Bob Somerby: Meet the Narrative
By John Amato Monday Aug 04, 2008 3:00pm
[image from Left Wing Conspiracy click for larger]
Words to the wise by The Daily Howler:
As has long been noted, voters prefer Democrats on most major issues; this has been the case for years. For that reason, Republicans have largely built White House campaigns around alleged issues of "character." Especially in the Clinton-Gore era, the mainstream press corps played along, giving loud voice to comic-book claims. (Al Gore was raised at the Ritz!) Today, Obama is said to be haughty, pretentious--much like the others before him.
In the process, punishing narratives have locked into place about those haughty Dems. (John Edwards had a big house!) If you're didn't finish fifth from the bottom when you were in college-if you actually know what you're talking about-you're slammed for gross condescension. At present, this is how White House elections get decided-and liberal elites have done an extremely poor job explaining this bull-roar to the public.
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It's like Carlos Mencia said.
"I want a President who's smarter than me."
How can one not think of the movie 'Idiocracy' in this context?
HEY!
Do we know anyone with a hairy back into which we can shave a picture of McCain?
What a deal!
It's easy to run on a platform of stupid when you've cornered the market on it. Reslugs make rolling in your own ignorance something to be proud of and the stupid follow them in droves.
I'd rather have an educated elitist
Then the average Bush who got C's or was it D's
I got a tautology for you:
Isn't egalitariainism a form of elitism
Because you presume you are as important
As an elite?
tardigrade @ 3:
That would be me.
Damn Scottish heritage.
You lose hair where you want it
And gain it where you don't.
Annie Liebowitz once said, "...if people voted for self interest instead of self regard, there wouldn't be a Republican Party."
Redneck racist right wing country fucks that listen to Toby Keith outnumber the freethinking progressives. This country will be
forever fucked because poor and rich and middle class whites continue to think that America is home of justice and liberty.
It is insane when a nascar dad who is downsized and penniless with a 1800 dollar a month truck payment and a dead son in
Arlington cometary votes for politicians whose policies are in direct opposition to his self interest. Tools, dull and poorly crafted
tools.
VJBinCT @ 2:
Why come you don't have tatoo?
I've been pounding this point for months. We have now reached a point in this country where being smart is a bad thing in politics. It really started with Chimpy. A dumb fuck who most idiot Americans could relate to. He was someone they wanted to have a beer with. Apparently, that is now how we select a president.
You want to know why the US is a crumbling, declining, decaying joke? Look at who its leaders are. The bar has been lowered to a scary level....just to appease rednecks in the Midwest and South who would never vote for some "pussy, elitist Democrat."
The US is pathetic. Man, I can't wait to leave.
mccain-mclame @ 1:
Exactly, someone smart enough to get me cheaper gas
Does his girlfriend have any number cut outs anywhere on her body? Or perhaps she is numbering her dates.
THE GOP CAN'T RUN ON ISSUES
All they've got is BS, fake/fraudulent 'character' fairytales...
If the GOP ran on 'their issues' they'd never win an election...
The American People must be smarter this election....
your not going to get the message to the public in the county i live in where the high school graduation rate is approximately 45%.....but it does offer plenty of warm bodies for the military
If the GOP can succesfully sell Chicago South-side raised Michelle Obama as an elitist, over the beer heiress born with millions in her piggy bank Cindy McCain, then they DESERVE the White House because America won't deserve anything better.
Drilling solves nothing (aka right wing hater) @ 13:
Sorry,
but you are placing hope on the American people, as far as i can tell we are a nation of idiots.
john j @ 11:
"I didn't complain when gas was over $4/Gal, I figured I was just getting better gas."
-Stephen Colbert-
john j @ 11:
Smart enough not to embarrass me weekly.
If the truth is told about the votes of McSame over the past twenty six years, it will reveal a real character flaw. He is a liar who poses as something he is not. Tell the truth about Keating 5, his stay in Hanoi Hilton, his stonewalling the MIA investigations. and more especially the 95% votes with the Bush Crime Family.
Check out the new ad
"They're lying about what my energy plan is," he says. And "they're making fun of a step that every expert says would reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4 percent. It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0808/Obama_responds_Its_like_thes...
mccain-mclame @ 1:
Mencia stole that from me.
Fux Nooz is still at it, of course: This AM I was forced to watch it while in a store, and saw the morning gang of
arrogant elitist assh0lespundits pushing a long discussion about how "the average person just doesn't know who Obama is - whereas people know McSame, he is a known quantity"... I guess this is simply Dogwhistle for "elitist", a term which perhaps even the Fux goons have come to realize isn't being bought by the American people any more.my $0.02 -
Maybe half our country is afraid to have an intelligent educated president because they think he or she won't understand their needs or something. They think this person isn't a regular person but some Mr. or Ms Smarty Britches. I'm just guessing here because I'm trying to understand.
