COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Some conservatives have gushed so effusively about Romney they make North Korea’s news agency sound like a model of restraint.


Conservatives aren’t going to vote for Obama. Therefore they have to vote for Romney. Ergo, they need to find a reason to. That isn’t easy. And it’s especially hard because it requires them to do the one thing they most revile Romney for: change positions for the sake of political expedience.
“Willard Mitt Romney” is making flip-floppers of them all.

Mitt Romney, the Liberal Swine Conservatives Love

Romney is making flip-floppers of the entire conservative movement.


Nothing like a general election to give people a bad case of amnesia.
A few months ago conservatives were bashing Mitt Romney with such vigor they made a Mongol invasion look genteel. To Deroy Murdock of National Review, “Willard Mitt Romney’s latest flip flop” reminded him of Andy Warhol’s quip: “That’s not fake. It’s real plastic.” Compared to Romney, Murdock wrote, “I have seen mannequins in less empty suits.” Mona Charen, another National Review regular, spoke on behalf of all right-thinking people when she said positions such as Romney’s “make our hearts sink.” Victor Davis Hanson, also of National Review, termed Romney the “castor oil candidate.”
At TownHall.com – a clearinghouse of conservative opinion – Ben Shapiro compared Romney to Harold Hill, the “big city con man” of musical fame: “Romney has somehow suckered much of the conservative world into believing that he is a solid fiscal, social and foreign policy conservative” when, in reality, Romney is an “all out liberal.” Romney is “about as strong a social conservative,” he went on, “as RuPaul” – the country’s most famous drag queen.
On the same site, you could read “The Conservative Case Against Mitt Romney,” which argued that the Mittster “is a deeply flawed candidate. . . . this IS NOT someone conservatives should want” as their nominee. “You can’t fall in love with a weathervane,” agreed John Hawkins of Right Wing News, who offered “7 Reasons Why Mitt Romney’s Electability Is a Myth.”  “Romney is not a conservative,” declared Rush Limbaugh. “He’s not, folks.”

What a difference a nomination makes.
Limbaugh recently confessed Romney is still not his idea of an ideal nominee. But that hasn’t stopped him from sticking up for the GOP’s standard-bearer. For example, he says Romney’s speech to the NAACP left the listeners unimpressed because it was “over these people’s heads.”
Other conservatives have fallen in line, too. As Romney was wrapping up the Republican nomination, The Washington Post helped solidify Republican support by running a hit piece about Romney’s youth. “New ‘Scandal’: Romney Pulled Pranks, Bullied Someone in High School,” scoffed Guy Benson on TownHall.com – along with just about every other card-carrying conservative in the country.
Some conservatives have gushed so effusively about the candidate they make North Korea’s news agency sound like a model of restraint. Romney's views on immigration are “wildly popular with Americans,” according to Ann Coulter.  “In his passionate affirmation of the American can-do spirit,” ran a piece last week on TownHall, “Governor Romney is a man who has found his moment.” The noble greatness of our heroic champion inspires tears of boundless joy in all the people.
Romney is “all about winning the future,” according to Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review. Just “take a look at his successful business decisions, his ‘turnaround’ of the scandal-crippled Olympics, or his time in Massachusetts.” His undying feats will live on in our hearts forever.
Some of this is to be expected. Politics is a team sport, and cheerleaders are supposed to root for their team regardless of the starting lineup. Still, politics also is supposed to have some meaning beyond merely racking up wins – and the sudden, marked shift in tone on the right has about it a certain whiff of “We’ve always been at war with Eastasia,” no?
True, not all conservatives are writing mash notes to Mitt. The rest of them are dashing off screeds denouncing the perfidy of Barack Obama or defending Romney from the “demonic” left (“Romney Fights Back” – Victor Davis Hanson, National Review; “Target: Ann Romney” – ibid).  Likewise, those liberals who aren’t busy glorifying the record of their own Dear Leader are obsessing about what’s hidden in Romney’s tax returns.
Visit any political website these days, and you’ll find a cornucopia of news and commentary aimed at exposing just how terrible Those People are. As Jonas Kaplan, a professor of political psychology, puts it: “In the political process, people come to decisions early on and then spend the rest of the time making themselves feel good about their decision.”
Conservatives aren’t going to vote for Obama. Therefore they have to vote for Romney. Ergo, they need to find a reason to. That isn’t easy. And it’s especially hard because it requires them to do the one thing they most revile Romney for: change positions for the sake of political expedience.
“Willard Mitt Romney” is making flip-floppers of them all.

