Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

So just what IS wrong with the Right these days? And some Left, too

Why?  Why?  Why are the howling negators on the Right so violently opposed to doing anything, anything at all that President Obama favors doing?  Why will they gnaw off an arm rather than sign onto anything that PBO says he’s for, even when they were screeching for it before he said “Okay, let’s give it a whirl”?

Why is there a small, shrill army on the Left equally furious in their savaging of everything the President does — not good enough, sold us out, threw us under the bus, Republican tool — you know the sad, sorry drill.

Why?  * Waves hand vigorously *  I know!  I know!  Call on me, I know!

It’s simple, really.  Frighteningly large swaths of this country are in the throes of an epidemic.  An epidemic of:

OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER

Now, you’re probably laughing at me.  Or shaking your head at such a blatantly over-the-top misapplication of psychiatric terminology.  Or even, even reaching for the dread “Meh” button.  But consider the features of this disorder:

Symptoms

   Actively does not follow adults’ requests

   Angry and resentful of others

   Argues with adults

   Blames others for own mistakes

   Has few or no friends or has lost friends

   Is in constant trouble in school

   Loses temper

   Spiteful or seeks revenge

   Touchy or easily annoyed

To fit this diagnosis, the pattern must last for at least 6 months and must be more than normal childhood misbehavior.

Come on, admit it — delete “in school” and “childhood” and is there a better descriptor of the Republicans?  Or the PL?  Especially when you consider that article’s prognosis:  “In some cases children may grow up to have antisocial personality disorder.”  Considering the throngs of dimwitted sociopaths currently steering the Ship of State toward the jaws of the Kraken, I argue it’s spot on.

So what do we do?  How can we bring these victims of ODD back to sanity?  I know what I’d like to see:

Shock treatment and straitjackets.  Simultaneously.

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Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 52 Comments

52 comments

  1. fogiv

    the causes are myriad, and convoluted. Transmission occurs primarily via talk radio, cable news, and the internet.

  2. Strummerson

    Not to hijack, but Denise JUST posted a front page offering over a DKos on the history of “race” as a concept.  As most of us Moose know, she teaches this subject and is well versed in its complications and implications.  Her piece is masterful and reflects a fantastic pedagogical expertise, useful for introduction or a refresher.  It’s also germane to some of the discussions we’ve been having over the past few days, including my recent diary and this one.

  3. DTOzone

    Is I really don’t think they really care about the issues they claim to care about and I think a lot of middle class folks feel the same way. I think they see of these elitist-looking yuppies come into their neighborhoods and tell them they want to fight for a better life for them in their Gucci glasses and Gap chinos and they’re like “screw you rich kid.” I see that a lot in New York, and I felt it in the past, especially when people would chase me around my college campus asking me to sign petitions about Darfur and save the manatees or whatever. I don’t think these people really care about these issues, but see it as a cause celebre to take up to gain relevance somehow/

    Look at the appointment to the CFPB. It’s not Warren, it’s former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, who as AG took on the mortgage industry, to the glee of the same emo progressives who are calling his appointment a sell out. He’s being appointed, because he’s not longer AG, despite his populism, in part because the same fucking progressives weren’t there to defend him because the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State in Ohio opposed abortion and that was enough to keep them home.

    No, they’re not celebrating Cordray’s appointment, they’re bitching it wasn’t Warren. It’s not the consumer advocate anti-corporatism, populist progressive WE want!

    Take Paul Krugman today

    But meanwhile Obama has passed up a chance to symbolically align himself with the public and against the banksters.

    Sad. Really sad.

    Because picking the guy the banksters (I really hate that word) spent millions defeating last year is not symbolically aligning himself with the public and against the banksters.

    This is why I hate this “activist” left, it’s not about policy with them, it’s about their own personal power. If it were about policy, they’d be happy with the choice of Cordray and be fighting for him, instead many of them are just whining that he didn’t pick a woman who pretty much hinted repeatedly she didn’t want the job.

    It’s all about them, not picking Warren shows they have no influence and that’s what they want, influence. They don’t care about actually getting the CFPB running, they care about their own personal influence.

