Hypocrites Complaining About Hypocrisy
Glenn Greenwald and the projection of political vice.
Glenn Greenwald (a.k.a. “the sock puppet“) came out today with a new gem in his collection of self-serving puffery. He accuses the Republicans of “credibility-free politics”, citing declines in public approval for the Iraq War and Congressional Republicans. But in his screed, Greenwald displays all of the features he projects on to his partisan opposition.
For starters, Greenwald’s complaint about “credibility-free politics” is based on the claim that Republicans base their appeals solely on “accusatory attacks”. Coming from Greenwald, who routinely uses pejorative terms like “neocon” and “warmonger” to relieve himself of any need to actually respond to those who disagree with him, this accusation is, well, an “accusatory attack” in and of itself, if you get my drift. For someone who loudly and persistently hates on Karl Rove, Greenwald does an excellent job of modeling purportedly Rovian techniques of name-calling and demonization.
Greenwald also cites “fear-mongering tactics” as an exclusively Republican vice, blind to his own constant bleating of dreadful claims about how Republicans seek to destroy everything and kill everyone. But fortunately, not all is lost, according to Greenwald. He triumphantly claims in sweeping terms that Americans detest everything that Republicans stand for, no exceptions. He asserts that Democrats need only oppose everything Republicans do and stop this messy mucking around with compromise and conciliation. Of course, the popularity of Barack Obama’s conciliatory politics even among his natural ideological rivals tends to belie Greenwald’s view of the American public as interested only in politicians who hate Republicans as intensely as he does.
At the end of his post, in an update section, Greenwald moves to more blatantly self-serving ground, flacking for his new book. In a revealing bit, he highlights the knee-jerk nature of his hatred of Republicans:
The book addresses the standard manipulative electoral techniques the GOP uses to win national elections — with a focus on the fictitious personality-based mythologies and substance-free attacks which Republicans, in conjunction with our establishment press, perpetuate in order to dictate election outcomes. The last chapter will focus on how those myths apply to the 2008 GOP nominee.
So let’s get this straight. This leading light of the leftist blogosphere is prepared to apply his “substance-free” accusations of “manipulative electoral techniques” against the Republican nominee before he even knows who that nominee is.
Talk about hypocrites. What is more “substance-free” than deciding how the nominee will be described without even knowing who will be the nominee?
Are there Republican hypocrites too? Sure. But Greenwald makes his business asserting that Republicans are the exclusive home of everything “venal” in American politics. Unfortunately for him, he consistently displays the very vices he complains about in others.
Greenwald is a pretty arrogant guy, but that last bit is unusual even for him.
I don’t think that last bit is at all unusual for him.
It seems there is a competition afoot amongst the hard right and the hard left as to which pole is the most out of touch with the reality of the electorate lately.
The hard right bemoans McCain yet he is within 36 hours of proving conclusively he is the presumptive favorite of Republican voters for this election. And if Greenwald actually knew what he was talking about Iraq sentiment, why is the one candidate who is obviously the most prominent "stay the course" candidate doing so well (even in the R vs. D head to head match-ups)?
The hard left said n’ary a word about why their most competitive candidate was left in the dust by Democrat primary voters to the point he leaves the field.
It strikes me that they must feel compelled to rush to publish the remaining inventory of propaganda before their unpersuasive points of view become objectively irrelevant.
He and millions more like him on both sides that will ensure that no matter who is put in office that there will be a continuation of business as usual.
Because as this man points out its not about civility its about outright and total disagreements about policy. Anyone who thinks that the far left will surrender their ideas to the right is on crack. Same for the far right surrender to the far left on their values and policies.
The base. He is part of the far left Base…….the base dictates terms. Not Obama, Hillary, Romney or McCain.
Well, let’s just have another civil war then!
NO COMPROMISE!
I have read his post, and I did not see anything what you are talking about.
GG is correct in my view.
BTW, is this something new or old ? Calling neocon or warmonger pejorative terms? Is this the same as calling German a German, or Indian an Indian. Cause you know, neocons do exists and warmongers too….
Yes, and hypocrites exist too.
Greenwald complains about Rovian name-calling, but he uses the exact same kind of name-calling.
The fact that you agree with him ideologically should not blind you to his hypocrisy.
Then again, "no enemies on the left", right?
if by left we all mean socialists, communists, trotzkyists, then they are as much an enemy as the other side or even worse
Well, let’s just have another civil war then! NO COMPROMISE!Honestly I think It might be coming to that.