The Original Gun Clapper

by Eric Martin

 

The Kitteh doesn't do post-partisanship.  Or is it that she enforces it with an iron paw?  Either way, she's well armed and full of hope!

Comments

[Ugh]

Teh Kitteh sez: even the uniformed secret service are taking pix.

And really, is this a presidential inaugural or a Jonas Brothers* concert? So much screaming.

*Not that I know who the Jonas Brothers are.

[Eric Martin]

Not that I know who the Jonas Brothers are.

I don't know who they are more than you.

[Gary Farber]

The Inaugural and oatmeal. Mmm, oatmeal.

[DrDick]

Kitteh knows how to deal with obstructionist Rethuglicans. Bipartisanship my ass.

[Gary Farber]

"Rethuglicans."

Last I looked, this was a violation of the posting rules.

[Gary Farber]

"I'm a lefty" proclaims Obama.

Really.

[Gary Farber]

Meanwhile, the lunatic wing continues onwards. Hold high the banner of revolution, comrades!

[Gary Farber]

It's confirmed about Jack Balkin.

[Gary Farber]

Sorry, I meant Marty Lederman.

[Justin Slotman]

You know, I've always wondered--is ObWi the origin of The Kitteh with a gun image? I've seen it around the web but I always associate it with here obviously. Was it Moe's creation, along with the Voice of Moderation tagline?

[OCSteve]

Meanwhile, the lunatic wing continues onwards. Hold high the banner of revolution, comrades!

Cherry picky Gary.

Glenn Reynolds

CONGRATULATIONS TO MR. OBAMA: The civil-rights revolution was something of my parents’ generation, not mine — my dad marched at Selma, but I was learning to walk, talk and eat at the time, skills I found useful in later life, but . . . . Still, whether or not you voted for Barack Obama, this is a watershed moment. I find that my overwhelming feeling for him right now is sympathy, though, as it was for President Bush. Bill Clinton probably realizes just how lucky he was to be President during a period where things were relatively calm. I fear that won’t be Obama’s lot, as it wasn’t Bush’s, though I hope I’m wrong.

Ed Morrissey

People have asked me since the election how I will approach the Obama presidency, but it’s really not that much of a mystery. I’m not going to be rooting for his failure, because I’m rooting for America. I believe most people feel the same way; Obama won the election and for better or worse, he’s our president. But that doesn’t mean that any of us will sit quietly for the next four years or the next four days.
…
Best of luck, President Obama. My prayers are with you, for support and wisdom as you assume the burden of this office and lead our country. When you fail to provide that leadership or demonstrate wisdom, though, don’t expect me to be silent. I’m rooting for America, not the coach.

David Horowitz

Yesterday was Martin Luther King's birthday, which is America's only national holiday to honor an American citizen. The day before, which was Sunday, the incoming Obama administration staged an Inauguration Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial around the theme "We Are One," which was also the theme of his presidential campaign. As several of the speakers -- including the president-elect -- noted, the Lincoln Memorial was the site of Martin Luther King's historic civil rights march and his famous dream for the American future. The president-elect reiterated that dream -- that Americans would judge each other by the content of their character and not their racial or ethnic identity. Today America welcomes Barack Obama as the first black president in its 232-year history.
How should conservatives think about these events?

First we have to recognize and then understand that whatever happens in the Obama presidency, this Inauguration Day is a watershed moment in the history of America and a remarkable event in the history of nations, and thus a cause for all of us who love this country, conservative and liberal, Democrat and Republican, to celebrate.

I’m going to stop at 3 links so as not to tempt the Gods (of a certain canned meat by-product), and yes you can read further in those posts and find things you object to. But all in all – I have seen little besides support on the right for Obama today.

Resignation, yes – but overall the attitude I saw was – he is the president and I support him, even though I know I won’t always agree with him. That is little different from folks here.

Shall we go back and see what is on selected lefty blogs on this day in 20001? (Well, web postings of some sort...) I have seen compilations - it is not pretty...

[Catsy]

But all in all – I have seen little besides support on the right for Obama today.

I take it you're not reading Redstate anymore. Can't say as I blame you.

I mean, really. I get what you're saying, but Redstate in particular was a real cesspool today. Ultimately though, it's just self-evidently ridiculous to compare the reactions of the left to Bush in 2001--who took office under a firestorm of controversy over the very legitimacy of the election--with the reactions of the right to Obama. I mean, could the circumstances of their elections be any different? Are there perhaps a few things--like a certain intellectually bankrupt Supreme Court decision--that make this an apples and oranges comparison?

