Hoisted from Comments: Billmon Calls for Fire and Sword

Apropos of "Robert Waldmann Politely Says He Thinks I Have Got the Carrot/Stick Balance Wrong....", Billmon of the Whiskey Bar at http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2006/08/robert_waldmann.html#comment-20904230 announces that he isn't interested in using carrots and sticks on the Washington Post, he is interested in using fire and sword:

Tom Ricks: "I asked one officer, 'Why are you talking to me about these things?' And he looked down at his hands, and he said, 'Because I have the blood of American troops on my hands.'"

Ricks, and his newspaper, do too -- only they won't admit it.

"The Brad and Billmon approach has been to remind the reformed of their past misdeads. This does not creat useful incentives"

Speaking only for myself, I'm not out to create incentives. I'm out to expose these people for the fools and shills they really are. And the fact that Ricks has now written a book admitting his 2003 and early 2004 reporting was almost completely wrong definitely is hardly proof to the contrary. Sixty percent of the American people already KNOW the war is a fiasco, and you don't get brownie points for wanting to be on the side that's winning.

I don't want to reform Ricks and the Post. I want to discredit them, to the extent that a puny blogger can. If I could I would destroy them --fire the entire staff, break up the presses and sell them for scrap. It would be putting them to much better use.

Like the New York Times, the Post is now simply a house organ of the War Party (lady's auxiliary.) Why would I want to "incentivize" that?

Now, now, the Washington Post still has a few reporters who are good as individuals. The New York Times still has many reporters who are good as individuals. And Gail Collins--in an impressive ceremony at the Dog Days Fetid-Pond Summer Fete at Miskatonic University--was recently inducted into the Ancient and Hermetic Order of the Shrill.

There is always hope:

1. We pray daily for the conversion to shrillness, fairness, and reality based-ness of Michael Barone, whose latest is to say that the Democrats are not Jews but are every bit as bad as the anti-semites used to say that Jews were: "the Connecticut primary reveals that the center of gravity in the Democratic Party has moved from the lunch-bucket working class... to the secular transnational professional class".
2. We pray daily for the conversion to shrillness, fairness, and reality based-ness of Joe Lieberman, whose latest is to play the race card by saying that America's big problem is that Maxine Waters--begging as she does for crumbs for the people she represents, among the poorest and living in the most troubled neighborhoods in America--is too powerful: "I am committed to this campaign, to a different kind of politics, to bringing the Democratic Party back from Ned Lamont, Maxine Waters to the mainstream".
3. We pray daily for the conversion to shrillness, fairness, and reality based-ness of Fred Hiatt, who endorses Joe Lieberman as "by far, the better choice for the people of Connecticut... the best outcome for the state, the country, and, yes, even the Democratic Party.". Why does Hiatt think this? You may well ask. Because... because... "we recognize the widespread anger over the conduct of the war and wish Mr. Lieberman had done a better job... of articulating his position"--no, that's not it. Because... we wish "he had run a more organized, more tightly disciplined campaign"--no, that's not it. Becasuse... because "Mr. Bush has governed too often in a partisan way [and so] many Democratic voters concluded that anyone who reached across the aisle in an effort to cooperate must be a sap"--no, that's not it. Because... "Mr. Lieberman's brand of centrism and bipartisanship is a needed salve for a divided country"--that must be it!

Comments

[billmon]

Barone: "the Connecticut primary reveals that the center of gravity in the Democratic Party has moved from the lunch-bucket working class... to the secular transnational professional class".

In Stalin's day, they were called "rootless cosmopolitans."

[Rootless cosmopolites!]

[Jim Dandy]

Since when did some people being "good as individuals" become the proper criterion for judging the social worth of the institution they serve?

[Lee]

Let the good ones find gainful employment at functioning journalistic enterprises elsewhere.

