Unbeknownst to me, Democrats disgruntled by the outcome of last week’s elections apparently sponsored a contest to elicit the most idiotic analysis of their fall from grace, with extra credit going to hateful, nasty, and abusive remarks. Thus far, the front runners in this competition are the following:
- Bill Moyers, for a column claiming that the Republican tax cut “transfer[s] wealth from working people to the rich”.
- Paul Krugman, for the column blaming the election on the media: “Democrats should complain as loudly about the real conservative bias of the media as the Republicans complain about its entirely mythical liberal bias;”
- Garrison Keillor for a column in which he made an underhanded smear about Norm Coleman’s personal life: “Everyone knows that his family situation is, shall we say, very interesting…”
- Big-time asshole Adam Clymer for comparing the Bush presidency to that of William Henry Harrison and praising swimming sensation Teddy Kennedy.
- Eric Alterman for this column blaming the media and saying: “President Bush is a liar.”
- Cynthia McKinney for this: “And finally, it is the economy, stupid!” Duh.
- And of course we can’t overlook Congressional Democrats for replacing Dick Gephardt with a Frisco liberal, but there must be more.
UPDATE: There are. Thanks to Opinion Journal’s Best O’ the Web, some more:
- Bob Herbert, New York Times: “With two more justices like [Scalia and Thomas], progressive government would be caught in the devastating trap of a right-wing assault from all sides–the White House, the Congress and the courts–with the Treasury drained of all money for new initiatives.”
- Will Hutton, Sunday Observer (Britain): “This is the most fiercely reactionary programme to have emerged in any Western democracy since the war.”
- Mark Morford, SFGate.com: “If you are female, gay, bisexual, atheist, black, immigrant, poor, progressive, intellectual, open minded, open hearted, if you hold alternative views, dress funny, dance, enjoy sex, read seditious literature, believe in peace and funky spirituality and don’t particularly care for a sneering angry self-righteous well-armed anti-everything deity, you are about to find out. The hard way. And so is everyone else.”
- Monica Friedlander, Democrats.com: “The Democratic Party has been raped–by the GOP with their appeal to faux patriotism and wartime frenzy; and by the media who used the full power of the Fourth Estate to spin, spin, spin for the GOP.”
- Darlene Weesner, an unsuccessful candidate for county office in Florida: “Marion County is now under siege by the Gestapo, and the Fuhrer is the leader of the Republican Party. All I can tell you is the community is missing out on the wonderful plans I had in store for all of us.”
- Ira Hozinsky, in a published e-mail to bilious blogger Eric Alterman: “The reason for the Republican triumph is simple: the American people are stupid.”
- “Steve” of St. Paul, Minn., in a Boston Globe online reader forum: “…the world sees America for what it is: an over-indulgent, self-righteous, arrogant nation drowning in its own pride. Since the President asked, I will answer: I am with the terrorists.”
On the other side of the leftwing coin, David Corn puts the blame where it belongs:
The Democrats should be sued for malpractice–or nonpractice. A sluggish economy, corporate scandals, deteriorating 401(k)s–they took advantage of none of it.
At least we’ve got a little sensible dialog still.