From Big Tent Democrat

I know it is bad form to laugh at the insane but Hitch is too easy:

Hitchens uses this to brand Dean a "pathological liar," and when some at the table protest, Hitchens turns his shotgun full of crazy on the assembled:

"Fine, now that I know that, to you, medical ethics are nothing, you've told me all I need to know. I'm not trying to persuade you. Do you think I care whether you agree with me? No. I'm telling you why I disagree with you. That I do care about. I have no further interest in any of your opinions. There's nothing you wouldn't make an excuse for. You know what? I wouldn't want you on my side. I was telling you why I knew that Howard Dean was a psycho and a fraud , and you say 'That's O.K.' Fuck off. No, I mean it: fuck off. I'm telling you what I think are standards and you say, 'What standards? It's fine, he's against the Iraq War.' Fuck. Off. You're MoveOn.org. Any liar will do. He's anti-Bush. Fuck off...Save it sweetie, for someone who cares. It will not be me. You love it, you suck on it. I now know what your standards are, and now you know what mine are, and that's all the difference -- I hope -- in the world."

This was at, mind you, a dinner party.

Ezra goes on to psychoanalyze Hitch. I just laugh my head off. To each his own. H/T atrios.

From Big Tent Democrat

David Broder seeks the title of Dean through the sheer force of his illogic:

The public has shown similar consistency with party support for Congress. In the latest poll, Democrats lead Republicans, 54 percent to 41 percent, among registered voters. In November 2005 the Democrats led 52 percent to 37 percent. The margins are almost identical. . . . What all this suggests is a settled judgment on the part of the majority of Americans that the current leadership of the nation is not doing the job that people expect. This is the government the people chose in 2004, but now they are showing clear signs of buyer's remorse. . . . What is driving public opinion is an overall impression that those in office -- meaning mainly Republicans -- have let things slide out of control and need to be relieved.

. . . Fortunately, the voters have the power -- if they pull the trigger on Election Day -- to create a new plot for the Washington drama. . . . [T]he public is tired of the partisan bickering, tired of the gridlock and eager to elect people who will focus on the real problems and work together to find solutions.

No, Dean Broder, the message is right there in your polls - the country has had enough of Republicans and Bush. And they have had enough of you and the Beltway mentality. You see, the rejection of the Media is part of the story too. Not by Republicans. But by progessive Democrats and Independents. They are tired of your know nothing empty platitudes. And we don't have to wait until November to see if you get voted out - you lost already.

(Guest Post from Big Tent Democrat)

Desperation. David Brooks via Althouse:

The first predator, of course, is Mark Foley, the Florida congressman. The second predator is a character in Eve Ensler's play, "The Vagina Monologues."

Foley is now universally reviled. But the Ensler play, which depicts the secretary's affair with the 13-year-old as a glorious awakening, is revered.

Okaaay. Potatoe:

IF FOR NOTHING ELSE, DAN QUAYLE DESERVES POINTS for audacity. . . . [T]he Vice President dared to argue last week in a San Francisco speech that the Los Angeles riots were caused in part by a "poverty of values" that included the acceptance of unwed motherhood, as celebrated in popular culture by the CBS comedy series Murphy Brown.

Personally, I think Brooks had a Beavis and Butthead moment and wanted to use the word vagina in a column.

(Guest Post from Big Tent Democrat)

Having slinked out of Washington in embarrassment after his favorite "independent centerists" (McCain, Lieberman, Warner, Graham) rubberstamped Bush's atrocious detainee bill, David Broder went to California to proclaim Ahnold's cave-in to Democrats as a great victory for his "Independence" Party. Rightly and roundly ridiculed again for his foolishness, Broder headed to Massachusetts to find independence.

But he runs into Deval Patrick, the Democratic nominee for Governor, who enjoys a huge lead. Now the thing about Patrick, the most interesting thing, was his unabashed embrace of liberal Democratic values and how he came from upstart to landslide running as a member of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. Indeed, he was strongly supported by Broder's nemesis, the "vituperative" Left blogosphere. But this does not interest Broder. What does interest him?

(Guest Post from Big Tent Democrat)

Those of us who despaired of Weepin' Joe Lieberman (I-Green Room) years ago have not been surprised by anything he's done over the past six months. He's always been a puling, mewling opportunist who'd sell his grandmother to the Malay pirates for a pat on the head from a jackleg preacher, or 15 minutes of banter on Don Imus's Wrinkle Farm, where he recently made giddy fun of the demolition of the Geneva Conventions. He's never breathed a political moment in which he was not John Breaux in a hairshirt.

Man he's good. And right. Read the whole thing.