66 comments:

  1. It is time to relax. There is bad news and bad news and and the bad news is that they can’t both lose. The other bad news is there is not much difference between the two of them.

    But there is the power of acceptance, as the inevitable acceptance of death. Once you accept that the inevitable will happen, you can turn away from fear and enjoy the sweet mundane daily rituals. One of these statists is going to win, regardless of what you or I do. The system is rigged to ensure that happens.

    Saddam would have you publicly pick up a “yes” or “no” ballet, and walk across the room to either a “no” box or “yes” box. We are far less crude but a binary choice between tweedles is hardly a choice. It is a ritual like hotdogs or hamburgers at a Fourth of July picnic. This year, choose your hot dog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope. With Mittens we get rid of ObamaCare, and the elderly won't be put on a fast track outta here. At least so we're told. Further there won't be disco parties in the White House, which my wife will appreciate, as she doesn't feel it's 'appropriate' for that high residence. Further we will reaffirm our traditional relationship with some of the better countries in the world, and NASA might just be given the job of going to the stars instead of going to the muslims, and.....etc,etc.

      This post sounds exactly like what I have heard all of my life from a cousin, who has never voted, not once, in his life. It don't make no difference......

      It's pure B.S. of course.

      b

      Delete
  2. .

    Choose your hot dog?

    More like pick your poison.

    We are screwed.


    A snake oil salesman or a mittwit. What a choice.

    Is there any hope at all that the GOP will sit down at their convention and say, "Wait a minute guys. What the hell are we doing here?"

    .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nobody ever said this shit was easy. Deemocracee is Hard!

    You can't run the government solely for the benefit of the 1%, but on the other hand, you can't Kill them, either.

    You can't let the Exxons and Humanas, and their sockpuppets, dictate All, but you have to be very careful not to end up with a healthcare system like England's, or an electrical grid like India's.

    And, sometimes, you just have to look closely at the guy (or idea) you've been supporting and say, "this is not working too well."

    India's Grid System is a mess

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. " you have to be very careful not to end up with a healthcare system like England's"

      What in the hell are you rattling on about today? This is exactly what you are going to get if you vote for your new hero Obama.

      You don't make any sense at all.

      b

      Delete
  4. The puppet masters (Rothchild/Rockelfeller, etal), will decide who lives in the WH. Just like they did 4 years ago. The rest of us will either gnash our teeth or jump for joy. And then, move on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Non-sense. People who vote in the primaries and the general decide who is going to get into the White House.

      Ron Paul had an equal shot at it. He just didn't get the votes, thankfully.

      b

      Delete
  5. Let me give an example. It's hard to imagine a government program that can't be cut back 10%. On the other hand, anyone that thinks the "job creators" are going to quit working, and/or move to Singapore if we go back to the Clinton Tax Rates just ain't ever met those folks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I know a lot of conservatives and I don't know a single one of them who gushes over Romney. They just want Obama out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the way the people I talk to feel about it too.

      b

      Delete
  7. I follow Energy fairly closely, and I've noticed that there are two types of people that do this. One side is convinced that we're going to run out of oil, tomorrow, and coal and nat gas, next year.

    The other group thinks there are enough fossil fuels for "Hundreds, and Hundreds" of years.

    Common sense tells you that both sides are either stupid, or are lying assholes.