[Diplomat Kalki Gaur]

Netroots BigMO Causing Death to Donor-controlled Democratic Party- Netroots is Real Revolution of People- Kalki Gaur
NewsWireUSA Kalki Gaur, 8/14/06 9:40 AM. (1) The Netroots BigMO Internet Blogosphere wrote the Obituary for the donor-controlled Democratic Party in Connecticut Senate primaries in August 2006. The Blogosphere will force Democratic Party to become democratic again and eject fat donors from top positions in Democratic Party and let people, netroots, voters and grassroots take control of the Democratic Party. The Netroots will snatch the leadership of the Democratic Party from corrupt big donors and empower the people and the voters. The netroots blogosphere is not about the ideology of political beliefs of the Netroots Democrats, Blogosphere is about the empowerment of the people, the grassroots and the voters by the revolution in Internet and rise of political blogging as a new media to mobilize masses and voters the role, print media, electronic media did for politicians with deep pockets. The Netroots BigMO is about the Crusades of Democracy inside the Democratic Party. The Wall Street and super rich had monopolized power in the Democratic Party arguing that in a Capitalist Democracy the voters, the grassroots and public didn’t count, only those with a ability to write big checks counted, as the elections were won or lost on grounds of paid TV and newspaper campaigns. The crooks of the America, the likes of Mark Rich came to dominate Democratic Party especially during Clinton era. The Wall Street Rich came to dominate the political landscape and the real politicians, the grassroots and the political activists got kicked out of the Democratic Party and replaced by crooks who could write big checks. The Money and Checkbooks became the sole criteria for political influence and political power in the Democratic Party. The charismatic politician Bill Clinton accelerated the process and Clinton replaced black leadership of the Democratic Party by Wall Street wiz kids. The Netroots Revolution will take back the control and leadership of the Democratic Party from, crooks of the Wall Street back to the people, the voters of the United States. The Netroots would empower blacks, Latinos, browns, Asians and immigrants in the Democratic Party and bring down the political power of the big check writers. The Grassroots Netroots not donors should control the Democratic Party.

(2) Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign galvanized a Third Party United We Stand that could attract more unpaid volunteers at its NYC 42nd street Lexington Ave HQ than the paid volunteers of the Lexington street HQ of the Bill Clinton in 1992. It took great amount of Ross Perot’s money to dismantle the Third Party that he gave birth. Then Ross Perot paid Pat Buchanan to finally destroy the Third Party United We Stand. The Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign proved that Third Party in the United States is awaiting its triumphal birth that may undermine the two-party political duopoly in the USA. The Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign rejuvenated the Third party in form of the political blogging that could also raise campaign donations. No wonder it unsettled the Democratic Party big wigs and forced Vice President Al Gore to join the Howard Dean campaign as a savior but only to dismantle the Howard Dean campaign organization and to dismiss the very team that gave Howard dean its first shine in the political limelight. The Democratic Party co-opted Howard Dean as the President of the Democratic Party with a provision that Dean would abandon his team of bloggers and abandon Dean for 2008 ambitions. No wonder that netroots are determined to prove to the Howard Dean and the Democratic Party as who is the real boss of the Democratic voters. Unless half of the top political posts of the Democratic Party are reserved for the Netroots and political bloggers, the Democratic Party would face a demise or decline in the new age of Blogosphere as Internet blogs replaced expensive TV and newspaper advertisements as more efficient way to mobilize voters and grassroots supporters. The Democratic Party would die as a viable political party unless it invited Netroots and bloggers into the top corridors of party power.

(3) Democratic Party ceased to be democratic in party organization when it expelled Blacks, Latinos, Brown and immigrants out of the top echelon of the political corridors of power in the Democratic Party and replaced them by corrupt political donors, arguing that in a capitalist democracy only donors counted as campaign donations paid for the expensive TV and newspaper ads. The revolution of political blogging changed all that. In the Internet age the voters are influenced more by blogs than TV and newspaper ads. The Democratic Party should learn from the defeat of Lieberman and summarily dismiss 50% of its top donors from top positions in the Democratic Party and replace them by Netroots, Blacks, Browns, Latinos and immigrants. Democratic party had been a party of Slave owners from the Civil War till the 1964 Bill of Rights signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. President Bill Clinton replaced the grassroots and political activists from tope leadership of the Democratic Party and replaced them by Wall Street donors, and perhaps he did it to make Hillary Clinton the next President. The leaders of the checkbooks replaced leaders of the grassroots voters in the Democratic Party’s corridors of power.

