Joe the Jerk
"Anti-intellectualism is something else again, as is the celebration of some nonexistent "real" America, populated inevitably by melanin-deprived pickup truck owners."
-Joe Klein February 7, 2010 on "Swampland"
There are few journalists today who personify the arrogance of the elite media more than Joe (the Jerk) Klein. This week, Klein has written another hit piece in his Time Magazine blog (Swampland) to join the left-wing chorus in ganging up on Sarah Palin and the Tea Party folks who met in Nashville.
Of course, Washington insiders fondly remember Joe the Jerk as the "courageous" guy who wrote a Beltway book called "Primary Colors" and signed it as "Anonymous". When confronted on it, he intiially denied it then later admitted he was indeed the author.
This is the same guy who on TV a few years ago described himself as a "raving moderate".
One might ask what is it about Palin and the Tea Party folks that stirs such anger (or is it fear) in the left-wing media.
Aside from Palin, Joe the Jerk has recently gone after Glenn Beck, whom he now calls a "hate-monger". Beck appeared on O'Reilly tonight and made Joe the Jerk look like the fool he is with a continuation of his (Beck's) pipe-smoking, Harvard Club mockery of Klein. For the February 9th video in which Beck has fun with Joe the Jerk, check this out:
Keep it up, Joe. You may be a hit on the Georgetown cocktail-party circuit, but you don't represent much outside of Washington. I hope you continue your battle with Beck so I can see more of his Joe Klein impersonations.
Holy Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick, Gary. Are you really putting Glen Beck clips up on your site now? I watched about half of it and then my brain started to sting from the stupid.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about this Joe Klein guy. Maybe he is a pompous jerk. But if he's calling Sarah Palin stupid and Glen Beck a hate monger, then he's right about at least two things.
Beck, just like Limbaugh, is one more conservative who tried to equate health care reform with "reparations". I discussed this with you before, but you couldn't come up with any sort of explanation as to why a person would do this other than to capitalize on the racial tensions that exist in this country. Let's not forget that he's also the one who called Obama a racist who "hated white culture" (even though just moments later he said, "I'm not saying that he hates white people.") I'm not sure if he's more stupid or evil, or a good combination of the two.
As for the whole Sarah Palin hand-note thing, you guys are really shooting yourselves in the foot if you continue to defend this. First of all, what's the big deal about teleprompters? The god of right-wing politics, Ronald Reagan, used them. So has all sorts of politicians. Is this really something that's unique to Obama?
And do you guys REALLY think that Obama believes that there are 57 states and that a breathalyzer is what you use for kids with asthma? Yes, he said those things - I make gaffes like that all the time. There's a difference between a malapropism and idiocy, which leads us to Sarah Palin.
Here is why her hand notes are stupid:
1. Ever hear of note cards?
2. If she wrote down data that involved numbers and statistics, that would be forgivable. Instead, she wrote down "energy", "budget cuts" and "lift American spirits". Of course, she crossed out "budget" and replaced it with "tax". Are these things REALLY so hard to remember? Was she afraid that she was accidentally going to tell Americans to lower their spirits?
3. The notes weren't even for her speech! She glanced down at them when she was being INTERVIEWED! And interviewed by somebody who was throwing softball questions at her?
You know, there are a lot of conservatives out there who like Beck and Palin about as much as I do because they realize what a couple of clowns they are. Maybe this guy Joe Klein is as bad as you say, but even if he is, that somehow doesn't make Beck and Palin better.
Oh, and before you ask, no, all of Bush's malapropisms didn't make him an idiot. However, he made enough to fill a calender of "Bush quotes of the day". If you guys can find as many for Obama, I'd be impressed.
lANCE,
ReplyDeleteLet's put into perspective, OK/ I happen to like Beck and I think his takeoff on Klein is fall-down funny.
I am neutral when it comes to Palin. She would not be my choice to run for president in 2012. But what in the world is it about this woman that makes you liberals so apoplectic? I mean, MSNBC spends hours every night bashing the daylights out of her. D'ya think maybe they are afraid of her, just maybe?
I also thought Reagan was bad without a teleprompter. Same with Bush. Neither were idiots though that's what their detractors maintained.You have to admit though, take the teleprompter away from Obama and it's pretty comical. I don't say he's an idiot, however.
But what in the world is it about this woman that makes you liberals so apoplectic?
ReplyDeleteBecause she's an idiot! Her answer to the question "What magazines do you read?" was "all of them." And then her supporters defended her by saying that it was a "gotcha" question! That's insane. (Oddly enough, "all of them" was also her answer as to who her favorite founding father was.)
D'ya think maybe they are afraid of her, just maybe?
Yes, they are. I'll tell you right now that I'm afraid of her. I'm afraid that somebody who's so obviously ignorant is so popular. I feel like I'm in some sort of Twilight Zone episode where blatant stupidity is no longer recognizable.
So who do you like better? Do you really think her presence in washington would lower the average IQ?
ReplyDeleteWho do I like better? What are my choices? Palin and who else? Palin and Obama? Palin and Willie Nelson? Palin and Alfred E. Newman? I like them all better than her.
ReplyDeleteAs for it lowering the IQ...well, there you just may have a point. Still, I think that she's dim enough to lower it several more points.