    A good businessman would try to keep the train on the tracks while he's preparing for an eventual transition. He would work on the efficiency of his coal/gas plant while installing a few solar panels, and, maybe, a windmill, or two. (and this is exactly what several of the biggest, and best, utilities Are doing.)

    Samey/same with "oil, and biofuels." See "Valero."

    Unfortunately, in America, we usually get a choice between the two extremes. This leaves us with the need to "cycle" back and forth between the crazies.

    The only real choice is "when to zig, and when to zag." Right now, I'm up for 'zagging.' Most, here, still seem to be in the 'zigging' mode.

    Don't worry, we'll meet in the middle somewhere down the road. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I always thought you were the zaggy type. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Remember the "Zagnut?"

    I loved those. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Some conservatives have gushed so effusively about Romney they make North Korea’s news agency sound like a model of restraint.

    Good God.

    No exaggeration here.

    We're all marching in a line like tin soldiers.

    Yup. That's us.

    Tin Nork Soldiers for Romney.

    b

    ReplyDelete
  11. Every chick fil a I have passed today has been overflowing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. could not even get close to the parking lot...

      Delete
    2. Hip, hip Hurray!
      for
      chick fil a!

      Delete
  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Remember Rufus?
    Dumbest mutherfucker I ever "met" on the net.


    ...nothing's changed in my absence.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) good ol' "tell it like it is Doug"

      Not a word out of place.

      b

      Delete
    2. We're ALL Dicks,

      YOU, of all people, know that.

      to add to that wealth of knowledge:

      Black is White,
      Up is Down,
      etc

      Delete
    3. .

      Once again, you display your ignorance of the difference between the words 'identical' and 'equivalant'.

      .

      Delete
  14. "I follow Energy fairly closely"

    Yeah, like how you follow the economy fairly closely...

    ...like when I commented that the downfall
    of
    New Century Financial was a harbinger of what was to come,
    You, following closely said:

    "...nothing more than a ripple in the pond."

    Stupid Fuck

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruf's salvation, here and in the hereinafter, is he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He will, unexpectedly, find himself 'among the angels'.

      b

      Delete
    2. Yeah, in

      Dumbfuck Heaven.

      ...where he belongs.

      Delete
  15. I cum every time I see Mitt,
    but I don't really give a shit,
    here or there about
    President of the United States of America
    (which he HATES)

    Buraq HUSSEIN Obama

    ...a World in Need, White Man's greed, and all that...
    He really didn't hear Rev Wright Say That.

    HE JUST WROTE IT IN HIS FUCKING HATE FILLED BOOK!

    ReplyDelete
  16. MORTGAGE MELTDOWN

    New Century Financial®, our purpose is to provide fast cash that not only keeps your business running, but helps your business grow and succeed
    .

    SEC sues 3 former officers of Irvine subprime lender New Century Financial

    December 08, 2009

    Almost three years after New Century Financial Corp. collapsed in the first phase of the mortgage meltdown,
    three former executives of the Irvine company were accused by regulators Monday of misleading investors as its subprime loan business came unglued.

    Regulators accuse the three of manipulating numbers and concealing negative information from shareholders as the company collapsed into bankruptcy.

    In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Brad Morrice, a co-founder and former chief executive of New Century; Patti M. Dodge, its former chief financial officer; and David N. Kenneally, its ex-controller, of securities fraud. Through their attorneys, all three denied wrongdoing and said they would contest the suit.

    The SEC complaint alleges that the executives failed to disclose dramatic increases in the rate of borrowers who were defaulting almost immediately on their loans. The defendants also didn't disclose that investors who bought mortgages from New Century were increasingly demanding that the company buy back problem loans, the suit says...

    About SIX
    years ago...

    Be sure to follow RUFUS for all the latest!