Being highly educated doesn't always mean that someone has good judgment and common sense. Believe me, I have a member of my family who is educated out the ying yang, but you have to tell her to close the door when she goes outside.
Having said all that, that's what these campaigns are for, to show us all sides of the candidate. We are looking for someone to fill the position of the most difficult job in the world. Someone who could be asked to make life or death decisions at a moments notice and someone who has the common sense and judgment to lead our country toward a positive future. If some want to call a person like that an elitist, fine by me, just as long as that person gets the job.
I'm reminded of my favorite George Carlin quote:
Leadership @ 8:
Thanks! Time for another pill. Do you mind if I call you Cpt. Buzzkill? I like your metaphor, that's what the second pill is for. What is it, 2/3 of the country that's stuck in the 14th century? jesus fucking christ!
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 24:
I think he meant median, not average.
:^)
[Deleted. Off topic. Please take it to an Open Thread. Site Monitor]
The "would like to drink beer with" argument only works on the 30% that are ignoramusi. I'm still waiting for an explanation for the 20% - 25% of the voters that are "independent" who have/would vote for Bush/McSame.
john j @ 20:
Oh man, thank you so much for linking to that video. That was so good! I laughed out loud when he said McCain was going to drill below his feet wherever he was when he said it. He handled that whole tire gauge thing like a total pro. One of Obama's best moments!
Vote for OUR guy; he's a COMPLETE cretin!! Yeah!!
Rusty 666 Shackleford @ 26:
I merely quoted the man. I leave the nit picking to the tight-assed librarian types.
BTW, was my grammar and punctuation OK?
Keep demonizing the GOP and denigrating everyone else and we'll never win the White House again.
Since when do Democrats hate democracy?
so the republican message is: unless you're an underachieving, alcoholic, bottom-of-the-class, underprivileged, red necked, Joe schmoe you're not good enough to be president.
that's good to know.
in the annals of 'holy fuckin shit' the redefining of "elite" is simply astonishing
the msm, the right wing--and even some on the left--have accepted and internalized this fucked up redefinition.
crazy. insane.
pissed off patricia @ 28:
Who keeps saying he doesn't attack McCain? That was fantastic.
Everyone needs to hope over to the link john j. posted at comment 20. You'll enjoy the hell out of it and see a kinda new Obama. He's funny as hell and makes a hell of a point.
myiq2xu @ 31:
Since when did you start hating America?
pissed off patricia @ 35:
Oops, hop over don't hope over
Leadership @ 8:
You said it!
Ron @ 34:
I know, It was a classic. Is McCain still sure he wants to have quaint little town hall meetings with this guy?
The interesting thing about most of us Americans is that, despite all the bluster, we really have a profound insecurity complex. The bluster is just a cover for it. Hence the hatred for europeans who speak multiple languages, and the smug arrogance of the French. Hence the hatred for anybody who makes us 'feel dumb.' Voting for 'good old boys' is a way of sticking our finger in the eye of that snotty librarian who made us feel stupid and small in elementary school. "YEAH, take THAT Miss Cameron! One of us 'noisy, grubby little boys' that you kicked out of the library for getting bubble gum an the Sports Illustrated magazines is RUNNIN' THE WHOLE F-IN' COUNTRY now! In your FACE!"
Well, this time I'd suggest all of those people see a SHRINK to resolve their issues, rather than putting another Quasimotto in the White House. It might be more expensive in the short term, but in the long term it'll actually be cheaper.
The Truth Hurts @ 10:
Preceding every genocide, the intellectuals are discredited and ultimately eliminated. Food for thought.
myiq2xu @ 31:
Thank you for your input. It can sometimes be instructive to hear from the lowest common denominator.
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 30:
Yes, it was excellent. A+
Just how smart can Rempublicans be if they are willing to pay $25.00 for a tire pressure gauge?
john j @ 5:
And the real comedy in all that is Bush is such an elitist, he couldn't possibly care less about anyone who makes less money than he does and if you asked him how much a loaf of bread costs, he'd look at you like you'd just sprouted antlers.
GoodOlWhatsisFace @ 22:
Actually, I think it's dogwhistle for "black" and "Muslim."
ysbaddaden @ 6:
I don't understand those words, and I'm gonna beat the crap out of you for making me feel STUPID!
(Or better yet, vote one of my own kind into office. That'll teach ya, ya smartass.)
