Matt Taibbi Responds to Rolling Stone's Endorsement of Clinton
A fantastic read, as always, from Matt Taibbi:
Why Young People Are Right About Hillary Clinton
Some previews...but go read it all:
The failure of George McGovern had a major impact on a generation of Democrats, who believed they'd faced a painful reality about the limits of idealism in American politics. Jann sums it up: "Those of us there learned a very clear lesson: America chooses its presidents from the middle, not from the ideological wings."
The new Democratic version of idealism came in a package called "transactional politics." It was about getting the best deal possible given the political realities, which we were led to believe were hopelessly stacked against the hopes and dreams of the young.
For young voters, the foundational issues of our age have been the Iraq invasion, the financial crisis, free trade, mass incarceration, domestic surveillance, police brutality, debt and income inequality, among others.
And to one degree or another, the modern Democratic Party, often including Hillary Clinton personally, has been on the wrong side of virtually all of these issues.
OK....go read it all, it's great 
Comments
Judgment... fail
People keep on about how HRC's judgment is so good. All I see is someone who has been wrong on every major issue. Oh and the lies, I just can not get beyond the lies that just spill out of her mouth.
Please we need Bernie now!
Lying and Smirking
down her nose at "commoners" is what cost her any admiration from me.
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Muerte al fascismo. Muerte a la tiranía. colapso total de los que promueven tampoco. A la pared con el unico porciento%
Bernie has pointed out her lack of judgement.
Bernie is a truth-teller. He is a very good judge of people. What are her actions vs. her words. This is why I will never trust her. I don't care if she says she will accept Bernie's agenda - if she is nominated and not him - I will never support her because she talks out of both sides of her mouth. Even if Bernie asks us to support her, I will not.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
America chooses its presidents from the middle
It's true, America chooses its presidents from the middle. But look at years and years of polls - a big, big majority of Americans are with Bernie on everything he has made an issue of in his campaign. Hillary knows this, it's why she is suddenly claiming to be a "progressive" and copying Bernie's talking points.
What the corporate media tell us is the "middle" is way to the right of the ACTUAL middle!
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."
Like I said below,
Bernie is the middle.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
BTW
Great choice of username/avatar.
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."
Thank you!
Shiny!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I would take it a step
I would take it a step further. I've always argued there is no such thing as the middle. What we recognize as polar opposites are ideologies and schools of thought (which we incorrectly describe in linear terms for ease but which doesn't allow for the reality that there are overlapping and contradictory schools of thought within schools of thought). What we see as the middle are people who don't fall into a pre-existing school of thought. Some of these people are overwhelmed by their personal situations and are literally an mish-mesh of viewpoints. This is common amongst politicians who specifically cater to what they think people want to hear rather than to a consistent set of principles. Sorry. /soapbox
Oh all you liberals
with your nuance and complexity!
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
uuuugh!! Jann Wenner supports war and right-wing candidates!
The Democratic party is right of center, based on a world view or even based on the voices of average Americans. True, the Republicans are FAR right of center, but the Democrats are clearly right of center in today's USA. And so is Jann Wenner.
As a Gen-X-er, can I just say
How sick I am of that loss, which happened when I was four freaking years old, being used as the expression of an essential unchangeable immutable truth.
The generation preceding me got demoralized in '68 and '72, so for the rest of my life I can't have a decent goddamned candidate?
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfyZUCWDEnc]
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
As a tail-end boomer, can I just agree with you?
I was too young to cast my first-ever presidential vote for McGovern, whom I had admired deeply from sometime in the middle of the 1968 election season. (I was in 6th grade for the 1968 campaign, just old enough to be riveted by it, and too young to do anything about it.) But I was old enough to watch it all go down, to the extent that was possible via tv and newspapers -- and old enough to know that McGovern's loss was complicated and individual, not representative of some overriding and permanent principle of American political life.
Part of the frustration of the past seven months or so over at TOP has been watching people who ought to know better tell each other, over and over, with the certainty of people explaining that the sun rises in the east, that an actual progressive candidate can never win a presidential election in the U.S. because McGovern. Never mind that it was nearly a half-century ago now; never mind that Republicans, having refused to take a similar message away from the Goldwater campaign, managed to elect Reagan a mere sixteen years later; never mind the details of the campaign that they're so traumatized by all these years later; never mind that running centrist candidates hasn't been a guarantee of electoral success either. It's the least reality-based reaction from a supposedly reality-based community that I can remember; it makes so little sense to me that I have to take it on faith that at least some of the people who claim to be afraid to go with Bernie because OMG McGovern! are sincere, and not just making excuses so they don't have to admit that they'd rather vote for somebody who they can count on not to raise their taxes.