I hate this kind of pseudo-balance through false equivalency.

[kid bitzer]

"I have seen compilations - it is not pretty..."

no, but it was prescient. as bad as we lefties predicted bush would be, back in those dark days of 2001, he turned out to be worse. far worse.

and people said we were wrong, and in the end, it turned out, we were right.

[Gary Farber]

"Cherry picky Gary."

Are you saying that the people you linked to are members of the lunatic wing? Because if they're not, I don't see the relevance to my mentioning that "Meanwhile, the lunatic wing continues onwards."

"But all in all – I have seen little besides support on the right for Obama today."

But I didn't say a word about "the right."

Although now I have to mention Michelle Malkin. And speaking of RedState.

But I wasn't trying to indict "the right," so there's no need to defend "the right" from what I said. The people I was calling out are members of the set of lunatics.

[OCSteve]

Gary: The people I was calling out are members of the set of lunatics.

My bad. Your words were clear enough. I inserted a word: “the lunatic rightwing continues onwards”. On re-reading, that word wasn’t there. Damn it. ;)

[Eric Martin]

Drats!

I thought OCSteve was finally admitting that Reynolds and Morrissey were members of the lunatic wing.

As for Horowitz, we don't need anyone to make that point. Res ipsa loquitur

[OCSteve]

Catsey: I take it you're not reading Redstate anymore.

Never have. Why would you assume I ever did? I’ve heard there is a certain Charles that posts over there… That and the fact that they are some kind of wanna be comer on the right is all I know about them. Feel free to search their archives for my handle. Or I’ll ask a front-pager here to send Charles my IP address from here to see if I have ever even read more than a post or two over there (the few posts I have read were linked from somewhere else). This is the equivalent of me saying to you: I take it you're not reading DU anymore…

I hate this kind of pseudo-balance through false equivalency.

Hmm. The nasty stuff was not about SC decisions, it was very personal. Long before 9/11 or Iraq or really anything at all. The nasty stuff was not directed at the SC… I don’t read RS or other sites that are too far out there (this is the farthest out actually). It was not about election results or legitimacy. It may have started as that, but it morphed in about 35 seconds into personal attacks. That was Jan. 2001.

Most closely related to your comments - the evil Powerline followed the MN recount closely and said in the end – get over it, Franken won the recount. I don’t agree it was fair or impartial – I think the Dems outplayed and outlasted. But Franken is a Senator from MN and that is that. He is legitimate. End of story.

[Gary Farber]

"It may have started as that, but it morphed in about 35 seconds into personal attacks. That was Jan. 2001."

Sure, because people paid attention to Bush's history as a governor, a political operative, and to the fight over the 2000 election. What, specifically, turned out to be wrong about those criticisms/attacks?

I mean, I'm sure there's some lunacy that wasn't justified that can be found, but generally speaking, didn't most of the critiques/complaints/screeds turn out to be right about how awful Bush was? That wasn't just random dumb luck. You wouldn't find that sort of response to, say, Dick Lugar.

[Gary Farber]

Steve, so far as I can see, this is the most recent Powerline post about Al Franken, and it doesn't at all concede that Franken is the duly elected Senator. It criticizes a tactical position of the Coleman campaign, but in no way says anything suggesting Coleman should concede, or that Franken has won.

"... the evil Powerline followed the MN recount closely and said in the end – get over it, Franken won the recount."

Perhaps you could give a link to that post, please? Thanks.

Purely digressively, it sure is fun to read that "If we strip away the partisan hysteria, it's pretty clear that Bush was a reasonably good President, not an epochally horrible one."

[jiminyjilliker]

Looks to me like the kitty just hates ducks.

[Observer]

A Jones Brothers concert?

Close. Actually, the Jones Brothers came out of the closet last night, in a move that shocked no one - except Malia and Sasha.

[david kilmer]

Commentary on the right yesterday and today is the weirdest crap I think I have ever heard. On RedState, you have Leon Wolf saying that he hopes Obama is a failure and "will oppose everything he does" because he's "morally depraved". Ten minutes later, there's Jeff Emmanuel decrying the "take-my-ball-and-go-home-when-I’m-not-catered-to crowd" - by which he apparently *doesn't* mean Leon Wolf.

