

"All others are mere objects in my environment, to be manipulated as suits me. Nobody but myself matters".

"Only I am real. Only I have substance. Event only have significance if they happen to me."

"Do as you please to others, they don't matter."

"Never unite when you can divide."

"Do not trouble yourself seeking your own inate power as a human being if you can more easily steal that power from another"

"People are to be used and then discarded".

"All for one and all for one! Let's hear it for me!".

"It's better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven".

"Virtue is a crime, and crime is a virtue."

"Repitition makes truth"

"If the ends serve me personally, then the ends always justify the means."

"The is no morality. Only power and the will to power".

"If a million must die for my privileges, then a million must die for my privileges."

"It's a dog-eat-dog world. Therefore, dog-eating is perfectly moral".

"Predation. It's what we do."

"Fear is a weapon. Arm youirself with fear."

"A trust that is honored is a trust that is wasted. A trust that is left unbetrayed is an opportunity that is lost."

"A penny stolen is a penny earned."

"If you really want it, you can figure out how to justify the way you go about getting it."

"The price of admission is for others to pay."

"Let those who won't be born for another fifty years pick up the tab for our life-long partying. Fuck 'em - we won't be here."

"You victim's victimhood is always their fault."

"God is always on our side."

"I never do anything wrong."

"Whatever we do is always righteous."

"The only thing wealth is useful for is the acquisition of power."

"If you have power, you need no wealth - what wealth could buy is already yours."

"Power has no purpose if it isn't used."

"People are stupid. They deserve what you give them."

"How dare you judge me? I'm better than you. I am above you and your judgments."

I could do this all day. I must acknowledge that Tony Fratto is right: Republican/neocon/conservative/religious right principles are easily stated.

pinhead's picture

nice collection paul.

Paul's picture

John Galt @ 7:

Really bad move on allowing adverts in the same column as the content guys.

Agreed.

MargeAggedon's picture

Radically Moderate @ 16:

MargeAggedon @ 15:

Conservodroids hate intelligent people because they're a hell of a lot harder to lie to and scare.

You could be paraphrasing Pol Pot,or Dick Cheney on that one.

And it would be funny if someone else said it I guess.

MargeAggedon's picture

sharkcellar @ 61:

John Galt @ 8:

Really bad move on allowing adverts in the same column as the content guys.

I fucking second this big time! Isn't that what the gutters are for?

Get firefox and Noscript. Poof. No ads.

Nyc W. Alberts's picture

From Mamet's "Wag The Dog:"

MOSS
I'm a Jew in Show Business. Why come to me?

BREAN
I'm gonna tell you why...

BREAN LEANS CONSPIRATORIALLY, OVER TOWARD MOSS.

BREAN
Here's the Short Course: Fifty-Four, Forty or Fight.
What does that mean?

MOSS
Uh, it's a slogan. From, uh...

BREAN
Remember the Maine...

MOSS
That's from the ... it's got to be from the...

BREAN
Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!

MOSS
...uh ... No, that's...

BREAN
We remember the slogans, we can't even remember the
fucking wars. Y'know why. Cause it's show business.
That's why I'm here. Naked girl, covered in Napalm.
Five marines Raising the Flag, Mount Suribachi.
Churchill, V for Victory, Y'remember the Picture, fifty
years from now, they'll have forgotten the war. Gulf
War? Smart Bomb, falling through the roof. 2500
missions a day, 100 days, One Shot of One Bomb. The
American people bought that war. M'I getting through
to you? War in the Balkans, don't mean nothing, till
some G.I. flyer, went down, Eating Snakes for Ten days.
N'then It's show business, Mister Moss. That's why
I'm here.

Movie's 10 years old and we're still having this conversation today....

