'Sadly, No!' nails Jonah Goldberg, the Doughy Pantload.

James Wolcot issues the ultimate Pantyload smack down and sums it up like this:

“Yes, but Jonah speaks fluent Simpsons, which is why he’s so popular with campus conservatives as he goes about entertaining and mentoring the maroons of tomorrow.”

The only reason Goldberg's travesty of history, Liberal Fascism, hit the bestseller list was that thousands of conservatives rushed out to their bookstores and their Amazon pages and bought up lots of copies. Otherwise, this lying mediocrity would be buried in the obscurity he deserves.

Are you going to let the conservative movement get away with supporting lunatics like that? Just a few other reasons out of a gazillion to support real authors...

And buy this book.

Digby told she watched Pam Stout, a tea party activist who was interviewed on David Letterman the other night. If anyone in the media is still confused by who and what ideas the Tea Partiers represent, they should watch the entire Letterman interview. (And the media should get a copy of our new book when it's released in June). Pam is hep to the fact that the Tea Party wants to take over the Republican Party, because a third party wouldn't help their cause and hey, they are arch-conservatives. Her hero is Jim DeMint and she wants us to leave Big Business alone and believes people really want to live off welfare checks. So, there you go.

This is part 2 of the interview. Digby has all three embedded in her post.

Digby nails it:

Watch the videos here if you have the time. She was the best tea party representative I've ever seen --- a perfect face for the angry Bircher club to which she also belongs, the Friends of Liberty.

I was blown away by this interview and frankly, a little bit chilled. She's mild-mannered, reasonable, utterly sincere, decent and true. Yet, she watches Beck because he "makes her think" and she reveres Jim DeMint, the most radical of all the rightwing Senators. This lovely woman believes in the raw, violent politics of the Hobbesian jungle in which it's every man for himself. I'm sure she doesn't see it that way.

Her politics aren't grounded in real life but in abstract concepts. She certainly doesn't seem defensive or even aware that her political heroes are considered radical extremists. But then if you only watch Fox news, listen to talk radio and live in the town known for its proximity to Ruby Ridge and the Aryan Nations compound you probably don't realize that your views are not held by the majority of Americans.

People like Pam show us how powerful the right-wing noise machine is. She's clearly living in a Fox News Universe; people like this have been converted to believing in essentially an alternative universe. Grover Norquist would be very happy after he watches this because he believes that the more anti-government people that are created (and believe me, he helped create a great deal of them), the more votes the conservative movement gets, all of which helps to eradicate the left entirely, which is their ultimate goal.

The NY Times had a great piece featuring Auntie Pam some months ago (and Dave discussed it here). Her views resemble the John Birch Society, only she has no clue that's where she is politically.

The Future

Pam Stout wakes each morning, turns on Fox News, grabs coffee and an Atkins bar, and hits the computer. She is the hub of a rapidly expanding and highly viral political network, keeping a running correspondence with her 400 members in Sandpoint, state and national Tea Party leaders and other conservative activists.

Mrs. Stout forwards along petitions to impeach Mr. Obama; petitions to audit the Federal Reserve; petitions to support Sarah Palin; appeals urging defiance of any federal law requiring health insurance; and on and on.

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Continue reading »

Bernard Avishai: Keep the Heat On

Eunomia: This conservative nails it

No More Mister Nice Blog: Birther, tenther, liar

Alternate Brain: Texas legislature votes to rewrite Bible. Hey, it's Texas! Meanwhile, there's plenty of real lunacy coming out of Arizona and Georgia...

Lawyers, Guns & Money: Out-crazying Nixon

Angry Bear: Thank you Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsjy

Jon Stewart took CNN apart over their insipid fact-checking of a SNL skit about President Obama while never having the time to give us REAL FACTS about health-care reform when their guests come on and lie. CNN and most cable networks allow health-care obstructionists like Sen. Kyl and Orrin Hatch to throw out bogus facts all day long without ever questioning their validity, and it is frustrating.

Stewart nails CNN for always saying "We're out of time," and never getting to the truth. And then we have the FRC's Tony Perkins, who claims there are really only 5-10 million uninsured people in America.

Perkins: ...when you get down to a hard core number, it's about 5-10 million that can't afford health care. Out of a nation of 330 million that's a small percentage.

Stewart: Without an explanation he went from 30 million uninsured down to you know the hard core number. 5 or ten million. Well that's pretty close...it's only double.

And the ultimate slap in the face is when TDS clips together almost every anchor saying: "We'll leave it there."

Stewart: There are 24 hours in a day, how much more time do you need? CNN's new slogan: Nobody Leaves More Things There.

Duncan Black nails this one and it's so frustrating on so many levels.

Hey, Someone Noticed: EJ Dionne discovers the power of President Gingrich and Chief of Staff Limbaugh.

A media environment that tilts to the right is obscuring what President Obama stands for and closing off political options that should be part of the public discussion.

Yes, you read that correctly: If you doubt that there is a conservative inclination in the media, consider which arguments you hear regularly and which you don't. When Rush Limbaugh sneezes or Newt Gingrich tweets, their views ricochet from the Internet to cable television and into the traditional media. It is remarkable how successful they are in setting what passes for the news agenda.

...

Her point has broader application. For all the talk of a media love affair with Obama, there is a deep and largely unconscious conservative bias in the media's discussion of policy. The range of acceptable opinion runs from the moderate left to the far right and cuts off more vigorous progressive perspectives.

We witnessed a complete bias towards the losing party in the last election by the media when studies showed that cable news was putting on more than two Republicans for every Democrat during the stimulus debate.

