The Wedge Issue Cookbook For Morons

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This week's hot blog topics: Republicans are embarrassed by Ann Coulter; Coulter-in-waiting Debbie Schlussel wants a piece of the action; college media majors don't know Drudge about Drudge; did Michelle get Malkinized by NewsCorp?; the new and improved FOX Stepford Pundits; and Larry Craig's mouth is a sucking black hole... of lies. All this, plus much more, including zesty zingers from DUers Sugar Smack, Daveparts and SoCalDem. Enjoy!

Even Wingnuts Wash Their Hands Of The Coulter-Industrial Complex... Sort Of

George W. Bush's favorite blog, Red State (I refuse to link to their hate site), thinks "Ann Coulter needs to retire to the Bahamas" after her "Jews need to be perfected" statement. Some juicy wingnut comments:

She talks down to people, is actually not particularly an articulate defender of either conservative or Republican ideals, and gives much more ammo to people trying to discredit us than she does to our side. In short, as the saying goes she's the sort of person who's always being taken places twice, the second time to apologize - except that she wouldn't; she'd just say something nastier.

Enough.

She reflects poorly on the entire conservative movement, IMO. And she makes it near impossible for anybody to take her serious stuff seriously.

I mean...you can't go into a serious discussion and cite Ann Coulter -- because she's branded herself as a certifiable nutcase.

And my personal favorite wingnuttery:

Republicans could peel off a significant number of Jews from the Democrats, if those Jews didn't didn't expect they'd be a back of the bus constituency.

Keep squawking, Ann! For a terrific play-by-play and follow-up, check out Whitehouser.com, who also has the original Coulter "perfected Jews" video. But wait! Who's that running for the microphone, ready to defend the Coultergeist? Why, it's...

Debbie Schlussel, America's Coulter-In-Waiting

For the record, Schlussel is German for "key." And the key word in Schlussel's defense of Coulter's "perfected Jews" rant is... well, "lie." As in, lie like you really, really mean it, call 14-year old George Soros (Holocaust survivor) a Nazi, and 28-percenters (make that 24-percenters) will bow down to you. Media Matters has the sordid details of l'affair Schlussel, but the reader comments sharpen the focus. A couple of gems:

Can we prove Ann is a practicing Christian? I don't see any evidence of this. Where are the photos of her at church? Not speaking there but just going to church to worship- I have not seen that. After being a lifelong Christian (Roman and now Episcopalian) I am turned off by these so-called Christians and Christianity in general. Maybe this is hell? It sure feels like it right now.

Ignorant hysteria. The one group the Nazis hated as much as they hated Jews was LIBERALS. All three of the totalitarian systems, Fascism, Nazism and Communism murdered liberals in their thousands. Our liberal-hating, fact-free reichwingers are following in admirable footsteps.

"Fact-free" is the real key in this sorry situation, Schlussel. But here's a fact you can't ignore...

We Are Legion, And Rs Are Scared Shitless

Guess who most Politico.com readers are. Here's a hint: They're terrible spellers, totally illogical, and decidedly hateful. Ding. Ding. Ding. You guessed it. Case in point: this post called "GOP ranks no match for Democrats' legions." Here's a snippet:

The latest source of Republican heartburn: The size and scope of Democratic field organizations in Iowa and New Hampshire dwarf the on-the-ground operations of Republicans.

This David vs. Goliath staffing mismatch is yet another sign of trouble for Republicans in the general election, said a veteran Republican strategist in Iowa, as it reflects sagging spirits among hard-core GOP activists.

And here's a sample of the comments:

Dem politicians are positively skipping down the halls of Congress in anticipation of victory and the creation of new committees, with new leaders, with new taxes, and bigger budgets to spend back home! The visions of sugarplums are dancing around their heads!

We can only pray for a Republican victory. It would be so juicy. It would be better than reading about how Dewey won!

Jeez...funny the article didn't mention how much $$ George Soros and moveon.org are pumping into the dummycrats cause...hmmmmm

There are many more desperately vile spewings. Fortunately, some rational comments as well. For example:

These comments are exactly why the country hates Republicans and will vote against them in droves next year. Instead of taking the problems detailed in the article to heart and trying to get their own house in order, they just insult, insult, insult the other side with silly schoolyard names like "dummycrat." Do you really think a word like that hurts anyone's feelings or ruins their day? It just makes people laugh even harder at you. All Republicans have ever known how to do well is bluff. It's how Bush got as far as he did for as long as he did. But eventually someone calls your bluff and you got nothin'. And nothin' is what Republicans have in '08. The sweetest part is that your failure will be almost totally due to Bush, your great hero you thought would usher in a "permanent majority."

Hear! Hear! While we're noting the Republicans' "got nothin" problem, guess who else isn't even cool enough for school?

