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October 9, 2006
WB: Poetic Justice
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Are the negative ads an expression of paranoia? Don’t know.
On political paranoia: Krugman: (liberated version) The Paranoid Style
More generally, Mr. Hastert is a leading figure in a political movement that exemplifies what the historian Richard Hofstadter famously called “the paranoid style in American politics.”
Hofstadter’s essay introducing the term was inspired by his observations of the radical right-wingers who seized control of the Republican Party in 1964. Today, the movement that nominated Barry Goldwater controls both Congress and the White House.
As a result, political paranoia — the “sense of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy” Hofstadter described — has gone mainstream. To read Hofstadter’s essay today is to be struck by the extent to which he seems to be describing the state of mind not of a lunatic fringe, but of key figures in our political and media establishment.
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Which brings us back to the Foley affair. The immediate response by nearly everyone in the Republican establishment — wild claims, without a shred of evidence behind them, that the whole thing is a Democratic conspiracy — may sound crazy. But that response is completely in character for a movement that from the beginning has been dominated by the paranoid style. And here’s the scary part: that movement runs our government.
Lawmaker Saw Foley Messages In 2000
A Republican congressman knew of disgraced former representative Mark Foley’s inappropriate Internet exchanges as far back as 2000 and personally confronted Foley about his communications.
A spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) confirmed yesterday that a former page showed the congressman Internet messages that had made the youth feel uncomfortable with the direction Foley (R-Fla.) was taking their e-mail relationship.
In the same piece we have this paragraph which is one of worst example of he-said/she-said journalism I have ever seen:
A source with direct knowledge of Kolbe’s involvement said the messages shared with Kolbe were sexually explicit, and he read the contents to The Washington Post under the condition that they not be reprinted. But Cline denied the source’s characterization, saying only that the messages had made the former page feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she said, “corrective action” was taken. Cline said she has not yet determined whether that action went beyond Kolbe’s confrontation with Foley.
The writer knows the messages. The have been read to him. But nowhere does this “journalist” or “reporter” say if these really are sexually explicit or not. He knows them. Why can´t he say so – he doesn´t have to reprint them to give a sound opinion. Instead we get he-said/she-said.
Petard actually means “fart”. No, really.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petard
Posted by: Todd DiLaMucca | Oct 9 2006 11:34 utc | 3
for anyone interested in more down and dirty, our buddy wayne madsen has some more juicy gossip. btw, i was watching a crooks and liars video of some foley related news interviews the otherday , one of the panelists started talking about the child prostitution rings in the mariana islands, the rethug went apeshit and started talking right over him ,wouldn’t let him get another word out… wayne chimes in on that related topic…
Posted by: annie | Oct 10 2006 8:53 utc | 8