~Nyc

JH's picture

I like how they expose themselves. What do you think about liberals reading more? I told you they talk more! Dear Conservative friends...talk...read...different. Maybe, being used to moving their lips while reading, they think it's the same. Maybe liberals are better at reading to themselves also. Shhhh!

wamato's picture

“It’s pretty hard to write a book saying, ‘No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes’ on every page.”
--
I guess that's why they started writing books that say "liberals are traitors, liberals are traitors, liberals are traitors" on every page instead.

"No new taxes" is so pre-9/11.

Duncan's picture

“It’s pretty hard to write a book saying, ‘No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes’ on every page.”

Dunno, Coulter does it. If you can call what she excretes 'books'.

hello's picture

tyree @ 30:

JC @ 3:

Liberals read one more book per year then conservatives, 9 to 8. I wouldn't call that much of anything. Really not an eye opener to me.

yeah but when you consider most thoes books the conservitives read are comic books or eight page bibles well enough said!

Hey! As a (Golden Age) comic book freak, I resemble that remark!

I wouldn't dream of considering the bible as serious reading though, even if it was the Classics Illustrated, King James version.

lynchcheney's picture

"White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles.."

--So I guess that's why the Tax Code is so complex, all to the benefit of well-connected Conservative fat cats.

hello's picture

MargeAggedon @ 99:

sharkcellar @ 61:

John Galt @ 8:

Really bad move on allowing adverts in the same column as the content guys.

I fucking second this big time! Isn't that what the gutters are for?

Get firefox and Noscript. Poof. No ads.

Yeah, but don't the ads pay for sites like this one, therefore making them able to more easily survive? One doesn't need to click on the links or anything, even in Internet Explorer. My concern is that the advertisers might pull out and stop supporting sites like C&L if they feel it's not worth pouring their precious dollars into.

Yes, I'm an advertising concern troll.

dirk gently's picture

White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded, “Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I’m not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals.”

well, that was succinct.

George's picture

But wasn't it Schroeder who said a few years ago that libraries were bad for publishers because the people who use them are freeloading?

ysbaddaden's picture

Does Capt. Underpants count?

ticktock's picture

Ellie @ 69:

ticktock @ 64:

Love the liberals and I am one too..

But you can easily lose an audience's attention whose priorities are feeding, clothing, and putting a roof over their families heads...

Not politics...
...

Why would you assume that because I -- like any one here -- am interested in politics, we're not looking after family or struggling to make our way in the world? For me, concern about the state of things is part and parcel of looking out for myself and my family.

It's not some abstract leisure activity for idle gentlemen to indulge, l ike billiards at the fancy club or port and cigars while the ladies have an hour of breathing time outside the confines of their corsets.

I care about "politics" because I want those that I love who are older not to be deprived of the security they deserve after putting so much into the system that promised they would be cared for,

I want those younger than me to have the opportunities to flourish while developing the best in themselves rather than rotting away at three McJobs that won't even support a family, just because that's the extent to which Bush/Cheney raped the economy.

So no, "politics" isn't some pointless, empty brain exercise. There's a lot of hard work, talent and generosity in the blogosphere from people willing to share their expertise and passion to pick up where public servants and media have abandoned their responsibilities

You are going way over board regarding my clarification. It makes me sad when somebody lashes out indicating that I had inferred "politics" isn't some pointless, empty brain exercise". Did I say or even indicate this? No. You are wrong to even implicate me in such a manner. Furthermore, I did not indicate that I am not grateful for any information that is expressed "in the blogosphere" by anyone's expertise in any particular arena. Again, you are wrong to even implicate me in such a manner.

All I am referring to is that when anyone has anything to broadcast regarding an opinion, information, or "passion" on the "blogosphere" or where ever it would be a better strategy to be:

Concise
Deliberate
Intelligent
Articulate

and also I may add;

Consistent

Lastly, if your opinion or strategy does evolve, you better have a damn good reason for it.....

David in NYC's picture

This is not new, really. Take a look at this:

I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it.

-- John Stuart Mill, letter to the Conservative MP, Sir John Pakington (March, 1866):

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRmill.htm

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