Deflater Mouse Pops The Obama Balloon
A couple of days ago, Jesse Taylor got a piece of something when he associated Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism with the outraged gabbling and honking that we’ve been hearing from the right wing in regard to the popularity of Barack Obama. Obama is, we have been hearing, too popular. His Messianistic campaign of so-called ‘hope’ is nothing short of a personality cult. The closest political cognate to Barack Obama is Adolf Hitler.1
Among other things, this explains what Goldberg’s strange, long-delayed book was about. Right-wing intellectual works don’t come from nowhere: Each new title that tips off the line at Regnery, for instance, has been hatched up and slapped together to meet a perceived policy need, with such short-term intellectual joke fodder as Mark Levin’s Men in Black (occasion: assist in the confirmation of Bush’s Supreme Court nominees) bounding up and down the bestseller lists almost in the absence of an actual book between the covers. Long-term, you have stuff like the Politically Incorrect Guides, which are designed to look like works of general history or instruction, but are in fact brazenly wrought attempts to dress up the year-to-year policy aims of movement conservatism in general, and of the Republican Party in specific, as eternal verities.2
And then there’s Goldberg. Take it away, Jesse:
[…]
[What] Goldberg has done is provide intellectual cover for a growing meme: Obama is the leader of a new fascist revolution. Why, you may ask? Well, it’s all got to do with the defining downward of fascism towards a gooey puddle that virtually anyone not a movement conservative can step in.
The Goldbergian view of fascism (and I’m sure he’ll deny it, which will then be followed by a criticism of my argument, which will in turn be fascist, which will in turn be the exact point he was trying make) is that the marriage of any measurable popularity whatsoever to any state action whatsoever outside the boundaries of Reaganite conservatism is de facto fascist. The point was never to explore fascism or provide an analysis of the phenomenon that cast new light on it – a feat of which Goldberg was summarily incapable – but instead to provide the exact utility we see on display now, and provide a way to brand any popular Democrat or liberal as the handmaiden of evil.
I’m going to finish this post as the day goes on, so expect new text to appear here and there without warning. But let’s skip to the end and recall for a moment a phenomenon that we saw for years on the right, ending perhaps eighteen months ago. Let’s remember the unbelievably mythologizing praise of George W. Bush, the cynically concocted heroics and carrier-landings, the right wing’s gleeful, full-throated bayings about our ‘Commander in Chief’ and the treasonousness of all who opposed him. Let us recall the right’s flirtation with a Bush Personality Cult.
And let’s recall it directly, by turning to a brand new Andrew Klavan op-ed in the Wall Street Journal:
What Bush and Batman Have in Common
July 25, 2008A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . .
Oh, wait a minute. That’s not a bat, actually. In fact, when you trace the outline with your finger, it looks kind of like . . . a “W.”
There seems to me no question that the Batman film “The Dark Knight,” currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past.
And like W, Batman understands that there is no moral equivalence between a free society — in which people sometimes make the wrong choices — and a criminal sect bent on destruction. The former must be cherished even in its moments of folly; the latter must be hounded to the gates of Hell.
1 This coexists and freely alternates with images of Obama as (in rough order of prevalence) a Marxist, a Muslim extremist, a black-power activist, a cynical Chicago machine politician, an inexperienced naïf, a ’70s-style liberal, and a drug-addicted homosexual.
2 Interesting in a context that I haven’t typed yet is the jacket copy of The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History:
One of the first things Stalin, Hitler, Mao and other totalitarians did was rewrite the histories of their nations, remaking the past to foster their control of the present. The American Left has done the same thing in our country. But now at last conservatives and patriotic Americans have an antidote…
Let’s not give the brute too much credit. It’s not like it’s some brilliant strategy for some lazy wingnut to conclude, “Hey, we’re not the fatcysts! They are the real fatcysts!” and then write a whole book based on the mix of (1) your impulse that everything you don’t like is fatcyst, and (2) the constant right wing mantra for at least a century that no matter what they do, the real authoritarians / totalitarians / communists / Stalinist / fatcysts are tha libruls.
Are you prompted to think these things as a right wing freak more when it looks like you won’t have Karl Rove’s 1,000 Turd Reich for-evar than when you all thought George W. Two Terms Mandate Bush Jr. bestrode Ronald Reagan’s sainted corpse as its true jockey forever? Yes.