To fill out Newt's cabinet, I'd say Dick Cheney is the Secretary of Defense and Liz Cheney is the Vice President with Pat Buchanan as the head of the Dept. of Homeland Security and Tom Tancredo is his Deputy.

And when do you ever see good progressive or liberal Reps on TV?

While the right wing's rants get wall-to-wall airtime, you almost never hear from the sort of progressive members of Congress who were on an America's Future panel on Tuesday. Reps. Jared Polis of Colorado, Donna Edwards of Maryland and Raul Grijalva of Arizona all said warm things about the president -- they are Democrats, after all -- but also took issue with some of his policies.

Please list all the liberal/progressive Reps and leaders you'd like to see on TV and know you never will. I was talking to Howie Klein about this and we came up with a few names we'd like to see much more of on the networks.

Alan Grayson (FL), Jan Schakwsky (IL), Linda Sanchez, who's a CA congresswomen, Tammy Baldwin (WI) and Jerry Nadler are also quite good.

Sherrod Brown (OH), Jeff Merkley (OR) Bernie Sanders (VT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) are very good from the Senate side. The only time you ever see Alan Grayson on TV is when FOX is trying to destroy one of his good positions that help the American workers. Things like paid vacations, you know, stuff like that.

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Just yesterday Chris Matthews had on Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Illinois, and Chris tried to turn him into Abe Lincoln -- that is, until he started to open his mouth. (And President Obama was not the most liberal member of Congress. That's another lie told repeatedly by conservatives.)

SCHOCK: And, Chris, let‘s look at who the Democrats used to—to come back to the majority. They nominated the most liberal guy in the United States Senate, not Hillary Clinton, but Barack Obama. And he‘s ultimately the one that led them to victory.

MATTHEWS: Yes, OK. I guess that was a shot at him, right?

SCHOCK: Well, no, it's just the point that, just because you—you elect someone or nominate someone who is ideologically to the right or the left doesn't mean that they can't carry the day in the general election. A lot of it comes down to personality and ability to carry the message forward. Obviously, George W. Bush did a better job than Al Gore did in the 2000 elections. And, obviously, John...(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: Why do you say that? He got fewer votes.

KING: But he won the election. (LAUGHTER)

MATTHEWS: But he got fewer votes.

SCHOCK: OK.

I've been writing since Obama was elected that the Democratic Party has terrible spokesmen to go on and represent. Maybe one of the reason it appears this way is because we are only allowed to view the same tired old Beltway pols like Chuck Schumer. Will the media treat America to our new young guns? Please let us know who you'd like to hear more of...

Stinque: We Make Videos

The Satirical Political Report: Obama nails speech, but misses chance to permanently silence  Cheney

Shakesville: Welcome to Congress

Alas, a blog: Winger rises in defense of patrimony

The Reality-Based Community: More high-religiosity child molesting

Infrastructurist: Chinese rail plan makes the U.S. look a little silly

The General at Second Life GOP headquarters (not making that up):

At first I said that I didn't think the Nine Inch Nails song, "I Want to F**k You Like an Animal" was appropriate for a Republican meeting.... I always like to begin my visits to SL GOP HQ, by stopping by the Reagan Monument and using the GOP's animated prayer balls (seriously, I am not making that up) to ask God to give my enemies a disease:

Read more... Open Thread below....

I was interviewed a while ago on Mr Media's blog and he asked me about my political beliefs. The idea of what a Centrist means has always baffled me as a belief system. I understand calling yourself that, but not as a bargaining tool. Right wing bloggers like Hugh Hewitt use the word "center/right" to hide their extremism to a guy like Wolf Blitzer.

ANDELMAN: I have one last question: many people find that their political views become more conservative as they get older. Are you seeing any sign of that within your own beliefs?

AMATO: What is the center? Do you know what I mean? Has anybody defined what the center is? I believe that we all through our experiences in life, we all come to decisions and conclusions which we are comfortable with morally, what we think is the right thing to do. So that’s how I’ve developed my convictions, so they are not changing, they’re only getting stronger since I’ve been involved with blogging and in the political process.

As always, Duncan nails the "Centrism" riff:

Let's be clear that "centrism" is, for the most part, a cosmetic pose for the benefit of Beltways journalists who know that The Most Important Thing Is To Be A Centrist.

In terms of what those centrists actually support in terms of policy, I'd say there are roughly 3 kinds of things. Occasionally they live up to their name and push through genuine compromises between left and right. More often than that they push fake "split the baby" compromises which achieve nothing genuine but have the appearance of doing "something."

And, most often, "centrism" is used as a cover for what amounts to bipartisan endorsement of corruption in the name of furthering the Might and Majesty of the establishment powers.

Uniongal at DKos has a fantastic write up and videos from Bill Moyer's Journal last weekend interviewing the Yes Men.

Once again, Bill Moyers nails it with giving some attention to some people who are doing great work and trying to draw attention to how screwed up our democracy is with the corporate takeover of our government. If you missed it, Bill Moyers interviewed Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum aka The Yes Men about the work they've been doing, and the interview is truly shocking.

I guess Broder approves because they don't use dirty f*&king hippie words, but Greenwald nails it:

Nonetheless, Campos' central point is entirely accurate. It is long past time to cease treating people like Glenn Reynolds (and his fellow Bush evangelist, Hugh Hewitt) as though they are within the bounds of mainstream decency. What they advocate on a daily basis is as extreme and contrary to our country's political values and traditions as can be. The fact that Reynolds refrains from using vulgar words when espousing these obscene views does not in any way mitigate what he is.