On the other hand, given Bush’s well-demonstrated weakness for servile sycophants, maybe Card really has talked his way into a promotion from chief cheeseburger chaser to Grand Vizier.
Back to Main
October 12, 2005
WB: House of Card
Comments
LIBERALS — THREAT OR MENACE?
[ed.note: Troll post deleted. b.; 07:06 AM]
Posted by: Super Patriot | Oct 12 2005 9:48 utc | 2
such big words SP, did you write this yourself or did your mommy help you?
thanks for the laughs.
Posted by: dan of steele | Oct 12 2005 10:29 utc | 3
We do have Card to thank for this juicy quote from summer of 2002: “From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August,” with reference to the PR offensive to authorize war on Iraq.
It confirms billmon’s general point that Card failed to go off the record before describing a casus belli as a product.
Posted by: ralphbon | Oct 12 2005 11:24 utc | 5
Hmmm. You know, the last time I posted here as ‘Super Patriot’, people understood it was a joke almost instantly and responded in a fairly good humored fashion. I think the thread picked up 72 comments in response.
I guess everything goes to pot. Sorry to intrude. I’ll leave y’all alone now.
Well, okay, I will say this… in addition to displaying a complete lack of a sense of humor, removing comments because you don’t like them also reveals a pretty tiny mind.
Bye.
Posted by: Highlander | Oct 12 2005 14:58 utc | 7
Dear Highlander,
you will have to forgive us I suppose, these days it is really hard to tell satire from fact and the things you wrote are proudly posted on all the wingnut sites.
At any rate you probably deserve the troll label as it seems the purpose of your post was to derail any discussion of the topic.
in the future you should insert a visual clue like
/tongue in cheek
Posted by: dan of steele | Oct 12 2005 16:07 utc | 8
Looking at Iraq “policy” I see nothing but “full speed ahead until we go over the cliff.”
How much dumber could it get?
Of course there is mass murder through air power, but I’m not excluding that anyway.
Posted by: ab | Oct 12 2005 16:18 utc | 9
I don’t mind people not getting the joke immediately. I try to write subtly (as subtly as one can when one is imitating the non-mentality of an arch conservative) and the fact that people don’t immediately realize I’m joking doesn’t bother me.
But I post these things to stimulate intelligent conversation, and had reason to believe it would work well here on MOA, where there’s a pretty intelligent crowd. I never expected MOA to resort to censorship simply because the editor and/or the Cool Kids table didn’t particularly like what was in a post. I figured people would refute it, probably quite articulately, and have some fun doing it.
As to what labels I deserve, well, you seem to be a little obsessed with labeling, to the point where you want your satire labeled clearly as such up front, so you don’t have to think about things. It’s sad that there are as many unthinking, kneejerk liberals who dislike analysis as there are conservatives of that ilk, but people are people, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.
As I’ve obviously badly and sadly misjudged the crowd here (maybe all the smart people have gone somewhere else in the couple of months since I last posted here) I’ll just apologize for thinking too highly of you, and slink away. C-ya. Wouldn’t want to b-ya.
Posted by: Highlander | Oct 12 2005 16:30 utc | 10
Oooooh significant first-hand reporting on a blog! I feel like one of those apes confronting the black slab in 2001. So strange, so scary…so seductive.
But seriously, what I took away from Billmon’s profile of Andy Card is: even if Rove goes down the tubes, no way the Republican high command is going to let Andy Card and George Bush run the world. They’re too dumb. The Veep, assuming he’s able to skate ahead of the Plame mess as an unindicted co-conspirator, will push the Bush team aside and shoulder the load. I’m talking about taking over the day to day driving of the agenda and the decisions, not actually taking over as President (unless George suffers a complete and conspicuous drug/alcohol/stress inducted mental collapse–see Dana Milbank’s scathing review of his recent TV performance, linked to by Wonkette). Cheney has a deep bench, strong cred among the faithful, and ruthless contempt for the political niceties that confound George. My forecast for is for three years of unapologetic f*ck you conservative hardball a la Cheney.
Posted by: Halcyon Days | Oct 12 2005 16:45 utc | 11
Don’t forget another low-point in Card’s undistinguished career. His being the punchline and butt to a Jenna & not-Jenna joke at the Republican convention about a potential job they might even be able to fill.
Posted by: bcf | Oct 12 2005 16:56 utc | 12
Highlander, before you start insulting people in response to your hurt, you might become more acquainted w/the Huge information loss inherent in this form. Satire is particularly complicated. Further since you haven’t been around, you’re not aware of recent dev. w/trolls that makes us all a bit suspicious at the moment.
Posted by: jj | Oct 12 2005 17:17 utc | 13
Trolling is bad, and certainly any private entity has the right to edit its own input/output as it pleases. Regardless, I respond poorly to anything I think is censorship. If a troll shows up, ignore him or ridicule him, as you please. If MOA has become a place where posts are deleted because they don’t please the editor or the readership, that’s a loss to open and intelligent discourse, and I’m personally disappointed. Your mileage may vary; I reserve the right to mine.