The reason they turned to this is because they started losing. Thus it is inevitable to conclude that the fact that people could turn against you means the people are wrong, and mostly likely controlled by the magic gay cultural relativist surrender crat don’t want to exercise or clean up my room death rays put out by libruls.
… by rewriting the history of their nation.
It is worth noting that Adolf Hitler was also all of these things.
I like that the right-wingers treat American culture with a kind of disgusted ambivalence; either the disgusting proles want masters who affect to enjoy a few good wickets of NASCAR and wear flag pins on each custom-tailored lapel, or the disgusting proles have been brainwashed by the trivial homosexual
judeo-BolshevikIslamofascist media.As I like to point out, more than half of Americans think that either ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’ is in the Constitution or should be; Americans on the whole are to the left of me or any other Democrat, and the only issues on which they betray any right-wing bias are the social and international ones that they share with Stalin. Take away the Foxworthy rich-asshole-southron horseshit, and you’ve got a radical culture barely contained into an acceptable trajectory by a lifetime of right-wing acculturation.
It is worth noting that Adolf Hitler was also all of these things.
And, of course, his birth certificate was forged to hide the fact that he was a radical Islamist plant.
I think you’re giving him too much credit, too. His point, as far as I could make out, was basically that liberals are fascists because they dictate things like seatbelt laws and insist banks do business in poor communities and tell you you can’t fire people for being homos and glare at you if you don’t recycle your soda cans and are all PC and won’t let you say “spic” or “cunt” in public anymore. These things are fascist because they are the state taking away your various freedoms.
This is a view I’ve heard for decades from assorted idiots of my acquaintance, and I honestly don’t think there was ever much more to it than that.
Does anyone have a clip of Dan Rather blubbering and saying that Bush is his Leader, and if he wants Rather to skin his children alive in order to make him a nice airforce jacket, he just needs to say the word?
We really need to go beyind the wingnut collective W-boner on this one. Show how even the liberal media was strutting to earn a Bushy nickname.
The fact that I am a vegetarian gives me this odd urge to round you all up into camps and exterminate you. It’s _weird_!
Gary, turn the Wagner down, honey. Okay?
I’ve used terms like ROFL before, but Jesus tap-dancing Christ – I honestly did fall out of my chair reading that shit in the WSJ. W as Batman?
This coexists and freely alternates with images of Obama as (in rough order of prevalence) a Marxist, a Muslim extremist, a black-power activist, a cynical Chicago machine politician, an inexperienced naif, a ’70s-style liberal, and a drug-addicted homosexual.
Matel is releasing a line of 8-inch dolls complete with matching
black BarbieMichelle and talking Rev. Wright*. Collect all eight while supplies last!*Michelle and Rev. Wright dolls sold seperately, batteries not included.
And like W, Batman totally flipped out and killed a lot of people.
Wait… um… yes. I’m pretty sure “The Dark Knight” was a story about how Batman traveled to a foreign country (in this one it was China, wasn’t it?) and went in all covert CIA-style and slaughtered a bunch of our enemies wholesale, with no regard to rule of law or higher tactical goals.
Also, his use of a massive spying network to hunt down his enemies was a commentary on how FISA is a valuable tool in the hands of an annoymous guy in a rubber suite, but should never be left in the hands of a liberal, elitist, black man.
SPOON!
Batman? He’s comparing Bush to Batman??!?
Oh, lizard shit! Just when you think these people can’t get any more ridiculous…
He’s bat-something, all right, but “man” is not the second syllable I’d choose.
Klavan is biting Dirty Harry’s rhymes.
Batman? He’s comparing Bush to Batman??!?
Oh, lizard shit! Just when you think these people can’t get any more ridiculous…
He’s bat-something, all right, but “man” is not the second syllable I’d choose.
Yeah, Bush doesn’t even stack up to the Goddamn Comedian, let alone Batman. (He had a conscience.)
I think Gavin is close to the truth. Don’t forget back in the day, Glodburg ‘s subtitle was “The Totalitarian Temptation from Whole Foods to Hillary Clinton”.
Luckily, Hitlary was disposed of by an even bigger fascist. The blackman.
Goldberg’s grudge is an old one. He and his editor have adjusted it to fit the current political conjuncture.
Bush doesn’t even stack up to Harvey Bullock. Sure, the guy’s a thug and a bully and a slob, but at least Bullock is fairly competent.
