June 25, 2010
— Ace I am speculating that it was his hatred of conservatives as revealed on JournoList-- and his endorsement by Ezra Klein as "one of our own" -- that got the WaPo to hire him.
The man's entitled to his opinions, and he's entitled to share them. That's not what I object to.
Rather, it's the impossible hypothetical of the WaPo hiring me to cover the left side of things.
To cover the right, you need to know the right, you need to talk to them. Further, you need to like reading right-ish commentary.
Why do I say that? Because anyone who's good at his job likes his job; that is to say, he uses a substantial amount of his free time actually doing job-related activities because he fundamentally likes his job. Almost anyone (except those with Batman-level discipline and willpower) who is good at his job will, if you check, be found to have a substantial advantage over his colleagues, because while they punch out at 5 to pursue their real interests, he's spending a lot of time after 5 o'clock doing his job.
Because for such a person, "pleasure" and "work" aren't really entirely separate categories. They flow easily into each other.
And that is one of the real keys for excellence.
Those Wall Street guys doing all sorts of research as they take the train into NYC? They will always do better than their colleagues reading Scott Turow novels on their way to work. They got lucky -- they found the perfect job for themselves. Something they like doing, and thus, are pretty much guaranteed to make a mint doing it.
You just can't force yourself to do a lot of down-time work for a job you don't enjoy. Well... you can. And you'll be unhappy, and it will be a constant struggle.
But if you happen to find a job you really like? You're golden.
This is why Dave Wiegel doesn't seem to really know what is going on on the right side of things, and pushes spin he finds on the left side of the blogosphere.
It's because, fundamentally, he hates us, so every minute he spends giving Hot Air or National Review a desultory glance is very much labor, and very much the sort of labor he doesn't enjoy.
And with his freetime? He uses that to catch up on the leftwing blogs he actually enjoys.
Small wonder, then, that whenever a controversy breaks, Dave Wiegel is Johnny On the Spot for reproducing leftwing blog memes.
But of course that's what the Washington Post wanted. They don't want an actual conservative writing this blog; such a person would be very much up on conservative thought, but such a person would also be eager to transmit such thought to Post readers, and that's not what they want.
The Post created this position begrudgingly and for the sake of appearances. And that's precisely what Wiegel delivers. A begrudging repetition of a few headlines he saw on the right side of the aisle, for the sake of appearances only.
Anyway, here are some of the best quotes from JournoList, as reported by the Daily Caller, but do check in there. It's often down right now due to overload, but check in later.
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh famously said he hoped President Obama would “fail” in January, 2009. Almost a year later, when Limbaugh was rushed to the hospital with chest pains, Washington Post reporter David Weigel had a wish of his own. “I hope he fails,” Weigel cracked to fellow liberal reporters on the “Journolist” email list-serv.“Too soon?” he wondered.
...
“Honestly, it’s been tough to find fresh angles sometimes–how many times can I report that these [tea party] activists are joyfully signing up with the agenda of discredited right-winger X and discredited right-wing group Y?” Weigel lamented in one February email.
Like I was saying: Despises conservatives and ergo despises his job.
A real conservative would love this job, and therefore be much better at, but the Washington Post doesn't actually want someone to do a good job.
They want crap, and they got it.
In other posts, Weigel describes conservatives as using the media to “violently, angrily divide America.” According to Weigel, their motives include “racism” and protecting “white privilege,” and for some of the top conservatives in D.C., a nihilistic thirst for power.“There’s also the fact that neither the pundits, nor possibly the Republicans, will be punished for their crazy outbursts of racism. Newt Gingrich is an amoral blowhard who resigned in disgrace, and Pat Buchanan is an anti-Semite who was drummed out of the movement by William F. Buckley. Both are now polluting my inbox and TV with their bellowing and minority-bashing. They’re never going to go away or be deprived of their soapboxes,” Weigel wrote.
Of Matt Drudge, Weigel remarked, “It’s really a disgrace that an amoral shut-in like Drudge maintains the influence he does on the news cycle while gay-baiting, lying, and flubbing facts to this degree.”
In April, Weigel wrote that the problem with the mainstream media is “this need to give equal/extra time to ‘real American’ views, no matter how fucking moronic, which just so happen to be the views of the conglomerates that run the media and/or buy up ads.”
...Right wing “memes” begin in “WND/FreeRepublic/talk radio swamps,” Weigel wrote, referring to conservative websites World Net Daily and Free Republic. Sometimes, they spread like a virus into liberal sites, a fact that clearly upsets Weigel.
After Sarah Palin claimed Obama’s health care legislation included “death panels” that would ration health care, for instance, the Huffington Post reported that many Americans believed the claim was true. Weigel suggested that reporting on the subject might be counter-productive to liberal policy aims. The Huffington Post, Weigel pointed out, ran “a picture of Sarah Palin, linking to a poll that suggests 45 percent of Americans believe her death panel lie. But as long as the top liberal-leaning news site talks about it every single hour of every day, I’m sure that number will go down.”
Is Dave Wiegel here to report, or here to decide what reportage best advances the liberal agenda?
Obviously, the latter.
Weigel seems to harbor special contempt for a type of conservative he calls a ratfucker, a favorite phrase of his.Republicans? “Ratfucking [Obama] on every bill.” Palin? Tried to “ratfuck” a moderate Republican in a contentious primary in New York. Limbaugh? Used “ratfucking tactics” in urging Republican activists to vote for Hillary Clinton in open primaries after Obama had all but beat her for the Democratic nomination.
Reached by phone late Thursday and asked about the e-mails, Weigel responded, “my reporting, I think, stands for itself.”
And so it does.
If You Want An Obama-Supporting Consensus-Liberal Covering the Conservative Movement... Might I suggest T. Coddington Van Vorhees VII?
