Our national discourse

One of the conservative guests then says that Paul Krugman might be right in that everyone wants cuts for everyone else but not themselves, and that to move forward, we all have to be prepared to make sacrifices. Hannity was having none of it.

"I've sacrificed enough. With all due respect, when they tell me they're going to means-test my social security and they want to, basically, they're going to legalise stealing people's social security. "Oh you've been successful. You've paid in your whole life, Hannity. You know what? Too bad. We're going to take your money." I'm telling you, I resent that. It sounds selfish, right?"

Suffice to say, even his conservative guests were blushing a little for the multimillionaire talkshow host at this point, but he stuck to his guns.

"I paid my whole life. I want my money back!"

And with that, Hannity managed to prove unequivocally the very point he was disputing. It would have made Glenn Beck proud.

Enough already!

TV political ads....

And Friday Cat blogging together in one!

OMG, did Boehner really say he'd send all jobs overseas!!1?!

It must be true...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Are You Ready for Some Midterms? - MSNBC's Political Narrative
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Amazing Super Powers....

Politicians v wrestlers.

The Era of Stupid

E.J. Dionne asks the question:

Can a nation remain a superpower if its internal politics are incorrigibly stupid?

I think the answer is no.

Shirley Miller Sherrod

Is a fantastic woman.

Update 7/26: The wingnuts struggle to find something... ANYTHING .. that they can stick on Sherrod to call her a liar.

bwak bwak bwak?

The beginning of the end of civility

In political debates.

How to win at arguments

(Stolen rudely from Phila of Bouphonia's post).

There's a list of 11 excellent points you should keep at hand for the debate before you end up having to use the folding chair on your opponent. Here is number 9:

9. What people say is less important than what they imply. What they imply is what the correct political analysis leads you to decide that they imply. Don’t take their account as to what they are saying: tell them what they are saying. Be abusive if necessary. You have been provoked.

Pinata politics

Steve Benen of The Washington Monthly:

The attacks from McCain have been more haphazard. Obama's a rookie. That didn't work? OK, he's a "celebrity." That didn't work? How about, he's a partisan Democrat who won't stand up to his party. Nothing? All right, he's insufficiently supportive of the troops. Or he's a pervert who wants to bring sex-ed to kindergarteners. Or a terrorist-sympathizer. Or he's a socialist. All the while, the subtext of McCain/Palin rhetoric vacillated between Obama's race, patriotism, and/or being "foreign," but it's never come together in a coherent way.

I labeled all of this "pinata politics" back in August, hoping to capture McCain's habit of appearing blind-folded, swinging a bat wildly in every direction. The effect, though, has been the same -- by struggling to come up with a consistent line of criticism, and ratcheting up the hate and fear whenever one line of attack failed to move the needle, McCain's position as the sleaziest candidate in a generation is secure.