(4) The Netroots defeated the power of Jews through the defeat of Joe Lieberman and allowed majority WASP to take control of the USA. The ethnic support of the Jewish business community successfully catapulted many Jewish leaders into the top echelons of power as the Jewish community provided large number of election volunteers and campaign managers in elections throughout USA specially the in Tri State area. The defeat of Joe Lieberman is a reminder that representation of the Jews in Senate and the Congress would be in proportion to their share of population in USA.

(5) The Netroots Blogosphere defeated the political power of the religious organizations and Churches in the primaries. The large volunteer base of the Christian Churches and church leaders ability to influence campaign donations from the pulpit allowed religious activists dominate the primaries in the Democratic Party as well as Republican Party. It explained why pro-Life and pro-Choice activists determined the primaries in 2000 presidential elections. The Netroots BigMO has ended the dominance of Christian Church in American election process as voters in America more influenced more by Internet Blogosphere than the godosphere of the Churches.

(6) The Netroots Vote4Me Blogosphere political dictum is that American elections in 2006 as well as 2008 decided by Netroots, blogosphere activists and political bloggers more than the paid TV or newspaper advertisements. The Netroots, the political Bloggers, the warriors of the blogosphere pulled it off, with the verified electoral defeat of Senator Lieberman in Democratic primaries in Connecticut. The Republican Party, the GOP may not gain from Lieberman's loss, if GOP remained blind and failed to invite aspiring new leaders of Republican Netroots and Republican Blogosphere to the top echelons of the Republican Party. Senator Joe Lieberman's loss in the Connecticut Senate primary signaled the ascendancy of a legitimate new power center in the Democratic Party, the Democrat Netroots or Blogosphere Democrats. It also signaled the ascendancy of a legitimate new power center in the Republican part the Republican Netroots or Blogosphere Republicans. Failure to recognize the political power of the new Internet based political groups the netroots or blogosphere could doom the political party that failed to see the rising sun, clouded by they vested interests and lobbying interests. It is simply stupid to argue that defeat of Senator Lieberman resulted out of his pro-Iraq war stance rather than the political power of Netroots Vote4Me Blogosphere. Only a politically blind analyst would deny the rising sun of Netroots. The success of Netroots blogosphere has sent shock waves to the fat check campaign canvassers and dynastic caucus that had earlier relied on incumbency to retain control over Senate and Congress at the Capitol. Incumbents invariably won the primaries because of their clout over County Canvassing Boards and party apparatus. The revolutionary Netroots Vote4Me blogosphere threatens to smash and bring down this glass tree house perched high in the Democratic Party. Top Democratic Party positions would no longer sold to the biggest donors if Democratic Party wanted to win any future elections.

