Second Chances?
Keith says Barack now has a second chance, not mentioned but also true is that it also gave Keith a second chance. How did he do? A petty crime?
Dems Set To Cave on FISA Again: Agree to Family Immunity Plan
Glenn Greenwald responds
Plenty of Beltway institutions already existed for the purpose of cheering on any and all Democrats no matter what they do. If that's all that blogs are supposed to do, then there is no need for them. From the beginning, blogs have been devoted to opposing Democratic complicity and capitulation -- to protesting the lack of Democratic responsiveness to their supporters -- every bit as much as opposing GOP corruption and media malfeasance. That role is at least as important as the others..
A presidential election is a unique time when Americans are engaged in a discussion over our collective political values (at least more engaged than any other time). Why would anyone watch the Obama campaign use this opportunity to perpetuate and reinforce this narrative, and watch Obama embrace polices that are the precise antithesis of the values he espoused in the past, and not criticize or object to that? Criticisms of that sort aren't unhealthy or counter-productive. They're the opposite. Of course one ought to object if a political candidate -- even Barack Obama -- is advocating policies that trample on one's core political values or promulgating toxic narratives. That's particularly true since his doing so isn't necessary to win; it's actually more likely to have the opposite effect.
There is no question, at least to me, that having Obama beat McCain is vitally important. But so, too, is the way that victory is achieved and what Obama advocates and espouses along the way. Feeding distortions against someone like Wesley Clark in order to please Joe Klein and his fact-free media friends, or legalizing warrantless eavesdropping and protecting joint Bush/telecom lawbreaking, or basing his campaign on demonizing MoveOn.org and 1960s anti-war hippies, is quite harmful in many long-lasting ways. Electing Barack Obama is a very important political priority but it isn't the only one there is, and his election is less likely, not more likely, the more homage he pays to these these tired, status-quo-perpetuating Beltway pieties
Comments
KO's got it - the neo-cons will bitch about whatever Obama does. So, Obama, to reference Martin Luther King "Do the right thing." Also, have your talking points ready.
Posted by: gypsy sister
| June 30, 2008 9:30 PM | Reply to this comment
Keith jumped the shark when he ranted about Hillary's Bobby-Kennedy-was-assassinated-in-June comment.
Keith's Special Comments aren't special anymore. He is becoming a caricature of himself.
Tonight's "special comment" ignored the elephant in the room: Glenn G called Keith out on his hypocrisy re: Obama and FISA.
Keith could use a little humility and invite Glenn onto his show. Skip Jonathan Alter or Richard Wolffe for one night and talk real substance with Glenn.
Posted by: BruceInAustin
| June 30, 2008 9:45 PM | Reply to this comment
At least he's stopped portraying Obama's vote as some kind of move by a Machiavellian mastermind. He still has not gone over why opposing the FISA bill is so important like he did when it was just the Republicans supporting it.
Posted by: Durandal
| July 1, 2008 4:54 AM | Reply to this comment
Agreed. This is a better, less worshipful attitude, and the central argument--'the damage is already done and there's no way to avoid the criticism anyway'--is cogent, I think.
But--I too wish Keith would have spent more time explaining why retroactive immunity is NOT, not by a long shot, the only problem with the most recent FISA bill. The problem is that it provides for broad warrants that apply to whole groups rather than just individuals, and allows for warrantless wiretapping of American calls whose alleged "target" is overseas.
Posted by: Adam
| July 1, 2008 5:35 AM | Reply to this comment
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