Anyway. Solidarity, my not-quite-age-cohort! And, I'm sorry about those other boomers. I know that some of us are getting over it, but dammit, not enough of us and not quickly enough.
If you were born
after Sputnik (1957 I think) you can claim to be Generation Jones - otherwise known as the blank generation. Generation Jones is basically tail end boomers and very early gen Xers. I am in this cohort and have never regarded myself as a boomer - I just don't think that way or hold that world view.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
Same here
Late 50s or early 60s as in my case - no way this is boomer generation
Someone on Twitter
pointed me towards the Generation Jones stuff- It made a lot of sense. we were the first cohort not to have the option of a job from school through retirement but we had zero time to adapt.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
this!
Zero time and zero means, as American society still expected us to be able to get an adult-wage job straight out of high school despite the utter extinction of that very thing.
We were old enough to experience and understand a genuinely functional American economy -- but not old enough to have tasted of it as adults ourselves.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
I'll be damned. I never knew
I'll be damned. I never knew we got our own sub-cohort designation!
But as I think about it now, it at least makes some potential sense in terms of responses to McGovern's run. There's a psychological distinction between watching something go down and participating in it; if you're not old enough to be a real participant, a loss can't be attributed in any way to what you or your immediate group did or didn't do. But if you were participating -- if you were deeply involved and gave it all you could -- it's easier to feel that a loss is in some measure your own failure.
Which is bound to be painful, in a way it wouldn't have been for those of us who were merely on the sidelines hoping. And it's perhaps somewhat less painful going forward to think, "We couldn't do it, and therefore it couldn't be done, period, ever, by anyone!" than to think, "We failed, and maybe there's some way it could have worked if only we'd managed better."
Ah yes we are special :)
To be honest I thought that the person on Twitter who told me about this was joking until I looked it up but it explained a lot of things about my life that I had blamed myself for.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
Damn
I'm 1956, Just missed being a Blank by this much.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Some put the cutoff at 1955
so close enough (I know this because that is my wife's year of birth).
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
I would fit into that as well, '62
I take the word "generation" literally. The Baby Boomers were supposed to be the post-war offspring of those coming home from WWII. Though my ex-wife and I were born only 10 months apart, we were of different generations. Her father fought WWII, my parents were born during the war, to those fighting it. I was literally a generation behind her...and that had consequences.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
1958 model?
1958 model, then? I'm one......
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
It was 44 years ago!
Are all of these people living in a time warp? The world is a very different place than it was in 1972. People got their news from ABC, CBS, and NBC's nightly news broadcast and their local newspapers. The internet and social media were in the realm of science fiction. There were no cable news networks. There was no easy access to media in other countries.
I'm supposed to give up on the only candidate with integrity because McGovern lost an election in a completely different world several decades ago? I don't think so. Newsflash: this is 2016. The fearful need to stop living in the past.
Wenner isn't struggling any more
If he's not a 1%er, he ASPIRES to climb over that last hump and be one before he dies. Fuck Wenner. He's a has-was.
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Muerte al fascismo. Muerte a la tiranía. colapso total de los que promueven tampoco. A la pared con el unico porciento%
Matt forgot climate.
We may not accept the reality that they're going to get smacked in the face, hard, by climate change, but the young know it.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Matt Taibbi
I am a fan of this young guy's columns. He blew this one big-time. The young people (including his generation) say that climate change is among the top 3 topics scaring them to death. I know he works for and likes Jann Werner. T and R!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Bernie is the middle.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I just love Taibbi
I have read most of his books, and many articles. It was reading one by him in RS that first taught me about what Obamacare really is - a wet kiss to the for profit insurance industry at the end of the day, even if it IS good that more people are insured. And we pay for the profits of insurance companies by subsidizing the policy costs. Made me sick, and made me angry. I think that was my first real anger at Mr. Obama, and my first cringe worthy moment recalling how I had defended it before really looking at it. Thanks for the link!!
