The Rationals and The Wingnuts

Posted on 04/11/2009 at 3:33 pm by Bob Cesca

Charles Johnson, the conservative blogger who runs Little Green Footballs, has been ripping Glenn Beck, the tea baggers, creationism and the Saudi “Bow Gate” thing. And he’s been paying the price, with wingnuts and trolls bombarding him with nasty e-mails and comments. (Johnson reports that some wingnuts are derisively referring to him as “Chuckie.” It’s a phenomenon I’ve witnessed firsthand with wingnuts calling me “Bobby,” as though that might offend me for some reason.)

Benen:

After having read Little Green Footballs over the years, I didn’t expect it to be one of the sites urging conservatives to pull back from the fringes and be more responsible. It’s a pleasant surprise.

Here’s hoping others Charles Johnson’s lead.

It’s obvious that conservatives are falling cleanly into either the tea bagging LOUD NOISES wingnut group, or the Frum-LGF group of Rationals.

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  • http://tarackian.deviantart.com J M Ashby

    Well the sad thing is even if the rationals outnumber wingnuts, they aren’t being heard. The LOUD NOISES of the wingnuts are drowning out whatever rational voices are out there and I don’t see anything stopping them. The rationals are going to go down with the sinking ship if they dont abandon.

  • Lib4

    While its nice that a couple of RW scribes have come to their senses, when the rubber meets the road both of these “factions” will mindlessly endorse and vote for the same Republican policies over and over again. its one thing to talk a big game and another to act on your reservations. Both groups are bonded by a hate of all things liberal and that will never ever change.

  • Tusz

    I think both groups still want their affiliation to be “Republican.” It’s a name with a lot of history and weight to it, and whether you think it’s positive weight or negative, they like it.My prediction is that they will continue vying for control of the party until the primaries in 2012. It’ll be another 12-candidate ratrace at first, but slowly each side will unite behind their respective champions. One side will clinch the nomination, and the other will most likely split off into a third party.Of course, it all depends on how extreme the extremists get, and how realistic the realists are. If the extremists win the nomination, the realists could either split off and let the party sink, or go along with them since they know a split party can’t stand. It’ll depend on exactly how crazy the extremists have gotten.If the realists win, there’s a chance that they’ll appoint a VP candidate based on appeasing the extremists. The reverse probably wouldn’t happen, given the extremists’… extremism. Even if they did pick an extremist running mate, there’s a strong possibility that it will do nothing for appeasement, and the nutjobs will split off anyway.The thing left to do (other than continue pointing out their flawed logic) is come up with possible names for the splinter party.

  • hielo

    Watching the Republican party self-destruct is the most fun I have had in… what… a long, long time.Tea baggng!Lush Rimjob!Glen Cock!Oh so many silly asswipes and ideas…. AHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHA

  • http://www.broadwaycarl.blogspot.com Broadway Carl™

    If the realists win, there’s a chance that they’ll appoint a VP candidate based on appeasing the extremists.

    Isn’t what they did with Palin? Granted, the original reason was probably to try and steal the disgruntled Hillary supporter women’s vote, but it soon changed after her convention speech and she bacame the fringe favorite with the “palling around with terrorists” meme.As far as Chuckie Johnson (they probably think using someone’s name in such a way is to infer that they’re a kid who doesn’t know what they’re talking about and therefore belittling), maybe he’ll realize what has become of his party and go the John Cole route… or should I say “Johnny”?

  • Tusz

    Isn’t what they did with Palin?Yeah. That didn’t win them the election, though, and they’ll remember that. Many of them will see a lack of a Palin-type figure in the front seat as betraying their principles and begging for a repeat of ’08.

  • MatthewN

    “…the Frum-LGF group of Rationals.”

    …I think the presence of “LGF” in the same sentence as “Rationals” is warping the very fabric of time and space.Some things just should not be.

  • SillyRatfacedGit

    HeHe Matthew,It is a bit of cognitive dissonence.However, it was LGF that called the book burning teabaggers a ‘bunch of nutters.’This led someone to comment that when LGF is calling you a bunch of nutters, it is probably way past the time you should have reevaluated your worldview.

  • jasperjava

    I’m very surprised at the change with LGF. “Little Green Footballs” is a euphemism for hand grenades, and their site’s masthead used to show a grenade bouncing towards a caricature of an Islamic terrorist who was holding a stereotypical hippie lefty in his arms.It was a full throated “liberals-are-dhimmicrat-terrorist-sympathizers” site.Now they’ve really come to recognize that the real dangerous extremists are the right-wing fringe who want to shove their religion down other people’s throats. Good for them.The best outcome is if the extremists split the Right into two or more parties. It’ll be a loooong time before the Republicans could reassemble a winning coalition again.

  • Alex

    I’m not entirely sure how rational Frum is but I see your point.

  • http://www.osborneink.com Matt Osborne

    Having run out of ways to divide and conquer the country, the GOP will now divide and conquer itself.

  • kansasdem

    I hate to be the turd in the punch bowl, but let’s not forget that our own Lee S. was basically exiled from the Daily Kos!We have had our own “crap-fest” from time to time!The elections in 2010 will give us an idea of which direction we’re headed next!If things suck by 2012 we could easily see another 8+ years of Republican BS! Not just having to listen to it, but having to live with it!

  • Eric

    Crooks and Liars blog has a post up with Glenn Beck dressed as the Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland with the title “The Mad Hater’s Tea Party”.http://crooksandliars.com/driftglass/open-thread-6

  • langx

    This is what happens when you invite every Racist, Jesus Freak, Homophobe, and Redneck into your tent.Sooner or later the crazies are going to take over.