    ReplyDelete
  17. If our kind host could be so thoughtful:

    If you give me access to post a piece, some day I will elaborate a bit about how STUPID our Socialist Lover Rufus is on his favorite topic:

    "Energy"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GIVE DOUG THE KEYS
      GIVE DOUG THE KEYS
      GIVE DOUG THE KEYS
      GIVE DOUG THE KEYS

      b

      Delete
  18. Like giving a machine gun to a drunk orangutang.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deuce has probably lost about all the readers he cares to.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, those Socialist Haters are a picky lot.

      Delete
    3. oops,
      That would be me.
      Maybe I should go again until I develope the discipline to
      IGNORE
      your shit.

      Delete
  19. btw, Rufie:

    I knew more about "Environmentalism" in 1970 than you think you know now.
    My professor was on the cover of a mass media mag titled:

    "A New Breed of Environmentalist"

    ...responsible for BILLIONS of dollars squandered when he creatively came up with a clever way to brand every mud pond a
    "Navigable Waterway"

    Hell, I was on the cover of a nationally distributed Mag.

    BFD

    I didn't know shit.

    ...just like you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. a clever way to brand every mud pond a
      "Navigable Waterway"


      This is the truth. If I build a pond on the farm, I have to be careful not to make the dam more than about 4 or 5 feet high, so as not to get the EPA involved. It's idiotic.

      b

      Delete
  20. No reply from Rufie on his foresight on the scope of the Real Estate Meltdown.

    Wonder why?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Replies
    1. .

      Aw, don't go Doug.

      I didn't realize what a sensitive guy you are.

      If I've hurt your feelings, I'll never forgive myself.

      .

      Delete
    2. Don't go Doug, we need some good sense around here.

      b

      Delete
  22. Dumb-Fuck Texas GOP:

    'Tea Party' Cruz wins GOP runoff in TX...

    Landslide for (Hispanic) Tea Party Conservative Cruz.

    ...rest of article filled with more Tea Party winners.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Beetle could stop/delay pipeline:

    http://blog.newsok.com/energy/2012/08/01/beetle-could-delay-keystone-pipeline/

    Nice lookin' beetle, I'll say that. Might look good, that burying beetle, at the end of a fly line. Colored, in its way, a little like the old Coachman.

    Biodiversity!



    b

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wild bottlenose dolphins bond over their use of tools, with distinct cliques and classes forming over decades as a result of their skills, scientists have found.

    The communities, which have been compared with societies such as the Bullingdon Club in humans, mean the aquatic animals share their knowledge only with those in their own circle, passing it down the family line.

    The findings mean the traits of “inclusive inheritability” and culture are no longer considered exclusive to human beings.


    Dolphins form gilds, like medieval masons and such. Amazing.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9443157/Bullingdon-Club-dolphins-form-elite-societies-and-cliques-scientists-find.html


    b

    ReplyDelete
  25. Caine's Arcade -

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U

    Goes viral...with a little help....

    b

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ted Cruz served chick-fil-a at his victory party.

    ReplyDelete
  27. India's manufacturing activity in July slowed to its weakest pace in eight months, with new orders for Indian exports falling for the first time since October, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, released Wednesday.

    ...

    High inflation has forced India's central bank to follow a tight monetary policy despite mounting growth worries. Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India kept its policy interest rates steady for the second successive review meeting, but cut a bond-holding requirement for banks to boost lending to productive sectors.

    ReplyDelete
  28. .

    Is nothing sacred?

    Now we even have scandals in badminton. Of course, the sport is cutthroat.



    The women's doubles competition at London 2012 descended into farce and scandal at Wembley Arena as two pairs appeared to deliberately start playing to lose.

    Chinese top seeds Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang and the South Koreans Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na were booed off after an extraordinary match in which players regularly served into the net or hit wide apparently on purpose.

    Both pairs had already qualified for the last 16 and their actions appeared to be an attempt to manipulate the final standings in Group A...



    It's a damn shame.

    Fie on you China and Korea. Fie!



    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should be watching the equestrian, that's where the real action is to be found.

      Badminton is for sissies.

      b

      Delete
    2. Women's volleyball is the best spectator sport.

      Delete
    3. .

      Women's beach vollyball I think you meant.