NYU Media Students Don't Know Drudge About... Matt Drudge

Some of the greatest blog posts are based on reader mail, and this one at Jossip.com is a hoot:

From our mailbag: "In my Media Studies class (at NYU) this morning, the professor asked, "How many of you know who Matt Drudge is?" Total silence. Then he asked, "How many of you DON'T know who Matt Drudge is?" Practically every hand in the 300-person class shot up. So it looks like NYU students don't read The Drudge Report, or New York Magazine."

Poor Matt. I feel so sorry for him. Not. Meanwhile, Matt's mean maven counterpart claims she's treated so poorly by BillO that...

Malkin "Quits" O'Reilly! Or Did NewsCorp Quit Her First?

The Huffington Post published Michelle's email "resignation" from future appearances on BillO's show, but one reader's comment suggests the Malkinator may not be telling the whole story:

A little birdie at NewsCorp tells me that this e-mail is a "beard" for the actual reason: more than a couple of the mucky-mucks at NewsCorp are a bit less than thrilled about the tales of Michelle (Malkin) Maglalang not only propagating the harassment of the Frost family but actually stalking them -- and how quickly they spread from the dirty f$#@ing hippie side of the Intertubes to corpo... pardon, me, mainstream media.

Hm. Maligning a child (Graeme Frost) might just turn out to be the line that NewsCorp advertisers dare not cross? Possibly. As for that "hippie side of the Intertubes" slam, is this reader suggesting that Malkin hasn't smeared the Frost family and stands falsely accused? Not hardly. A simple Google and a link to Crooks and Liars yields...

So what would you do if you saw that face snooping around your house? That might be a good question for the Frosts:

Update 2:50pm Eastern: I (Malkin) just returned from a visit to Frost's commercial property near Patterson Park in Baltimore. It's a modest place. Talked to one of the tenants, Mike Reilly, who is a talented welder. He said he had known the Frosts for 10 years. Business is good, he told me, though he characterized Frost as "struggling." Reilly was an outspoken advocate for socialized health care without any means-testing whatsoever and an insistent critic of the Iraq war. Despite all that, he did agree with me that going without health insurance is often a matter of choice and a matter of priorities. Or maybe we were speaking two different languages.

I also passed by the Frosts' rowhouse. There was an "01 - 20 -09″ bumper sticker plastered on the door and a newer model GMC Suburban parked directly in front of the house. I've seen guesstimates of the house's worth in the $400,000-plus range. Those are high. But Mark Tapscott's point remains: "(P)eople make choices and it's clear the Frosts have made choice to invest in property and a business, but not in private health insurance. The Maryland-administered version of the federal SCHIP program, by the way, does not impose an asset test on applicants."

Now isn't this the same Malkin who has complained about hate mail and threats? Ironically she did this on the same day that Free Republic decided to post the Frosts' home address. Of course this is also the same Malkin who tries to act like she is concerned about children. Well we see how much she really "cares" now.

And a Crooks & Liars reader's comment neatly debunks the reichwing smearing of the Frost family:

Here are the facts that the right-wing distorted in order to attack young Graeme:

1) Graeme has a scholarship to a private school. The school costs $15K a year, but the family only pays $500 a year.

2) His sister Gemma attends another private school to help her with the brain injuries that occurred due to her accident. The school costs $23,000 a year, but the state pays the entire cost.

3) They bought their "lavish house" sixteen years ago for $55,000 at a time when the neighborhood was less than safe.

4) Last year, the Frost's made $45,000 combined. Over the past few years they have made no more than $50,000 combined.

5) The state of Maryland has found them eligible to participate in the CHIP program.

What's next, Malkin? Smearing toddlers with heart problems? Oh, yeah, you've already started that one.


Think Progress has the details. Until this week, Malkin was a happy resident of FAUXville (aka Crazytown), and we all know...

What Happens On FOX Gets Laughed At

Bill Corcoran, guest blogging at News Hounds, writes:

I've come up with a new parlor game. It's called "What I Learned at Fox News Last Week." For starters, did you know that a school bus driver cursed out some kids? I kid you not. As soon as FOX News reported this heart-stopping news, anchor Shepard Smith followed with repeated stories about yet another school shooting, this one in Cleveland. Then, we were treated to various important "FOX News Alerts," covering earthshaking stories, such as, "Austrian Man Shoots Colleague, Slices off Penis in 'Honor Killing.'" (Ouch!)

My favorite reader comments:

Hey if you don't like what you seeing on FNC then go watch the other network lies. I don't agree with everthing on FNC but at least they don't cherry pick like the other networks.

LESS Government | 10.14.07 - 11:50 am | #

And the snarkiest reply to the spelling-impaired wingnut's comment...

You have a great future as a stand up comic.