The GOP can't run on issues, and Obama doesn't have to, my unsolicited campaign advice:
Become a one issue campaign, that issue: Voter Turn Out.
Barack's "uppity" & "presumptuous" ? Turn that shit on its head, every appearance by every surrogate should be focused on the simple message: "WE WILL BURY YOU AT THE POLLS!"
Stop using democratic party policy wonks against right wing shout masters. Any of the thousands of new young voters that are being registered can recite a set of talking points as well as the same old losers the republicans send out to the cable news shows. (This is my radical idea) Gather up a few hundred, teach them how to shout over anything & what to shout and unleash them on the media. Swamp everything with faces no one has ever seen before. Make it clear this is a "movement" and that is TAKING power. the question in november can't be "will you take a chance on Obama" it shouldn't even be "do you want a third bush term?" but "are you one of the old coots trying to stop the turning of the tides and the passing of the seasons?"
That's how i would run it in their position.
(my advice being valid because i have no experience in this area & will probably not be voting for either McCain or Obama)
Obama leads McCain nationally in AP-Ipsos poll
Solid margins among women, minorities and young voters have powered Barack Obama to a 6 percentage point lead over John McCain in the presidential race, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday.
myiq2xu @ 31:
Oh...Okay? Boasting that your twice as smart as everyone else isn't denigrating at all.
john j @ 20:
Awesome! It is ABOUT TIME!
sassafra @ 32:
You forgot Bible-thumping and homophobic.
Anyone who pointed out the hypocrisy of John Edwards' 28,000 square foot home and possibly prevented him from winning the Presidential nomination did all Democrats a HUGE favor.
Republicans everywhere should be thanked for that.
john j @ 16:
This is a nation of idiots. Frankly, I'm tired of discussing this issue. It seems to surface in the majority of my posts on this site.
There is no answer. This is a country that places no value on being smart or cultured. It's a nation that actually takes pride in being stupid. How unbelievable is that?
Americans are dumb, fat, lazy, arrogant and loud. Take a close look at the brain-dead slobs waddling around America's cities and towns and tell me why it's a surprise this country is sinking so quickly.
ysbaddaden @ 6:
them's some pretty fancy words there college boy you think your better than us??!?
;-)
Jusker @ 44:
2008 tire pressure gauge = 2004 band-aids (Rovian antics)
Jess @ 46:
According to yesterday's blog (and I'm quoting this) it is dogwhistle for "uppity". It is directed toward certain types of Southerners.
pissed off patricia @ 39:
I had to blink twice, he looked like a young Bill Cosby for a second there...
CMINCA @ 55:
The democrats ought to hand them out at the convention.
The Truth Hurts @ 53:
Ron @ 57:
That is a great idea - you should contact Obama's campaign, online, and suggest that. Beat them to the punch.
You know, Somerby's points in this post are good, but when you wind your way down to his defense of Al Gore in 2000, it reminds me of something we often overlook. If Gore had not had the 2000 election stolen from him by the Supreme Court, what are the odds the Democratic nominee this year would have been Vice President Lieberman? Scary ain't it?
ysbaddaden @ 7:
Remeber:
50% of the people in America have a below average intelligence.
tardigrade @ 61:
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 30:
Another good way to address that would be the classic line "Nobody likes a math geek, Scully."
casper46 @ 21:
You stole it from me.
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 24:
That's one of my all time favorite carlin quotes.
George Carlin-some people are stupid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oboyox3L_MI
CMINCA @ 59:
I called their toll free number and offered my suggestion and the lady thought it was a great idea and is going to pass it on. She said they would e-mail back their response.
Yes, we wouldn't want to have none of them fancy 'leetists in the White House, with their fancy degrees from so-called "accredited" universities and their hoyty-toyty command of the so-called "facts."
Facts make baby Jesus cry.
CMINCA @ 58:
I see you have decoded the Republican strategy but if you really feel that way, please comment elsewhere. I still like to think that this "IS" a great country and the people here are the best (if for no other reason than they are proud to be American and they do want to help everyone) and just because they may be gullible because when they keep being fed all this bullcrap by the media and the politicians and the corporate advertising machine they start to believe it especially since they have bigger things to worry about (such as where they are going to live when they lose their house and their job and their car, etc...) to find the true facts that are hidden from the public doesn't mean they are stupid.
All you need to know about the American people is right out there in middle America at any emergency what so ever. They give, they work hard and they are kind and trusting. It is not their fault they belive what they are told, it is their nature.
CMINCA @ 59:
i like it or how about a two faced pez candy dispenser
Ron @ 67:
Excellent!
