Slog - Comments on Cloward and Piven and Plumbers, Oh My!

Comment by Jeff Stevens

Jeff Stevens — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:04:49 -0800

So it wasn't 28 years of laissez-faire economics, cheered on by Reagan's ideological army, that dug American capitalism into the hole it's now currently in. The truth is, it's all Obama's fault. It was all an evil conspiracy he brewed up in 1980, when he was 19 years old.

I'll buy that for a dollar!

Comment by exelizabeth

exelizabeth — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:05:41 -0800

You know, I've long had a nagging suspicion that Bush and co. are actually extremist socialists who are committed to this strategy. But this is more because I just can't believe they're actually committed to what they're committed to.

I didn't realize my conspiracy theory had a name, though. Maybe I'll have to start going to conventions or something.

Comment by flamingbanjo

flamingbanjo — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:06:13 -0800

Always accuse your opponent of what you're doing. I think I'll call it Banjo's Law: When one hears the Neo-cons accusing liberals of something nefarious, one's suspicions that this describes a current neo-con strategy should rise substantially.

By the way, it's generally known as "starving the beast" when conservatives employ the described strategy -- management by crisis. For instance, the GOP could never find the political will to simply cancel Social Security and raid the funds in that program, but if an enormous budget crisis, say precipitated by decades of unchecked deficits, were to force their hand, why they may have no other choice....

Comment by Balt-O-Matt

Balt-O-Matt — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:09:58 -0800

These people are batshit crazy. I mean, honestly. What the hell are these people even talking about? Does this make sense to anyone? ANYONE? Thank god for Eydie Gorme and Maker's Mark. They help me get through it all.

Comment by jrrrl

jrrrl — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:22:04 -0800

American media & education is such an echo chamber. Hello?!?!? Every other single 1st world country has adopted Obama's "impossible demands" and much, much more and they have not collapsed. They even manage to retain their culture of xenophobia and racism. Southeast Asia even manages to have all this, plus *legal* discrimination! What more could a conservative want?!

Comment by switzerblog

switzerblog — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:34:48 -0800

Giuliani's Law: As a presidential election grows near, combined with a Democrat leading, the probability of a conspiracy theory involving 9/11 approaches one.

Comment by UnoriginalAndrew

UnoriginalAndrew — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:43:11 -0800

@ 3 - yeah, apparently Obama is a disciple of Grover Norquist. Who knew?

Comment by sepiolida

sepiolida — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:58:31 -0800

I tried to make one, but I didn't want to give them my email and they wouldn't show it to me...

Comment by Trevor

Trevor — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:02:48 -0800

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starve_the_beast

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:12:31 -0800

My sign says "I am Fearful of the Nig Nogs". I think I'll forward it to my racist uncle.

Comment by keshmeshi

keshmeshi — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:17:42 -0800

I've long had a nagging suspicion that Bush and co. are actually extremist socialists who are committed to this strategy.

Maybe they're like Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate, exactly the opposite of what they claim to be.

Comment by Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:22:01 -0800

I think i have fallen in love with Banjo's Law

Comment by Mike in Renton

Mike in Renton — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:36:21 -0800

Does anyone else laugh when Republicans equate making that kind of money with "working hard"?

Comment by Doctor Professor

Doctor Professor — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:37:46 -0800

I love the idea that most of the people using that stupid McCain thing would probably pay lower taxes under Obama's plan. ZOMG SOCIALIST WELFARE!

Comment by kinaidos

kinaidos — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:49:28 -0800

And I've heard rumored that O'Bama plans to use his donor database to decide who will lead his new comisariat. Think about it. 3.1 million people is just about right for petty comisar positions over most of the country I guess some folks would have to relocate though.
Anyways, better donate if you want in, at least that's what I hear.

Comment by David

David — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:05:15 -0800

Oh man, there was a Tom Tomorrow strip back in 2005 or so about just that: Bush, Cheney, and Rove are all hippies sitting around in the 70s, when they all cook up a conspiracy to go "straight" and infiltrate the system so they can bring it down from the inside. Wish I could find it...

Comment by David

David — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:07:42 -0800

Found it:

http://dir.salon.com/story/comics/tomo/2005/09/19/tomo/

Comment by scary tyler moore

scary tyler moore — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:21:03 -0800

oh, paul, honey, don't you feel all dirty and icky after reading these conservative blogs? how do you stand it?

Comment by Reverse Polarity

Reverse Polarity — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:28:55 -0800

Ooo! Sign generators are fun. Let me play!

I AM bozo
THE clown

I AM Levi
THE guy that spooged your daughter

I AM Attila
THE Hun

I AM voting for
THE socialist muslim terrorist

I AM smoking
THE pole

I AM locked in
THE sweat shop

I AM Michelle Bachmann
THE reincarnation of Joe McCarthy

I AM a Log Cabin Republican
THE delusional

You can play too!

Comment by blackhook

blackhook — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:32:27 -0800

I love the august handles these wingnuts give themselves ..."American Thinker", indeed!

I hope they don't think too much; it might implode their hateful little pea brains.

Comment by kinaidos

kinaidos — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:54:26 -0800

I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.

Comment by PCSecretSocialistMuslimObamaDonor#2,347,989

PCSecretSocialistMuslimObamaDonor#2,347,989 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:06:37 -0800

@3 5 9

ditto.

IT's creeping socialism. First we have govt. organized sewers; then schools; then an army; then transit; then ynemployment insurance; then social security; then "private" hospitals but we make then serve anyone (thius they are actually govt. run!); then banking; pretty soon we will look like the marxist leninist state of Denmark.

heh heh heh heh heh heh heh

PS--we also have secretly taken over the NRA for years. Yes, we will USE THEIR MEMBER LIST TO CONFISCATE ALL GUNS.