T-Cod wrote an amazing piece yesterday about his newfound doubts that "this Obama fellow is equal to the task."
Summer once again tiptoes in on crepe soles to the eastern extremities of Long Island; affording, as is its wont, fresh opportunities to enjoy the providence of nature and the financial acumen of one's forebears. Despite the looming spectre of global climate change the lawn is verdant and lush, and my gardener Hideo informs me the hibiscuses are in especially fine fettle.
I was just talking about this with a guy yesterday.
This is what I want to know from Iowahawk: What resources does he crib from to do these?
When I say "crib" I don't mean he's plagiarizing; but I mean, what old-timey stuff is he reading to so easily come up with antique expressions like "in fine fettle"?
Because if he's just coming up with that stuff off the top of his head, then I'm really pissed off and jealous.
Ben Smith: Says mostly what I just said, but with some facts in place of speculation.
Like, for example -- Ezra Klein did in fact suggest Wiegel as the conservative movement reporter, despite the fact he's an out-and-proud liberal (with some libertarian tendencies).
The current flap over Washington Post blogger Dave Weigel has its
roots in a fact that suprised me when I learned of it earlier this
year: The Post appears to have hired Weigel, a liberal blogger, under
the false impression that he's a conservative. The new controversy
over the revelation that he's liberal is primarily the Post's fault,
not his, except to the degree that he allowed the paper's brass to put
him in an unsustainable position....
But the Post seems simply not to have understood what they were
getting when Klein suggested they hire him. National editor Kevin
Merida told me for my story on the subject in May that he never asked
Weigel about his politics, and Klein said he presented him to the
paper simply as the best reporter covering conservatives. (Weigel's
blog is subtitled, "Inside the conservative movement.")...
One thing nobody argues is that publications should misrepresent and
misidentify their own reporters. The Post set Weigel up for a fall,
and themselves for embarrassment, and that's what they got today.
One of Ben Smith's points is that Wiegel became best known for his snarky, insulting coverage of the fringe/conspiratorial right, and also, pretty much, the mainstream right too. Liberals loved reading this, he says.
But that sort of undermines Smith's assertion that the WaPo didn't know what it was getting in Wiegel.
Offers Resignation: Aw, damn. It's too bad when political spats have a human cost.
Dave Wiegel should write a column for the Washington Post. Just not this column.
More: At Cuffy Meigs, including a relevant Far Side cartoon.
Really, it was his immediate left-wing hackery in the Etheridge case -- demanding, as the wingnuts did, to know "who these 'students' are!" instead of "how dare a Congressmen assault a reporter" -- that represented the slipping of the mask.
We already have a place for that -- it's called the Democratic Underground.
Posted by: Ace at
07:40 AM
| Comments (214)
Post contains 1681 words, total size 11 kb.
The "set himself on fire" quote was prompted by Drudge linking the Etheridge hug article?
So Drudge didn't even comment on it, merely just linked Weigel with a quote from Weigel himself.
And for this he gets a death threat? Isn't the normal response a "Welcome Drudge readers! Thanks Matt for the traffic?"
Posted by: IreneFingIrene at June 25, 2010 07:45 AM (JKe0g)
Posted by: Dan at June 25, 2010 07:45 AM (1jzSs)
I'll remind him that a degree in journalism makes a good placemat these days if you have it laminated first.
Posted by: Brandon In Baton Rouge at June 25, 2010 07:45 AM (ZxF0y)
Posted by: Donna at June 25, 2010 07:46 AM (z3whe)
In breaking news from Fox, Petraeus to change the ROE's.
Posted by: Guy Fawkes at June 25, 2010 07:46 AM (T0bhq)
With this bias clearly revealed, he has cemented himself as a regular on the new Kathleen Parker show on Client Number Nine.
Posted by: IreneFingIrene at June 25, 2010 07:48 AM (JKe0g)
Posted by: Donna at June 25, 2010 11:46 AM (z3whe)
My mother's a rat, so I do a lot more than just kiss her....
Posted by: Dave "Ratfucker" Wiegel at June 25, 2010 07:48 AM (VmtE9)
Posted by: t-bird at June 25, 2010 07:48 AM (FcR7P)
Posted by: David Frum at June 25, 2010 07:48 AM (3Dnuf)
Posted by: dr kill at June 25, 2010 07:50 AM (w9bVp)
Posted by: Jeff B. at June 25, 2010 07:50 AM (GhUHn)
Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at June 25, 2010 07:51 AM (RZ8pf)
Posted by: GulfCoastTider at June 25, 2010 07:52 AM (cTeIB)
In a thread with the subject line, “ACORN Ratf*cker arrested,” Journolisters discussed how James O’Keefe, whose undercover reporting showed officials from activist group ACORN willing to help a fake prostitution ring skirt the law, had been arrested in another, failed operation at Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) office. Weigel’s response:
“HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.”
“Deep breath.”
“HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHA.”
“He’s either going to get a radio talk show or start a prison ministry. That’s was successful conservative ratfuckers do for their second acts,” Weigel wrote, likely alluding to Nixon aide Charles Colson who converted to Christianity after a stint in prison for obstruction of justice and founded Prison Fellowship.
Colson's organization helps millions of people. They help ex-cons find jobs, work to reduce the recidivism rate and basically change lives for the better.
They buy Christmas presents and provide camp scholarships for children of those who are in jail.
And in the eyes of Dave Weigel, this makes Colson a "ratf**ker?"
There's a lot of hate bottled up in that guy.
Posted by: Slublog at June 25, 2010 07:52 AM (qjKko)
Posted by: Dr Spank at June 25, 2010 07:52 AM (xO+6C)
Posted by: buzz at June 25, 2010 07:52 AM (kwhut)
Behind the caring, intelligent facade, lefties are often vicious, hateful bastards.
