This blog has a long-standing loathing of Glenn Greenwald. After all, he's the only person in America who truly understands the Constitution (just ask him).
For me, he's an insufferable prig. He's a know-it-all who disregards anything anyone else says who disagrees with him. Now, this is something we usually castigate Republicans for, but we celebrate it (for some reason) in jerks like Greenwald.
Now following up their conversation from a couple of days ago,you're going to get 12 minutes why I can't stand the guy.
He loves him some him, don't he? Did he stop to take a breath even once? He seemed to follow the Palin strategy of filling the air with words.
And thus we have the one thing that no matter your party affiliation, we can all agree on, Pundits...no matter their ideology are idiots, because their ideology and their ideas are the only things that matter to them.
When I was a supporter of Barack Obama's in 2008, I favored his Health Care plan over Hillary's because Hillary's had a Mandate, and Barack's didn't.
Turns out, I was wrong. Mandates are what's needed to keep costs down, otherwise you get into something called an Insurance Death Spiral. Fortunately, the President changed his mind. Reading up on the matter, so did I.
Now, the difference between me and Glenn Greenwald? I just told you I was wrong. Glenn never will.
Glenn Greenwald really doesn't care what the hell happened in 2010. He doesn't care how Congressional Districts work. He doesn't care that Conservative Democrats will win in more Conservative Districts. He doesn't care about this stuff, because for him it's ideology first, last and always. Ideology before Country, ideology before fact.
Over and over again, he tells us that if the masses just heard our superior Liberal ideas, and if Democrats sold them with enough conviction, we'd win every time.
...or...maybe the people have heard our Liberal ideas (which I still love) and simply don't like them. And no matter how hard we sell them our Liberal ideas, they're not going to change their minds. So instead of throwing up our hands and turning the perfect into the enemy of the good, we compromise, get the best deal we can, and move the needle a little closer to where we think it needs to be.
Last I checked, that was called...Democracy. And yes, it can be an ugly-ass process. But Glenn can't be bothered with Democracy or compromise. That's too much like hard work, or...legislating or (gasp) being an actual leader...
Hey, I like actual Government-run Socialized Medicine. But you know, I also know how to count.
At no point does the thought even enter Glenn's head that some of his ideas are just flat out bull@#$%. When confronted with facts like "that idealized Congress you speak of never existed" he just repeats the same point he made two minutes ago.
He's got his ideas. He's stickin' to 'em. Facts be damned.
How is this son of a bitch different from any Teabagger I equally despise?!?
You know, I got an idea. Let's take Glenn's ideas and Lawrence's ideas of what a Political candidate should be, let 'em each run their own campaigns, but do it in the middle of say...Idaho and see who wins the Democratic nomination.
Not the election, just the Democratic nomination.
Doesn't have to be Idaho, it could be in working-class Ohio, hard-scrabble Massachusetts, the Central part of California...otherwise blue states where folks tend to vote red more often than not.
Sure, Glenn could win...in Nancy Pelosi's District...or anywhere in Manhattan or the West Side of Los Angeles, the same way if I play football against a bunch of third-graders, I'd probably whup up on 'em.
But put me in with the NFLers, and see how long I'd last. (Hell, I wouldn't last against a bunch of High Schoolers...)
Likewise, put Glenn in an area where his ideology isn't so popular, and see how well he does.
Glenn is going to keep losing us elections. Fortunately, the only way he can hurt us...is if we listen to him.