Posted by: Highlander | Oct 12 2005 18:01 utc | 14
Highlander, it’s more that you’ve outdone yourself. After reading through your piece on your website, the satire only kicks in, in any obvious form (other than the absurdist title, of course), about 3 paragraphs in. Until then, it could be copied and pasted from Ann Coulter piece, at least in content – your writing style is rather different than most conservative screeds.
And if the satire is undetectable after the first several paragraphs, then it’s not really satire, it’s just a really good imitation.
Posted by: Rowan | Oct 12 2005 18:16 utc | 15
From your typical tin foil hatter 9/11 theorist POV, which I suppose (?) is LIHOP (let it happen on purpose), it follows by definition, that there are certain people who are in the know, and others who are not.
Those in the know, part of the conspiracy, don’t possess extra power (thru the blackmail potential, for example) but belong to the Secret Brotherhood (and sisterhood) that ensures their participation, even advancement, in the system, as long as it exists, and as long as they wish it.
If such a state of affairs pertains (and I am not arguing for it here, just advocating considering consequences and being consistent under one hypothesis) then Card belongs.
And although I know little about Card, and Billmon is very well informed (thanks Billmon) it is always a mistake to underestimate the opposition, the crooks. They often act dumb on purpose, don’t care about their image, neglect their homework (we need to do it, they can manage without), make stupid miscalculations, etc.
Their power, intelligence and capacities for action rest not in their individual IQ, social skills, or rocket or political science degrees, but in their secret knowledge, their covert clout, their relations, etc. For that reason, they often appear stupid – their agenda is not what their interlocutor naively supposes.
Highlander, carry on! Super Patriot is cool. Maybe “Super Patriot” or super PATRIOT would do the trick?
I guess Super!!! Patriot??? might spoil the tone, but why not, just a few extra characters.
Posted by: Noisette | Oct 12 2005 18:27 utc | 16
Well, the absurdist title was meant to be a giveaway. As was the ‘In Hillary We Trust’ line. Still, even if you take the post seriously, I meant it to inspire debate and refutation, not immediate shutdown. But I’m just repeating myself, so I’ll shut up. Thanks for the encouragement. Once upon a time, a Super Patriot could post any drivel he wanted anywhere in America and not get deleted; it’s a pity we don’t live in that world any more.
Posted by: Highlander | Oct 12 2005 19:55 utc | 17
You’re not in Kansas any more, Super Patriot. This isn’t an America-based blog. Furthermore, is it really satire to do a hit-and-run with a rant and then later claim it was ‘to encourage debate’? What, precisely, differentiates your rant from anything similar that can be found on LGF and similar sites?
Why, nothing at all, just your later claim that you were merely posting in jest. How about I insult you by calling you a game-playing clown and then perhaps later tell you that I was only kidding? Hilarious isn’t it? I’m overly convinced that you understand humor too well or its application vis a vis blogs but your mileage obviously does vary, or perhaps it’s your steering. Do you know for sure whether you’re on the left or the right?
Posted by: Hatchet | Oct 12 2005 20:17 utc | 18
Hey folks -sorry- I should have deleted that troll comment completly, not only that absurd triva text below the headline.
Too late now but maybe I should just close the thread.
That guy who promised to leave four hours ago is still coming back, reading this and now has this urge to answer to this comment.
Hey, you are free to do so and I am free to delete what you submit. It comes with the bill you know.
After reading all of this I’m curious what the post said. People here don’t usually take the troll bait. It must have had some value to get everyone’s undies twisted.
By all means, close the thread. If you’re comfortable with stifling discourse… and clearly, you vastly enjoy it… then you might as well fully commit to repression.
Hatchet, you’re just not as good a writer as I am. I’m snobbish about stuff like that; I only really listen to criticism of my posts from people who write at least as well as I do. Think of me what you will, and I’ll do the same for you.
Back to B… if you’d just kept your original promise to post the stuff I submitted months ago on the front of the blog, I wouldn’t be here in your comment threads being snarky at all. However, since I’ve clearly made myself unwelcome to you simply by challenging you, there seems little point in hanging around. On the other hand, as long as people keep responding to me, it’s hard to resist responding to them. I gather your application of freedom of expression is selective, and doesn’t include me? That’s a pity; this place could use a little class. Billmon’s post supply a great deal of it, but it seems to me you can never really have enough.
Posted by: Highlander | Oct 12 2005 21:38 utc | 21
Lets see if we can get this discussion back on course. Just a suggestion but if anyone does want to debate with/about that moron why not do it in the open thread instaed of allowing him to destroy an interesting line of thought.
Is there such a thing as a well-meaning fool or is this Card character in fact not such a card after all but an evil intentioned idiot?
