Comments on: How Quickly They Change

By: cgeye

cgeye — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:11:45 +0000

So, okay. I know it’s crazy.
But the last big push the progressive blogosphere made before this cycles-wasting slapping was against FISA. Why? Because having a shadow government spy and blackmail on everyone was dangerous. Why?
I think we’re seeing the result, now. People who would rather sacrifice one of their children before mentioning Drudge’s name without mentioning his egg fetish are now using him for authoritative quotes. I think our most prominent bloggers are operating under a form of blackmail — taxes, women, under-the-table lobbyist payments, intemperate conversations that would embarrass if posted on YouTube — the telcos and the GOP have as many resources as they need to tell bloggers *not* to discuss what really matters. So, what’s left? Stoking the horserace, by backing the underdog, then forcing the underdog to repudiate someone with a strong opinion (I’m not beyond saying Wright’s being blackmailed too, just to accept the speaking opportunities a more prudent spiritual leader would have saved for after the General Election). It doesn’t have to be big blackmail; just a shuttling of behavior to the slightly less optimal choice, and let momentum take care of itself.

Can *you* think of a more sane reason we’re battling each other, instead of a failed administration and duplicitous Rep candidate?

By: zuzu

zuzu — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:54:00 +0000

Matt Stoller has a number of posts on this in which he lays out the background and comes to the conclusion that this likely wasnt’ a campaign of voter suppression (it was, however, a massive fuckup) and the Clinton campaign wasn’t behind it. Given Stoller’s background in tracking voter suppression efforts by the Republicans as well as his antipathy toward Clinton, I’m inclined to credit his conclusions.

By: snuzy mandrake

snuzy mandrake — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:23:15 +0000

i don’t get it. who are the “conspiracy nuts”? are you denying the allegations against WVWV? there are recordings of the calls and the group itself is now disavowing its own NC campaign.

just because some kos diarist was defending the group a year ago doesn’t make anyone a hippocrate. it just means that new information has come up casting the group in a much worse light.

and it looks like white_n_az completely missed the point of the criticism of the group. the NC registration deadline has already passed. the calls were telling voters who had already registered that they still had to register, and needed to wait for a packet of materials to arrive in the mail that were never sent to them. it made registered voters think that they were not eligible to vote. it’s not a “conspiracy theory” to note that, i think it is pretty clear that is what happened.

By: white_n_az

white_n_az — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:15:55 +0000

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for” == self loathing

I can see their logic…why encourage people to register to vote?

DK teaming with the right wing to stop the registration process…great