You know, it’s one thing to link to this video with an aside about how rich and varied and somewhat weird the Internet is and how it is full of strange little projects that have captured the imaginations of their creators. It is another thing altogether to introduce this video as laudatory agitprop that you think is the greatest message to have been delivered to the whole of humankind since Moses came down the mountain with tablets. “Patience, steel… triumph”? He gets this from a parody on YouTube of Les Miserables and he actually has the gall to think he’s being profound and valiant. Hugo weeps. Who writes this nonsense?
Didn’t Andrew Sullivan once have a sense of perspective? I could swear that he did. I could swear that once upon a time he had a bemused and jovial air about him–even during the most trying of times. Now, he’s insufferable. It’s always “Karl Rove this” and “Karl Rove that” and of course, there is the constant obsession about Palinian pregnancies in the background, not to mention attempts to top previous efforts at launching calumnies at John McCain. My God, reading the site has become like hearing fingernails screech on a chalkboard. Look, I’ll come out and say it plainly; McCain was never my favorite Republican candidate for President of the United States and if it were up to me, I wouldn’t have picked Palin (she has time to impress me, but there it is). If McCain wins the Presidency, I would prefer it but it’s sort of like saying that I would rather have one leg of mine amputated instead of two. The end result still kinda sucks, from my point of view. But the more Andrew Sullivan screechblogs, the more prepared I am to go put out yard signs and hand out bumper stickers on behalf of the McCain/Palin ticket, if only because a McCain victory might cause Sullivan to completely lose his marbles and run out into the streets screaming and yelling conspiracy theories and various obscenities at onlookers who would then be left wondering whether Hannibal Lecter’s cellblock had a security breach. And I promise you, my Republican credentials notwithstanding, that’s saying something. I’ve never engaged in political advocacy for the sole purpose of driving someone ’round the bend, but this year, I might make an exception.
Does the Atlantic know about this monkey-business blogging? Do they realize that they are employing a writer who has completely given up any sense of perspective and is now the Michael Phelps of the Kool-Aid swimming pool, an aspiring high priest of a cult of personality who thinks that the other side is not just wrong, but Absolute Evil Personified? I can expect the netroots to feel this way but since when did the Atlantic become the netroots? Wasn’t it supposed to be more respected than that? Aren’t people at the magazine embarrassed yet? About the only reason for Republicans to root for Sullivan to remain gainfully employed at a high-profile blogging job is that he is now doing what his hated Hillary Clinton did; he is mobilizing any Republican who comes within wordshot of him to go out and work against Andrew’s side. Yep; Sullivan is a polarizer, just like the junior Senator from New York he despises almost as much as he despises Karl Rove. Ironic, nyet?
But beyond that? Well, there’s just no value added, is there? I would encourage critics of Sullivan not to ignore him, but rather, to take him on repeatedly and strongly. A blogger with as high a profile as Sullivan’s ought not to have his words go unchallenged.
Once upon a time, however, one did not read Andrew Sullivan for opposition research. One read him because there was a literary pleasure in reading Andrew Sullivan’s site. No more. He can change his positions all he wants. But he’s just plain disagreeable and nasty nowadays, in addition to being given to hyperbole so fevered and imaginings so bizarre that his website has become Rubbernecking Central on the Internet. And I remind people anew; Sullivan used to be as gung-ho for George W. Bush as he now is for Barack Obama. He used to be gung-ho for Bill Clinton as well. He hates Bush and Clinton now and if the pattern holds, he will turn against Obama eventually.
The cranial explosions he experiences will be fun to watch, if nothing else. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bloke.
Steve Maley
Neil Stevens
Daniel Horowitz
Andrew Sullivan, the Conservative, died some time ago.
mbecker908 (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 2:01AM EST (link)He was replaced by his evil twin.
Back in the day....
Jim Saturday, September 13th at 2:43AM EST (link)I was a liberal when Andrew Sullivan was a conservative, and still, I always thought he was a good read. Now his work reminds me of what one of my friends from the College Democrats might post on Facebook.
I wonder who he’s going blog on behalf of in 2012? Bobby Jindal? Mitt Romney? Maybe Tancredo will give it another go?
-Jim
Republican for 18 days
PDS - Palin Derangement Syndrome.
phxg (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 2:46AM EST (link)Newly listed in the DSM-IV as a psychological disorder.
The patient with this form of a Somatoform Disorder suffer from symptoms that cause distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning. Additionally, with PDS there is no diagnosable general medical condition to fully account for the physical symptoms i.e. having suffered a sharp blow to the head recently.
PDS should not be confused with Hypochondriasis which is mostly related to the stresses that one faces in life, it is marked by fear and lack of assurance. As PDS is directly attributable to the fear that the Obamessiah will lose the 2008 election.
Treatment modalities – At this time no known pharmacological option exists. However, Reality Therapy has shown signs of limited success.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. –Aristotle
More like PMS (Madness) rather than Derangement
dbecraft Saturday, September 13th at 3:08AM EST (link)but all the same…
Most all blogs that I read have given up on him – he digs his own grave.
Okay, now for the good news… We need many more like Palin – non-politicized, honest, open, and maybe non-experienced politicians. High time to kick the old guard out.
Formally known as Deagle… “Golf is a way of life…”
me thinks that Andy...