    It’s all about them, they need the attention. They aren’t crashing the gates to gain control of a movement, they’re doing it to prove they can. That’s why I termed them Alex Forrest progressives.

    Thankfully, kossacks seem to be taking the news well, perhaps I misjudged many of them. Except for this guy

    You cannot win with these people. They are hostage takers bent on destroying legislative order and stunting the will of the American people. They sit at the beck and call of their plutocratic masters, happy to exercise the will of Wall Street. There is no appeasing them. I’ve felt from the start that compromise wasn’t going to do anything; we must destroy them, humiliate them, and elect people who will join us in calling them out to the American people as the frauds they are.

    and in the event the people elect the other guys, then what bucko?  

  4. DTOzone

    This response to Joe from Lowell’s comment on GOS about how ridiculous it is to say only Warren could run the bureau

    Don’t lecture me Joe about understanding politics, Joe, ok?  Maybe you weren’t there, but at something called Netroots Nation Elizabeth made a helluva impression on all of us.

    What I read this, what I hear is “she came to a thing I was at, which means I’m important, she must be Queen of the Universe”  

  6. fogiv

    The American people, however, seem to be registering their disapproval with the GOP, according to a new CBS poll that showed just 21% of those surveyed approved of Republicans’ handling of the debt-limit crisis, compared with 43% approving of Obama’s stance.

    http://www.latimes.com/news/po…

  7. DTOzone

    from Joan Walsh, most of this I agree with, but this stuck out.

    The president has promised to reject any deal that contains only spending cuts, no revenue increases. Let’s hope he sticks to that. One thing that would strengthen his resolve might be Democrats to his left who won’t vote for such a deal even if he says he backs it. Yes, they would be joining the GOP extremists in playing chicken with the debt ceiling, but it’s worth playing that out for a while. Obama should have to deal with hard-liners in his own caucus, the way Boehner and McConnell do, so he can tell the say with honesty that his hardliners, like theirs, make a complete cave-in impossible. It might not work, but it would be fun to watch.

    it would be fun to watch…playing chicken with the economy, for which we skewer Republicans, would be “fun to watch”

    This isn’t Grey’s Anatomy, it’s real life.

    And who really thinks if it doesn’t work, the left won’t scream and yell about the “terrible messaging” and “not fighting hard enough?”

    And look at this exchange from GOS

     It isnt the chattering class (0+ / 0-)

    who is pissed off. Theyre all good with getting rid of warren.

    Its us.

    Thing about leading an army. You turn your guns on your own soldiers enough and eventually you turn around to find they arent there anymore…

    A man is born as many men but dies as a single one.–Martin Heidegger

    by cdreid on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 04:47:51 PM PDT

    [ Parent ]

     Perhaps “we” shouldn’t be pissed (1+ / 0-)

    After all, we just got a strong progressive and proven fighter nominated for this position.

    by beauchapeau on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 05:04:06 PM PDT

    [ Parent ]

     You (0+ / 0-)

    are right. If Obama hadnt been such a disappointment so far we wouldnt have a problem with this.

    So Obama does something good for progressives and their response it “meh. we’d care and we’d defend him, but he’s already disappointed us.”

    You want to know why no one in the Democratic Party fights for progressives, because this is who they see as the progressives, this is the voice they hear, those looking for nothing more than political theater or those so cynical that they don’t even bother to try to please them. A group of people for whom sticking your neck out for means certain decapitation.

    This is who is representing you liberals.  

  8. fogiv

    The president also has a double-digit lead when it comes to caring more about people’s own family financial interests and edges out the GOP on helping small businesses, which has been a flash point in the high-profile, big-stakes contest over debt and deficits.

    [snip]

    Asked who cares more about the financial concerns of middle-class Americans,  Obama has a big advantage, 53 percent to 35 percent, over the Republicans in Congress. He’s up 47 percent to 37 percent when poll respondents were asked about themselves and their families. On protecting the interests of small businesses, 48 percent of Americans say Obama cares more; 39 percent say so of the GOP.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/…

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