(7) Netroots Vote4Me Blogosphere political movement will transform the election politics of USA, Britain and India and only a foolish politician and a foolish political party would fail to adapt to and salute the rising sun of Netroots Vote4Me Blogosphere. President Reagan was the first President of USA made by Television. Being a Hollywood actor allowed Ronald Reagan master the Idiot Box to win elections in USA, and Reagan was a great orator. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the first Prime Minister of Britain made prime minister by the advertising suaveness of Satchi & Satchi advertising agency. Reagan and Thatcher transformed the election politics of the democratic world and India followed their trend. The Netroots movement, Blogosphere movement and political bloggers have established itself as a power center among Democrats as well as Republicans in USA as well as in India. Failure of the Democratic Party to replace its corrupt leadership and dynastic leadership and invite Netroots Democrats and Blogosphere Democrats into the top echelons of political power in the Democratic Party could haunt the Democratic Party in November 2006 as well as November 2008. Presently Democratic Party’s top leadership is overflowing with corrupt fundraisers lobbyists and special interest group leaders, who have no touch with grass roots Democratic voters. All top leaders of the Democratic Party are selected by Democratic Aristocrats, because they belong to the Elite group, and are either the wife or son or someone big in the Party. Democratic party would be doomed in elections 2006 and 2008 if Democratic Party failed to replace the elite leadership selected by the corrupt coterie to the enterprising young leadership thrown upward by the Netroots Democrats and Blogosphere Democrats. Vice President Al Gore gave a kiss of death to Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean and forced Dean’s campaign to dismiss the very same Netroots that had created the campaign. Netroots are very happy that the dishonest Al Gore no longer in the presidential nomination for election 2008. The only qualification Senator Hillary Clinton has to claim Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 is that she is the wife of President Bill Clinton and she can raise large funds. The fat Campaign dollars would fail to compete with netroots blogosphere political bloggers as “Vote Makers” in creating new votes by paying for high budget TV advertising and newspaper advertising.

(8) Joe Trippi as Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign manager was a pioneer in the use of the Internet as a fund-raising and election campaigning and organizing tool. The Internet activists of the Howard Dean presidential campaign, were booted out of Howard Dean’s Campaign 2004 on account of conspiracy hatched by pro-establishment vice President al Gore and all the $5 million raised by Joe Trippi and group confiscated and misused by the agents of Al Gore and new managers appointed by him. Al gore has sealed his political future forever.

(9) But in Senate Democratic primary in Connecticut, the Netroots Vote4Me political bloggers didn’t just get a win, but a victory no one could have expected even four months ago. The Netroots bloggers and Connecticut voters have for all intents and purposes kicked Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic Party. Joe Lieberman a three-term Connecticut Senator, on the verge of being the vice-president in a Democratic administration six years ago. Almost the entire Democratic establishment supporting his run against a virtually unknown businessman named Ned Lamont. Lamont admitted the support of Netroots Democrats was crucial early in getting the word of his candidacy out. Markos Moulitas of Daily Kos appeared in one of his early ads, former blogger and Internet organizer Tim Tagaris left his job at the Democratic National Committee to work on Lamont’s campaign and bloggers from the site mydd.com headed up to Connecticut over the last several days to call voters and encourage them to support Lamont. And MoveOn.org strongly supported Lamont despite pleas from Democratic leaders not to. Lamont's victory was about the rising vote making capabilities of political blogs, though pro-Iraq War stand of Lieberman helped Lamont.

(10) Now the main four interest group players in the Democratic party are: Netroots Democrats, Trade Unions, Black African Americans, and Pro-Choice Pro-Abortion Rights Groups. The Connecticut primary win means the "Netroots" now must be treated by Democratic leaders and politicians like the party’s other major interest group players — Pro-abortion rights groups, African-Americans and Trade Unions. There were signs before this race that the bloggers were already gaining respect. A bunch of presidential candidates showed up to the Daily Kos convention in June. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and other top party officials now have regular strategy meetings with MoveOn.org. And in recent weeks, Hillary Clinton has hired a blog outreach adviser. Now that the Netroots power has been cemented, any Democratic presidential candidate will have to consider how to woo these Netroots Blogosphere Internet activists, or at least keep them from hating him or her. MoveOn.Org is not fringe in the Democratic Party; they're the heart of the Democratic Party. The Connecticut Senate primary race sends one clear overriding message: in a liberal state like Connecticut, Democratic candidates defy the Netroots vote4Me Blogosphere at their own peril. The Netroots Vote4Me Blogosphere has turned the tables against incumbents.