Actually, I think Bush = Snapper Carr.
Check out this hopeful Obama video from Maria Muldaur’s “Yes We Can!” Tons of friends, too, like Amma, Joan Baez, Jane Fonda, Holly Near, Phoebe Snow, Marianne Williamson, and more.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZLVXxGMG3Fw
http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/83672/
Batman is head of government for Gotham City, just like Bush is head of government for the United States. The same, the same!
Even better — Klavan <a href=”http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2008/07/25/gimmemymoneyandrewklavan/”ripped off the idea from Spencer Ackerman and got it wrong.
I don’t know why that didn’t work. Link here
. . . hellfire. I see my typo now. . . .
The Althousians never disappoint.
“End of the Affair: Barack Obama and the press break up.”
Kirby Olson said…
It’s amazing that no one has tracked down old chums of his during his stoner phase in Hawaii, to get pictures of him smoking a giant spleef with a lei around his neck and flashing a peace sign….
It’s awful to watch. It’s like the rise of some charismatic figure to absolute tyranny.
I was wondering yesterday when the wingers would start comparing Batman to, well, themselves. Of course, they like the good parts of Batman, but not the fact that, well, he is profoundly fucked up in the head and a constant source of moral confusion.
Next meme: the Joker is an Islamofascist.
George W. Bush wears a rubber suit with fake nipples and a pointy-eared mask ? I believe it.
Dubya and Batman are both masters of the boner.
Sorry, but this is starting to bug me.
What happened to 10000.html?
I definitely agree with the insightful idea that these books are hatched to push policy trends; whether hatched by group or just by the conservative Collective Unconscionable…
I think Goldberg’s incoherent gabbling was more about tying liberal populism to fascism. Thus any time any Democrat becomes popular with the middle class and working class for actually seeming like they’ll help, they can try and tar ’em with the Hitler brush.
Thus the conservatives have ammo whether Hillary, Obama or Edwards wins the primary and happens to become popular…
Obama’s playing things extremely smart, in my opinion. Whenever he’s talking, he generally keeps the focus on things he *wants to do*, down to specifics; this helps him keep this massive excitement about him while not coming across as self-aggrandizing…
You never know what can happen in the next few months. But it sure looks to me like McCain is toast. Maybe Goldberg will poop out a “Voting Democrat is Elder Abuse” booklet before then.
Yeah, Bush doesn’t even stack up to the Goddamn Comedian, let alone Batman. (He had a conscience.)
Also, the Comedian fought in Vietnam.
And I like Klavan’s insight that 300 articulated the “values and necessities” of the Global War on Terror. It’s time America faced up to the fact that the terrorists will win if we don’t start oiling ourselves up and flouncing around in leather man-panties.
Seriously, I don’t expect much from the WSJ op-ed page, but Klavan’s piece is barely RenewAmerica-level shit.
The Goldbergian view of fascism (and I’m sure he’ll deny it, which will then be followed by a criticism of my argument, which will in turn be fascist, which will in turn be the exact point he was trying make)…
The above statement is such sheer perfection, that if I wrote it, I might hang it on my wall.
If anything, they’d be wise to label Ra’s al Ghul, the co-villian of Batman Begins, as the Islamofascist type.
I love how popularity=fascist NOW. Bush, at <30% approval, no matter how totalitarian government becomes under him? Not fascist! Girl Scout cookies? Fascist!
Maybe because such pictures probably don’t exist. Wow, Kirby is stupid.
Here’s my favorite part:
“[What] Goldberg has done is provide intellectual cover for a growing meme: Obama is the leader of a new fascist revolution.”
How fucking sad that wingnuts have to rely on Goldberg for “intellectual cover.” I almost fell out of my chair and wondered what kind of moran would lead off his article with that statement. LOL.
Pam Atlas writes a post touching subtly upon the Obama = Hitler meme:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/07/springtime-for.html
Ok. Obama is a threat to good americans everywhere becuase he’s POPULAR???
Hmmm, good luck with that one…
mikey
What’s Mollom?
Obama is a threat to good americans everywhere becuase he’s POPULAR???
Works for Creed.
Wait a minute. If popularity is the gauge by which we measure fascism, then Batman is the most fascist movie ever made, due to its record-breaking opening weekend take at the box office.
Wait a minute. If popularity is the gauge by which we measure fascism
Arugula!
