Mother Jones - Comments for "The War Against Gore....Continued"

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Must agree with the majority here -- Somerby's right. I'd add that he is only must-read of all liberal bloggers (possible exception: Greenwald). He pulls no punches.
Harping about Somerby's prose and snark is weak. Drum clearly doesn't consider Somerby to be one of the "kewl kids," only serving to make Somerby's point that for liberal writers like Drum, career interests are never far from consideration. Criticize, sure, but criticize politely seems to be their mantra, lest you be ousted from the cocktail party circuit.
Clearly Somerby doesn't at all care about any of that, which is part of the reason he is so much more effective than most in the liberal blogosphere.

Reading Bob Somerby is a daily treat. He requires the reader to maintain a little rigor and elevates the reader's skepticism. Do you ever get the feeling that you get with your other favored blogs that the lead disappoints when the full story is read ? I do not. Never.

Friends e-mail the treasured criticisms they see or the laughable hypocrisies of right leaning bloggers and columnists. The Howler shows how comfortable it is for all to fall into a meme or narrative. This is the way I learned to read politics and I was worse for it.

I am better for reading Somerby. Children often fail to appreciate the singular joy in bathing. Reading Somerby is a singular joy, if it's not for you there are always perfumed powders as a substitute.

It's just lately that Somerby has totally concentrated on the Gore problem, and it makes sense- like a 12-step program, if you can't repent your past transgressions, you're not gonna get very far in your new life.

What's happening is that the same crap is- well-- still happening. These liberal celebrity journalists seem to get a fixation on their celebrity politicians, and they just go ga-ga.

It reminds me alot of what I witnessed myself years ago-- I went to a get together in L.A. once where Armani was supposed to show up, and there wasn't anybody more in celebrity-love with him than other famous celebrities. It's really important to them, and it might explain why they lose their minds: nobody is transfixed by celebrities more than other celebrities.

The "past is prologue" Shakespeare writes in The Tempest. It is, and if we do not set the past straight, right, we will never make the present right and we will lose the future. It's not harping to insist on accurate history and it is required to insure that those ignorant of history because of age or ignorance have the proper context, background information, to understand and judge the present. We ARE doomed to repeat the past if others are ignorant of it--and the evidence shows that most clearly are. If not us then who. Clearly, the greedy, gutless weasels in the corporate media will never abandon their favorite bedtime stories otherwise.

So to kick this dead horse to the curb, as George Bush once said in one of his most memorable quotes:

"Fool me once, shame on, uh, me; fool me twice...WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!"

Except we will. Damn. Especially if Somerby quits reminding us. Because no one else does.

This thread reminds me of many at Matthew Yglesias' blog. MY says something obtuse, or at least a bit dense, and the commenters make impassioned arguments to the winds about many a salient point, never to be acknowledged again. I don't expect Kevin to send out personal notes, but this was a thread where he specifically requested input. I'd like to see if it has made an impression.

It's obvious this is your own version of a push poll: you only ask as a way of asserting your pre-existing view. First, you seemingly state that Somerby only talks about the media war against Gore, when in fact he uses it as an example and mostly always to make a point about current practices. And second, when the majority of your commenters disagree with your limn of him and your view of his relevance, you essentially repost the same question. You seem pretty closed minded on this topic. Interesting, even as 38 of your 40 commenters here (so far) seem to pretty strongly disagree with you. One wonders why you would not want to embrace a line of reasoning that would force you to call bullshit on a lot of the mainstream media. It's a long way from Calpundit, huh?

"The only thing new is the history you haven't learned yet."

Harry Truman said something like that.

By that standard, the war on Gore is still news for most of the country.

kevin, i love you like a brother (and i don't like it when somerby calls you names), but he's right: he brings up gore because the same mainstream writers are dishing the same tired crap about current democrats and no one calls them on it. you may not like his style, but someone needs to be saying what he says.

your pal,
blake

Somerby when he's in gadfly mode on who's being stupid in 2008 has few peers--as an analyst and a writer. The War on Gore is obviously a touchstone for Somerby, and to the extent it animates his media criticism I suppose we Daily Howler readers will have to tolerate the rants

But the Palin nonsense being peddled by Ms. Judd is best tackled on the View or by talkers like Matthews or Campbell Brown who are willing to book Howler-versed analysts willing to walk us through recent history.

