He did not, to my recollection, participate too fervently in the endless ratcheting of the more, better Democrats movement, preferring to cultivate an image as a wonkish, though admittedly partisan, observer and commentator, but Matt Yglesias made the headline, so Matt Yglesias gets the infamy:
Why 60 Won't Mean MuchHallelujah!
You may recall how the Donk protested its innocence back in the bygone days of Total Republican Dominance. Don't blame us!, the Donkle cried. Not even the traitorous quisling Jeffords in those heady, pre-9/11 times helped much with his defection to the Donk bosom. Then slowly, slowly, like the first mutant fish hauling its bony, wheezing body out of the slime and onto the sand, the Donk slipped back into power. But when it won Congress, it wasn't enough, and when it won even more Congress and the Presidency, it wasn't enough, and when at last it achieves sentience and launches Judgment Day on its unsuspecting, soft, human creators . . . still, it will not be enough.
In this regard, Democratic voters are really no different than the Rapture-ready Republican rubes they are ever-willing to mock as credulous fools, worshiping likewise at a church whose eschaton is ever-imminent but never-arriving.
17 comments:
what a Defeatist.
steveb will not be pleased
It's true. If the Yggies of the world were honest they'd be agitating for the abolition of the upper house. That's what far-seeing leaders like Chavez and Fujimori have been doing all over the hemisphere. But you know, [IOZ's whole take on The Donk &c.]
"Bringing pressure to bare?" He wants Republicans to get naked?
But when the Dems get to 65, watch out...a Progressive Renaissance will magically appear.
Does the word 'wonk' mean anything anymore? I mean Yglesias is distinguished mainly by having no idea what he's talking about as regards anything. Wonk means something like the opposite of glib, no? It's supposed to signal genuine immersion in detail, not an attitude.
"Wonk means something like the opposite of glib, no?"
No, "wonk" means someone who pretends to know what they're talking about, even when they manifestly don't. In the future, everyone will have fifteen minutes to wonk off.
Yes, I have always thought of wonk as Washington's freedom-fry rebranding of dilettante.
steveb will not be pleased
At least not the imaginary one that lives in your head.
And according to this guy, it used to be 67. Does that mean the filibuster isn't really in the Constitution, and the Senate leadership can set the bar wherever they want? Why, yes it does.
If the Yggies of the world were honest they'd be agitating for the abolition of the upper house.
Agree 100% with the content of this post, but to fair to Yglesias, he does agitate for this on more or less a daily basis.
Not that it's possible, as any attempt to do so would result in a one-way ticket to Costa Rica. But a wonk can dream...
And, according to whom, "The metric system idea never really caught on" - except, of course, in the rest of the world.
...Democratic voters are really no different than the Rapture-ready Republican rubes...
Untrue! Repub godbotherers demand a lot for their vote. Dem pwoggies just give it up without a whimper.
"ok, we proceed. but only if there's no funny stuff. ok?" --dem voters
Just read that ratchet effect article, and now the terms 'left' and 'right' mean even less than they did before. Help.
SteveB is as clueless as Yglesias. They think that this is all a matter of "statistics," like the dipshit "announcers" and "color commentary" at "professional" sports events.
"Hey Bob, did you know that The Donkle beats The Elephunk whenever there's a 60% margin in the Congress?"
"Really, Dan? That's incredible! I never knew that!"
"That's true, Bob! You never knew it! Neither did I! But thanks to the incomparable Matt Yglesias, we now know why The Donkle can't enact its magical global repair network. It's because they don't have the statistics! Has nothing at all to do with will, or effort plus will, or doing what's right! It's incredible! You can have the will, the effort, the moral inclination -- but if you lack the magical 60 then you'll lose!"
"Dan, I hear from a statistician named SteveB that it's actually 67%... that's an IMPOSSIBLE level to reach! No wonder the Donkle can't win!"
"Bob, the Donkle are pure and noble, but sometimes math conspires against them! Math... and the REPUKES! GOD I HATE THOSE REPUKES!"
"Dan, I hear from a statistician named SteveB that it's actually 67%... that's an IMPOSSIBLE level to reach! No wonder the Donkle can't win!"
Way to miss the point, dude. If you weren't so intent on sniffing out donklebots under the couch, you'd be able to figure out that I was saying that the number of votes needed to stop a filibuster, whether its 60 or 67, is completely arbitrary, because it's set by the Senate leadership and the filibuster is not in the constitution (emphasis added.)
In other words, I'm pointing out that the arbitrary 60-vote magic number is created by Democrat leaders, probably to keep the base of their own party under control. "Hey, we'd love to do what you want, but..."
But keep pawing through this thread to find the Democrat spy. He's in there somewhere, and you're just the guy to find him.
there's got to be a pun on "immanent" somewhere in "ever-imminent but never-arriving", but damned if i can find it…
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