If Billmon’s impressions of the chap are accurate and there is no reason to suppose they are not, then Card must have been placed by those a lot smarter than he, possibly as some sort of fall guy.
Although it wouldn’t be the first time that devious idiots have ended up holding the levers at the Whitehouse, I mean who can forget the conga line of no-hopers Nixon surrounded himself with in the last days? Al Haig first surfaced then.
I don’t think that the insiders at BushCo recognise that their situation has become terminal yet. In other words there are still sufficient smart assholes who want a gig.
In which case a fool will only find power at their behest.
So this will make more compulsive viewing for vicarious thrill seekers than that desperate housewives soap.
Maybe Karl really knows his man, but since Card isn’t one of the lone star gang he may not.
The thing is you see, these dumb assholes have a habit of getting swelled heads when they finally ‘make it’. They start getting ideas above their station and are no longer controllable.
I suppose they look at it as finally getting the opportunity to ‘prove’ to the world that they aren’t us stupid as supposed.
Al Haig is a classic example of that. I particularly admired his attempt to take over the world when Ronnie copped a bullet.
However all is not lost. If card follows in the Haig school we are in for a terrifying yet exhilerating ride. Haig was put in place to watch fellow stumblebum Gerald Ford’s back (No I’m not kidding. See fate does have a sense of humour) Virtually his first act was to conspire with Ford to give Nixon a blanket pardon. Rather than watching the boss’s back, this stupidity guaranteed that Ford would never again win a raffle let alone any sort of half honest election.
So ‘Card In Charge’ may be a sort of a hair tearing time but it will be an amusing diversion for those with a suitably twisted outlook.
Here’s my favorite Al Haig quote :
“I probably carry more scar tissue on my derriere than any other candidate- that’s political scar tissue.”
Posted by: Debs is dead | Oct 12 2005 22:01 utc | 22
Between Rove and Card, I’ll take my chances with Card. If it has to be an unprincipled fascist, let it be a dumb one. If Rove can be moved completely away from the machinery, maybe more people will notice the strings attached to W and the people pulling them.
Still, it’s hard to see Bush turning to Card – a non-Texan fit only for fetching cheeseburgers – even if Rove goes. Who is left? Hughes? Rice? Milbank’s pop psych
article on Bush’s body language made me suspect that Laura may become a critical stabilizer for him.
Posted by: lonesomeG | Oct 12 2005 22:28 utc | 23
Why Highlander / Super Patriot / Troll, it seems that your ‘writing skills’ aren’t considered that wonderful after all but your pitiful whining about not making the front page does explain quite a lot. Pique, humbled pride, attention seeking, an overblown (and undeserved) sense of importance, the bitterness of a tormented soul driven to petty acts of pointlessness on a blog, yes, these are all hallmarks of some of the greatest literary figures in history, aren’t they? Schadenfreude is a lovely word, isn’t it? Get over yourself already and try to aspire to something more meaningful with your life.
Posted by: Hatchet | Oct 13 2005 0:12 utc | 24
While at the Billmon everyone is concentrating on the political front a couple of pieces of the House of Cards are wavering in another corner of the foundation. This Fall along with the leaves changing color we also have a falling stock market. Year 4 into the, cough, recovery the market is tanking again which is one of those constantly updated scoreboards the middleclass refers to. The real econ news you are aware of bankruptcies, mass lay offs at the blue chips. In the 2002 mid term elections while the stock market was still in free fall there was the miraculous pick up starting in October, just in time to sell the republican claim to Congress. Anyways, now we’re back into Fall and with the lowering Dow another beam of support for the CEO administration is being sawed away.
Then there is the real foundation. The Greenspan home setting in McManshionville act is being repealed. House prices which most people can’t afford are no longer going up, and when they stop going up they’ll start falling. This one is really serious. When soem guy is sitting in a new tract home that he can barely afford the mortgage for and the empty house next door has it’s selling price knocked down by ten grand a month, we’ll be looking at some pretty pissed off dudes. Will this guy’s anger be turned toward the Demos for not supporting the American stove pipe dream, or is he going to focus his anger at Busholini.
Posted by: christofay | Oct 13 2005 1:15 utc | 25
Billmon have you ever seen the video on the White House web site of Andy Card instructing bush team members on Ethics???
It’s a hoot. Link is at my homepage
Posted by: scoutprime | Oct 13 2005 7:14 utc | 26
“a.) he definitely wasn’t the sharpest chisel in the White House toolbox (and this wasn’t exactly the Leonardo da Vinci administration) ”
You blew this one – da Vinci was never known for his sculpture – and was at times critical of this art form. You should have said the Michelangelo administration. 🙂
I didn’t even think of the chisel/sculpture analogy (although now I wish I had) I was just trying to think of the name of someone with a big brain to contrast with the absence of same in the Cheney White House. I guess I should have used Albert Einstein.
Posted by: Billmon | Oct 13 2005 20:14 utc | 28