With Notably Rare Exceptions, David Brooks is Aware of all Internet Traditions

David Brooks has scored a major internet hit by writing two of the most vapid and idiotic sentences in human history (which includes the collected writings of Donald Luskin and the speeches of Louis Gohmert Padishah emperor of the crazy people for life).

"At this stage it’s probably not sensible to get too worked up about the details of any candidate’s plans. They are all wildly unaffordable. What matters is how a candidate signals priorities."

He has managed to get quoted by Paul Krugman, Jonathan Chait, Scott Lemieux ,Tom Levinson and, oh hell just ask google.

Lemieux asks of Brooks is a mark or a con artist (I read the headline "In Republican Punditry, It’s A Fine Line Between Mark and Con Artist" as "A Fine line between stupid and clever") but I think Brooks is neither. I go for performance artist. I mean he had to have some reason to turn the stupid up to eleven.

I think the sentences might achieve internet immortality. I am sure that this was Brooks's intention.

Of course, the precedeing sentence was not intended to be a factual statement.

Desperate no hope GOP presidential candidates will try anything.

Lindsey Graham has been having a bit of trouble getting attention and beating 0% in polls so he decided to get sloshed and discuss who he would fuck, marry or kill (or -- as asked date, marry or disappear permanently). I am not exaggerating.

CNN’s Very Serious Journalist Dana Bash asked Graham to play a delightful childhood game known as Fuck Marry Kill, although she asked it in her Very Serious Journalist way:

Asked which of these people — Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, or Carly Fiorina — he would “date, marry, or disappear forever,” Graham initially resisted, joking that he “didn’t know we were going to do the Mormon thing here.”

Finally, he said he would date Palin and marry Fiorina “‘cause she’s rich.” Asked by Bash if that meant he would “disappear” Clinton, Graham shot back, “No. Is she rich? ‘Cause she said she was flat-broke.”

I suppose the get real drunk and sexist approach has to work better than whatever he was doing (I think aiming to reach across the aisle to work on bipartisan initiatives to go crazy about Benghazi or something).

But, sadly, Graham isn't the most desperate one. Kasich is so desperate for attention that he has tried the last, the very last, option -- telling the truth about what the Republican party has become.

Tweet of the day

Matt Yglesias writes it all with 140 characters or less Matthew Yglesias ‏@mattyglesias Oct 24 Washington, DC "The strong economy of 1997-2000 made welfare reform look good and the political system just closed the books on it and never looked back."

Deep in the Weeds meets Who Cares

Update2: never mind. Burkett never served in the Air Force. At Texas Monthly Joe Hagan explores the Bush Texas Air National Guard tale. In 2004, this was not an important issue and it's absurdly unimportant now. Only someone who has too much time on his hands (no) or is an idiot (yes) would try to guess the name of this anonymous source.

Littwin’s Dallas lawyers recruited a local Air Force veteran to interpret the file. He was a Bush antagonist still agitated by medical issues from his service, but he was an expert in the military jargon of the time. “I was stunned at what I saw,” explained the man, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

I believe it is the dread Bill Burkett who later gave the alleged Killian memo to Mary Mapes and Dan Rather.

I think the phrase "agitated by medical issues from his service" almost amounts to a violation of the promise of anonymity.

Consider

Burkett has, in the past, raised his allegations about the Bush records as part of his personal struggle with the Guard over medical benefits.

For instance, in a 1998 letter to Texas state Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, Burkett complained that he had not received adequate medical care when he became seriously ill after returning from a mission to Panama.

Update: yep reading on in the Texas Monthly article (after a pause to google and post)

“I was stunned at what I saw,” explained the man, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. “It was full of inconsistencies.” As compensation, the man asked Littwin’s lawyers if he could keep a photocopy of Bush’s record, then made an appointment to go see someone at the Dallas bureau of CBS News. That person was Mary Mapes.

The Two Minutes Chait of the Day

David Atkins warns "Ignore the Angry Middle Class at Your Peril"

he wrote

Democrats hurt themselves in this respect through their rhetoric. Especially for neoliberal politicians, Democrats all too often speak as if the economy and government were working fairly well for everyone, but needed to be adjusted to “take care of those left behind.” Voters who hear that rhetoric assume that Democrats are going to take money out of their pockets to give to the poor.

I commented twice. The second comment I typed is

"Especially for neoliberal politicians, Democrats all too often speak as if the economy and government were working fairly well for everyone, but needed to be adjusted to “take care of those left behind.” "

Who are you quoting ? When did this person say (or write) "take care of those left behind".

Are you debating with a straw man ?

I do think that if you put words in quotation marks that you should be able to provide a citation.

Back to google I didn't find any neoliberal Democrats when I googled "take care of those left behind"

http://bit.ly/1OPuwYi

I conclude you are debating with a straw man.

The first was less rude

I'm sure you know more than I do, but I definitely don't have the impression that Democratic politicians focus on helping the poor not the middle class. I think they know of the anger you describe (as people like you describe it to them). "Middle class" is one of the phrases I recall hearing most often from Obama and both Clintons.I'm sure you know more than I do, but I definitely don't have the impression that Democratic politicians focus on helping the poor not the middle class. I think they know of the anger you describe (as people like you describe it to them). "Middle class" is one of the phrases I recall hearing most often from Obama and both Clintons.

Bill Clinton campaigned on welfare reform, higher taxes on the rich and a middle class tax cut. Obama on higher taxes on the rich and a making work pay tax cut (and he actually delivered).

Note that Obama has not proposed reversing welfare reform (which he praised in "The Audacity of Hope". Also he doesn't argue for increased foreign aid. I'm pretty sure that all elite liberals think the foreign aid budget should be increased (for one thing because they know how small it currently is). But I also think that they know not to admit this in public

Hell Bernie Sanders is a self described socialist and he talks about the middle class all the time.

You definitely unerstand US public opinion. But I think that Democratic candidates got the message no later than 1972. It is clear that they haven't managed to convince the people Judis and you talk to, but I don't think this is for lack of trying. This includes both an obsessive focus on the middle class when campaigning and also a strong focus on the US lower middle class when legislating.

I will now google hillary clinton

www.hillaryclinton.com

ISSUES

"Hillary's economic plan: raise middle class incomes"

"middle" and "class" are the 5th and 6th words under issues and the 16th and 17th words on the web page.

Next issue "The New College Compact" a middle class concern (also and perhaps especially for parents who don't have college degrees).

OK how about Sanders

"middle" and "class" are the 18th and 19th words under issues.

The first 3 clickable issue headings are for the middle class

"INCOME AND WEALTH INEQUALITY

GETTING BIG MONEY OUT OF POLITICS

CREATING DECENT PAYING JOBS"

Neither mentions foreign aid or welfare.

They know what you know. They are doing what can be done.

I'm pretty sure I shouldn't type a third comment as I might get really rude.

Quote of the Day

QOTD pulled back from Brad's comments "With notably rare exceptions, economics is a scientific discipline, rather than an unholy chimera of un-applied math and un-acknowledged political philosophy." -- Cosma Shalizi