Quick! List all of the successful wingnut stand-up comics. Well, that took about half a nanosecond. Hey! Have you ever spent a day with the FOX Stepford pundits? Racy Mind has, and it wasn't pretty.

Is there a pattern?

Hell, here's a montage since 0900 this morning. The Stepford Pundits. Can anybody guess which one admitted voting for Al Gore?

The best reader comment:

Top right corner? Or is this a trick question where by responding I lower myself beneath even the shallowness depicted?

If not, also the bottom right corner one has that voted-for-him-for-Tennessee-Senator look.

Psst! One reader thinks the bespectacled bim... er, pundit... is probably the Gore voter. Gulp. I'm still trying to figure out why FOX can't turn up the lights on those women and wipe the Vaseline off the camera lens. Any ideas? While you're pondering the blurred Botox wonder of it all, never forget...

Larry Craig's Lies

Yep, he's still trying to lie his way out of his own hypocrisy, telling dumber-than-dirt Matt Lauer that "he's not gay" and that "he's never used the Internet." Think Progress, of course, debunks his ass... um, hattery, swiftly and sans mercy. And the reader comments are hilarious. For example:

"Matt, you won't believe this, but I've never been to Minneapolis."

"Matt, you'll find this hard to believe, but I've never been to the bathroom. I wouldn't know how."

Even money says there are some server records with incriminating evidence out there… He's still in damage control mode and will be until he is out of office.

Tune in to "To Catch a Predator" for the latest update… Have a seat.

One must wonder whence he learned the secret foot tapping codes???

Pitiful, Larry "I Da Ho" Craig. Just pitiful. And to think you occupy a seat on the Congressional Internet Caucus. You really can't make this silly stuff up! Speaking of silly...

How're Ya Gonna Regulate Condoms On Campus?

Posted at Buzzflash.net by Capitol Annex:

A Texas State Senator announces that he believes it's high time for the state to regulate the distribution of condoms on the campuses of state universities.

Capitol Annex's Vince Leibowitz noted in his original blog post that this story first aired on Tyler, TX's most conservative TV station. No big surprise there. My favorite reader comment:

So can I extrapolate from the Tx. Sen's statement that

A) Students ought to purchase condoms from a drug store instead? Maybe he has stock in condoms?

B) Not use condoms at all? It will decrease the amount of sexual contact students might have?

C) He's going to tell their parents? Aren't there laws about this?

D) He owns stock in PharmCo's that make STD meds?

State Senator Kevin Eltife is a Republican, of course. Rah! Rah! Sis boom bah and all that jazz, but no free condoms for legal-aged students? Time to...

Thank A DUer!

Thanks to Sugar Smack for this great graphic reply to a thread on computer graphics creations:


Best. Backdrop. Ever.

And thanks to Daveparts for explaining why there are no Republicans in science fiction. Here's a snippet, but read the rest. It's a keeper!

In the Japanese classic Godzilla the monster rose out of the sea because of mankind's careless use of nuclear power.

No one thought to dispute the issue of the monster's intent, so as I've said there are no Republicans in science fiction. Were it real, Republican legislators would have stood in the well of Congress, "Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of our friends in Japan. Their Capital City in ruins because of this horrible monster from the deep, but Mr. Speaker let us not be too quick to assume that the monster's motivation was nuclear energy. This monster also attacked bridges and commuter trains so it is just as plausible that the monster was opposing public transportation.

Mr. Speaker I stand today to defend America from horrible sea monsters and encourage my fellow members to vote against the mass transit appropriation bill, to which I would like to add an amendment that I call the Godzilla protection act.

Finally, thanks to SoCalDem for captioning President 24%:

No George.. I said "Where's your Mouth"?

Thanks, DUers! I needed that.

Where do the tightie righties get the crap they spew from major orifices? Is there some Wedge Issue Cookbook For Morons published by Regnery that I've never heard of? Fact: if you want to gauge reactions to issues, news stories and editorials addressed by bloggers, look no further than the comment section. There you'll find both conscientious observers and the citizens of Crazytown. Blog reader comments offer much needed insight into the real difference between Democrats and Republicans: the sane vs. the "I'm with the guy in the white coat" set. Keep sending those great blog links, and keep posting sane comments whenever and wherever possible. The population of Crazytown shrinks every time we take a stand and voice our opinions. And readers of the Wedge Issue Cookbook For Morons just look sillier and sillier. Speaking of silly, don't miss next week's Halloween edition.

-- Delilah Boyd

[BrklynLib at work]

1. Thank you.

[displacedtexan]

2. You're welcome!

Thanks for reading!

[lildreamer316]

3. WOWZA.

Love it, love it. You brought me out of GD lurking. I look foreward to more....K&R.

[Coexist]

4. wonderful Blog Box this week.

thanks.