(11) American politics gets wired from Blogosphere Vote4Me Netroots movement. The Netroots Blogosphere Vote4Me Internet moves ever closer to the heart of US politics, and its resounding victory in defeating Lieberman in Democratic primaries, has given such a powerful aura to the Netroots Vote4Me, that some of those who have put it there are shying away from the claims others make for Netroots power among voters. It was Mr. Lieberman's attempts to dismiss his opponent as an "antiwar challenger backed by loony-left bloggers" that did most to cast Netroots Vote4Me bloggers in kingmaker roles. The general verdict is that Lieberman’s defeat is a great day for Netroots Vote4Me blogs.

(12) Hillary Clinton camp's strategy is reaching out to blogs, blogger Peter Daou was recently hired from Salon to "expand Clinton’s relationship with the Netroots Democrats, the Democratic blogosphere might start to behave very differently. Rival to Hillary Clinton in 2008 presidential race trying to repeat Howard Dean's feat of entering the 2004 primaries as the Democratic Internet candidate. The Democrat Netroots have become too large to be the exclusive agent of any one democratic candidate. With her Democratic front-runner status, Hillary Clinton doesn't need to actually win the blogosphere outright; she just needs to make sure her rival for presidency does not either. In 2003, the liberal Blogosphere Netroots rallied overwhelmingly to one contender, Howard Dean.

(13) The Audio Video blogoshere has great scope for viral videos to spread campaign ads and other clips across the blogosphere for very little money, something that has started to happen already - and it all starts to look very wired. Every campaign manager now expects more on the political power of the Netroots Vote4Me blogosphere. The defeat of Lieberman is just the tip of iceberg and tiny reflection of the "underlying reality," and the "chatter about the power of the Netroots Vote4Me blogospher blogs is probably more important than whether Netroots really had any power to begin with. Vote4Me blogosphere is important as it directly influences the minds of the Internet savvy American voter, without having to spend huge sums on Television and print media advertisements.

(14) Democrat Ned Lamont's victory in the Senate primary in Connecticut over incumbent Joseph Lieberman is the first major triumph for Netroots Vote4Me Blogosphere Internet political bloggers, who championed the challenger's antiwar candidacy. Netroots bloggers are being low key about their role in Lieberman’s outcome. Netroots Blogosphere is not a group to shy away from taking credit for things, but playing kingmakers in a world of real politics that has true national implications has made Netroots bloggers suddenly modest. Lamont would not have gotten where he got without the left-wing blogosphere. Yet there are just not enough bloggers for that to be the only reason Lamont won. Lamont's victory will make it difficult for politicians to ignore the blogosphere's power. Vote4Me Netroots blogosphere really does a good job of getting people fired up and engaged.' Eli Pariser, 25, executive director of MoveOn.org, which supported Lamont, said Lamont’s victory sent a message that voters wee sick and tired of being sick and tired. MoveOn.org bloggers sent out millions of e-mails on Lamont's behalf and attempted what the Internet has failed to achieve a number of times before: motivating people to get out and vote. The group set up a Web site, provided phone numbers of registered voters who hadn't gone to the polls much in the past, and offered a script for volunteers to read to them in support of Lamont.

(15) MoveOn.org bloggers sent out millions of e-mails on Lamont's behalf and attempted what the Internet has failed to achieve a number of times before: motivating people to get out and vote. The group set up a Web site, provided phone numbers of registered voters who hadn't gone to the polls much in the past, and offered a script for volunteers to read to them in support of Lamont. Netroots are Passionate Callers. Most campaigns use paid canvassers and paid callers to do this. Paid canvassers really could care less about who they are calling for. Netroots have people who care passionately doing the calling. The Netroots Vote4Me blogosphere also acted as both a megaphone and an echo chamber for Lamont: It boosted the volume of Lamont campaign and got him the attention of mainstream news organizations. The so-called mainstream media is the true target audience of the bloggers. The Netroots bloggers' No. 1 audience is not voters, it is pundits, it is reporters and it is media. But Democrats must welcome the energy and intelligence and enthusiasm of the Netroots bloggers. Netroots are a good counter to talk radio on the Republican side. The Connecticut race would not have gotten the coverage that it got without bloggers having the ‘shiny new thing’ quality that newspaper and TV reporters respond to. The Netroots bloggers help get the ball rolling for Lamont. Netroots bloggers talked up this race and Netroots deserve credit for that.