Weigel clearly qualifies.
Just the fact that he's on JournoList is evidence against him, but my God, what a pissy little snot.
What I really want to know is who leaks this stuff that makes JournoList look so bad? There has to be at least one member with a conscience or professional standards, if not outright conservative beliefs.
Posted by: tsj017 at June 25, 2010 07:53 AM (4YUWF)
Posted by: Mr. Barky at June 25, 2010 07:53 AM (qwK3S)
Posted by: joeindc44 at June 25, 2010 07:53 AM (QxSug)
Posted by: AmishDude at June 25, 2010 07:54 AM (ndQbN)
They don't want an actual conservative writing this blog; such a person would be very much up on conservative thought, but such a person would also be eager to transmit such thought to Post readers, and that's not what they want.
To me, this is the heart of the matter and why this is important. It is twofold, first of all the acknowledgment that MFM doesn't want conservative thought to get any dissemination, and the second part is that if this is the case one must wonder if perhaps conservative thought threatens them because they know a lot of what conservatives are saying is correct.
Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at June 25, 2010 07:54 AM (RZ8pf)
I'm pretty sure that "ratfucking" is a transitive verb in which the direct object is a rat so I would say that opposition to Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the narcissistic Marxists does qualify as "ratfucking."
Posted by: WalrusRex at June 25, 2010 07:54 AM (xxgag)
His journolist quotes prove that beyond the fact that he is a halfhearted reporter of conservative issues, he actually has no clue as to what those issues are, or the principles behind them.
He's just another media fraud.
Posted by: Jeff S. at June 25, 2010 07:55 AM (phBan)
Weigel doesn't go far enough in his critique of the reichwing wingnut blogosphere. Not a single mention of the Birchers, the single greatest threat America faces today.
BP = Bircher Petroleum. Think about it.
Posted by: Charles "I hate intolerant people" Johnson at June 25, 2010 07:55 AM (cekJT)
He sounds like he's still 17.
Posted by: Jeff B. at June 25, 2010 07:55 AM (GhUHn)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 07:56 AM (tYPK/)
Posted by: AmishDude at June 25, 2010 07:56 AM (ndQbN)
Reporting? Since when does Weigel "report?" He'd have to switch careers to call what he does "reporting."
Posted by: Crusty at June 25, 2010 07:56 AM (GvSpB)
Tedious, tedious. You're starting to sound kinda like that pasty-faced lardass over at HA, devoting time and bandwidth to to trivia.
A "conservative reporter" at WaPoo is as much a myth as ethics in Congress.
P.S. Fat Matt "I can haz links" Drudge is not a reporter.
Posted by: Wannabe Crazed Sex Poodle at June 25, 2010 07:56 AM (Ulu3i)
Posted by: Dr Spank at June 25, 2010 07:56 AM (xO+6C)
Posted by: dr kill at June 25, 2010 07:58 AM (w9bVp)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Deep breath
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Not so funny now, is it, Mr. Washing Post turdburglar?
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth at June 25, 2010 07:59 AM (ZESU0)
Posted by: AmishDude at June 25, 2010 07:59 AM (ndQbN)
Ya know, Ace doesn't come to your job and knock the dick out of your mouth, so maybe you should just keep your recommendations to yourself.
Posted by: Kathy Griffin, on a three day bender at June 25, 2010 08:01 AM (ZESU0)
Posted by: WalrusRex at June 25, 2010 08:01 AM (xxgag)
Dave Weigel's nuanced view of the horrors found on the reichwing side of the blogosphere qualify him for his own LGF diary. Congrats, Kilgore Trout Dave!
Don't forget to hit the tip jar. Please. I know you make a bundle at the Wapo. Spread the wealth, man!
Posted by: Charles "I hate those who hate" Johnson at June 25, 2010 08:02 AM (cekJT)
A real conservative would love this job, and therefore be much better at, but the Washington Post doesn't actually want someone to do a good job.
A non-conservative who doesn't hate conservatives, or whose understanding of conservatism isn't hate-based, would probably do the job best. There are about five of us.
And, of course, that's not the job.
Posted by: oblig. at June 25, 2010 08:02 AM (x7Ao8)
Posted by: dr kill at June 25, 2010 08:02 AM (w9bVp)
They don't want an actual conservative writing this blog; such a person would be very much up on conservative thought, but such a person would also be eager to transmit such thought to Post readers, and that's not what they want.
Man O man is that to the point!
In order to understand something, you have to live it, to some degree.
Just to make a point. During the Olympics, there was some great posting about Hockey, explaining the game and what to watch for. Even though I didn't particularly care about Hockey, it spiked my interest and gave me some insight.
Now if those posts had been written by persons who did not care for the sport, then it would have been dull and pretty much turned me off to even watching.
So if the WaPo wants to really inform the readers about consertive thought and actions, they need to hire a writer who is informed about the whole deal.
Ace, put in an app.
Posted by: HH at June 25, 2010 08:03 AM (6oDXl)
Posted by: t-bird at June 25, 2010 08:03 AM (FcR7P)
Posted by: Jeff B. at June 25, 2010 11:55 AM (GhUHn)
Making him the emotional equal of Fearless Leader.
Posted by: WalrusRex at June 25, 2010 08:03 AM (xxgag)
Posted by: A Balrog of Morgoth at June 25, 2010 08:04 AM (ZESU0)
I first heard the term 'rat f*cking' used to refer to guys who would open an MRE, take out the candy/cookies/etc but leave the shelf stable bread and entree, requiring somebody else to finish it. The MRE looked like a rat had been into it. I have no idea if that was the source of the term.
BTW, I can't seem to see any reader comments on any of Weigel's posts over at the Post. What gives?
