Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Saturday, November 10, 2012

"REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN FLEECED AND EXPLOITED:" --Conservative David Frum

It's not news to those of us who've been telling conservatives this for years.

It's not news to those of us who've warned conservatives that people who watch no  teevee news are better informed than people who watch FAUX NOOZ.

Conservative hate-radio jocks like Limbaugh, Beck, and Savage have poisoned the airwaves with their bigotry and lies, and conservatives never call them on it.

Conservative writers like Mark Levin resort to apocalyptic prose and fearmongering in order to keep their readers cowering and at the same time craving more lies and misinformation to justify their anxieties.

We knew this.  And conservative writer and pundit, David Frum, confirms it:




“Republicans have been fleeced and exploited, and lied to by a conservative entertainment complex,” Daily Beast and Newsweek contributing editor David Frum told Friday’s Morning Joe panel in a discussion on the outcome of the 2012 election
.
Frum, who is a Republican and once served as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, has criticized conservative media outlets in the past for “immers[ing] their audience in a total environment of pseudo-facts and pretend information.” Frum joined Morning Joe on Friday, in part, to discuss his new e-book “Why Romney Lost: And What the GOP Can Do About It.”
Asked to name those media outlets he meant, Frum deferred, saying, “I name names in the book.”
Later, though Frum tweeted that he would happily repeat his message direct to Fox News.

davidfrum@davidfrum
Frum argued that Republican leaders, who he says are “cowards” rather than “fundamentally mistaken,” have a difficult relationship with the GOP activist base and donor base.

“The problem with GOP leaders is they’re cowards, not that they’re fundamentally mistaken,” Frum said. “The real locus of the problem is the GOP activist base and the GOP donor base. They went apocalyptic over the past four years and that was exploited by a lot of people in the conservative world.”

While Frum said he believedMitt Romney would have been “a really good president,” he also noted that Romney was “twisted into pretzels [and] the people who put cement shoes on his feet are now blaming him for sinking.”

Host Joe Scarborough added to Frum’s statement, saying “conservatives have been lied to.”

“They’ve been lied to by people who engage in niche marketing and make tens of millions of dollars engaging in niche marketing,” Scarborough said. “I’m a capitalist, God bless ‘em…but that’s not an electoral strategy, that’s a business strategy for them.”

The reason so many conservative blogger are disheartened by the results of Tuesday's election is that they've been  consistently lied to by their heroes, while their heroes are laughing all the way to the bank.


"of David Frum's E-Book ("Why Romney Lost").

Chapter 1:


Liberals were right all along.
Chapter 2:

About everything.
The End."   h/t d r i f t g l a s s




Matt Taibi of Rolling Stone:

"...the fact that so many Republicans this week think that all Hispanics care about is amnesty, all women want is abortions (and lots of them) and all teenagers want is to sit on their couches and smoke tons of weed legally, that tells you everything you need to know about the hopeless, anachronistic cluelessness of the modern Republican Party. A lot of these people, believe it or not, would respond positively, or at least with genuine curiosity, to the traditional conservative message of self-reliance and fiscal responsibility.

But modern Republicans will never be able to spread that message effectively, because they have so much of their own collective identity wrapped up in the belief that they're surrounded by free-loading, job-averse parasites who not only want to smoke weed and have recreational abortions all day long, but want hardworking white Christians like them to pay the tab. Their whole belief system, which is really an endless effort at congratulating themselves for how hard they work compared to everyone else (by the way, the average "illegal," as Rush calls them, does more real work in 24 hours than people like Rush and me do in a year), is inherently insulting to everyone outside the tent – and you can't win votes when you're calling people lazy, stoned moochers.

It's hard to say whether it's good or bad that the Rushes of the world are too clueless to realize that it's their attitude, not their policies, that is screwing them most with minority voters. If they were self-aware at all, Mitt Romney would probably be president right now. So I guess we should be grateful that the light doesn't look like it will ever go on. But wow, is their angst tough to listen to."




But there is some hope:

It's Official: Allen West Loses

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Romney was a perfect embodiment of the current GOP. As much as the Republican Party is a radical party, and a nearly all-white party, it has also become the Fantasyland Party. It’s an isolated and gated community impervious to any intrusions of reality from the “real America” it solipsistically claims to represent.

This year’s instantly famous declaration by the Romney pollster Neil Newhouse that “we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers” crystallized the mantra of the entire GOP. The Republican faithful at strata both low and high, from Rush’s dittoheads to the think-tank-affiliated intellectuals, have long since stopped acknowledging any empirical evidence that disputes their insular worldview, no matter how grounded that evidence might be in (God forbid) science or any other verifiable reality, like, say, Census reports or elementary mathematics. No wonder Romney shunned the word Harvard, which awarded him two degrees, even more assiduously than he did Mormon.




