Why Does Martin Peretz Hate The Democratic Party?
Via Ed Driscoll, Marty Peretz confirms to Hugh Hewitt what many have known a long time: he hates the Democratic Party.
HH: Do you want the Democrats to win majorities in the House or the Senate, Martin Peretz?
MP: I’m…I’m appalled by some of the people who would become head of Congressional committees.
HH: Is that a no?
MP: Uh, but I’m also appalled by some of the shenanigans…
HH: But is that…I’ve got five seconds. Is that a no, Martin Peretz?
MP: It’s a cowardly refusal to answer.
HH: (laughing) Okay. We’ll carry it on, later. Martin Peretz, thanks.
Marty, Joe Lieberman’s bulldog, doesn’t want the Democrats to win.
Why does Peretz feel this way? Because, quite simply, he hates liberalism. Again quoting from Eric Alterman:
When Martin Peretz purchased the magazine with funds his wife inherited from her family’s Singer Sewing Machine fortune in 1974, he swore fealty to its traditionally progressive path originally set forth by its famous founders…a half century earlier. But Peretz quickly grew impatient with his own promises and soon began firing the staff and replacing it with writers more to his liking. By the early 1980s, the New Republic had shaken off what its publisher was calling the “dead weight of knee-jerk liberalism”…
The ideology which replaced liberalism at TNR is Peretz’s own version of neoconservatism. So much so that Marty could eventually hire someone like the late, much-dreaded Michael Kelly, whom Peretz modestly compared to Thucydides, as his magazine’s editor. Kelly voiced his own antipathy to liberalism like so (as quoted by Alterman):
“[Liberalism is] an ideology of self-styled saints; a philosophy of determined perversity. Its animating impulse is to marginalize itself and then to enjoy its own company…. If it were a person, it would pierce its tongue.”
I think one can safely assume that Kelly might as well have been speaking for Marty.
But going back to Driscoll’s post, he quotes Richard Shriver (writing at Astroturf Central Station) :
Lamont, on the other hand, is an American made rich via inheritance who, like Sen. Edward Kennedy and some other leaders of the Democratic Party, has turned his back on some of the very institutions that helped make his father (and him) rich in the first place, such as low taxes and a strong defense policy. [Gavin adds: Just for perspective, the top tax bracket from the 1950s to early ’60s was 91%.] While his backers claim he is a successful businessman, he will not release his tax returns so there is no way to back up this claim. Meanwhile, Lamont has embarked on futile effort to make a single-issue campaign into a multi-issue campaign by paying lip service to a panoply of liberal causes.
Thus Dick the Republican in TCS, like Marty the “Democrat” in the WSJ both make the argument that Lamont is a class-traitor. Bad enough, eh? But there’s another theme to Marty’s and Dick’s smear-pieces that’s worth considering at least for its value as chutzpah. Dick writes:
I spent a good portion of my life working to eliminate or replace one-party systems in the world. So it is with mixed emotions I watch the Democratic Party continue to lop off its nose in order to spite its face.
Is it too soon to predict the result will be a one-party system in the US? Not if you are following political events in Connecticut.
The most current evidence of the Democratic Party’s self-destruction is the Democratic primary race for the US Senate in Connecticut, pitting 3-term veteran Joseph Lieberman against antiwar candidate Ned Lamont.
As Driscoll approvingly notes, this is the same thing Marty and Cokie Roberts are “fretting” over. Now for the punchline to their joke: Democrats, if Lamont wins, will have made the nation a one-party state by becoming irrelevant (despite the fact that the majority of Americans support Lamont’s withdrawl position on Iraq), but if Joe “Republican clone” Lieberman wins, the nation’s two-party system will be preserved because Democrats will then be forced to make themselves more resemble Republicans. This, then, is the ‘we had to destroy the village in order to save it’ philosophy as applied to politics. For Roberts, Marty, and Shriver, the Democratic Party cannot and should not exist if it is not a clone of the GOP.
I don’t know why, but these asses still surprise me. And that they get away with their bullshit surprises me even more.
Do people see the moral bankruptcy of these shills and hacks, these ugly minds, do the people yet see?
I feel like the Connecticut adventure has turned the rock of American politics over and the most vile and poisonous insects have crawled all over me to tell me what I should think and do.
Off off damn vile beasties.
I actually said a prayer this morning for a Lamont victory.
I don’t ask the almighty for much, but this was worthy.
They get away with their bullshit because a) the wingers want to believe whatever nonsense they hear about liberal self-destruction and b) even people who are normally capable of following an argument glaze over about halfway through what passes for analysis from these clowns. People just give up trying to parse the thread of logic that they expect to see underlying the spiel, and they figure, lazily, well gosh, it’s true the dems haven’t been putting out a consistent or coherent message for a few years so, yeah, it’s probably because of what these guys said.
When do we find out who won, and then when do we find out where Lieberman’s self-imposed exile will be?
10 bucks on a Spanish holiday island where Joe, in his tight briefs and Limbaugh-esque stash of Viagroallis (which isn’t even availalbe in the States, bitches), will come to be known as the Orca of Majorca.
where Lieberman’s self-imposed exile will be?
Fox News, of course.
Ya know, I’m actually chortling with glee every time I read about Marty, Cokie, the DLC and all their ilk and their whining. It makes the prospect of a Lamont victory all that much more deliciously enjoyable to me. I’ve been wanting to hear lamentations from that quarter for so very, very long.
If for no other reason, I love Lamont for making them crap their pants and bawl.
I can’t believe you folks aren’t discussing this outrageous! attack on poor HolyJoe’s 15$/month internet service. Which one of you blogger-HaXXorZ!11!-islamofascistsâ„¢ did it? Brad? Gavin? Come on, speak up…you’re only making it worse for yourselves!
Does Marty wear a clown suit (complete with bow-tie and beeping nose) and ride a unicycle while doing this act?
Okay, I’m admitting it.
I ordered the hordes of mecha-emus to destroy the LieberSite using half eaten hot dogs and kite string.
Fear the Mecha hordes!
Half eaten hot dogs?
Why that’s cruel, inhumane, and forbidden by the Geneva convention! (You know, that thinghy we pay lip service to, when it suits U.S.)
His problem is, much like he bought the NeoCon line of shit, he bought the NeoCon line of Routers. They hate ALL UDP packets and launch preemptive strikes against any originating IP that sends them a UDP packet. So, much like Iraq, their own Routers overly aggressive behavior brought their site to its knees all on it’s own…
mikey
yep, it’s true. The Intertubes, like facts, have a liberal bias…
Firedoglake is reporting that Loserman is considering disputing the results of the race based on the web site suspension. WATB much?
Turns out that the cheap-ass web site crashed in June, too, when they had a larger amount of traffic, too.
Maybe HoJo’s internet consultant was Ted Stevens.
I hope TC’s half-eaten hot dogs were kosher.
I can’t believe you folks aren’t discussing this outrageous! attack on poor HolyJoe’s 15$/month internet service.
Kos told us not to.
I used to be concerned that the whole netroots movement would end up being co-opted by the same slick characters who’ve brought the Democratic party to its sorry fate. I had nightmares about busting ass to eke out Democratic control of the House, or the Senate, or the White House in 08, only to have the power fall back into the hands of people who tell us we need to come together with the newly-chastened Republicans and not dwell on past misdeeds and we need to close the hole in our budget by cutting social programs and the usual centrist bullshit. But since the establishment has decided to stand and fight, in increasingly clear and stark and deranged terms, against the notion that Democrats should be anything other than “me, too” clones of the GOP, well, I’m feeling much better. The Lanny Davises and Marshall Wittmans and Marty Peretzes and all the rest were well-positioned to hijack whatever gains the netroots made, except they’ve decided to go buck crazy in defense of the Bestest Man In The Entire World, Joe Lieberman. But now, when the Republicans fall, they’ll be in a much weaker place to influence the future direction of liberal policy and politics. The mask has well and truly come off.
God, Elton’s good. This is an awesome post.
I’m watching the returns come in (http://www.wfsb.com/politics/9641261/detail.html). Looks good so far but the first places to be counted will be the burned-out cities like Bridgeport and Waterbury. Hold out for word from Greenwich, Bloomfield, and Simsbury before calling it.
Simsbury put its whole slate behind Lamont at the convention. When I heard that, I knew Joe was in trouble.
Really? If Joe Lieberman can’t count on the rich Jews on the mountain…
In regards to the commitees, nothing scares the GOP more than Conyers heading the Judicial Commitee. It is their worst nightmare.
Is this jackass serious? He worries about putting the democrats in power because they might engage in “shenanigans”? So he’d rather keep in power the party that endorses torture, starts wars based on lies, fucks with poor working people, is determined to scuttle all but the Second Amendment, tries to overthrow popularly-elected South American governments, literally misplaces billions in Iraq, is borrowing us into a hole we’ll never get out of, outs CIA agents…
No, really. Shenanigans?
Yeah Shenanigans like investigations of no-bid contracts, the lies that led us to war, the stetch of corruption coming from K street, things that will put the people Marty likes to hang with in fricking jail – yeah it’ll just be club fed but still it’s jail.
Marty Peretz’s Big Theory on Lieberman is proof, if proof were needed, that he’s truly coming unhinged:
“When Clinton came into the state, Lieberman and Lamont were running dead even in the polls, more or less. Clinton’s appearance began Lieberman’s decline. Within two or three days, Lieberman was down by ten points. (In the last few days of the campaign, Lieberman recovered considerably … but not enough.)”
Betcha he’s been sitting in his office at TNR thinking that one up all week. You can read the rest at Teh Plank, which is what Peretz is going to use on a shackled, naked Peter Beinart just to blow off some steam.
And the Democrats just lost a seat tonight.
Lieberman wins in November by a large margin, and caucuses with the GOP.
Go third-parties!
And the Democrats just lost a seat tonight.
Lieberman wins in November by a large margin, and caucuses with the GOP.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
Man, Gary, i should have known I could count on you. The news from CT has me in a great mood, but you still can make me laugh.
Who’s gonna vote for Joe? Democrats? They’ve already got a candidate- Ned Lamont. Republicans? They’ve got another candidate already, and why vote for a half-assed pretend Republican when you’ve got a real one?. At best the Repubs split, and CT is a super-solid Blue state. Independents? Not enough to do the job. Expatriate Dems? Jeez, Joe’s whining prevented him from even winning his hometown.
The tragic thing Joe’s Indy run IS going to do is siphon money and attention from deserving Dems in other races, races where scandal plagued Republicans are limping and vulnerable.
Again, thanks for the laugh, Ruppert. A good laugh before bed improves the circulation wonderfully. Come back anytime.
The Republicans know that they’re better off voting for Lieberman, a candidate who loves America and supports the war on terror, than voting for their own candidate, and getting 6 years of Ned Lamont (D-DailyKos) as their Senator.
The fact of the matter is that the nutroots shot themselves in the foot by going after a perfectly fine Senator in Joe Lieberman, meaning that they’ll have to give millions to Ned Lamont, which will make it harder for other Democrats to win.
Jesus, Ruppert, enough with the “say we’re winning over and over and maybe we can get somebody to believe it” shtick. Do you even believe your own bullshit any more?
Still sure that (snicker) Katherine Harris is going to win (snicker) her Senate race? Yep, any minute now she’ll start closing that 30-POINT gap with Nelson. And I’m sure ALL winning campaigns go through four campaign managers . . . .
Yeah, I can’t understand how Democrats could fail to support a candidate that every Republican wingnut in existence has a crush on.
Gary loves Lieberman. Enough said.
Oh, and we now have a shot at DeLay’s House seat, too. He bailed out of the race, leaving all his little Republican buddies in the lurch.
Um…Gary’s post doesn’t even make sense in a logical fashion.
Good old Gary. Back again in true form.
“Joe’s Indy run IS going to do is siphon money and attention from deserving Dems”
Now’s the time to write your Democratic Senators and urge them to support the Democratic candidate for Senator of Connecticut. I read somewhere an opinion that Bill Clinton going out for Joe was partly to give him and the party establishment the leverage to say, now Joe, we went all out for you but the people chose. Now for the good of your party, you need to back down.
Who knows? But it would be a good move.
I dun get it, Gary. Lamont winning the nomination is supposed to destroy the Democratic party and pave way for the Hundred Year Reign of Republicans. Why aren’t you celebrating?
The Republicans know that they’re better off voting for Lieberman, a candidate who loves America and supports the war on terror, than voting for their own candidate, and getting 6 years of Ned Lamont (D-DailyKos) as their Senator.
This appears to be an admission that Lamont will beat the Repub candidate. You may want to check your talking points, Gary; that doesn’t sound like the party line.
Ruppert reasoning:
Lieberman cannot win the Democratic primary
Connetticut is overwhelmingly Democratic
Therefore Lieberman will win the elections
Don’t try this at home kids!
If Lieberman’s website used a more robust platform, then more of his constituents would have been able to clog up his in-box with their whining about everything Joe hasn’t done for them over the last 18 years. Joe would much rather not know about any of this blue-state carping, especially when he has all his new-ish Republican friends telling him live & in person how wonderful he is, how magisterial, how bipartisan (and they say he sings good, too). The cheapest possible Internetz-Toob should be more than good enough for us non-cocktail-weenie-gifted peons, darn it! It’s not like Joe doesn’t have more important things to think about than pleasing a bunch of lousy home-state voters! Think of all the right-wing talking head shows he still needs to visit, to explain how Joe’s favorite Man-Date deserves to be crowned king by Supreme Court decree!
Besides being able to replace all the “knee-jerkers” with your own crew of dipshits, another benefit of buying a magazine is that you never have to worry about the copyeditor’s pen touching your sacred screeds. Jack Shafer in Slate has a hilarious takedown of Marty’s love affair with $10 words.
How long will it be before a branch of the RightWing Noise Machine starts this line of attack; Holy Joe’s loss is proof that Bill Clinton is no longer a power player, ’cause, see, he went an campaigned for Joe and Joe lost, so Joe’s loss is really a sign of The Democrat Party’s collapse to those of us knowing knowers on the inside that all you shit-covered peasants out there should listen to because we’re the ones with all the insight and the inside knowledge and you don’t know anything unless you here it from us, the real certified experts, NAH NAH NAH CLENISMONICASCANDAL (letmekeepmyjobineedmyjobevenifimallwayswrongbuticantactuallygetajobanddorealworkohpleaseletmeinthestudioimreallyallwaysrightevenifitseemslikeimallwayswrong)
Expect it this week on public radio, and a little later on the weekend pundit-jerks.
Christ on a bike. Is there anyone on the planet more obtuse than Peretz? Look at his latest blather: http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=29876
“I know there’s some nostalgia in the Democratic Party for Clinton and for Hillary, too. But for many, in the party and out, the Clintons are a nightmare. A nightmare, as James Joyce said, from which we are trying to awake. The common wisdom is that Al Gore would have won in 2000 had he embraced Clinton more or had he allowed Clinton to embrace him. Well, look at what happened to Joe.”
To misquote the Dude, what the fuck does anything have to do with Clinton?
That’s hi-larious! Liebermonkey probably only came as close as he did because of tsh Clenis. Without Bill, Joementum would likely have lost by over ten points.
The stupidest thing is that the most prominent Democrat for whom Clinton is a nightmare is of course Lieberman. Having Lieberman as running mate was the main thing preventing Gore from “embracing Clinton more”.
I really like that the subscription only comments section today at the Plank is basically devoted to tearing Marty another asshole.