Posted by: pmm at June 25, 2010 08:04 AM (zBwrA)
Assumption #1: Believing someone like, Dave [scrolls to top of page to find his last name] Wiegel is relevant. He's not.
Assumption #2: None necessary. See assumption #1. End of discussion.
Posted by: laceyunderalls at June 25, 2010 08:04 AM (pLTLS)
That Weigel guy sure can suck a mean cock. With friends like that...
As for T-Codd, I close my eyes and hear the dulcet tones of Chris" Rare-Avis" "Pigfucker" Buckley come rolling in. Financial acumen of ones forebears indeed.
Posted by: U.S.S. Yorktown at June 25, 2010 08:05 AM (sYEpI)
While that is certainly true the real problem is unless you work for yourself it is nearly impossible to find a job that is actually enjoyable. And even if by some miracle you do find a job in a field you enjoy there will always be one of those "rat fuck" bosses that you will get to make life miserable for you.
Posted by: Vic at June 25, 2010 08:05 AM (6taRI)
Posted by: bob at June 25, 2010 08:06 AM (O07mY)
Posted by: Mippilis at June 25, 2010 08:08 AM (VWhPF)
Drudge and Instapundit both linked them. Their servers are probably in total meltdown.
Posted by: Slublog at June 25, 2010 08:11 AM (qjKko)
You're right. We should all be unanimous in extensive condemnation of a stupid and generally unnoticed WaPoo blogger.
After all, there's nothing more important going on, is there?
Posted by: Wannabe Crazed Sex Poodle at June 25, 2010 08:12 AM (Ulu3i)
I mean, what old-timey stuff is he reading to so easily come up with antique expressions like "in fine fettle"?
You can get stuff like that from any well-written historical fiction, even romance novels. Regency is a subgenre of romances set in early–19th century England. They make use of many a colorful phrase from times of yore. You could journey from prologue to dénouement thrice within a se'ennight.
Posted by: FireHorse at June 25, 2010 08:12 AM (cQyWA)
BTW, I can't seem to see any reader comments on any of Weigel's posts over at the Post. What gives?
Posted by: pmm at June 25, 2010 12:04 PM (zBwrA)
I think I remember the term ratfucking being used by some of the Nixon White House dirty tricksters. They would do stuff like order 50 pizzas to be delivered to the DNC so somebody with 50 pizzas would show up expecting to be paid. That was referred to as ratfucking. And I believe that it was associated with a particular fraternity, Sigma Chi maybe, from whom many White House ratfuckers were hired.
Posted by: WalrusRex at June 25, 2010 08:12 AM (xxgag)
I wouldn't even let my dog or parakeet use this rag for excremental cleanup, it is way too vile for me to allow it near to animals.
Posted by: eaglewingz08 at June 25, 2010 08:13 AM (0MGT1)
He's been talking to a publisher, who can't imagine it would sell. Which is silly: if he can get Rush to read bits on the air, that's a second printing.
Posted by: HeatherRadish at June 25, 2010 08:13 AM (mR7mk)
Posted by: joeindc44 at June 25, 2010 08:14 AM (QxSug)
Posted by: dr kill at June 25, 2010 08:16 AM (w9bVp)
So I'm inclined to wear it as a badge of honor.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at June 25, 2010 08:16 AM (Aqzx6)
Wow, dude. Don't go all liberal n' stuff on us, now, mkay?
Posted by: Editor at June 25, 2010 08:16 AM (pUfK9)
Posted by: bob at June 25, 2010 08:18 AM (O07mY)
Iowahawk does have some greatest hits in a book, called Boy,10. It's a hoot. And while I wouldn't deign to speak for the fellow, a Bertie and Jeeves every month or so does wonders for refreshing the old bean with archaic and goofy expressions.
The Post doesn't want their readers exposed to conservative ideas mostly, I think, because their readers don't want to be exposed to them. I know this is true of the Times,
Posted by: spongeworthy at June 25, 2010 08:19 AM (rplL3)
Posted by: Ian S. at June 25, 2010 08:19 AM (p05LM)
You can only fuck a rat if you have a really tiny penis...I suspect this Weigel guy has some first-hand knowledge there.
Posted by: HeatherRadish at June 25, 2010 08:20 AM (mR7mk)
Posted by: dr kill at June 25, 2010 08:20 AM (w9bVp)
If there was true justice in this world, every reporter that has worked for them in the last 45 years would be lined up and shot in the back of the head for high treason.
Posted by: Rickshaw Jack at June 25, 2010 08:20 AM (bPkzf)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 08:23 AM (j+Qj+)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 08:24 AM (j+Qj+)
FYI, not only is Iowahawk funny, but he posts here occasionally during the college football season. Even Ace has noticed...
Posted by: HH at June 25, 2010 08:24 AM (6oDXl)
Posted by: WalrusRex at June 25, 2010 08:26 AM (xxgag)
And with his freetime? He uses that to catch up on the leftwing blogs he actually enjoys.
Small wonder, then, that whenever a controversy breaks, Dave Wiegel is Johnny On the Spot for reproducing leftwing blog memes.
Is Dave Weigel really Allahpundit?
Posted by: Tattoo De Plane at June 25, 2010 08:26 AM (mHQ7T)
Posted by: Wm Shakespeare at June 25, 2010 08:27 AM (i0rVe)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at June 25, 2010 12:17 PM (Aqzx6)
I majored in ratfucking and fast typing.
Posted by: WalrusRex at June 25, 2010 08:27 AM (xxgag)
Well, I mean to say, what!
Posted by: Farmer Joe at June 25, 2010 08:29 AM (z4es9)
Posted by: Fresh Air at June 25, 2010 08:30 AM (I9wXA)
Is Dave Weigel really Allahpundit?