(Guest Post from Big Tent Democrat)

No, Mark Halperin, ABC Political Director, and John Harris, Washington Post Political Editor, did no Shorenstein Center teeth gnashing, hair pulling review of the media in their book "The Way To Win" (How To Succeed as Media Without Trying") (Ok my subtitle is a joke for those who may be confused). Indeed, that's the problem. As Eric Boehlert reports, instead they wrote a "What's Wrong With the Democrats" book. And that tells you what's wrong with the Media:

Among the most important of Halperin and Harris's take-away tips -- their so-called "Trade Secret" -- is for candidates seeking the White House in 2008 to basically not act like Democrats. Specifically, Halperin and Harris stress that recent campaigns by Gore and Kerry failed because they lost control of their public image via the press, in sharp contrast to Bush's campaigns, which, thanks to the hard work of Karl Rove, were able to control their public image. What Halperin and Harris absolutely refuse to acknowledge is the willing role the press played in those key Democratic setbacks and the media's shrieking double standard that's been on display for the last decade.

Boehlert's piece is terrific, read the whole thing. But the crux of the matter is this:

(Guest Post from Big Tent Democrat)

Exercises in irony -- Peggy Noonan spots a speck, misses the obsessive log in her own eye:

One can't exaggerate how large Fox looms in the liberal imagination. They see it as huge and mighty and credit it with almost mythical powers. It is a propaganda channel whose mission it is to destroy the Democratic Party. That's part of why Clintons' performance had such salience. Finally he was standing up to an evil empire.

After writing this:

And so I come to Bill Clinton and Fox News Channel. A week after it aired, the interview still dominates the dinner party.

A week after it aired, Noonan wrote that column. And she writes that one can not exaggerate how large Fox looms in the liberal imagination. Her Right wing obsession with Clinton goes unnoticed by her. The mote in her eye.

(Guest Post from Big Tent Democrat)

You remember what Drudge said yesterday?

Have you read the transcripts that ABC posted going into the weekend of these instant messages, back and forth? The kids are egging the Congressman on! The kids are trying to get this out of him. We haven't got the whole story on this. . . You could say "well Drudge, it's abuse of power, a congressman abusing these impressionable, young 17 year-old beasts, talking about their sex lives with a grown man, on the internet." Because you have to remember, those of us who have seen some of the transcripts of these nasty instant messages. This was two ways, ladies and gentlemen. These kids were playing Foley for everything he was worth.

And The Note says:

Matt Drudge rules our world. . . . So many media elites check the DRUDGE REPORT consistently that a reporter is aware his bosses, his competitors, his sources, his friends on Wall Street, lobbyists, White House officials, congressional aides, cousins, and everyone who is anyone has seen it, too.

So I expected Howie Kurtz to be all over Drudge. And he was, so to speak.

The Daily Show and Jon Stewart on Mark Foley and the e-mails:

[hat tip Americablog]

Just another thing to love about Amsterdam, a city where all data packets are created equal.

Last week I was optimistic on Studio 60 and looking forward to the season premieres of Gray's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives.

What happened? Desperate Housewives was terrible -- over-playing the cliches by miles until it seemed like slapstick comedy. Studio 60 didn't move me last night, I didn't care for the musical number and I don't get what's so great about Harriet. She and Matt don't even have good chemistry. Brothers and Sisters was barely watchable despite Calista Flockhart, whom I really liked as Ally McBeal. It was excruciating watching Sally Field, a woman of tremendous talent, denigrated to the role of hapless, helpless aging, cheated-on mother.

What's left? Grey's Anatomy, my favorite show of last season, had a lackluster opener. Meredith and the doctor need to get it on quick, the suspense has turned to irritation, at least with me.

(Guest Post by Big Tent Democrat)

Mr. David Broder, let me introduce you to your editor, Mr. Fred Hiatt, Iraq Debacle supporter, New McCarthyite, and critic of the "Maverick" John McCain:

[I]t's hard to credit the statement by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) yesterday that "there's no doubt that the integrity and letter and spirit of the Geneva Conventions have been preserved." In effect, the agreement means that U.S. violations of international human rights law can continue as long as Mr. Bush is president, with Congress's tacit assent. If they do, America's standing in the world will continue to suffer, as will the fight against terrorism.

Despite that, Broder writes this:

The independence being demonstrated all over the political spectrum these days -- by Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman and Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, both in tough reelection battles, and by Republican Sens. John McCain and John Warner -- has its roots in American history.

... [T]he forces of the independent center are gaining. The public disgust with the breakdown of Congress as a functioning institution has liberated more House and Senate candidates to challenge the status quo. They may be the same people, but they're not behaving the same way.

David Broder, independently stupid.