The significance of Shellenberger and Taibbi’s testimony and the Democrats’ reaction to it
Taibbi and Shellenberger had not even uttered a word yet when the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary subcommittee Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-U.S. Virgin Islands, referred to the witnesses as “so-called journalists” in her opening statement. The pair glanced at each other, clearly surprised and confused by the utterly unprovoked attack.
From there it only got worse. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, asked the pair of scribes if they were being paid to testify, again to an absolutely shocked response from them. She went on to try to force Taibbi to reveal information about his sources, a journalistic Rubicon he rightfully refused to cross.
Other Democrats accused them of wearing tin foil hats, and intimated in ugly language with clear disdain that they were only in it for the money, not to discover the truth about our federal government pressuring Twitter to censor Americans’ speech, which was the reason for the hearing…
The chilling message, and one meant for all journalists, was crystal clear: if you report uncomfortable facts that Democrats don’t like, they will attack you and try to discredit you and your work.
Well, count me as someone who considers this behavior business as usual for the Democrats. I think that “chilling message” was received by journalists – and anyone paying attention – a long long time ago. If Shellenberger and Taibbi were surprised by the extremity of it, they shouldn’t have been. It’s been scorched earth for a long time on anyone the left considers its enemies – Robert Bork, anyone? – and what’s more the attacks are often successful both in intimidating the targets or others like them, and in convincing onlookers that the targets are not people with a message worth taking seriously.
What makes Taibbi and Shellenberger so repulsive to Democrats and the left is that they’re apostates. Both were on the left for many years of their careers. But both have put principle over politics and ideology. Neither is exactly on the right now, but they definitely reject leftist orthodoxy and are willing to call out the most extreme and dangerous consequences of this orthodoxy.
Leftism is a dogmatic religion (wokism in particular), and like all dogmatic religions, it treats apostates with the most contempt and hostility.
On the bright side, Rep. Garcia was found to be a complete maroon.
Dan Goldman takes the prize as Most Heinous Slimeball.
It’s one thing to know the Democrats have become full-throated supporters of using censorship against their political opponents. It can be another thing to be confronted with such craven will-to-power in the flesh.
Mike
taibbi had his formative experience, along with his partner mark ames of the exile in post soviet russia, when reporters like politskaya and co, were being exed out on a regular basis, the time of the rise of the oligarchs,
Ackler has it. These men are given special disdain because they are viewed as apostates from the leftist religion. I think both of them were, rather, what we used to call “liberals,” not the neo-Marxist leftists who now rule Democrats.
Kate; Ackler:
I agree that generally apostates are given special ire. But in this case I don’t think that many – and certainly not all – of the House members who treated them with disdain knew much about them and their history, just that they were saying things that were dangerous to Democrats and that they therefore must be discredited in every way possible.
Could be. Calling Taibbi “MAGA” is pretty ill-informed.
Jeez, the Democrats.
The problem for Sylvia Garcia is both Taibbi and Shellenberger have a larger audience of followers than she has voters that put her in office. The shock wasn’t Taibbi’s or Shellenberger’s but their audiences, who have followed them on this journey away from the far left.
It took me awhile to understand some on the right’s repulsive sentiment of Dan Crenshaw, but when I finally saw what they saw, repulsive seems appropriate. I suspect many on the left are feeling the same about Sylvia Garcia and other Democrats.
What I like about you – and why I follow the blog – you are honest.
Highly ironic that a faux representative calls them so called journalists.
Someone else pointed out the absurd irony of the situation that makes it even worse: Stacey Plaskett may accurately be called a so-called Representative, since, as the Representative from the US Virgin Islands, she isn’t allowed to vote on anything.
“Taibbi and Shellenberger … glanced at each other, clearly surprised and confused by the utterly unprovoked attack.”
Taibbi and Shellenberger came prepared for a chess match and found themselves in a Rugby scrum. They brought a knife to a gunfight and got their ass handed to them.
Reasoned argument is an exercise in futility when dealing with dogmatic ideologues who deeply embrace that the end justifies… whatever the means needed and that, those who oppose them deserve a slow, tortured extermination.
That assertion is easily confirmed by the treatment of the imprisoned January 6th political prisoners.
The commenters (Tiabbi, Shellenberger, Tucker Carlson) who present the info – internal Twitter E-mails, 1/6 video footage, should not matter. The info should speak for itself. That it does matter leaves me feeling more hopeless.
The Democrats beclowned themselves but most Democrat voters will not see this as the corporate media will not show it. Why else would Democrats try to bar Fox News from military bases ?