Why do you think we created the NRA anyway, huh?

heh heh heh heh heh heh heh

Unity & selam--

Comment by mnm

mnm — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:36:07 -0800

overload the government with impossible debts? like the iraq war? Like the trillions in annual defense spending on a cold war relic military?

Comment by SeaExile

SeaExile — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:02:28 -0800

"Blogosphere" is a damn ugly word. "Conservablogosphere" is so ugly it's funny and almost awkwardly cute, like those pictures of baby chimpanzees people keep e-mailing me. "Obamaeconomics", on the other hand, what I can only imagine is what these evil anti-Americans what to overthrow capitalism for (cause communism is deader than Reagen and I can't imagine even conspiracy nuts thinking that's what they're going for), that's a pretty rockin' word.

Comment by Yella

Yella — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:29:12 -0800

@24:
Yes. Try telling the Chinese that communism is dead...

Comment by idaho

idaho — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:30:50 -0800

You guys will throw up this claptrap and *not* cover the story about how Obama is hypnotizing the masses???? http://lewp.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/barack-obama-puts-his-audience-in-hypnotic-trance/

That's what I call irresponsible journalism! (and that last bit's a joke)

Comment by John Bailo

John Bailo — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:39:15 -0800

I thought you Libs might want to make your reservations early since all the flights will be booked in two weeks:

http://www.canadaairtickets.com/

Comment by cressona

cressona — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:40:24 -0800

flamingbango @3: Always accuse your opponent of what you're doing. I think I'll call it Banjo's Law: When one hears the Neo-cons accusing liberals of something nefarious, one's suspicions that this describes a current neo-con strategy should rise substantially.

flaming, reading this post I kept thinking, "This is exactly what the right has been accused of." Never mind "starve the beast," this alleged use of a crisis to further political ends is the whole premise of Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

Comment by UnCommonSense

UnCommonSense — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:29:19 -0800

Everything is connected in these turbulent times.
On the back of the US one dollar bill, it reads: NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM. That is Latin for NEW WORLD ORDER.

'Nuff said.

Comment by daisy

daisy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:43:10 -0800

I AM ready for
THE election to be over

I AM hoping that
THE racists lose

Gawd these people infuriate me.

Comment by constant corrections

constant corrections — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:34:01 -0800

How's this new "internet law":
whenever you attempt to debunk a 9/11 conspiracy theory (other than the official government conspiracy theory), you�re just as bad as a holocaust denier or brainwashed nazi?
btw, not all 9/11 skeptics buy the FBI's "19 hijacker" claim: http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/hijackers.html?q=hijackers.html

Comment by Jim

Jim — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:44:28 -0800

#3 got to it first, but still...

Grover Norquist publicly states again and again his goal to "shrink government to the size where I can drown in a bathtub."

Needless to say, Grover's place is THE networking site for the right wing.

Comment by Viva La Raza!

Viva La Raza! — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:01:36 -0800

I am HISPANIC
The GREATEST RACE

Comment by Matt in Southampton

Matt in Southampton — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:04:17 -0800

I AM taking
THE mickey...

I AM wishing I took
THE blue pill.

I AM voting for
THE One!

Comment by Diamond4Evah

Diamond4Evah — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:06:37 -0800

I AM I said to no one there. And no one heard, not even
THE chair

Comment by raisedbywolves

raisedbywolves — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:12:56 -0800

I AM robbing
THE bank
DON'T TAX ME FOR WORKING HARD!

Comment by Vince

Vince — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:21:24 -0800

When you are free of cognitive reasoning the way the right wing is.And when you are self deluded the way the right wing is. And when religious superstition and fear are your motivation, it doesn't matter what the truth is. The truth is irrelevant. What matters is blaming the opposition for anything and everything when you are failing. They never take any responsibility because they are never wrong.

Comment by Parsnip

Parsnip — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:33:34 -0800

Yeah, those liberals just don't cotton to government as we see it today... or... if we were to apply occam's razor to nutty conspiracy theories, wouldn't it be right wingers and libertarians who would be the ones plotting to erode our infrastructure?

Comment by The Incredible Sulk

The Incredible Sulk — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:26:41 -0800

I AM
THE INCREDIBLE SULK!

And no, I don't feel like letting it go.

Comment by mikeblanco

mikeblanco — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:05:06 -0800

That's what fiscal conservatives thought Reagan was doing in the 80s- running up the debt so high that the welfare state would implode. The smart ones have learned that the only thing worse than a "tax and spend liberal" is a "spend and spend and then spend a little more right wing nutcase."

Comment by Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:16:15 -0800

I AM Palin
THE Idiot

Comment by sleestak

sleestak — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:18:40 -0800

Damn, Paul, you're really obsessed with 9/11 theorists, huh? You can barely go a post without bringing them up, even when the story you're referring to isn't about them. You seem to feel very strongly that people who question the 9/11 commission should the object of ridicule and scorn. Because apparently if you question the administration's story on only this particular issue it makes you equivalent to the "rightest-wing". Do I have that right?

Comment by Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:20:16 -0800

I AM a first-time campaign contributor, to
THE black guy

Comment by Greg

Greg — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:47:50 -0800

Shouldn't it really just be called the Grover Nordquist strategy? Or maybe the Nordquist-Bush strategy?

Comment by Christin

Christin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:12:18 -0800

I think somebody is manually checking these for earnestness, because my
I am terrified of
the brown-skinned people
sign never came through via e-mail. On the other hand, I'm now on John McCain's mailing list.

I thought that taking public funding meant that John McCain couldn't fundraise, but he was def begging me for money. Is it that he can only fundraise up to a certain dollar amount, or something? If that's the case, how is it not embarrassing that he hasn't hit that limit yet? What's the deal?