Will A Kerry Backlash Prove Why Liberals Are Knuckleheads?

[DrFunkenstein]

I'll never forget going to a debate hosted by The Nation following the publication of Alterman's "What Liberal Media?" Ok, I have to admit that the reason it was unforgettable was my lengthy conversation with Janeane Garafalo (meow!), but there was other stuff. I think. Mmmm...Janeane Garafalo....

No wait, I lost track of my point. I'll never forget what pearls of wisdom Grover Norquist dropped that day. He said that liberals are perpetually screwed because they fall right into the trap conservatives fell into after Goldwater. He said they would rather maintain their purity and lose rather than be patient and win.

He spoke of the unlikely confluence of the God-fearing and the Mammon-loving (my phrase) streams of conservatism. He said it really shouldn't work out, but that each is willing to wait for their day. A Republican may do or say something that is offensive to one to pander to the other, but that each knows that they are going to get their day like all dogs do.

Ralph Reed and Bill Buckley may not be each other's biggest fans, but they know the political worth involved. Today it may be tax cuts, but tomorrow it'll be partial-birth abortion. It's a pretty sick symbiosis, but it's political effectiveness has been undeniable.

Which brings me to Spaceballs. A wise man once said, "Evil will always triumph over good, because good is dumb." Words to ponder, certainly.

Now, personally I think Kerry is the bee's knees. I disagreed with his Iraq vote, but I think the man is a policy genius, a saavy politician, and basically a decent guy. Others may not share my appraisal. But they are going to have to do some soul-searching in the next few months. Do they want to take a principaled loss, or push the spectrum sharply to the left of Bush? They are going to have to ask themselves what is more important - protesting the Iraq vote, or preventing global escalation?

In fact, while I see many who disagreed bitterly with his Senate vote, I see few who would disagree with Kerry's own positions regarding foreign policy. Kerry is a committed mulitlateralist that will transform the "war" on terrorism into an international police and intelligence gathering operation, while actively working to heal the wounds inflicted upon the community of nations. He's also been working for more than a decade on securing loose nuclear materials and making deep cuts into our nuclear stockpile.

And that's not too shabby.



PS - I did ask Grover afterwards as he was leaving the place if shilling for corporations paid well. He said "Yes" with a smile and walked on.

[Terwilliger]

1. Well, Kerry needs all the help he can get

good luck to him

to us all

[Feanorcurufinwe]

2. Once you poke your head outside of DU

it does look like Democrats are uniting behind Kerry. I think the Democratic party will be more united for this election than for any in my adult life.

The one and only thing we can thank George Bush for.

[hippiegranny]

3. what you said...

the democratic world outside of du, (where the purists come to threaten and cajole,) seems to be trying to get on the same page and unite for the common good of getting junior and his evil minions out of our house.

[aldian159]

5. Maybe that's what he meant when he said

"I'm a uniter, not a divider:" He's uniting people everywhere against him.

[CrazyHarry25]

6. So how united will the party be

after Carl Rove unearths the 'real' kerry, the unelectable one?

[BeFree]

7. How in the world would he do that?

If...IF...the Dems can unite behind one candidate, anything Rove throws out will either hit a stone wall or will be thrown back so hard it will make Rove wish he gotten behind something with a lot more substance than a bush.

Still, I'm curious..... what is it about Kerry that would be of any use to Rove?

[eileen_d]

9. CrazyHarry25 - we hardly knew ye

[Feanorcurufinwe]

12. LOL

[sistersofmercy]

10. completely agree

He divided the nation but united his opponents.

[rucky]

4. I'm a little sketchy on your definition of liberal.

is that the Janeane Garafalo-type liberal, or more along the lines of Grover Norquist's strawman liberal?

[Tim_in_HK]

8. Why don't you wait until after the primaries are completed

and a candidate is chosen before asking everyone to line up behind Kerry?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

13. Because it's campaign season.

And we are campaigning!

[bigtree]

11. I remember that the Left had the same hysterical reaction to Clinton.

DLC, death penalty, anti-union state, etc.

I knew Bill Clinton. John Kerry is no Bill Clinton.

He's more Ted Kennedy. More Lincoln.

[Iverson]

14. nah

One might ask identically whether a backlash against Dean will prove that liberals are dumb. Did it?

I think that the backlash against liberals proves why a certain mainstream party is dumb. Witness the need to frame preferences other than Kerry in terms of quixotic puritanism. Witness the daily and unceasing multiple efforts to pitch kinder, gentler war as sufficiently liberal for all lefties.

There's nothing new here.

[WonderGrunion]

15. Let's get to the most important part of your post

Was Janeane Garofolo still blonde?
She showed up on Real Time as a blonde and I thought she was Yum-tastic! :loveya: