tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post5728892635433287459..comments2024-03-28T10:49:14.510-05:00Comments on Horizons: Thomas Frank still thinks like a RepublicanNancy LeTourneauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-42648264002519486192014-10-31T09:35:26.293-05:002014-10-31T09:35:26.293-05:00I was shocked at Frank's take on "we libe...I was shocked at Frank's take on "we liberals". So off the wall, I wondered if he had turned his essay over to someone else and forgot to edit or even read it. It could be that as a former Republican he has no clue about what liberalism is all about. <br /><br />Barack Obama was never going to be a true liberal in the most liberal sense of the word. The president has to be a pragmatist and we were never going to get everything we asked for. We should have got more than we did, but overall Obama has done more than I ever expected, considering the viciousness of the Republican blowback.<br /><br />What I get from these attacks from the left is the sense that they've given up any need to look to the common good in order to make demands that, if they stood back and looked at the big picture, seem too close for comfort from those on the right. <br /><br />We won't survive as a country if both the left and the right join forces to denounce our government We need big government. Big government is the only entity powerful enough to get the job done. We need honesty, we need scrutiny, but we don't need a public made paranoid about every aspect of our government, which is what we'll get if even the progressive pundits continue to go on the attack against our president. The Republicans will win if it doesn't stop. And that's a fact.<br /><br />RamonaRamona Grigghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07160614050077886238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-28264532919953051772014-10-28T09:37:17.634-05:002014-10-28T09:37:17.634-05:00Yes. See also Sirota, David.Yes. See also Sirota, David.Kathleennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-28570690009311996052014-10-28T01:10:31.056-05:002014-10-28T01:10:31.056-05:00Divorcing oneself from facts, from the difficult m...Divorcing oneself from facts, from the difficult measure of actually READING bills and policies, is totally comforting because it permits the same freedom to rant that the GOP and extremists have. How can you get a good hard-on if you actually KNOW what has been done well, what has succeeded, what has NOT failed? Far better to create the strawman that can be trashed and burned without a lick of reference to reality. <br /><br />I despair of our nation's slide into desiring some visceral 'gotcha'. Back in the 70s there was a press to get in touch with 'feelings' and divorcing those from intellect. That was seen as a huge step forward - you were angry. Period. You were happy. Period. You were upset or passionate or anguished or... without any reflection on why or whether the feeling was appropriate to the experience. No longer "I think therefore I am". It was "I fee so therefore I am and to hell with why." Sorry if PBO doesn't float your boat with quickie satisfaction, but for those of us whose emotional satisfaction comes in second to our intellectual self respect, this president has filled the bill on every issue. Life is complex not simple, and simplistic gut-level fuzzies are utterly, totally, and historically irrelevant. Solid policy helping millions is all that matters. I expect better from Frank, but I watch as more and more people go for the gut instead of the intellect because accolades from the EmoProg crowd is all that matters. Churchlady320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-72211258345663209142014-10-27T13:04:39.042-05:002014-10-27T13:04:39.042-05:00Yes, I've noticed that. Salon seems to have an...Yes, I've noticed that. Salon seems to have an attraction to former Republicans turned liberal who suffer from ODS.Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-52604963668298414082014-10-27T13:00:26.592-05:002014-10-27T13:00:26.592-05:00Not for nothing, but Greenwald made his bones writ...Not for nothing, but Greenwald made his bones writing for Salon.com, which is also Frank's latest writing home. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com