The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Noonan Unexpectedly Conscious

Posted on | June 9, 2012 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

For reasons of time and fair use, I’ll confine myself to mocking the first three paragraphs of Peggy’s latest:

Noonan Smitty
What happened in Wisconsin signals a shift in political mood and assumption. Public employee unions were beaten back and defeated in a state with a long progressive tradition. The unions and their allies put everything they had into “one of their most aggressive grass-roots campaigns ever,” as the Washington Post’s Paul Whoriskey and Dan Balz reported in a day-after piece. Fifty thousand volunteers made phone calls and knocked on 1.4 million doors to get out the vote against Gov. Scott Walker. Mr. Walker’s supporters, less deeply organized on the ground, had a considerable advantage in money. Holy lagging indicator, Batwoman! You’ve finally realized that the last three years have happened. The next thing you know, Peggy, you’re going to locate the clue that the whole Progressive welfare state is kaput! Auto-Cloward-Pivened! Toast!
And let’s be careful about that “considerable advantage” hooey:

In short, it is not clear the left was outspent in its attempts to reverse Gov. Walker’s reforms. And the widely-repeated claim that the left was outspent by more than 7-to-1 in the most recent recall election is clearly false.
But organization and money aren’t the headline. The shift in mood and assumption is. The vote was a blow to the power and prestige not only of the unions but of the blue-state budgetary model, which for two generations has been: Public-employee unions with their manpower, money and clout, get what they want. If you move against them, you will be crushed. Fair statement. You could note that Walker didn’t do anything that wasn’t part of his campaign platform when he ran for governor in the first place. That is, the notion that the blue state model ist kaput didn’t just occur suddenly in Wisconsin. There has been a groundswell. The Tea Party. That outfit you love to hate, Peggy.
Mr. Walker was not crushed. He was buoyed, winning by a solid seven points in a high-turnout race. Is it such a shock that a political leader can run on common sense and courage and find support in the electorate? Is your contempt for the hoi polloi so deep, Peggy? I’m extrapolating from this one paragraph to the whole of your condescending body of columns, but there it is. I don’t think that you grasp that the Internet has changed everything.

Someone continue the fisk and email me a link.

Category: Progressivism

Comments

4 Responses to “Noonan Unexpectedly Conscious”

  1. Adjoran
    June 9th, 2012 @ 2:32 pm

    Peggy just wants to be on the lead float – she doesn’t care which parade. 

    I think it is important to forgive and forget each other for supporting any of various Republican candidates in primaries, including Patzi Buchanan.  But once you publicly support Obama, don’t waste any more of my freakin’ time.

    To fisk Noonan, one must read her sniveling drivel, and life is just too short.   Let her hang with her new friends.

  2. RichardLAnderson
    June 9th, 2012 @ 2:35 pm

    http://goo.gl/U7UrS

  3. JeffS
    June 9th, 2012 @ 2:51 pm

     I agree.  Noonan is all about Noonan.  She’s a Dowd wannabe.

  4. Bob Belvedere
    June 10th, 2012 @ 6:23 pm

    SPAM