Posted by: Tattoo De Plane at June 25, 2010 12:26 PM (mHQ7T)
I'd giggle like a 9-year-old girl... on a mescaline binge if that were true.
Posted by: Jim in San Diego at June 25, 2010 08:30 AM (oIp16)
"Conservative ideas" mostly consist of math.
It's icky to libtards.
Posted by: Circa (Insert Year Here) at June 25, 2010 08:31 AM (+BcQ3)
Posted by: joeindc44 at June 25, 2010 08:33 AM (QxSug)
Posted by: tsj017 at June 25, 2010 11:53 AM (4YUWF)
Like the secret reservation line for a trendy new restaurant, someone gets the information secondhand. Then that person leaked Weigel's comments to a gossip columnist who makes hilarious sport of the butterball "libertarian." He is not a fellow traveler, but a weasel. And the jokes about his dancing were too good to pass up.
Posted by: Tattoo De Plane at June 25, 2010 08:34 AM (mHQ7T)
Of course there is. Looking forward to reading your take on it over on your blog, as soon as you put one together.
Posted by: VJay at June 25, 2010 08:35 AM (gQ+XA)
Ace, you left out the most telling quote--the one where he whines about how people shouldn't click on links to the Wash Examiner.
"I don't want to do my job!"
Okay by me...
Posted by: Mama AJ at June 25, 2010 08:35 AM (XdlcF)
"It's too bad when political spats have a human cost."
I have trouble mustering sympathy. Nobody forced him to take that job.
Posted by: Mikey NTH at June 25, 2010 08:39 AM (O9Cc8)
Posted by: Dave Weigel at June 25, 2010 08:40 AM (Glxw+)
Edith Wharton, William Makepeace Thackeray and Jane Austen.
Posted by: Tattoo De Plane at June 25, 2010 08:40 AM (mHQ7T)
Posted by: Dave Weigel at June 25, 2010 08:41 AM (Glxw+)
Posted by: Dave Weigel at June 25, 2010 08:44 AM (Glxw+)
Posted by: ed at June 25, 2010 08:47 AM (Urhve)
Who the fuck am I again? Oh well, who gives a fuck anyway.
Posted by: Dave Weigel at June 25, 2010 08:47 AM (VDgKF)
It's not a political spat, it's a professional one.
Weigel acted unprofessionally in his coverage of conservatives. I don't mind people getting canned for that.
Posted by: DrewM. at June 25, 2010 08:48 AM (X/Lqh)
where leftists masquerade as "libertarians"
Yeah, they're not real libertarians like me! Just ask the MFM, they'll tell you.
Posted by: Bill Maher at June 25, 2010 08:48 AM (VDgKF)
Posted by: ashton at June 25, 2010 08:49 AM (C+1Xy)
Can't muster up a bit of sympathy. A big email list isn't a small group of friends.
Not his fault that it was an obnoxious idea by the Post, but he sure didn't do anything to make it better.
Posted by: Mama AJ at June 25, 2010 08:50 AM (XdlcF)
Why lament his passing? The only Good Liberal is a disgraced and professionally destroyed one.
Sic Semper Liberalis.
Posted by: Tom Servo at June 25, 2010 08:50 AM (T1boi)
You bastard. My retinas will never be the same, especially after glancing at the camera lens cracker Weigel's talking to at the right...
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at June 25, 2010 08:52 AM (PMGbu)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 08:56 AM (MmP8y)
Was ace the one pushing this or was he just on the bandwagon?
I only ask because that was a really quick scalp. Is AOSHQ getting that much of a reach nowadays?
Posted by: s'moron at June 25, 2010 08:59 AM (UaxA0)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 08:59 AM (MmP8y)
>>Really, it was his immediate left-wing hackery in the Etheridge case -- demanding, as the wingnuts did, to know "who these 'students' are!" instead of "how dare a Congressmen assault a reporter" -- that represented the slipping of the mask.
We already have a place for that -- it's called the Democratic Underground.
That cracked me up.
Posted by: Dr Spank at June 25, 2010 08:59 AM (xO+6C)
http://tinyurl.com/2gy2mkd
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at June 25, 2010 08:59 AM (PMGbu)
A more practical suggestion: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Posted by: FireHorse at June 25, 2010 08:59 AM (cQyWA)
Warning! Please do not touch the bureaucrats!
Posted by: mrp at June 25, 2010 09:00 AM (HjPtV)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:00 AM (MmP8y)
Fair enough.
I was talking more about my reaction to it, which is 100% pure schadenfreude.
Weigel constantly elevated the fringe and ignored the mainstream when it came to conservatives. Lovely guy though he may well be, I'm glad he's out of that job.
Posted by: DrewM. at June 25, 2010 09:02 AM (X/Lqh)
A non-conservative who doesn't hate conservatives, or whose understanding of conservatism isn't hate-based, would probably do the job best. There are about five of us.
What about those of us who hate conservatives and everyone else? Since Florence King retired, we demand our place at the table!
If you'll excuse me, I'll get back to that table after I've swallowed these laxatives and headed off to the punchbowl.
Posted by: Zimriel at June 25, 2010 09:04 AM (9Sbz+)
It's always a bad thing for someone to lose a job in this economy.
But "bad" is not = to "undeserved"
One a human level it's sad he got canned, but on the level of "justice" it's hard to argue that he shouldn't lose this job.
Kinda bitter fellow, though. Did you check your hand after he shook it, ace? He doesn't seem to have much love for conservatives.
Posted by: s'moron at June 25, 2010 09:06 AM (UaxA0)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:07 AM (MmP8y)
Posted by: Dr Spank at June 25, 2010 09:08 AM (xO+6C)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:10 AM (MmP8y)
What's this "human level" everyone keeps talking about?
Leftards aren't human.