      Although, I am still waiting to see that Austalian hurdler that does the little dance as warm-up.

      .

      Delete
    4. Ping-pong sucks.

      b

      Delete
    5. They should have hurling. They did in 1904.

      b

      Delete
  29. Microsoft was today emphasising the ability of the new service to automatically filter material into separate sections of the inbox, saying that email had become a 'chore' as it was overloaded with material such as newsletters, package delivery notices, and social networking notifications.

    Microsoft is currently offering the new service as a preview feature and has not announced an official release date, though it is expected to be in the next few months.

    Users who make the switch to the new service will be able to keep the @hotmail, @msn or @live.com ending to their email addresses, but will also be able to add an @outlook.com account if they wish.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Those factors, along with intermittent violence, go a long way toward explaining the enormous difference in per capita GDP between Israel and the West Bank (which Romney actually understated by a factor of five): $28,600 vs. $2,900, according to the CIA's 2009 numbers. There are also stark, though less dramatic, disparities between Israel and bordering Arab countries.

    ...

    Culture matters, but these examples demonstrate that institutions are crucial. If you compare per capita GDP to ratings in Freedom House's annual Freedom in the World report or the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, you will see a clear association between poverty and tyranny.

    Maybe Romney should have said, "Freedom makes all the difference."

    ReplyDelete
  31. It is not my intention or desire to beat up on the mothership or my colleagues at The Daily Beast, but as a Republican who is trying to bring a shade of conservative balance to the site—even though to most movement conservatives I am a RINO (Republican in Name Only) or a squish (soft Republican)—I feel compelled to speak out when I think basic standards of fairness, balance, and decency are abridged.

    ...

    To criticize Romney for changing his position on issues is fair game. That he has been “for” some policies before he was “against” them would be a statement of fact.

    ...

    I know. Many will say I’m acting the old man shouting, “Get off my lawn.” And many will just say, “That’s the way it is these days.


    Out Of Line

    ReplyDelete
  32. On this day in 1981, MTV made its cable-television debut. The first music video aired on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Here is a confidence builder -

    Missile Defense Staff Warned to Stop Surfing Porn Sites
    By Tony Capaccio - Aug 1, 2012 12:51 PM

    The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency warned its employees and contractors last week to stop using their government computers to surf the Internet for porn sites, according to the agency’s executive director.

    In a one-page memo, MDA Executive Director John James Jr. wrote that in recent months government employees and contractors were detected “engaging in inappropriate use of the MDA network.”


    “Specifically, there have been instances of employees and contractors accessing websites, or transmitting messages, containing pornographic or sexually explicit images,” James wrote in the July 27 memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

    “These actions are not only unprofessional, they reflect time taken away from designated duties, are in clear violation of federal and DoD and regulations, consume network resources, and can compromise the security of the network though the introduction of malware or malicious code,” he wrote.

    Individuals identified as violating the rules face referral for “appropriate” disciplinary action, he wrote. They put “their security clearances in jeopardy, and are subject to suspension and removal from Federal service or MDA sponsored contracts,” he wrote.

    Agency spokesman Rick Lehner said in an e-mail statement that the memo was written in response to “a few people downloading material from some websites that were known to have had virus and malware issues.”


    b

    ReplyDelete
  34. American International Group Inc. is looking to buy back a large amount of its shares from the government, according to people familiar with the company's thinking, in a push that could make the U.S. a minority shareholder by the fall and enable the insurer to fully repay its bailout sooner than expected.

    ReplyDelete
  35. He looked like a winner until the crowd shouted his name --

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NBMO-W6xsqo/SQLaANk8z4I/AAAAAAAAAAM/qnUN6-ZNyvs/s400/KimYooSuk.jpg

    b

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try this --

      http://www.oddee.com/item_96755.aspx

      from Mat


      b

      Delete
  36. Nice interview with Sarah at the bottom - video -

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/01/quotes-of-the-day-1104/

    b

    ReplyDelete