At the policy level, this is the GOP that denies climate change, that rejects Keynesian economics, and that identifies voter fraud where there is none. At the loony-tunes level, this is the GOP that has given us the birthers, websites purporting that Obama was lying about Osama bin Laden’s death, and not one but two (failed) senatorial candidates who redefined rape in defiance of medical science and simple common sense.

It’s the GOP that demands the rewriting of history (and history textbooks), still denying that Barry Goldwater’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” transformed the party of Lincoln into a haven for racists.

Such is the conservative version of history that when the website Right Wing News surveyed 43 popular conservative bloggers to determine the “worst figures in American history” two years ago, Jimmy Carter, Obama, and FDR led the tally, all well ahead of Benedict Arnold, Timothy McVeigh, and John Wilkes Booth."

Les Carpenter said...

Hm? Confirming the desired.

Shaw Kenawe said...

No. confirming the reality.

LOL Anonymous said...

Seen on a conservative blog:


"We have hit a generational and cultural watershed. People want free crap and they want a big nanny government with a cute prom king running it."


More running away from reality and believing their own fantasies.

This sort of thinking will keep them from winning the presidency for years.

It absolutely defeated them on Tuesday.

Republican Racism said...

Fleeced, exploited, lied to?
Lets not make them out to be victims.
Lets not forget half the country embraces their party, racism and all.
Their thinking and tactics should be eliminated from government, before they hurt millions of more Americans.
Their leaders have denied the consequences of the election, and have stated they will not compromise. Screw them.
Krugman has advised what to do, go over the financial edge, then see how the people treat them.
RN's post today is typical Republican - create the desired with lies, knowing that's what they want and will jump to join and add to those lies.

Ema Nymton said...

.

The national RepublicanT Party is not worth the effort. They are about the ruthless pursuit of money and power. It is hopeless to try to change them. Cut them loose.

Now it is time for the Democratic Party to get back to its roots, lead, and govern USA in a positive manner.

Ema Nymton
~@:o?
.

Shaw Kenawe said...

RR, RN USA's post is all about speculation fed by paranoia, based on no evidence or facts.

That's how the rightwing pundits called it for Romney.

Ema, where have you been?

Tuesday's results were amazing.

Mr. Obama has an electoral and popular vote mandate!

I hope he governs with it.

The American people have spoken, and they've rejected the Tea Party and the anti-science GOPers.

billy pilgrim said...

forget frum, conrad black is the best canadian journalist. but you might not like his summation of the election,Conrad Black: The Obama Disaster: Part II

Shaw Kenawe said...

Oh yeah. Right. I remember Conrad Black:

Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, PC, OC, KCSG (born August 25, 1944) is a Canadian-born member of the House of Lords, a historian, a convicted felon, a columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third-largest newspaper magnate in the world.



Beginning in 2004, Black was the subject of a highly publicized prosecution in the United States. Black has publicly maintained his innocence since the original indictment. He was convicted of three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice in a U.S. court in 2007 and sentenced to six and a half years' imprisonment.

Two of the charges were overturned on appeal and in 2011 he was resentenced on the one remaining count of mail fraud and on the one count of obstruction of justice to a prison term of 42 months and a fine of US$125,000."

A fine upstanding rich guy with power.

LOL!

billy pilgrim said...

perhaps you should critique his column not his past.

conrad had the wrath of god come down on him when he doggedly pursued the corruption in jean chretien's government but your cursory google research wouldn't reveal that.

Les Carpenter said...

Republican Racism said...

Fleeced, exploited, lied to?
Lets not make them out to be victims.
Lets not forget half the country embraces their party, racism and all.
Their thinking and tactics should be eliminated from government, before they hurt millions of more Americans.
Their leaders have denied the consequences of the election, and have stated they will not compromise. Screw them.
Krugman has advised what to do, go over the financial edge, then see how the people treat them.
RN's post today is typical Republican - create the desired with lies, knowing that's what they want and will jump to join and add to those lies.

Having a nice day are ya? I just love how my small time blog has all you lefties babbling nonsense over my posts.

Republican Racism said...

Just pointing out who the real liars are

skudrunner said...

3 million vote win is a big win but far from a mandate.
Keep in mind that 48% of voters voted against his blessed one. Strange, that is the same number who don't pay federal income tax.

I support the rock star in his desire to make people pay their fair share of taxes. Hoe about going to The Fair Tax where everyone pays their fair share. Falls right in line with his desire and that is what we all want, to be fair.

