Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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May 28, 2007 1:00 PM
Alter Responds
Newsweek's Jon Alter writes me an email in response to my earlier post today. He requested that I post it here, so I have done so in the extended entry. I have also posted my response to him. I should add for context that I actually like Alter personally, I just think he's dead wrong and that his column this week was incredibly offensive. You make the call on who is right.
Here is Alter's email:
Dave. Your attack on me is so intemperate and obnoxious--not to mention full of intentional distortions of my argument--that I will not dignify it by getting into a public pissing match with you. That would only give more exposure to your crude polemics and the misuse of your otherwise fine intelligence in poisonous and (for your cause) counterproductive ad hominems. As you know, I supported cutting off funding. The only issue was whether the leadership you despise should have cracked the whip and forced members to vote no, even though it was clearly a losing cause. You have refused to make the basic politics of this clear in your columns. So I won't contribute to expanding your readership by belaboring this publicly. You are not worthy of it because you do not argue in good faith. But I would ask you to post this on your site, along with my column link, so your readers can judge for themselves if you have distorted my argument and maligned my character. P.S. Good luck with purging "bad" Democrats. It has never worked for you, FDR or anyone else who has tried it. Dick Durbin--yeah, that's a guy we really have to throw out of the Senate!!!
Here's my response:
You apparently decided to "report" on something you decided not to actually "report" on. Or could you not follow the very simple, well-developed, and confirmed-by-other-sources argument about the rule? That would be sad if either happened - that is, if you either knew what happened with the rule, and ignored it, or if you didn't know about it. Either, again, would be quite sad. Let me ask you straight up - which is it? Do you not understand what happened with the procedural shenanigans? Or did you understand, and simply decide not to even mention it? I would say it was you who was being intemperate and obnoxious in your column by potraying war opposition as only coming from "the left" and by calling those who expected Democrats to do more "juvenile." I'm no purist here - you may recall that I helped whip progressive votes on the original supplemental. You seem to see politics and the war as a big game, and are personally offended when others don't see it that way and have the temerity to call into question the system by which this all happened. What's funny, I think, is that you write me this email, and yet you don't provide even a shred of evidence about where your arguments were supposedly "distorted" or your character "maligned" - even though my entire post actually shows exactly with data and facts where your original arguments distorted what happened in the Congress and maligned the character of people who expected Democrats to do more. Seriously - you should re-read what you wrote me - it actually sounds more incoherent than some of the crazier email I get from some readers (for instance, what in God's name are you talking about throwing Dick Durbin out of the Senate? Get a hold of yourself). Finally, I would remind you - when you pick a fight, as you clearly did with me with your column and its reference to my writing, you should expect to hear a response. I know that you may not be used to that being at Newsweek and all. But I think the tenor of your reaction displays exactly the kind of entitlement and arrogant, above-any-criticism attitude among the pundit class that much of America despises. I, for one, don't feel obligated to sit there and pat you on the back when you - like some other pundits - both refuse to report on what actually happened, and then deliberately try to portray 82% of America as merely an annoying and small sect of the political "left." D
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Discussion
The most offensive item in Alter's column, to me, is this:
"it's another altogether to criticize any member of the party who doesn't vote with MoveOn.org and others on the antiwar left as “Dick Cheney Democrats” cruising for a primary challenge, or at least a flaming from the liberal blogosphere."
This is a lie. It is a lie to imply that the voters who elected Democrats with the mandate to resolve the Iraq war are on the left, or have ever even visited MoveOn's website.
This is a calculated lie, which could have come from the mouths Limbaugh, Hannity, or any other Bush propagandist, but is treated as Conventional Wisdom by both reporters and opinion writers from the MSM such as Alter.
THE IRAQ WAR IS NOT A LEFT/RIGHT ISSUE!!!
How can any reasonable, studied author review myriad polls showing 60 to 80+% support for Congress taking control of the direction of the Iraq war away from Bush and then imply that those angered by Congress's failure to do so are all nutcase far-left liberal hippies?
A reasonable, studied author could not, in good conscience, make such a foolish, inaccurate, easily disprovable assertion.
But a liar can, without skipping a beat.
The people outraged Bush's continuing abuse of the military, and Congress's cowardice in directly confronting this administration, over TWO THIRDS of the voting public, cannot be categorized as MoveOn "liberals". They are family members of the deceased, the disabled, and the deployed. They are Christians who believe in the principles of our Constitution. They are conscientious voters of all stripes, who have seen through all the spin, all lies of the pundits, all presidential sloganeering.
