Intellectual Violence

Posted on 11/03/2008 at 5:59 pm by Bob Cesca

The headline is a relatively common phrase and has most recently been employed by Digby as a description of what we can expect from the far-right should Senator Obama win tomorrow. We should also expect to be using this phrase over and over and over to describe the far-right as such.

Digby was referencing wingnuts like Malkin who was screaming about the reports of Joe the Plumber being vetted and investigated — even though Malkin herself engaged in creepy stalking of 12-year-old Graeme Frost during the SCHIP debate. Vetting Joe the Plumber = bad. Stalking a child at his home = awesome.

So if Senator Obama wins and doesn’t reverse the Bush policies right away, I’m half-expecting the Republicans to call for investigations of the Obama White House on charges of eavesdropping, torture and the illegal occupation of Iraq. Intellectual violence.

It’s already underway with this “vindicated” attack and the coal industry attack. This morning, Joe Scarborough was at it again about the vindicated thing. “I’ve never heard a politician be so arrogant!” he cried. He’s deliberately misunderstanding the meaning of the word, and it won’t be the last time we’ll hear this sort of disingenuous cynicism.

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  • http://livefreeordie08.wordpress.com LiveFreeOrDie08

    I just became a NASCAR fan:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/junior-johnson/the-most-important-race-o_b_140467.htmlSend this to everyone in your contacts list.

  • Poleezz

    Bob your posts are coming so fast today I can barely keep up. How about that thread dude?

  • http://fifty50blog.blogspot.com StuporMundi

    Not “intellectual violence” — “counter-intellectual violence”. It’s my hope that if Obama wins, he and Democratic leaders use their “bully pulpit” to call out right-wing ideological hatred for what it is, and continually push back against media corporations that sponsor editorial commentary of that nature. Devastating good-humored derision should be a primary tactic for pushing back against right-wing ideological belligerence. In other words, I hope Democrats will stop being pantywaists as wingnuts try to continue their domination of the public dialog. Haters should be ostracized and the sponsors of their media “product” should be boycotted with intent. Or that’s what I think, anyway….

  • Poleezz

    Yep he was the one who got famous running moonshine.

  • Poleezz

    My my…someone who sees things my way. Thanks Stupor.

  • http://fifty50blog.blogspot.com StuporMundi

    Poleezz: thanks for noticing. Here’s hoping….

  • Terry4505

    If MSNBC is going to have left leaning hosts like Keith and Rachel (whom I am in love with), why the fuck can they not put a least a down the middle show on in the mornings.I would love to watch Stephanie Miller in the morning like they had when the guy in the cowboy hat got canned.Between Joe’s b.s. outrage and Republican water carrying, and Mika’s love affair with Sarah Palin, no amount of Harold Ford and Mike Barnacle can save that show.Give me Steph and Jim and Chris.

  • Poleezz

    Give me Captain Kangafuckingroo. Anything is better than Scar.

  • ceu

    We hate him, but we watch him. Almost everyone I know watches Morning Joe and no one I know actually likes it….

  • PackyJ

    LFOD:Aw… we all know Junior Johnson is endorsing Obama because Junior is black, right?Whaaa? He’s not?

  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    Bob – this is an interesting concept. I just watched the most bizarre bit of Orwellian nonsense here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/31/willie-geist-campaigns-fo_n_139858.htmlThere, a staged search for McCain supporters on the Upper West Side of New York yielded (predictably) no interest. Joe and Co attempted to spin this into impending violence. Worse – some people actually believed that there was some impending violence after seeing the video – and hearing Joe say it was so.If we have let our intellectual capacity to discern truth from fiction in even the most plain and obvious ways, we have a long way to go to dig ourselves out of this darkness.QT

  • Leeman67

    yep, the moment Obama takes the Oath, we’ll be back to the Black Helicopters and anti-government paranoia of the RW talk radio militia-crowd. It’s like they’ve been in hibernation for the last 8 years.

  • Bill Delyon

    Joe Scarborough was at it again about the vindicated thing. “I’ve never heard a politician be so arrogant!Wait, he wasn’t talking about Palin?

  • Bill Delyon

    Hey y’all, believe it or not, there are a lot of LIBERAL NASCAR fans.Junior Johnson is one of the coolest cats to ever wheel a stock car, as well as one of the most successful owners once he jumped out of the car.He got his start running NASCAR straight from being a moonshiner, thats where he learned about fast cars and how to go fast.He’s a classic american.He’s even got moonshine for legal sale out there these days…