Shaw Kenawe said...

A win IS a mandate. Period.

May I remind you that when GWB won in 2004 with fewer popular votes, GWB announced he had "political capital" that he was going to spend.

The popular vote is still being counted. As of yesterday, Nov. 10, Romney garnered 47% of the vote, not 48%

Presidential elections are won with the electoral vote. And 332 to 206 IS a mandate. Mr. Obama carried Florida, btw.

Your argument against a mandate doesn't work.

I also suggest that you and other conservatives who refer to Mr. Obama as either "rock star" or "blessed one" grow up and accept the will of the American people.

Mr. Obama is not a rock star or a blessed one. He's the guy whose policies and leadership beat the weaker candidate's.

That's not being a rock star or a blessed one. That's being smarter and better liked than the conservative candidate. As bitter and difficult as that is for you to accept.

Trying to diminish Mr. Obama by giving him childish labels ain't gonna work this time.

He won.



Dave Miller said...

Skud, King Karl Rove called the Bush wins, much smaller than the Obama wins a mandate.

Fred Barnes said Romney would get 335 electoral votes and that be a landslide, even a mandate. Almost the exact number Obama got.

Charles Krauthamer said in 2004 that if a candidate these day can get over 50%, it's a mandate.

I find it funny how you, and your fellow conservatives have moved the goal posts. Why is a win of the exact same proportions a landslide mandate win when the GOP does it, but not when a Dem does it?

Shaw, one popular site, has a list of comments refuting all the professional logic of understanding the GOP loss. In the long list of voter fraud that all apparently happened under the eyes of approving media and secretary's of state, I saw that Dem had bussed in hundreds of non English speaking, are you ready, Somalians to vote.

In almost every place these other universe "news organizations" checked, the Dems perpetrated voter fraud.

Now if you bring up that these organizations reporting this are not credible news orgs, all you hear is that the lamestream media, which now apparently includes FOX, is all in the tank for Obama.

There really is an Art Bell parallel universe out there and these folks are living in it... Geeez, they are worse than the malcontents...

Les Carpenter said...

Shaw, check out Dondero's post on Florida calling it for Obama. You might enjoy my response to his comment. That is if he hasn't deleted it by now. Guys like him are the real enemy, not guys like me.

Have a nice Sunday, and your welcome for the Dondero tip.

Unknown said...

"Progressive Eruptions" has been included in the A Sunday Drive for this week. I hope that this helps to point even more new visitors in your direction.

http://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-sunday-drive_11.html

Les Carpenter said...

A win is not a mandate. It simply states the country believe one candidate is better equipped to govern our REPUBLIC. It does not give the candidate and the majority party a mandate to disregard the rights and concerns of the minority. This is true irrespective of which party is on control of the mechanism of our REPUBLIC.

Perhaps the Congress will allow leveler heads to work with the minority in Congress to actually find solutions. Kicking the can down the road has to stop sometime. If it doesn't we are all going to be in deep, forgive me, shit.

Silverfiddle said...

Ah yes, David Frum "conservative" once again is music to liberals' ears.

The bias confirmation continues.

The next four years will be interesting. Looks like Boehner is whipping the GOP to fall in line with Obama's plans, and that is the right thing to do.

America voted for Obama's progressivism, and we need to let him do it.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Dave, "moving the goal posts?" Happens all the time in the GOP fantasyland. What's good for their geese is never good for our ganders. Ever. Remember: "We create our own reality." that, or something very close to that, was said by a GWB press secretary, IIRC.

We saw the devastation that "created" reality caused millions of clueless conservatives on Tuesday. The GOP noise machine played a mean and dirty trick on its followers by keeping them thinking their skewed polls were correct and that Romney would win in a landslide.

Jerry E. Beuterbaugh,

Thank you for the shout-out on your blog. I've blogrolled you so that any of my readers can continue to visit your blog.

RN,

According to conservative pundits, a win IS a mandate. And I agree.

You're not correct on this one.

If you come back to reality, you will remember that it was the GOP who defined what a mandate is, and now that Mr. Obama won a second term, it hopes to do an about-face on the definition that it used when a GOP president won.

Not cool. But typical.


Obviously, SF, you dislike David Frum because he's not an extremist conservative/libertarian.

But what he says is a lot closer to the truth than what your hero, Mark Levin says. Frum is a dispassionate, clear-eyed conservative who doesn't deal in apocalyptic terms as does Levin. That sort of hyperbolic rhetoric may make you and other extremist conservatives feel good, but it lost the GOP the election.

Frum is your real friend. Not Levin, or your other hero, Savage.




Paul said...