Holy waste of ink Batman! We must burn the infidel for suggesting dear leader races about in tights and a well packed codpiece!
In real fact, the batman logo resembles an M. Maybe Klavan’s head is on upside down. Hm. Scratch the “maybe.”
D. Sidhe nailed it.
I believe that only reinforces his point.
Here’s what the Antelope Vally’s conservative columnist had to say about McCain’s witty rejoinder to Obama in Berlin:
smart, quirky, creative … does he know what these words mean?
Maybe I’m just old, but to me Batman will forever be Adam West tripping the light camptastic. No deep questions, no angst. Just POW and ZAP.
And Burt Ward. Le Sigh.
I actually agree that McCain’s little tour of “Heartland” “Berlins” in response to Obama was a clever counter move, insofar as such might appeal to heard working white Americans – you know, morons.
Pammy nails it again. How could we have missed the obvious parallels?
Crowd milling about for Obama
Crowd standing in straight lines for Hitler
Obama pix in color
Hitler pix in black and white
Of course!
Really, this stuff is just too predictable. Regnery et al could just farm writing that crap out to barracks full of Indian or Chinese scribblers until someone writes software that spews it automatically.
“hard working” rather.
Wait until Marvel releases the Captain America movie. Comparisons drawn from that are bound to be sillier and even more annoying than that Klavan piece. Especially if Marvel brings him back from the dead in the comics. We all know that totally going to happen.
St. Ron is like Captain America. Captain America came back from the dead.
While liberals and other atheists may scoff, we don’t think it is unreasonable to hope St. Ron will effect a similar ressurection.
While liberals and other atheists may scoff, we don’t think it is unreasonable to hope St. Ron will effect a similar ressurection.
Are you kidding? Zombie Reagan has already eaten half the brains in Washington!
If ZomRon had to rely on BushAdmin brains he’d break his Teflon teeth on their thick skulls.
But that would spare him the dissapointment of finding nothing but a purple heart band-aid and some Cheeto dust.
And like W, Batman understands that there is no moral equivalence between a free society — in which people sometimes make the wrong choices — and a criminal sect bent on destruction.
Well, apart from the first three words, I guess that’s correct. In the comic book The Dark Knight Strikes Again, for example, Bats beats the shit out of a lying, corrupt, warmongering kleptocracy made up of DC super-villains who’ve taken over the US government, in a sledgehammer-subtle parody of the Bush administration. They’re led by Lex Luthor, who looks even more like Cheney than the Penguin does.
Oh, and I fully expect “Interesting in a context that I haven’t typed yet” to be used without irony or humour by either J-Load or K-Load at some point.
Yeah, Bush doesn’t even stack up to the Goddamn Comedian, let alone Batman. (He had a conscience.)
Also, the Comedian fought in Vietnam.
Super comics nerd WIN!!!
Bush as the Comedian: “A secret island, you say? A hideous alien monster, and a plan to kill half of New York? Cool! Do I get money for keeping quiet?”
Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past.
Um, yeah. Has W made any gesture toward re-establishing civil rights? Or is it just denial that we ever had them in the first place?
I’m just surprised to see a W-fluff this late in the game. I thought he’d been hooked off the stage by Wingnuttia.
Alec: I would love a source for the “from each according to his ability” thing so I can quote it at people.
“Deflator Mouse”?
Baw! I get it!
So that “no moral equivalence” thing means they’re going to stop defending every breach of civil rights with “but the terrists are worse!” right?
Oh, and Bush is actually Dirk Anger.
You have to admit, though, the image of Bush running around the Oval Office hopping up and down with a little-kid face mask on and towel-cape fluttering in the non-wind, shouting “I’M THE GODDAMN BATMAN” is hilarious.
ZOMG!
George W. Bush is Hank Venture!
Who does that make Doctor Girlfriend, then? Katherine Harris?
I for one wlcome our new fascist overlords. http://www.popcrunch.com/hello-world/
er, welcome
“Also, the Comedian fought in Vietnam.”
D’oh!
So, thus far ya’ll have referenced Watchman, Frank Miller, and the Venture Brothers. So, how many of you people secretly live in my apartment? All we need now is some Doctor Who slash…
Are we sure this guy isn’t Cliff Claven?
All we need now is some Doctor Who slash…
Such as George W. getting stuck in the ReTARDIS?