Today, Dick Morris says that Obama "will give every American family (who makes less than $200,000) a welfare check of $1,000 euphemistically called a refundable tax credit". Tax cuts are now only tax cuts when they're given to the rich. Otherwise, they're welfare.

I'm sure reason will eventually resume its previous shape.

[Phil]

Everyone make sure you click through and actually READ OCSteve's links. Because, for example, after the laudatory comments he posts from David Horowitz, Horowitz then spends about 1,000 words saying, "Hey, liberals are the REAL racists folks, amirite?!" Not exactly non-lunatic stuff there.

[Sebastian]

"Are you saying that the people you linked to are members of the lunatic wing? Because if they're not, I don't see the relevance to my mentioning that "Meanwhile, the lunatic wing continues onwards."

Well if everyone here is willing to conceed that Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit), Ed Morrissey (one of the guys from PowerLine), and Horowitz are NOT part of the lunatic wing, I'm delighted and surprised. :)

[cleek]

Horowitz ? he of the "100 most dangerous professors" list ?

if he's not a lunatic, the word has no meaning.

Reynolds is a hack. i'm sure we'll all enjoy watching as he rediscovers what "libertarianism" actually means, over the next few years.

and Morrissey should've never left the Smiths.

[Slartibartfast]

one of the guys from PowerLine

Eh? Ed Morrissey blogs at Powerline? I knew he was at Hot Air, but Powerline?

[russell]

Everyone make sure you click through and actually READ OCSteve's links.

No thanks.

[Gary Farber]

Boy, Moe Lane certainly became very angry about something in recent years.

It makes me sad; I always liked Moe, and liked to be able to talk reasonably with him (mostly).

[Phil]

Sorry, but eff Moe Lane right in the ear. He actually said during the 2004 election that he wouldn't even consider voting for John Kerry because his wife worked in Washington, DC, and he didn't want her to be killed. And that's one of the nicer things he's ever had to say about anything.

So his poor little sensibilities were hurt because some mean mean people made fun of Bush like he was a defeated starting pitcher? Boo-hoo.

[bc]

FWIW, (and this is completely anecdotal), my circle of conservative friends were universally respectful of the office and moment (and therefore celebratory of this unique moment in history) leaving politics for, well, today. And I think they are representative. So there.

Re Powerline: I have been following the election issue there. The coverage has been objective, IMHO. Frex, they found no fault (or at least hanky panky) in the canvassing board's role in the recount (although they disagreed with some of the decisions) and provided good insight into the persons involved (commenting positively on the character of one of the canvassing board members they knew who was less than conservative, frex). However, the blog has consistently stated that the third phase (election contest) was coming and their was no clear end.

While there were some partisan moments in the posts, the conclusion was that Franken ran a smarter, if somewhat cynical, recount battle than Coleman.

However, the recent the focus has been on a FOIA request for communications between Ritchie and the Franken campaign. What that will show, if anything, remains to be seen.

[matttbastard]

Ed Morrissey blogged at Captain's Quarters and is now part of Hot Air (he also briefly posted at some other short-lived group blog that I can't recall the name of). AFAIK, he has never blogged for Powerline.

Regardless, he's certainly no lunatic (Horowitz on the other hand...)

[Slartibartfast]

I don't think I have much to say about Moe other than I used to like the guy a lot, and I avoid RedState like the plague in part because of the way he runs the place.

Sometimes just a little tiny amount of power is enough to turn otherwise decent people into assholes. Doubtless true of me, too, if I qualify for "otherwise decent".

[Eric Martin]

I'll grant you somewhat otherwise decent, with review pending...

;)

[Sebastian]

"Ed Morrissey blogged at Captain's Quarters and is now part of Hot Air (he also briefly posted at some other short-lived group blog that I can't recall the name of). AFAIK, he has never blogged for Powerline."

This is correct, though Captain's Quarters and Powerline were closely associated (both through crosslinking and shared work on issues, which is why I was confused.

[liberal japonicus]

FWIW, (and this is completely anecdotal), my circle of conservative friends were universally respectful of the office and moment (and therefore celebratory of this unique moment in history) leaving politics for, well, today. And I think they are representative. So there.

Get them blogging! Tell them they have a duty to the blogosphere! ;^)