CMINCA @ 52:
Don't you mean closeted and self-hating?
Drilling solves nothing (aka right wing hater) @ 13:
if they run on issues they get exposed....often their agenda is in support of the real elites....that's why they cast judgement and tell others how to judge. many of these people are black and white thinkers.....it's how they're wired..and culturally exposed. because you or me may be different it's often automatically a competition and a dislike......most intellects do think in these terms....it's foolish and not based on anything except human insecurities/laziness.
the (R) turns their back on evangelicals or even worse they use them for a voting body....some people are leaders/thinkers most are followers. i remember in the 90's when there was a marketing campaign of "buy me" that's how insecure peopleare or think they are.
Somerby should be read every weekday.
tardigrade @ 3:
Someone could photoshop it in, i've done something similar in the past... http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/2905/psuredneckht1.jpg
The Truth Hurts @ 53:
Perhaps, but the Democrats have managed to lose every election by being snotty, and calling everybody who votes for a Republican dumb, fat, lazy, arrogant and loud.
Not that I'm a fan of Carvelle and Begala, but they try to point this out as gently as they can in their book 'Take it Back.' Basically, they say if upper middle class professionals in the 200K salary range can vote Democrat against their own economic interests (which they do) on the grounds of ideology, and be called noble for it, why can't the guys in the trailer park vote Republican against their own economic interests and also be thought of as doing it on the grounds of ideology, rather than stupidity.
So, although some of us may believe this, we'd better stop acting so smug about it if we want to win some elections for a change.
Also, in my travels around the world, I've found that MOST people EVERYWHERE are inclined to be fat, lazy and ignorant if given a choice. There are plenty of fat, dumb, lazy people in other countries. The only thing that makes the American ones so obvious is that they are the ones electing the leaders of the free world. Nobody notices the fat, dumb, lazy voters in Romania, Columbia, or Latvia, because they don't affect us.
I'll agree, however, that there is one thing that americans do that always drives me crazy, and that we should WORK to change, rather than SNEER at. That's the habit of americans of NOT valuing their best and brightest, and putting them CENTER STAGE for the world to see. Every other country thinks it's important to put their ELITE up front on the center stage. Only in america, and certain parts of the collapsed communist world do the ordinary citizens hate, dispise, and distrust their country's intellectual elites.
In Stalin's USSR they used to send them all to Gulags. I'm sure America's conservative movement would be glad to know that they share something in common with Stalin! A hatred of intellectual elites.
Buckeye Nut Schell @ 72:
Ah yes, those lovely people from the heartland of this great country. Bigger things to worry about? You mean like what is going to happen next with Brett Favre? All those wonderful Midwesterners lining the streets with picket signs and posters...begging for the Packers to bring back good ol #4.
It would be nice if Americans got that worked up over something of consequence. You know, like the future of their own damn country.
Face it, the vast majority of Americans are too damn dumb to recognize that their country is sliding into the toilet.
I graduated from college. I like to read books. I like to travel internationally. I like to eat healthy organic foods. I like to visit museums. I'd like to learn a second language. Based on those facts, I am considered an "elitist." And you know what, I'm perfectly fine with that label.
I loved the option at http://leftwingconspiracy.com/page/2/ which gives referer and even country of visitors.
Seems the only other site in the world is crooksandliars.com.
Yet funny it says I m a Belgian, from Brussels, yet it shows me the text in Dutch (Flemish), where over 80% in the Brussels region considers itself anything but Flemish (Flemish parties represent only 10% of population in Brussels, although they are the oppressive majority in this country).
Seems they are trying to deny our rights to speak in French or our local dialect (a mix of French and Dutch) even outside the borders of Belgium, eek.
They can blow out this country if they wish, I don't give a fuck about Belgium, but if they go for separation, the least they could do is give the same rights to other speaking minorities that they grant to them self.
If Flanders wants independence, so deserves Brussels, we don't want to be part of Flanders, so why force us? Just because the Flemish wants our taxpayer money? Hell I'll only give them to a government I think represents our constituent.
I don't think war looms around the corner, but the end is near for our little Federal state, which used to be the only country without a blind patriotic frenzy.
The Truth Hurts @ 10:
There more to this 'have a beer with' than meets the eye, a lot of people get belligerent and lose inhibitions when drinking...
dallas @ 65:
and the other 3/4 can spill litters and wurds ;)
Pericles @ 79:
they sent dissidents and troublemakers to gulags, most elites worked happily in the system as they did everywhere else.
Rusty 666 Shackleford @ 26:
George is right. Average can mean mean, median, or mode. If you're going to get pedantic, at least get it right.