(16) Text messaging has mobilized voters in elections around the world. This once teen-centric technology has significantly changed American and Indian election politics also. “Vote4Me Inc” Blog is looking to use Vote4Me’s large electoral voters list database to help lobbyists and Interest Groups market their causes. Vote4Me would connect with young voters and young political activists and immigrants using a very Gen-X technology, the text message. Voter4Me Blog will peddle political Client’s policy, encouraging people in its networks and in the political crowds to use their cell phones to send the text message to a special number, or short code. The phone numbers of text-message writers will be compiled with specialized software, and Vote4Me Action Group will follow up with those enthusiastic texters to enlist support for its Campaign, and lobby for specific policies aimed at getting is politician clients get elected.

(17) Vote4Me Blog professionals are way ahead of the tech game here in the United States, text messaging, or SMS (for Short Message Service). The political and election usage of SMS and Blogs is hardly new in many democratic countries of the world. Opponents of Philippine President Joseph Estrada mobilized their supporters via text message as early as 2001. A massive SMS texting campaign was credited with boosting youth turnout in Spain's 2004 presidential elections. Mexico's president-elect Felipe Calderón launched millions of text messages in the days immediately preceding his narrow win over Andres Manuel Lopez Obradór.

(18) American political groups seem to be catching on the election usage of SMS test messaging and political blogs. Person-to-person text messaging was credited with rallying runaway support for the nationwide immigration protests this spring in USA. It was so successful that activist groups have expanded on the concept. Vote4Me Inc seeks to register young Immigrant voters, and would launch a nationwide text-message outreach program.

(19) Vote4Me would come up with the election campaign specific proposal, and Vote4Me does the homework. Vote4Me kids are texting in record numbers. This teen trend has turned into a election weapon of choice for politicos hoping to energize their constituents in a very cost effective manner as the television media has become prohibitively expensive and TV media is no longer election result wise effective. Many leading election campaign strategists are betting Vote4Me bloggers can be very effective in voter mobilization in US elections 2006 and 2008. NewsWireUSA. Kalki Gaur. 14 August, 9:33 AM Washington DC. diplomatkalkigaur@yahoo.com; Web Blogs are http://indiatalking.com/blog/kalkigaur ; http://clashofreligions.blog.com/ ; http://diplomacyofcivilizations.blog.com ; http://manifestoofneoconservatism.blog.com/ ; http://360.yahoo.com/diplomacyofcivilizations ; http://diplomacyofcivilizations.blogspot.com ; http://www.clearblogs.com/neoconservativeparty ; http://diplomacyofcivilizations.squarespace.com ; http://www.clearblogs.com/indianconstitution ; http://americannewswire.blogspot.com http://newswireusa.blogspot.com ; http://360.yahoo.com/hindustanempire ; http://members.nowpublic.com/neoconsusa ; http://constitution-india-template.manicfish.com ; http://www.123forum.com/2203 NewsWireUSA. Kalki Gaur. 14 August, 9:33 AM Washington DC.

[Robert Waldmann]

Billmon wrote

" If I could I would destroy them --fire the entire staff, break up the presses and sell them for scrap.

But Billmon, you can't. Given the facts on the ground at 1150 15th street NW, I think the best strategy is to award "brownie points for wanting to be on the side that's winning."

[Jim Dandy]

So, if that’s your “best strategy”, what do you do when the wind has turned again and “the side that’s winning” happens to be the side that supports a reckless and unwarranted war? Should the reporters cheering them on then be awarded brownie points?

That’s a losing strategy, if the goal is to get reporters to do serious reporting regardless of whether it serves the winners or losers.

Playing to the wind does not qualify as serious reporting and should be given the stick wherever and whenever it appears.