Posted by: MikeO at June 25, 2010 09:10 AM (lBmZl)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:13 AM (MmP8y)
It made as much sense to hire him as a vegetarian to review an Argentinan steakhouse.
Since we're dealing with the Washington Post, does this mean Keith and Chris will be the leading candidates to replace Dave?
Posted by: ADK46er at June 25, 2010 09:15 AM (Wmjm0)
LOL, that reminds me of another firing. Here is a sea work story from my old job.
I broke up a big shoot the shit between some engineers while trying to get some real work done. They were bitching about an engineer who had been fired that morning. It seems that he had been caught participating in on-line chat rooms again. He had been caught once before spending at least 5 hours a day on these chat rooms and warned. The warning didn't take so they fired him.
I asked the primary bitcher and moaner how much unpaid overtime he had worked the week before. His response was 10 hours which is fairly typical. I then asked him how much less it would have been if this guy had been helping him instead of spending 5 hours a day on chat rooms.
They all shut up after that.
Posted by: Vic at June 25, 2010 09:16 AM (6taRI)
Posted by: Dr Spank at June 25, 2010 09:16 AM (xO+6C)
Fine, Ace, I'll admit to being cynical and a big meanie:
Maybe he was was out and out trying to pretend to be a conservative to you and Ed M.
When someone tells as big a whopper as "Etheridge hugged the student" I tend to stop trusting anything they say.
Yes, even in real life. I've pulled away from people who seem generally nice but who have a problem with the truth. Pet peeve, trust issues, whatever.
Posted by: Mama AJ at June 25, 2010 09:17 AM (XdlcF)
Posted by: Waterhouse at June 25, 2010 09:19 AM (pxrjp)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:20 AM (MmP8y)
Posted by: JohnTant at June 25, 2010 09:20 AM (tVWQB)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:21 AM (MmP8y)
So when the Left ran around calling Bush Hitler for 8 years and called for his assassination, that wasn't violently, angrily diving America?
Oh, and what were the two issues Obama actually ran on, besides being "cool"? Cutting taxes and ending the war. He's raising taxes and "escalating" the war - isn't that a sure sign of a "nihilistic thirst for power"?
Posted by: 18-1 at June 25, 2010 09:21 AM (bgcml)
As Ronaldus Maximus said, the problem with liberals is that they know many things which aren't true. Between that and Lady Thatcher's quip about other people's money you can completely deconstruct modern liberalism.
Posted by: Ian S. at June 25, 2010 09:21 AM (p05LM)
Dammit, how do I paste a link here?!? Can't even paste the text.
UPDATE: Early word is that Weigel will be heading to the Huffington Post.
Criminy!
Posted by: JohnTant at June 25, 2010 09:23 AM (tVWQB)
As if they don't have enough strident doctrinaire Marxist fuckwads writing for them already.
Posted by: Waterhouse at June 25, 2010 09:23 AM (pxrjp)
Either he has drifted over the years (as Ben Smith suggests) or he is just sort of ideologically agreeable in person, which is something a lot of people do (including me, to some extent, I tend to avoid controversial issues in person and change the subejct).
I understand that, and can empathise. However, nice as a person might be face to face, methinks that what they write or post is far closer to what they are thinking than saying.
Hey, live and learn.
Posted by: HH at June 25, 2010 09:23 AM (6oDXl)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:24 AM (MmP8y)
Well, given what he wrote, ace, it doesn't much look like he "drifted" so much as go across the river at full throttle with twin Mercruiser 8.2 H.O.s
That or he was being a lying suck up to your face.
I avoid being overly controversial in social interactions, but everyone knows I'm pretty far right. I'm not really the most outspoken or "courageous" (read socially inept) person in the world, either. I just think you can disagree without being disagreeable.
The fact that you thought he was conservative is a pretty damning fact as to Weigel's character. Obviously, since you though him to be conservative, then you were being open in your beliefs.
I really dislike people who are two-faced. And this comes form someone who by nature tries to downplay differences and find common ground in social settings.
You're right about the internet, though. It brings out the most strident and socially oblivious positions in people.
You ask too much of the medium to expect otherwise, though.
Posted by: s'moron at June 25, 2010 09:24 AM (UaxA0)
Posted by: dr k
He is? Crap.
And bite me.
Posted by: Blue Hen at June 25, 2010 09:24 AM (R2fpr)
Posted by: 18-1 at June 25, 2010 09:25 AM (bgcml)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:26 AM (MmP8y)
The better for to slide the dagger into our collective backs, I see.
Posted by: Alec Leamas at June 25, 2010 09:26 AM (Tz7Vn)
I would pay a large amount of money to be there in person as a group of these white rich liberals tries to explain to Walter Williams that conservatism is racist and the welfare state and minimum wage helps African-Americans.
Posted by: Ian S. at June 25, 2010 09:27 AM (p05LM)
Oh, and what were the two issues Obama actually ran on, besides being "cool"? Cutting taxes and ending the war.
And closing Gitmo! (The thing is, Obama's really cool. Somewhere between Billie Dee Williams and The Fonz.)
Posted by: FireHorse at June 25, 2010 09:27 AM (cQyWA)
As if they don't have enough strident doctrinaire Marxist fuckwads writing for them already.
Posted by: Waterhouse at June 25, 2010 01:23 PM (pxrjp)
Maybe he can help HuffPo get out the truth about the healing power of crystals and the evils of inoculation?
Posted by: 18-1 at June 25, 2010 09:27 AM (bgcml)
Posted by: JohnTant
Your transition to the dense side of the Force is complete, young jerkoff.
Posted by: Emperor Palpatation at June 25, 2010 09:27 AM (R2fpr)
I'm not really the most outspoken or "courageous" (read socially inept) person in the world, either.
Good line...