Jack (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 4:29AM EST (link)needs to go back to his doctor and get his meds seriously readjusted. One good thing all of those actors should be available in January we can hire them for a victory celebration during the inauguration. I know they can do Evita when Sarah Palin is sworn in as the first female Vice President.
Jack
“If at age 20 you are conservative you have no heart. It at age 30 you are liberal you have no brains.” Sir Winston Churchill
Ambivalence
rkroof Saturday, September 13th at 7:18AM EST (link)If you really are ambivalent about this election, you are no Republican and I am at the wrong web site.
One of these can be fixed very easily.
So long
I used to read Sullivan's blog...
redmartian Saturday, September 13th at 7:19AM EST (link)…at first I read it because he was interesting (back in the pro-Bush days) then I read it for amusement as he turned against Bush, went for Kerry and then finally I would read it because it was a train wreck that you couldn’t help stare at when he went for Obama.
However, I no longer read it after he went after Sarah Palin.
He really has lost it and, frankly, I wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with his medical condition. He has HIV and I’m seriously wondering if the medication he’s on or the disease itself hasn’t done something to him mentally.
He really has gone off the deep end.
The other thing about Sullivan
redmartian Saturday, September 13th at 7:23AM EST (link)…is that he is an englishman not an American. He is not a citizen and cannot vote.
Nor can he drive a car. His husband has to drive him around when they go somewhere. This amuses me to no end as Sullivan constantly prattles on about how we need higher gas taxes to discourage people from driving.
He really is clueless about America and it would be much better if he went back to England and lived with the rest of the socialists instead of trying to foist their failed policies on us.
Of course if he learned to drive he might actually have a tiny shred of credibility on automobile related issues. Heh.
Pejman, think of it this way...
smagar (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 8:27AM EST (link)Emphasis added.
Pejman, there is nothing wrong with your sentiments here.
Sometimes life simply drops opportunities for schadenfreude in our laps. And sometimes, we have to work for them little bit ourselves.
“Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?” (Macaulay)
Best part of the video...
Brad_G (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 8:43AM EST (link)is the libs admitting that “tomorrow we’ll discover what our God in heaven has in store.”
I’m seriously surprised they didn’t figure out some way to remove that line.
Odd, though, how the French wanted a revolution to give the people more power, and the Dems want a revolution to give the government more power. It’s what Thomas Sowell refers to as the “tyranny of visions.” Libs feel like they should be the enforcers of “good ideas” and “safety” regardless of what the rest of the people think.
It is hard to take you seriously if you link to Andrew Sullivan.
spainishirish (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 9:14AM EST (link)There is a reason we don’t link to Stormfront and porn sites, too. Frankly, this man has been a fraud from the outset. His game was purportedly to embrace “conservatism” or “Catholicism” or whatever and demand it change centuries of tradition to conform to his preferences, and when it didn’t he psychotically bitch slapped at his contrived demons.
I wish the site administrators would ban links to Andrew Sullivan. The man obviously is mentally ill and just this side of an on line suicide after the last person with synapses stops looking atg his daily trainwreck.
5
Shaggy_Dog (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 1:30PM EST (link)This Post was a waste of bandwith.
Pej, I like your writings, but please no more about Sullivan. He has blown way past irrelavence and you shouldn’t do him the favor of directing traffic to his site, how ever absurd his topic.
Was Sully
RJD (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 1:41PM EST (link)ever a true Conservative?
Before I go any further, I must admit to not having read the man’s writings before. I didn’t know who Andrew Sullivan was when he was writing pro-Bush pieces and singing the praises of the GOP. I’ve only come to recognize his name, now, as something that has nosedived into the absurd.
So, was Sullivan ever an honest Conservative? Or, did he just latch onto the next best thing, that happened to be George W. Bush? Especially after 9/11.
It seems that about the time Bush’s pedestal collapsed, circa 2004, Obama emerged on the political landscape to fill the void, and to provide Sullivan yet one more politician to idolize.
I just wonder if Sullivan was really a Bush fan, or was he more a fan of the moment? When Obama fails to win the presidency, I guess we will find out. Sully will go in search of the next best thing to worship.
Whoa, back up a second.
dwaynepatterns Saturday, September 13th at 3:39PM EST (link)This video is a joke, it’s not an attempt to be profound. You don’t have to be Pauline Kael to get the point of it… which is to laugh.
Agreed
Bubba38 (Diary) Saturday, September 13th at 5:20PM EST (link)These were just some Obama staffers who used to be in high school drama class trying to be cute. That having been said, after watching about 30 seconds of it, I threw up a little bit in my mouth.
As mentioned before . . .
Pejman Yousefzadeh (Diary) Sunday, September 14th at 1:03AM EST (link)I believe that it is important to counter the propaganda of a blogger with a high hit count who gets confused for “conservative” in various parts. If you don’t like my posts, feel free to skip over them.
“At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid.” –Friedrich Nietzsche
All I found at the link was the video.
Flagstaff (Diary) Sunday, September 14th at 3:04AM EST (link)I would have guessed it was a parody of the Obama team. A roomful of white yuppie types, singing a pretentious song. Where were the minorities? Where was the true spectrum of his constituency?
From today’s AP
(Emphasis mine.)
There was no mention of the more-than-lopsided support for The Obama among all classes of blacks.
Does this strike anybody else as being a bit of racially unbalanced reporting?
“The press is so powerful in its image-making role that it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”– Malcolm X, Audubon Ballroom, December 13, 1964