Tom Bevan, who I’ve previously discussed here as someone who believes everything press releases tell him to, says that my anger at David Broder’s smear of the Democratic party is negated or lessened because I haven’t written about the William Arkin “controversy”. What Arkin said was stupid and a disgrace, but the reason I felt no need to write about him is that the issue is far past any defense of the troops and their service. Arkin is just the latest avenue of the right to beat up on the press for not spinning things their way. For instance, Bill O’Reilly has morphed Arkin into some sort of senior NBC analyst so that he can use it as part of his jihad on MSNBC and Keith Olbermann. As a rule, I do not assist the right-wing noise machine in their day-to-day activities (in fact, I’m part of an organization tasked with doing the exact opposite).
The reason I had such a visceral reaction to Broder’s slur (and there may be more senior reaction forthcoming) is because I’m tired of the right assailing Democrats as unpatriotic and not supportive of the troops just as the right continues to display callous disregard and contempt of our armed forces. I was enraged by Broder because I was in the room and saw the very same event he saw, and yet he defied truth and logic and video to simply make shit up.
This stuff has to stop, and the reaction I’ve received to the story from all over the place, both in the links from high traffic site like Kos and Atrios as well as from ordinary Joes and Jills and emails tells me I’m not alone in my disgust and the feeling that we should not take this bull lying down anymore. Especially not from the mainstream media or their Republican masters.
Collaterally, what Arkin said may have been stupid, but it wasn’t a disgrace. And when I say “it” was stupid, I mean the use of one inflammatory word. The rest of his post was blunt criticism of the troops, but he said much that needs saying, and repeating.
Arkin is a disgraceful idiot. He owes his cheap *ss existence and his phoney baloney job to those troops who he demeans.
And OW, Arkin actually criticized people putting their lives on the lines for you and me. Broder indicated D party members largely did not have military experience. Yet you go ballistic on—- Broder.
Nothing has changed my mind. Two years ago on this site progressives here were telling me they liked the military. That was BS then. Its BS now. If you ‘liked’ the military, it would have been you going ballistic – beating the O Reilly’s of the wrold to the punch.
Dugger, if Arkin’s sentiments reflected Republican talking points you’d defend him in the same way as Xanthippas (ie, he shouldn’t have said “mercenary”, and he maybe should have written it, gone away for a couple of hours, and written it again).
You’ll deny it, but it’s true. You don’t have opinions, you have talking points.
Dugger: Nothing has changed my mind.
Well, we can get today’s “Least Surprising Statement” Award out of the way early.
Dugger, Arkin is fairly obscure (I had to google him to find out who he is), while Broder is the “Dean” of the Washington news establishment. Whose lies are more significant, and potentially more harmful?
I don’t think Dugger is really being fair to democrats regarding the military.
I think the democrats like the military just fine. I mean, if they have a party, they can dress them up to add a little working class “color”….remember the story of bill and hillary asking an air force office why he wasn’t serving hor d’ourves?
Or now. Nancy Pelosi believes she should have a jumbo jet at her disposal as the “most powerful woman in america”….so who does she turn to? Her friends in the military! During this time of global warming and war, Ms Pelosi currently is using the US Air Force for her own private travel agency for her and her cronies.
I don’t think there is ANY question the donks like the military!
OW, this has been YOUR issue and I am glad to see your name pop up on the many other sites discussing this important matter.
Frankly, all I see now is an example of a really, really weak comeback on the part of your detractors. Lame.
Kick some more ass!
Real Conservative Politics lacks credibility on this issue inasmuch as they haven’t jumped down Broder’s throat.
How can you possibly be criticized for ignoring Arkin by someone who ignores Broder?
Yadda yadda.
Again, soldiers risk their lives for leftists’ or rightists’ freedom. The Democratic Party (and R) exists for partisan political purposes. There is no equivalency here. None. Arkin of the Washington Post, one of the most important newspapers in the world, should be ashamed. OW says nothing while Arkin slanders the military then he goes ballistic over Broder. And all you frappin’ leftists who claimed before the last election how the left really really likes the military (especially if they might be conned into voting for Kerry) need to give it up. You ain’t foolin’ anybody. You don’t like our military, never have.
