I am grateful to David Frum for telling it like it is about the current state of the Republican Party and their attitudes about race, but I wonder about a couple of things. First, I hope Frum realizes that the flirtation with Birtherism is just one part of a greater whole. Virtually everything the Republicans have been doing over the last two years has been arranged around the idea that the president is not legitimate and that, therefore, compromise is impossible. Ezra Klein wrote about this yesterday when he detailed how the Republicans have rejected as radical socialism the same policies they offered (in recent times) on taxes, climate, and health care. What does Frum think about this phenomenon?
Second, since Frum seems clear-sighted about the naked racism that is being peddled and tolerated and encouraged by the leaders of his party, could he define for us what these Republicans would have to do to get him to abandon the party? I mean, for me this isn’t all that complicated. Despite the fact that I am a big fan of the New Deal and I prefer Democrats to Republicans on every issue, I could never have been a self-described Democrat during Jim Crow. I might have voted for liberal and progressive Democrats over country-club Republicans, but I wouldn’t belong to a party that was dominated by vicious segregationists like George Wallace, Ross Barnett, Orval Faubus, and Jimmie Davis. Is Frum so enamored with tax cuts for millionaires that he’s willing to overlook the most repugnant behavior? I mean, he’s not overlooking it entirely. He just wrote a piece about how appalling he finds it. But, if it’s so appalling, then why doesn’t he renounce the party and support Democrats from time to time?
And, yes, that should include John Boehner”s opponent.
Now the more haunting question: How did this poisonous and not very subtly racist allegation get such a grip on our conservative movement and our Republican party?
I know there will be Republican writers and conservative publicists who will now deny that birtherism ever did get a grip. Sorry, that’s just wrong. Not only did Trump surge ahead in Republican polls by flaming racial fires – not only did conservative media outlets from Fox to Drudge to the Breitbart sites indulge the birthers – but so also did every Republican candidate who said, “I take the president at his word.” [Ed. note: link] Birthers did not doubt the president’s “word.” They were doubting the official records of the state of Hawaii. It’s like answering a 9/11 conspiracist by saying, “I take the 9/11 families at their word that they lost their loved ones.”
Those are commendable words, but some further action would seem logical.
Booman,
you really need to see Lawrence O’Donnell’s rant against both NBC and Donald Trump!!!!
Lawrence O went all in HARD!!!!
Yes, do, that was really something, but I wonder how long he will have his job….
he went after his bosses?
He completely called out NBC Entertainment divison for their enabling of Trump.
It was a thing of beauty Booman.
Lawrence O was ON FIRE tonight !!!
“Those are commendable words, but some further action would seem logical.”
You’ll be waiting a long time. There’s always an excuse to stay.
This is the third night Lawrence has been chewing on NBC to do something with Trump but the first night he gave an ultimatum.
Also, I saw historian Doug Brinkley charge NBC with booting Trump on CNN.
Then tonight John King got chewed on by Trump in one of the more arrogant interviews I’ve seen him give. Come to think of it, he may just have hurt John’s feelings.
That interview was even worse that most of his, Trumps, that is….he was rude to John as he is to most everyone except Fox and as his habit he does all the talking.. Did you ever see the interview with Larry King were he all of a sudden says,” larry you have really bad breath, can you move further away, has anyone told you about your breath” and so on, then minutes later, Trumps says, see that’s how i deal with people, I disarm them. All I see now with Trump is that he is using his disarm techniques all over the place.
Here’s video from MEDIA-ite:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/epic-lawrence-o%E2%80%99donnell-hammers-nbc-demands-they-reveal-trumps-fu
ture-plans/
NBC hasn’t put up a video yet. If they ever will!
I thought about watching it, but I don’t feel like watching one carnival barker upbraid another one.
That’s definitely the snottiest comment I’ve ever seen from you, Booman.
O’Donnell is a blowhard. I can’t and don’t watch his show. I find him unwatchable and his act contrived. When I used to pay some attention to him, he would rely on his authority as a veteran Hill staffer to make totally inaccurate statements and predictions about procedure. I really don’t care for his ‘persona.’
What you say is perfectly valid for you as an individual. But this is American television 2011, and objectively speaking, O’Donnell has created this persona because an effective television “personality” requires a persona. In mass media there are very few such on the left. You might as well condemn theatre because it’s all an act. The point is WHAT is being communicated. I don’t even watch television, whatever TV I see is off the Internet. Nevertheless I thought O’Donnell’s presentation was very effective and even courageous (considering that he was sticking it directly to his bosses), and so did lots of other folks that I respect and that perhaps you respect. That is what is important, making an argument effectively to an audience and to the press. The fact that you personally don’t enjoy watching him is secondary. I understand you would have to “force yourself”, but I’m surprised you weren’t a little more interested to see what all the fuss was about.
The fuss is over O’Donnell manufacturing outrage for the billionth time. I give him credit for risking his job to do it, but I’m not that interested. When your job is to be outraged then your outrage loses its moral force. They have all become carnival barkers. That we have some on our side for a change is nice, but it’s not really helping much. Maddow I find tolerable, but excessively whiny. She does do some good work, including original reporting. I hope she sticks around. O’Donnell? I don’t really want to have to listen to him arrogantly (and errantly) pontificate more than I already have.
Frum’s had a series of fascinating posts lately. It reminds me of the 1970s-era line: “A conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged.” For Frum and others (e.g., Bruce Bartlett) we could say, “A liberal (okay, a moderate) is a conservative who’s been laid off.”
I doubt it will ever become a mainstream phrase, but if Obama gets reelected it will be in part because of “Obama Republicans” who feel that “they didn’t leave the Republican party; the Republican party left them”.
These days a moderate is a conservative who isn’t racist.
I wanted to type “these days its turning into …”, but on reflection that’s untrue. It’s already become that – the moderates just need to catch up.
And I can’t believe that David Frum counts as a moderate. We are talking about the guy who came up with the whole “Axis of Evil” concept, right?
“I write as an opponent of virtually every major and minor action of this administration.”
Frum differs from most other Republicans only in that he has moral scruples. He is trying to save his beloved GOP. He has never had any resemblance to a Democrat and he has not the slightest interest in becoming a Democrat. And that’s good.