I'm so pleased to have received the coveted wanker of the day award from Atrios, whose civility knows no bounds. But slightly disappointed in the Matt Yglesias post that Atrios links to, since Yglesias does have a reputation for substance over slime...
Listen. Fuck civility. Civility went out the window when the press and Congress became wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Right Wing Noise Machine. People tried civility, pointing out the mistakes and underhanded dealings of the Bush administration and their rubber stamp 109th Congress. Know what we got? We were 'Bush-haters'; we were 'shrill'.
Sorry, but civility lost us our power over those who govern this nation. Civility lost us a boatload of civil rights. Civility lost us over 3000 lives and a half-trillion bucks so far. Civility got us in this mess, it won't get us out.
You know why guys like Joe Klein preach civil discourse? So they can hide behind flowery language. So they can't be pinned down by one side or the other. Guys like this have built their lives and careers kissing ass in Washington. They like hobnobbing with the 'ruling class' and don't want to compromise their positions; don't want to lose their access to the 'powerful'. They don't want to lose their invites to the DC/Georgetown cocktail party circuit.
Had the 'press' been a little more uncivil, maybe more Americans would have awakened long before last November. It's time for guys like Klein to look in the mirror, to ask themselves if they've lived up to the responsibility the Constitution endowed them with. These people are the guardians of truth in our society and they've allowed themselves to be bought. And they talk about civilty? Suck my big, hairy, white ass.
Suppose I take the same attitude toward my customers? Suppose I tell them there's nothing wrong with their car, they drive away, and the thing blows up? They're gonna come back mad and want a piece of my ass. Am I supposed to say 'you're being uncivil' and 'you have no idea what you're talking about'? I'm losing a customer, pal. If I don't do my job, my customers will go somewhere else. Listen, Joe, 31% of the American public comes to us, the 'shrill', the 'uncivil', for their news and opinions.
You see, Joe, folks know what they're getting from me, my esteemed colleagues here at the Brain, and the other wonderful bloggers in Left Blogtopia*. They know what they're getting, unlike the crap they get from folks like you. They don't expect 'fair and balanced'. They expect us to call 'em as we see 'em, unvarnished, uncivil, and yes, with a leftward slant, though I prefer to think of us as speaking for the average guy, for the vets in Iraq and Afghanistan who don't, can't, have a say because the UCMJ muzzles them. They know we don't have an agenda, aside from ending this war and electing a government who is responsive to the needs of Americans, all Americans, not just the special interest of the few, the wealthy, the connected, and the powerful who have no idea what goes on outside that highway in Washington. They know we will never be among the 'in crowd' in Washington and they know when we give someone an 'attaboy', we're not kissing their ass for some promise of access or an invite to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful. They also know when something the 'braintrust' in Washington pulls out of their collective ass affects one of us (bloggers) negatively enough to voice our outrage, odds are it will probably affect them the same way.
Joe, and all your pals who like to see themselves as 'above the fray', people don't identify with you, not after letting this nation fall so far in such a short time. It is your fault, for you all have abdicated your responsibilty to us, and Americans know it. Had you done your jobs, instead of protect your positions, Bush would never have come as far as he has in reenacting the Crusades and Inquisition. It is your fault, Joe Klein, and yours, David Broder, and yours, Tim Russert, and yours, Chris Matthews, and yours, Richard Cohen, and the fault of all your friends who feed at the Beltway 'corporate media' trough. You should be ashamed of yourselves, for the half-assed job you've done, for your 'holier than thou' attitude, and for abdicating your responsibilities.
Uncivil? You betcha. Shut up, quit whining about us, and do your job the way it was supposed to be done. Had you done the right thing to begin with, there wouldn't be a need for the shrill folks of the blogosphere. Go fuck yourselves.
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