This win is a mandate.
No rights are being taken from a minority.
But President Obama has won the peoples approval of what he ran on, like taxing the 2% more.
The Republicans kicked the can down the road on spending cuts til the debt got to 12 trillion. Finally a president who will cut spending (1 trillion now and another 3 trillion he is willing to put on the table) and raise revenues.
Just what a multi-trillion dollar debt needs.
Criers and liars to the back of the bus.

Silverfiddle said...

Shaw,

I posted this at Sue's and thought you and your readers would enjoy it as well:

Romney received around 57.8 million votes in 2012. In 2008, John McCain received 59.9 million. Romney got over 2 million fewer votes than McCain.

Obama received 60.6 million votes in 2012, almost 9 million less than he received in 2008.

Romney won independents by 5 points, and they made up 29% of all voters. McCain didn’t win independents.


McCain beats Romney!

Enjoy your victory. Obama won it fair and square, but be careful in patting yourselves on the back and thinking you've ushered in a new progressive century.

Seven million people who usually vote republican stayed home. They will decide the next election.

Les Carpenter said...

What is NOT cool is you assuming I agree with the conservatives that defined what A mandate was.

Political capital is not a mandate either, and GWB blew his capital. IMO.

Shaw Kenawe said...

SF: "...be careful in patting yourselves on the back and thinking you've ushered in a new progressive century."

I haven't said that, nor have I read other liberal bloggers who've predicted that.

We certainly will, however, pat ourselves on the back for winning an election that pundits told us would be very, very close.

It wasn't. And the consesus is that the community organizer out organized the CEO. That's another thing to be impressed with.



SF: "Seven million people who usually vote republican stayed home. They will decide the next election."

But in the next election, more minorities will be of age to vote: Latinos, African-Americans, Asians, women. And all of those segments overwhelmingly went to Mr. Obama.

Also, I have no interest in speculating about another election at this point. I am election weary.


RN, you are very welcome to your opinion that Mr. Obama does not have a mandate.

I'm of the opinion that he does, and I accepted that premise when GWB said he did after he had a narrower win.

Elections have consequences, as the GOP told everyone in 2010.

Les Carpenter said...

And this past election will have long lasting consequences. I hoe for the best, prepare for the worst, wish the President well hoping he is successful, and lastly agree the GOP will become irrelevant unless it enlarges its tent.

And Silver makes valid observations above.

Anonymous said...

“we should be confident that whoever wins has our collective best interests at heart, even if we don’t agree with his or her ideology, the same way we reflexively assume that the pilot of any plane we board doesn’t want to fly us into a mountain.”

Yet that basic confidence has eroded. “People today on both sides are genuinely terrified of a wrong outcome in this election,” Taibbi wrote. “They’ve been whipped into a state of panic – people everywhere are freaking out and muttering to themselves and firing off vitriolic emails.”

Republican Racism said...

"wish the President well hoping he is successful"

I read your blog. You statement is bogus.

Silverfiddle said...

But in the next election, more minorities will be of age to vote: Latinos, African-Americans, Asians, women. And all of those segments overwhelmingly went to Mr. Obama.

Ah yes...

The Democrat Party's binder full of minorities...

Shaw Kenawe said...

Really, SF, can you face reality without cynicism? I think not.

What I wrote it true, and you have a burning need to try to mock it?

You and your extremist GOPers--and anyone who admires Michael Savage or Andrew Breitbart IS an extremist, IMO, have yet to come to terms with the fact that minorities freely choose to identify with the Democratic Party and NOT the GOP.

And I have news for the reality-challenged red staters, it ain't because they get "free stuff." That's another fantasy your party is selling to itself to explain their defeat. And it's wrong.

Latinos, Africano-Americans, Asians, women AND young people overwhelmingly voted for Mr. Obama.

This stings, I understand, but the extremists in the GOP better figure out why those minorties are with the Democrats and not the GOP.

Posting cynical zingers won't get you to understanding why.

Anonymous said...

How did Goldwater say it, "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice."

But it is. Extremism excludes liberty by excluding the will of the majority.

Talk about a landslide. Johnson trounced Goldwater, because the people knew Goldwater was talking about dictatorship.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Anonymous,

The GOP has demonstrated again and again that they don't believe in democracy. They do NOT accept the will of the people when the people vote for the other party.

Less than three months into Mr. Obama's first term the Koch Brothers' Tea Party malcontents were marching around with misspelled signs condemning Mr. Obama and squawking to anyone who would listen that they wanted their country back! LESS THAN THREE MONTHS!

Why Americans didn't recognize that as a form of psychotic behavior is still a mystery to me.

LOL Anonymous said...

LOL!