After 9-11 I started losing faith in the progressive view (“Why do they hate us?”).
I thought I could hash out these doubts with my comrades whom I understood as liberals, with a commitments to freedom of speech and active debate, but I was quickly, unpleasantly disabused of that notion.
In my case this sped up my disenchantment with the left and my movement towards conservatism.
I wonder where Taibbi and Shellenberger are in their hearts of hearts. They have more of a career commitment to the liberal/progressive side than I did. I don’t believe either of them yet can be even-handed about Trump or even the GOP.
But they have been bitterly, unfairly attacked by the comrades and gotten the “Body Snatchers” treatment:
_______________________________________________
what happened in your room is not an isolated incident
it is something that is happening everywhere to everyone
so where are you gonna go
where are you gonna run
where are you gonna hide
nowhere
cuz there’s no one like you anymore
–“Body Snatchers (1992) – Where You Gonna Go?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk2gIdLgwz4
Geoffrey:
Taibi and Schellenberger got their ass handed to them by the Killer Klown from Kongress Garcia?
Otay, bless your heart.
BTW, “Body Snatchers” was the third of the films based on the Jack Finney SF novel. It’s quite different from the first two and the novel, but it has its charms, particularly Meg Tilly’s performance as the Pod Wife.
Gabrielle Anwar, the teenage daughter, went on to play Fi, the love interest in “Burn Notice,” a guilty pleasure of mine.
Thing is… ‘The Left’ is well aware ‘The Law’ is on their side:
OUR government is now ALLOWED to CREATE PROPAGANDA tailored specifically for U.S. public consumption, using ANY media as it sees fit, while remaining ANONYMOUS as to the source of the material being reported. https://www.rcreader.com/commentary/smith-mundt-modernization-act-2012
Yes, it was chilling to watch (even though not a surprise to anyone who pays attention); yes, it was intended to send and did send a message to other journalists.
However, what I find to be the saddest of all is that while may of us might find the Democrats attacks appalling I sadly believe that many on the left will consider the attacks as “courageous” or something. Many on the left will have considered it a good thing to take down these two “so called” journalists.
“…dogmatic ideologues…”?
More like babbling bilious Bolsheviks…
File under: “Darkness with Goons”
“If Shellenberger and Taibbi were surprised by the extremity of it, they shouldn’t have been”
But, to agree with the quoted Fox article, I believe they were which surprises me. I’m disappointed Taibbi had that “deer in the headlights” look about him. He seemed he really wanted the Ds to ask him a real question…since when have congressional hearings been about real questions? He wasn’t ready for “gotcha” but “gotcha” was all they brought with them.
The two journalists are on a journey of discovery—“Are we (Dems) the bad guys?” Although it might have been sweet to see them do a Pat Buchanan and turn the tables on the Dem members of the committee, what actually happened serves a purpose as well—perhaps a higher purpose.
The shamelessness of the congress critters attacking Taiibbi and Shellenberger means one of two things: either it’s so late in the day that revelation of their staunch support of the censorship-industrial complex will have no effect, or they made a bad misjudgment making support for the 1st Amendment a partisan issue.
Democrats are basically totalitarians.
They admire totalitarians of other nations because they are jealous of the unlimited power they wield. Think of their admiration for despots like Castro or former leaders of the USSR.
Because of their affinity for unlimited power, they abhor the Constitution and use any and all means – via the courts or more commonly, thru regulatory diktats – to get around any limitations imposed by the Constitution.
This is really nothing new for them; Woodrow Wilson was the first president out of the gate with this sort of mindset.
It’s gotten much worse since then.
Taibbi was a lifelong Democrat but switched to “Independent” when he noticed things were getting a bit wonky.
(Though that would have been before Tulsi Gabbard unchained herself, I believe…though perhaps after Musk, IIRC)
“To understand the workings of American politics, you have to understand this fundamental law: Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil.” Charles Krauthammer
Those Congressional Democrats were merely fighting against the bad guys. They know in their hearts that they are the good guys. Their voters know it, too.
When they are so busy playing God in the lives of other people there’s no time for humility or wisdom. Witches need to be burned. And they are just the people to do it. With so much burning to be done, unnecessary niceties like the constitution just get in the way.
No one should be surprised by this. That said, if I were either of these two men, I’d have given back twice as hard as these moron congressmen had given me. I’d have pointed out how completely out of touch and ignorant they were.
At that point, what do you have to lose?
I think MS Garcia helped to show them the quality of the Democrats’ questions. It was a near Hank Johnson moment,.