Posted by: HH at June 25, 2010 09:27 AM (6oDXl)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:28 AM (MmP8y)
Well, he didn't say so. It was more that he was just polite and decent and so I assumed he wasn't a fire-breathing lefty, who I'd expect to hate my guts and not be shy about saying so.
I didn't really talk about politics with him, or at least I don't remember getting into some big political discussion.
Posted by: ace
I think that an apology is in order.
Posted by: Rep Joe Barton (R-Coventry) at June 25, 2010 09:29 AM (R2fpr)
Posted by: Dr Spank at June 25, 2010 09:30 AM (xO+6C)
Posted by: chemjeff in moving hell at June 25, 2010 09:31 AM (Gk/wA)
See, that's why everyone I befriend has to go through the ritual of slaughtering a hippy on an oil derrick before I will accept their friendship.
Posted by: s'moron at June 25, 2010 09:31 AM (UaxA0)
Posted by: Mama AJ at June 25, 2010 09:33 AM (XdlcF)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:33 AM (MmP8y)
getting when Klein suggested they hire him. National editor Kevin
Merida told me for my story on the subject in May that he never asked
Weigel about his politics, and Klein said he presented him to the
paper simply as the best reporter covering conservatives. (Weigel's
blog is subtitled, "Inside the conservative movement.")
So, Ezra Klein ratfucked the Washington Post Co. by selling the liberal Weigel as a conservative, and Weigel is resigning?
Posted by: Dusty at June 25, 2010 09:34 AM (3WVdK)
Posted by: Monty at June 25, 2010 09:34 AM (4Pleu)
I think Geraghty sums up my misgivings about Weigel prior to the Etheridge thing which pushed him over the edge....
From where I sit, he spends too much time writing about fringe figures and trends that are largely irrelevant to national politics (Orly Taitz, Birthers, etc.) but perhaps that’s his genuine fascination and/or what his employers wanted. Righties suspected Dave wanted to spotlight the freakiest and least appealing self-proclaimed “conservatives”; I suspect that at least part of Dave’s mentality was simply, “You have got to hear what this lunatic is saying.”
Posted by: DrewM. at June 25, 2010 09:35 AM (X/Lqh)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 01:26 PM (MmP8y)
Certainly, but if you spend time with a real hardcore liberal who is open about what he or she believes, it becomes very hard to have a positive view of liberals. By pretending to be a liberal myself, the things I have had liberals tell me include;
Black people are genetically inferior and therefore need AA.
The people as a whole are too stupid to have more then the most nominal control over politics - they need to be led by "the right people".
Third world people are especially dumb and need to have their reproduction controlled, again by "the right people"
We are doomed and the world will end soon (due to AGW or some other enviro-apocalypse) so who gives a crap about the future.
The middle class is too well off - its bad for them and the environment - they need to have things taken away from them for the common good.
Etc.
There are plenty of good people who adopt leftwing politics for reasons other then true conviction - lack of research, going with the flow, media propaganda, etc. I don't know that there are that many true blue liberals that you could call good people.
Posted by: 18-1 at June 25, 2010 09:36 AM (bgcml)
It's called being educated, and it comes in part from reading the classics of literature--something you post-Baby Boom generations neglected to do.
Posted by: Steve (aka Ed Snate) at June 25, 2010 09:36 AM (ugfZX)
ace, it's not like it's a moral failing of yours that you though a polite and friendly guy was a decent human being.
And when he was at reason, there was no indication that he LOATHED cons.
BUT, the emails show an entirely different personality. Like schitzo different.
Weird story. Newsworthy, even though it will get no notice in the larger world.
Posted by: s'moron at June 25, 2010 09:36 AM (UaxA0)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:37 AM (MmP8y)
Posted by: WalrusRex at June 25, 2010 09:39 AM (xxgag)
I always wondered what Wiegel was doing at Reason, too. He was always riling up the commenters (mostly libertarians, as in, actual libertarians). Eventually I decided that he was a liberal troll, slumming at that site. There's a place for that; I don't believe it's the masthead, but that's just me.
I too never got the impression that he hated the Right. I expected more snark but less bile from the mails we've seen here. Well, live and learn. I never had anything emotionally invested in him because, hello - he was a troll.
Posted by: Zimriel at June 25, 2010 09:39 AM (9Sbz+)
I can't stop giggling at Ed. M's question: "is there any such thing as 'off the record'"?
JournoList. An email list of hundreds of people. A list that has had leaks before.
Do you see where I'm going with this??
Posted by: Mama AJ at June 25, 2010 09:39 AM (XdlcF)
I still don't get why the birther movement is a big deal in the way the left makes it out to be.
Yes, it means that birthers believe that corrupt politicians and the media will lie to help each other circumvent a law they don't believe in anyway. This is a big concern? That some people don't trust their government? What the hell - according to the left, until Nov 2008, all true patriots distrusted their government.
And when you compare that to the troofers - who make up an apparent majority of the left...?
Posted by: 18-1 at June 25, 2010 09:40 AM (bgcml)
Job opening ace.
Why not apply?
Posted by: HH at June 25, 2010 01:38 PM (6oDXl)
What would the left do when faced with real conservative commentary? These people spend so much effort cocooning themselves - as we can see with the Wiegel episode - I think they'd have a mental breakdown.
Posted by: 18-1 at June 25, 2010 09:41 AM (bgcml)
Posted by: Zimriel at June 25, 2010 09:42 AM (9Sbz+)
The MSM: giving you every viewpoint from A to B.
Posted by: Monty at June 25, 2010 01:34 PM (4Pleu)
Hey, we'll give you far left, euro-left, left, and left of center - oh and the Islamist perspective. What more do you want?
Posted by: The State Media at June 25, 2010 09:42 AM (bgcml)
Posted by: SomeGuy at June 25, 2010 09:42 AM (xO+6C)
Ahem.