And these voters, a profound majority, want this President brought to heel before it is too late.
So Mr. Alter, I would suggest that you get out of Washington. Leave your insulated office at Newsweek and come hang out in fly-over country for a while. You'll find a whole lot of middle ground. A few hippies, a few Kool Aid drinkers with a Bible, but a whole lot of middle.
A pissed off middle.
Go, David Go.
Isn't it interesting when one uses the words of Demopublicans or Clintonistas, you are always twisting what they said, making their words sound different than they intended.
I remember all the "twisting of facts and outright lying" you did with Rangel. Guess what, everything and more of what you said about that Clintonista was true.
I do agree with Alter about one point, the attempts at reformation are futile. The Democrats are a centrist, triangulating, free trading bunch of Clintonistas. I enjoy your blog very much, I know no Democrat that links or refers to it in my neck of the woods.
Interesting email from J. Alter. It does not seem that he perceives his own arrogance when writing his email. He apparently has a strong belief that he has this great power to confer readers upon D. Sirota's writings, or to keep them away. Maybe that comes with the territory of writing for Newsweek.
I am sure he has all the beltway connections that pundits like him have always had. What is curious though is I have always found those pundits in general to really have the pulse beat of beltway power brokers, but in an almost opposite correlation they are nearly hilariously disconnected to the views of average citizens. They are therefore often cutting edge when it comes to news related to inside battles in Washington, but are often the last to perceive seismic changes taking place in the nation.
I think D. Sirota's best move was moving to Montana. Living in a place like Montana, I think brings home some realism to politics that you would never get living or at least breathing the lifestyle of the Beltway. Beltway thinking seems to blind you to so much. See how J. Alter, who is supposed to be so clued in to politics, confuses D. Sirota's populism with polemics. I really don't think J. Alter is yet aware of the rise of progressive populism around the country. But of course J. Alter is not the only one, really he just symbolizes some of the disconnects that are happening today in mainstream media.
Regards,
Well it looks like Sirota has stepped on the corns one of the high and mighty D.C. asskissers and agitprop specialists and that boy can howl.
Alter ends up spinning like a Rove robot showing the public he cares nothing for the truth of the matter. Alter's contempt for the public/voters is truly a sight to behold with his ignoring facts and the polling that shows a overwhelming majority of Americans wanting out of Iraq.
But somehow Alter thinks by channeling Lysenko he can turn this fact into a lie. Well it didn't work sparky. Americans are not that stupid, we know we've been sold a pack of lies by you and other beltway whores who care nothing for the truth.
You are only proving that you have no ethical or moral standards to speak of like most of your D.C. associates.
I see Alter quite often and he plays is very safe all the time and seems to sand all the edges into nice smooth round edges..
Now intemperate that my job..!
We see that those who are supposed to be keeping watch on the Republic are still in fact a part of the ruling elite and they sacrifice integrity for access..
The Congress did not serve the will of the people in the Iraq Funding bill or the Immigration bill or the Lobby or the Trade deal and they tied the long over do Minimum wage increase still two years away at that to this blood money like some Shakespearian tragedy..
These are the ties that try mens souls and the media not just alter he is a good guy more or less but the media is so disconnected from the political reality in America they might as well be Tim Russert or Andrea Mitchell for that matter..
I see a Tsunami coming of discontent and anger and ruin both nationally and internationally when the Flood gates are opened and the Euphrates bursts it's bank and runs dry..
It will be the Democrats who's pernicious pusillanimous duplicitous inaction that condemns us to no longer being the worlds leading power and changes that very balance of power world wide..
Many think that our being forced out is or would be defeat in Iraq, but I foresee a true terrible defeat in Iraq and one of Biblical proportions due to the failure of the Democrats to begin Impeachment proceedings and also the Iraq war so called funding, which is actually not funding at all but indebtedness and borrowing to proceed down this path and road to ruin..
There was no real good reason not to send the same bill back to the president or to simply cut off the funding immediately as there is plenty of money in the pipeline to get them out and or a with drawl fund established for only that purpose..
It's all so easy to brandish banal circular polemics when you don't have family in that shit hole sand trap, so Jonathon or Dick Cheney or G.W. Bush can afford six months but for those of us who have family there every day is another senseless death and $1.2 billion dollars..
We all know in September Bush has already created the pathological loop so if fighting is up it's due to al-Qaeda trying to play politics and influence Congress, and if down the surge is working so either way we stay..