No-one in Iraq is fighting for anyone’s freedom.
We DON’T want American soldiers to die pointlessly in Iraq…thus we hate the military.
I’d love a tour of your brain sometime.
OW says nothing while Arkin slanders the military then he goes ballistic over Broder.
Dugger, please stop pretending you even had any fucking idea who Arkin was two weeks ago. The post hadn’t published a column of his for three years (and at that was only doing so online) and was relegated to blogger status, at which time he made a stupid post. Broder’s a goddam published journalist. Either youre pretending to be stupid enough that you cannot differentiate, or you actually are, and are applying more gravitas to Arkin to try create a false equivalency between a published journalist and an unknown blogger. Same shit happened with Ward Churchill, some idiot who said something stupid which every democrat in the country was ordered to denounce or be deported when nobody outside of his immediate fucking family ever heard of the asshole. Quit this shit, dugg, before you realize how stupid its making you look.
You don’t like our military, never have.
Demonstrate your goddam thesis.
That is his thesis.
Some context on the Arkin reference would have been nice; I don’t generally pay attention to Fox News and this was the first I’d heard of this particular tempest in a teapot.
I saw OW’s post linked over at Crooks and Liars too. An appropriate place for Broder’s fallacy to be aired.
Gee Pedro it’s a good thing that Bush doesn’t prance around dressed like someone in the military to foist his agenda on you real troop supporters. That would be a pretty low thing to do.
Please stop attacking Dugger’s delusion, he just may get violent and start posting in caps. Apparently he has talked to everyone on the left and they all said the same thing “I hate the military, the troops, and the scum that support using them to further their agenda”. Well maybe that last point might find the Dems in unison.
I saw OW’s post linked over at Crooks and Liars too. An appropriate place for Broder’s fallacy to be aired.
Gee Pedro it’s a good thing that Bush doesn’t prance around dressed like someone in the military to foist his agenda on you real troop supporters. That would be a pretty low thing to do.
Please stop attacking Dugger’s delusion, he just may get violent and start posting in caps. Apparently he has talked to everyone on the left and they all said the same thing “I hate the military, the troops, and the scum that support using them to further their agenda”. Well maybe that last point might find the Dems in unison.
If you ‘liked’ the military, it would have been you going ballistic – beating the O Reilly’s of the wrold to the punch.
There’s a whole bushel of misdirection and conflation in there, but let’s come right to the point: Arkin wrote a terrible column.
Why do I say that? Not because of the naughty, naughty word he used, but because he played the same silly game that bloggers of every political stripe play. He quoted the opinion of one person and pretended it was the opinion of a whole lot of other people.
Of course, taking on a great, wide mob of adversaries makes for a much better column than disagreeing with one guy.
So yes, Dugger, Arkin is a silly man, one of many practicing his trade. Go ahead and harbor a special disdain for him, if you like, because he sullied the honor of your own preferred class of people.
Just try to avoid making the same mistake he did, willya?
He quoted the opinion of one person and pretended it was the opinion of a whole lot of other people.
And yes, I’ll say it, Oliver does that too. To some extent, I think we all do it.
He quoted the opinion of one person and pretended it was the opinion of a whole lot of other people.
And yes, I’ll say it, Oliver does that too. To some extent, I think we all do it.
Quaker, They are not my preferred class. But I do not apologize for giving some special recognition to those putting their lives on the line to defend us
Nor should you. Anyone who puts their lives on the line for others (police, fire, rescue as well as military personnel) should be commended.
They are not my preferred class.
No?
Then maybe you can name another group that you’ll defend as quickly and vociferously when you believe they’ve been maligned unfairly.
We covered this same ground when you took offense at the words of Mr. Durbin. And Mr. Kerry. And Kos too, I think.
But nevermind. You wanted one of us to say Arkin’s column was stupid. So there you have it.