Posted by: WalrusRex at June 25, 2010 09:42 AM (xxgag)
Well, for anyone other than Obama, it would sound completely batshit crazy. I get that.
It's just that Obama is so thoroughly undocumented that it makes my head spin. Basically all we know about his life prior to his joining the IL state Senate is 2 books that he probably didn't write (and which portray him as a racialist douchetool) and some bad poetry about apes and figs.
Posted by: Ian S. at June 25, 2010 09:43 AM (p05LM)
ace, I seem to recall that you're pushing 40, as am I.
We're the old guys now.
But Ed's got a point. From the 1970s onward, education has been less about being exposed to human greatness and more about being molded in the proper form. This is both on the left and the right.
We are the most self-entitled, lazy, indulgent population (as a whole) since the dawn of man. It's no wonder everything is falling down around us. No one (myself included) wants to dedicate the time and effort to develop himself and others around him.
We will soon learn how the social construct self-corrects at times like this. Our Tower of Babylon will fall, just like every other summit of human hubris.
Posted by: s'moron at June 25, 2010 09:44 AM (UaxA0)
Kooky yes? Crazy? I'd say no.
Again, I just compare it to some other ideas that are truly crazy, and common in the current political culture - trooferism, conspiratorial anti-semitism, Gaianism, etc, and it seems to come up aweful short on the crazy scale to me.
Posted by: 18-1 at June 25, 2010 09:46 AM (bgcml)
Having said that, I find that you can tell that someone isn't 'one of us' if all of the cultural and class markers point to affected effete posing and preening like one sees with the Juicebox mafia.
Posted by: Alec Leamas at June 25, 2010 09:46 AM (Tz7Vn)
Job opening ace.
Why not apply?
Posted by: HH at June 25, 2010 01:38 PM (6oDXl
That's it! The vast right wing conspiracy can have a bake-off to see who gets to be the new pet conservative replacement for Weasel. We can get judges (or make them up) and the hopeful asprants to MFM glory can preform in audtions.
Posted by: Blue Hen at June 25, 2010 09:46 AM (R2fpr)
72 I'm pretty sure that "ratfucking" is a transitive verb in which the direct object is a rat so I would say that opposition to Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the narcissistic Marxists does qualify as "ratfucking."
You can only fuck a rat if you have a really tiny penis...I suspect this Weigel guy has some first-hand knowledge there.
Insulting phrase used in my yout': Needledick the bug fucker
Posted by: codekeyguy at June 25, 2010 09:47 AM (buAn0)
Posted by: ace at June 25, 2010 09:48 AM (MmP8y)
Posted by: Dr Spank at June 25, 2010 09:51 AM (xO+6C)
As a whole that's true. But it was also true of the Holden Caulfeld-worshipping Boomers. And let's not forget that modern liberalism and Euro-socialism were birthed by the "Greatest Generation" and their parents. (Jonah Goldberg has done great work on that topic).
Incidentally, I'd be curious to see an age breakdown of AoSHQ Morons and Moronettes sometime - I'm under the impression it's a remarkably even spread, but that's not scientific.
Posted by: Ian S. at June 25, 2010 09:53 AM (p05LM)
Posted by: Zimriel at June 25, 2010 09:55 AM (9Sbz+)
Yes, that would be nice. I LMAO when I read the post that said 40 was getting old.
Posted by: Vic at June 25, 2010 09:56 AM (6taRI)
Posted by: Zimriel at June 25, 2010 10:04 AM (9Sbz+)
Posted by: Oldcat, who was nine yeas ago at June 25, 2010 10:05 AM (z1N6a)
Posted by: Mama AJ, who is at June 25, 2010 02:02 PM (XdlcF)
Tell my knees that!
Posted by: Hedgehog at June 25, 2010 10:06 AM (oQIfB)
Eh, I meant to say I am 40, not that I am old.
Okay, both may be true...going to stop digging. Now where did I put those kids??
Posted by: Mama AJ at June 25, 2010 10:09 AM (XdlcF)
Yeh, you two, physically it ain't the same as 20.
Posted by: Mama AJ at June 25, 2010 10:11 AM (XdlcF)
I'll bet he loved his job! Getting paid to bash and undermine conservatives in sneaky underhanded ways. Had to bring him joy.
Posted by: starboardhelm at June 25, 2010 10:11 AM (SgSfB)
I love old guys who come in to tell younger people how stupid we are.
Yeah, every public place had to have four rest rooms. Brilliant!
Posted by: FireHorse at June 25, 2010 10:13 AM (cQyWA)
Posted by: moi at June 25, 2010 10:25 AM (bjYAr)
Posted by: di butler, maker of bad decisions at June 25, 2010 10:27 AM (8TRAy)
Posted by: ashton at June 25, 2010 10:39 AM (C+1Xy)
Posted by: jlfintx at June 25, 2010 10:58 AM (Wnk4X)
Posted by: gail at June 25, 2010 11:20 AM (f46PC)
Posted by: teej at June 25, 2010 11:52 AM (iApIO)
Ace,
Don't feel bad/pissed off/jealous concerning Iowahawk. And don't feel stupid because of your (alleged) youth. Iowahawk is a Friggin' genius. Not some random guy with a classical education or a good crib sheet. Complete. Friggin'. Genius.
Posted by: pepster at June 25, 2010 12:16 PM (tFADX)
If you start from the premise that Weigel was a troll of some sort, then I think your analysis is faulty. There is no shortage of amateur trolls on the conservative web sites. I find it perfectly reasonable that someone eager to troll for nothing would be more than happy to do it for money, even if he had to spend considerable time reading websites he hated.
It might be interesting for somebody to follow Weigel's back trail, to see if there are posts supporting the troll hypothesis.
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