I haven’t seen the Batman movie, prob. won’t, but the ads show him riding around in a BatCycle w/ twin machine gun barrels projecting from the front. I think if we give our “Commander Guy” such a weapon it would be totally teh AWESOME for killin’ those terr’ists. And after all, Bush wished a few months back that he was younger so he could go partake of the splendid “adventure” in Iraq & Afghanistan.
But since he’s a little over the hill maybe we could give him one of those cycles and aim him at the folks from Code Pink or MoveOn! Those DFH’s wouldn’t know what hit ’em, & Commander Guy would get to relive his glory days of shooting down gooks over the skies of Texas back during ‘Nam.
Alec: I would love a source for the “from each according to his ability” thing so I can quote it at people.
I’m afraid it’s second-hand – you’d be at sea as I am. I’ll prod the guy who told me, but . . .
Dr. Girlfriend would have to be someone cool … so there is no conservative equivalent.
If you HAVE to pick someone, gotta be Condi.
Cut dude some slack. He just failed to mention that Bush is the TV series Batman, not the movie or comic book version. Bush just fucked up when he thought he could solve the whole Iraq thing with the can of shark-repellant BatSpray.
In fact, when you trace the outline with your finger, it looks kind of like . . . a “W.”
Very good, Andy. And what sound does “W” say?
wuuh, wuuh!
Yay Andy! Good job!
Doctor Girlfriend, the one nearly everyone thinks is or used to be a man? Hm, no, can’t think of anyone like that.
Although seriously now that I think she has Marfan’s syndrome I feel a little bit bad about that.
Right, Dr Girlfriend, the one who nearly everyone thinks is or was a man. Hm, nope can’t think of anyone like that.
(Although with the speculation that she’s got Marfan’s syndrome, I sorta feel bad).
Hm, Doctor Girlfriend, the one who nearly everyone thought is/was a man. I can’t think of anyone who would be a good match there.
but trying to stick reagans name on everything, his empty head on the 10 dollar bill, literally worshipping as a deity of true conservatism raising his name like you would jesus, and perpetually rewriting the actual events of his presidency of course is entirely different.
WSJ calls Bush Batman. Who would Two-Face be, then?
“Alec: I would love a source for the “from each according to his ability” thing so I can quote it at people.”
Liberal Fascist Karl Marx:
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/karl_marx/
Unlike Batman Jr has killed scores of people, really the only thing Chucklehead has in common with Batman is they both have lots of money. I’d compare Bush more with the Joker, both clowns, both homicidal maniacs, both crazy, except the Joker is cunning and devious. Jr leaves that to Darth Cheney
Bush = BATMAN?!?
Whoa, dude, save me the roach from that, s’il vous plait.
The mighty Pantloadpolitik has already borne ugly fruit – they just couldn’t resist with Obama in Germany, apparently.
Right on cue, there’s Atlas Juggs posting a slew of Obama-in-Berlin photos side by side with snaps of Hitler & stills from “Triumph Of The Will” … because nothing is as fascist as having a lot of folks agree with you (It’s Not Okay If You’re Not A Republican).
Meanwhile, the GOP had that guy Zirkle actually willingly giving a speech for REAL NAZIS, at a birthday party for Hitler no less – & all he had to do when he got called on it was shrug & say “oh gosh, I’m sorry if I upset anyone, but, um, the truth is, I’m a total political slut who’ll put out for 15 minutes of lip music to anybody that invites me” & voila, it’s right back off the radar.
Pot calls kettle black – film at eleven.
What really offends me about Triumph of Will is that Chewbacca doesn’t get a medal. WTF?
also sorry about dodectuple posting yesterday
delurking, very trivially indeed
Er, if W is Hank Venture then Doctor
GirlfriendMrs. The Monarch can’t possibly be Harris or Rice or She Who Might Have Marfan’s, who are all on the same side. Figuring that she’s the whip-smart activist spouse of someone with more energy and smarts than all the Ventures put together, who has been forcibly retired from arching the Ventures and is still more than a little bitter and resentful about it and chafing to get back into the arching game, it seems pretty clear that in fact she’s Hillary.Unless possibly she’s Tipper Gore. Con: Al maps poorly onto the Monarch, being all content and productive in his retirement. Pro: This would make one of the head writers on Futurama a Murderous Moppet.
relurking
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