It's weird how they pinned the "elitist" label on liberals, considering the modern conservative movement was started by rich college kids whining about how they were discriminated against. Bill Buckley was hardly a beer drinking truck driver.
The majority of Americans don't even own a pass port, nor have thay seen the oceans that isolate them from the rest of the world. Most have trouble reading the streets and bathroom signs. Ever wondered why these areas are marked with pictures, How smart can they be?
wheeee @ 69:
BUT WAIT! It get's better!
"Then, then there are some people, they're not stupid; THEY'RE FULL OF SHIT!"
"You'd be listening to some guy and you'd say, 'well, he's fairly intelligent. UH - HE'S FULL OF SHIT!'"
And that would be Sean Hannity - the fairly intelligent deceiving full of shit guy guiding his stupid masses.
Buckeye Nut Schell @ 72:
But ya gotta admit that you could lead a lot of these people, dying of thirst so to speak, to water, and a fair amount of them would rather die of thirst.
They'd rather believe Rush Limbaugh than even so much as give Thom Hartmann the time of day.
Yes. Because making fun of people for being fat or hairy or black or handicapped or female and feeling superior to them without guilt? Always such a good idea.
Jesus. These people are supposed to be liberals?
ferrofluid @ 84:
I disagree. Most intellectuals were viewed with suspicion, and thought of as being more likely to be unpatriotic or disloyal to the regime. Mainly because there, just as here, it was the intellectuals who were in the best position to see through the regime's propaganda, and expose it for what it is. Intellectuals were more likely to be LABELED as 'disidents' and 'trouble makers,' because they were scrutinized more closely because they were distrusted. True, there was a period where scientists (a subclass of the intellectuals) were given better treatment, but that was the exception in my opinion. Through all of the great commnist movements, with the possible exception of the early Hungarian Czech versions, were marked by an extreme distrust of intellectuals as being unpatriotic and untrustworthy as a group.
dennis @ 54:
now if we can point out that mcBush has 8 homes @ let's say 3500sq.ft each= 28,000sq.ft wow look at that.....i know that little detail of hypocrisy
Obama leads everywhere in everything! The media trumps up some kind of contest where McCain appears viable. The truth of the matter is that Obama is going to win in a landslide. The rest of this competition stuff is a media confection. The GOP is dead, and they know it.
But if you come form a multi-billion dollar blue-blood crime family, if you are a ne'er do well legacy pledge, a deserter and coward, dumber than a sack of hammers, if you are a clinically definable sociopath/borderline psychopath.... wow...that's the kind of guy you want to have a beer with.
I think, however, that more people are wise to this kind of packaging and branding than in previous iterations. Still, it all looks like just so much manuevering to rig the election, again.
"Basically, they say if upper middle class professionals in the 200K salary range can vote Democrat against their own economic interests (which they do) on the grounds of ideology, and be called noble for it, why can’t the guys in the trailer park vote Republican against their own economic interests and also be thought of as doing it on the grounds of ideology, rather than stupidity."
After analysing this, the first thing is, are upper middle class professionals voting against their economic interests? They might end up with less money in their pocket directly but those taxes might provide better services for them for which the net effect is an effective saving.
Furthermore, those professionals are making an educated, informed choice about their decision to vote Democrat. A lot of the trailer park people when interviewed about why they are voting Republican clearly demonstrate their vote is based on a combination of ignorance, stupidity, bigotry and outright idiocy when you hear them talk.
Oh, right, let's pick on fat people. I'm sure the majority of the posters here are skinny as rails...
Being smart in politics is not a bad thing. Being a snob is. Look at that image. Is that the way to win the hearts of the so-called "trailer park people"?
Emmanual Kann @ 85:
Average can mean median or mode? Huh.
dennis @ 54:
Hypocrisy would be if Edwards said "don't live in 28,000 square foot homes" and then lived in a 28,000 square foot home.
Can you direct us to where he said people shouldn't live in 28,000 square foot homes, lil' d? Thanks.
dennis @ 54:
No. You don't get it at all.
Most democrats are NOT against people making money. We're against THIEVERY. Lies and Corruption.
If you can make a living without resorting to criminal antics, we're okay with it. If you're a murderous, lying, warmongering, dishonest, ignorance supporting, propagandist thug (I'm talking about YOU BushCo), then we're not going to like you at all.
Does that clear things up? I know for most NeoCons, it won't. They'll just close their eyes, plug their ears, and envision an oil covered Ronald Regan in a G-string, dancing in their heads.... Not that there's anything wrong with that (snark).
Honesty, Reason, responsibility, and actually supporting the American people just isn't the republican way.... is it?
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