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
This was the money quote for me
Mat Taibbi wrote: "Young people don't see the Sanders-Clinton race as a choice between idealism and incremental progress. The choice they see is between an honest politician, and one who is so profoundly a part of the problem that she can't even see it anymore."
Gets to the heart of it.
I want a Pony!
Excellent observation!
I heartily agree - that IS the money quote!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Yup
sums the thinking up perfectly and the usual political consultants have absolutely no idea how to handle such no bullshit thinking.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
Ahhhhhhhhh, it feels so refreshing to be young again.
If Hillary thinks she's getting my vote, she's going to have to pry it from this Boomer's cold, dead fingers.
Hippies never liked the Man, though being innocent and of open hearts, we've been gulled all too often.
Improve the Resilience Resource Library by adding your links.
Vote Smart - Just the Facts - 40,000 politicians by name or zipcode
It's been a long time comin'.
Hold on it's very near
Country Joe lyrics
Ahhh the old days. 8 stemmed Hookahs, Country Joe belting out Mr. Big Pig, all the neighborhood hippies gathered at my house (mom's house) getting ready for Kung Fu. Mom leading the ritual filling of the bowl. Good times amidst the bad times.
Maybe we didn't win, but we didn't give up either. Still fighting after all these years.
With their hearts they turned to each others heart for refuge
In troubled years that came before the deluge
*Jackson Browne, 1974, Before the Deluge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SX-HFcSIoU
A lame explaination
for Wenner's endorsement. Sander's is not a McGovern redo. He is not from the ideological wings. It's not just the young and naive that support him. McGovern was a limp noodle ivory tower liberal type Bernie's not. The reason's given for his endorsement are the same damn talking points and meme's every freaking supposedly 'progressive publication' online and off, has used to say Hillary is inevitable. Politics are not static they are of with the times. History reinterpreted and imposed on where we are now is stupid. What happened politically and culturally in the 60-70's is important but this is not ground hog day. The reality were living in has changed, it has also been manipulated to the point that the old breakdowns of right center left. The 'middle' like the law is what ever these weasel elites say
Comparing Sander's movement to Mc Govern's is just a way of diminishing any resistance to the establishment Democratic Third Way's grip on the party. Have they not noticed that people of every stripe of the fake political spectrum are fed up and want relief? They voted for desperately needed change and got seriously bait and switched. There is no mythical center just a country full of people who want this shit to stop. Lastly does the party apparatchik send script's to the pundirts, political hack writers and owners of the media? If they do they should hire Plouffe to manage their freaking No We Can't, propaganda fear campaign.
A pretty weak tea response by Taibbi but like all of us who wants to bite the hand that feeds you. Really depressing to watch this farce of democracy. Fuck the Rolling Stone's limousine liberal, glossy, old yuppie hipster, Wenner. What an eye opening abusive wielding of power and wealth this primary has revealed.
McGovern ran a terrible campaign
He kept switching positions, for no clear reasons. I supported him, and it was impossible to keep up with whatever he stood for on which day.
Looks like a triple post gremlin
your sig also reminds me of the end of a Springsteen song
Well your honor I do believe I'd be better off dead
And if you can take a man's life for the thoughts that's in his head
Then won't you sit back in that chair and think it over judge one more time
And let 'em shave off my hair and put me on that execution line
Double post gremliin got me again.
Its alright with me, its life and life only.
1972
Seriously? We can blame McGovern for Clinton. I accept that. But if we fail to understand that Clinton was the bandaid and not the cure, then history means nothing. It's such nearsightedness to value a victor over a loser, when the victor requires you to trash half of everything that was important to you. And to suggest now that that remains our only option, after 16 of the last 24 years of this, is ridiculous. What 2016 shows is that the American political spectrum is much larger than any pundit allows, and that our united dissatisfaction with almost everything represented by the status quo needs to be resolved quickly, or it's gonna get real.
(No subject)
"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage
1972 is not a good metric for where we are todayl
I voted for McGovern but he ran a crappy campaign. I could not stand Nixon. The WWII generation could not adjust to the changes in society, so they supported Nixon and then he was forced to resign. They went on to support Reagan.
Today we face a real crisis with extinction from our abuse of our planet. We are running out of time. The majority knows this.
It is not over with yet. The fat lady hasn't sung yet.
I like that
I appreciate your optimism. Sometimes I think it's all we have left.
Stay on track. Stay in lane. Don't throw rocks.