I'm very impressed with the quality of the comments here, and consider them an indication if not proof of Somerby's value.

I for one hope he never joins the media establishment. Somerby's a gadfly and he should remain a gadfly, for the good of the cause. His kind of perspective can only come from the outside.

There are many Kevin Drums, however excellent, in the blogosphere, but only one Somerby.

Long Live Somerby.

Somerby believes that those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. That is why I read him. He is acerbic, nasty, and mostly right because he wants to be correct, not politically correct.

End of discussion.

I think the real issue with Sommerby harping on the Gore Wars is that he's been doing so a lot lately and has not, for the past couple of months, been making much topical commentary. But up until September or so of this year, his commentary was generally very topical, though he definitely has always had a tendency to throw the Gore Wars into the mix.

Im a friend and admirer of Big Bob's and I'm happy to see that many people here understand the importance of the howler - even though the "blogger elite" has decided to view Somerby exactly the same way that thye MSM has - pretend that he is unimportant and a crank. But let me tell you folks who pretend that YOU and Atrios and Josh et al are sooo much wiser than ol' Bob...youre dead f-ing wrong! I graduated with from Columbia at the same time as Obama. (with honors by the way - which 2/3ds of the class did - but somehow Barrack did not) Kevin and the other dopes who smugly criticize Somerby's "prose" dont know jack...I was a good ol english major and I luv Bob's writing style. I truly dont know what the heck you are talking about with that oft used put down. And if you ACTUALLY think that you are smarter than Bob - well youre wrong there boyo! To illustrate, a couple of years ago I was out on the campaign trail working to elect a good Dem and I got in a convo with Gore who was our featured speaker at a rally. The former VP told me without prompting that Bob was the smartest guy that he had EVER met. Let me repeat that...smartest guy he had e-v-e-r met... Do you think that just maybe that nobel laureate Albert Gore may have met quite a few bright folk so far in his oh so interesting life- huh maybe???? Trust me - Bob IS smarter than you are... Of that - there is lil doubt.

Two great points others have been posted here that need to be repeated and understood. Please remember (if you knew) that Obamas campaign started out (during the Obama campaign driven Geffen/Maureen Dowd/the Clintons are such liars scuffle)with his communications director actually repeating the GOP-MSM disproved lie that the "Clintons" had sold out the lincoln bedroom (do remember Gibbs is also the slimey b*stard that did the Dean morphed into Osama ad in 2004)and that the very first paid primary ad put out by camp Obama repeated the MSM-GOP mantra that Hillary would quote "say or do ANYHING to be elected". And guess what - your MSM insiders and your liberal blog wannabe insiders said NOTHING about either slimey line....but hey - they later pretended that both Cli8ntons were racists too....amazing....oh yeah...Bob is so not needed these days...

From a previous comment the other day:"He harps on it, dude, because it illustrates a phenomenon that continues today. The major problem we face today as liberals in Big Media Land isn't the wingnuts like Fox who trash us. It's the MSM that eagerly laps up right-wing talking points and bizarre personal shit and spews them against the Clintons, Gore, and Kerry, while our liberal "leaders" (like you) stood around gawking and hoping for scraps from the Big Kids Table by not squawking about it. Even this year we got HR savaged for the cackle, fake tears, pimping her daughter, the "dark Muslim" photoshopping, the false charge that she was using Wright, her alleged desire to see Obama assassinated, and dark hints post-primary that she was sabotaging Obama. And all of this was eagerly lapped up not by Fox but by our friendly liberal Blogger Boiz. So forgive Poor Old Deluded Somerby if he thinks the phenomenon of liberal media types sitting with their thubs up their asses while Big Dems get savaged continues to this day. Exactly how thick are you, anyway? "

And this one from today:

"I do sense a certain level of "snark" in the tone of your response, as if though you want us to feel that Bob is just some "little guy" that you deign to read now and then.

Whatever. I love this "little guy" even if he's gotten under the skin of the blogosphere "elite".

In so many cases, he's filling the role of the conscience of us all. Yes, there are some of us left-wingers who don't want the book to end like "Animal Farm" with our side looking like the same set of pigs that are on the other side. "

Oink-Oink Josh-Duncan-Kevin baby!