CSotD Valu-Pak
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Dave Brown indulges in what I think is a perfectly valid case of whataboutism, as the Republican Party and its Dear Leader ignore the beam in their own eye to attack the mote in Joe Biden’s.
Only, as his parallel drawings suggest, there isn’t even much of a mote.
For Trump and his myrmidons, it’s simply a matter of setting the ball in motion, trusting not just in the faith of his Deplorables but in the willingness of lazy media to follow the bouncing ball.
As noted here the other day, I’m currently reading Stuart Stevens’ “It Was All a Lie,” about the decline and fall of the GOP, but yesterday I caught Brian Stelter on Fresh Air, discussing his book, “Hoax,” about how Fox News became an extension of Donald Trump and vice-versa.
They’re like particularly gruesome autopsy reports: Fascinating reading but unlikely to revive the subject.
And then every morning I get to sort through political cartoons that include some from people who — apparently unable to tell the cheap gags of Jay Leno from the sharp, analytical humor of Trevor Noah — repeat the pre-fab “Joe is senile” opposition attack.
Which paint-by-numbers commentary falls into the category of fiddling while Rome burns.
Today’s Candorville addresses the distortion AOC faced at the Democratic Convention, but it fits well, too, into the ongoing narrative in Portland, Minneapolis and, now, Kenosha.
It’s another time when I’m more aligned with Clyde than Lemont, and I’ll start by doubting his theory that MSNBC and NBC knew they were misrepresenting what was going on. I think he’s giving them way too much credit and chalking something up to a nefarious plot when it’s simply a matter of credulous ignorance.
In the case of antifa and the “smoldering ruins of Minneapolis” (The GOP makes the place sound like Hiroshima), I particularly agree with Clyde that “fake news” is whatever goes against your pre-selected loyalties.
As said before, I’ve been on both sides of the interview, and I’ve also had editors at desks overrule my experience in the street.
If an editor sends you out to report on smoldering ruins, you’d damn well better find some smoldering ruins.
So your question to the Mayor is not “What’s been happening?” but “What are you going to do about all these smoldering ruins?”
It’s no different than the sportswriter who doesn’t ask the coach “Why did you lose?” but, having already decided it was a dropped pass in the fourth quarter, asks “Why didn’t you run the ball?”
He just wants a quote for the story he’s already written in his head.
As for antifa, I saw a meme that said forcing BLM protesters to justify the window-smashers is like expecting all gun owners to defend school shooters.
To which I say “Bingo!”
But I’m not sure how you go about distancing yourself from your own crazies, particularly when the real problem is not that they exist, but that they are emphasized by propagandists and amplified by lazy, desk-bound “experts.”
And I’ll note again that, if a photographer takes 200 pictures of peaceful protesters and one shot of an idiot carrying a toy rifle and dressed up in a blood-covered Uncle Sam costume, the editor is going to choose … do I have to finish the thought?
But ditto with 200 shots of peaceful people at a Trump rally and one picture of a fat, hate-spewing turd in a vulgar T-shirt.
It’s not a plot. It’s just how things work in an idiocracy.
Which sets up this
Juxtaposition of the Day
This really is a juxtaposition, because, on the one hand, Ariail expresses dismay at the GOP openingly declaring that they have no platform and simply intend to do whatever Dear Leader wants done.
Goodwyn, by contrast, expresses disdain for the notion that the Democrats may have chosen Biden because he is willing to carry their platform forward.
In both cases, and throughout the business world as well, it only makes sense to hire someone who will do that you want them to do.
And whether you consider the outcome a plot or good politics, fake news or good news, depends on what you bring to the table.
That doesn’t mean “they’re all the same.” It means you have a moral, personal obligation to make some choices and assert some values beyond “Hooray for our team!”
Which brings us to another
Juxtaposition of the Day
I will confess to a bit of schadenfreude when Kellyanne Conway announced her resignation, and even having expressed the wish that I could have been a fly on the wall at that family discussion.
But I’ve seen far too many children sacrificed on the altar of parental ambition, among famous strivers, but also up close.
Sack is right that she walked away on her own, having been completely aligned with an employer known for hiring and firing in tantrums. It’s remarkable for that, certainly.
But Campbell is not the only cartoonist mocking her for putting her child ahead of her career, nor is he close to being the harshest in that judgment.
As both a father and, I hope, a decent human being, I salute the Conways for putting aside their Battling Bickersons routine and attending to the needs of their family.
The tie-in to today’s Candorville being this:
If you criticized Rush Limbaugh for declaring that Biden uses his son’s death for political advancement, you need to STFU about the choices the Conways have just made.
Either family matters or it doesn’t.
Pick a value, not a team pennant.
Okay, some family issues are, indeed, funny
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Don Jr.’s girlfriend and the memorable screamer from Day One of the RNC, is also the ex-wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).
Which Jack Ohman, stationed in Sacramento, already knew.
For my part, I’m on good terms with my ex, and, as I look back on the stream of romantic karma in my wake, it’s mostly positive, I guess.
I hope.
Still, the situation reminded me of ways in which I’d rather not be reunited …
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