Then what will the Demo-rats do..?
I think Dave gives Jon a bloody nose with this article.
The centrist Democrats will hopefully come on board when they realize their futile attempts to move the Democratic leadership in the direction of peace will be of no avail. We need to get tough with these representatives! What we’re seeing here, in my opinion, is what has become the true nature of the political animal in Washington. It’s not the fact that many of them vote as they are told. The fact is, they are powerless when our government is run by money. Money is the universal language that has corrupted and distorted what the framers of our country set out for America to be.
It’s so disheartening to see 82% of the country want out of this Iraq disaster and intern see our Democrats in Congress vote overwhelmingly to keep funding the illegal occupation. Some of the “fall on their sword for a Democrat” Democrats are saying it’s only till September. But they fail to expatiate the fact that if they had not funded the war, plans would be made now for redeployment sooner rather than later.The Bush crime administration would have found funds to keep pushing this war for many more months but eventually they would run out of money and be forced to get our troops the hell out.
I find that articles written like this one are reminiscent of the Republican apologist’s attempt to spin a devious situation by spineless members of Congress into a positive light for the public.
Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong!
The country gave the Democrats the power they have today because of the constitutional crimes that Bush is perpetrating on the nation most of all is this illlegal, immoral and unwinnable disaster in the Middle East.
If the Democrats keep making these horrible concessions to loon-a tic president, they are simply going to reinforce the neocon perception that they are spineless and weak. The betrayel of the base this week of such magnitude cannot happen again! It can’t be spun into something positive. If so we are going to lose more and more voters to a third party. We cannot afford that. We need strong leadership not leadership who cave in to insanity and hypocrisy.
I am preaching to the choir again I’m sure. I sincerely hope that these centrist Democrats can see the futility of trying to reason with unreasonable people.
We must find a way to take the money out of Washington or we will get nowhere! Our Congress has excepted bribery is a way of life. We cannot allow this to continue. The Democrats voted the way they did because they were told to by the powers that be! If you ask who are the powers that be, let me mention a few; The Carlyle group, Halliburton, Boeing, Pharma and the insurance lobby. These only scratch the surface and it’s mind ripping. The international corporations own this country and they own our representatives. If the public knew how our government operated they wouldn’t believe it.
For me, the formula is simple. Take the money out of the equation. Making this happen seems to be an impossible dream!
I believe we are making strides with groups like Washington Public Campaigns. Public financing of elections and making sure there is a infrastructure in place for our elected representatives so that they need not rely on lobbyist money to fulfill their cost needs in Washington to represent their base.
if you feel like barking at the moon and raising hell, do it! However we must go beyond that in order to make a difference otherwise to hell with all.
I’m not whining. I’m screaming. We need an action plan that we can implement. We need to set goals and show accountability and progress in achieving those goals and maintaining our focus and direction.
Today was another day of infamy watching that gross caricature of a human being at Arlington supposedly honoring our troops. Those soldiers have given theultimate sacrifice in the war that he perpetrated with a lies. There is no justice to this point. He is no commander-in-chief! He’s a corproate lap puppet.
He is a liar and a despot. He has this disgraced the United States of America and dishonored those who have fought for freedom.
Now im off to Bark at the moon!
Ozy
What Alter, Dionne, and the party leadership appear to have not considered is the fact that due to deep discontent with Iraq and to some extent, GOP policy sponsored intrusions into personal lives, they made real inroads into those who traditionally vote for the GOP. The policies which they have chosen to support and those which they have chosen to avoid are in direct conflict with what the vast majority of people want and they shouldn't be surprised when the inroads switch into reverse. As it currently exists, they stand to lose support from both those who switched and those from the left.
Put more simply, all the fancy footwork in the world won't get them elected/re-elected. Fighting for what the people want will. Alter, Dionne, and the D.C. crowd are horribly, disastrously wrong.
Wow, the explosive eruption of arrogant, entitled anger from the waste-of-space-and-a-high-salary Jonathan! It now surprises me when he and other lib pundits actually sound like other than a beltway insider and at first I allowed myself to be pleased when that happened. Alter would occasionally speak like someone with left sensibilities, but now he takes his cue from Obey of Wisconsin and others of that class in spitting toward those who want this nightmare of lies and crimininality ended with no excuses and with what it takes. Oh how he uses "left" as perjorative, as many in his privileged class now do.
I think they call this kind of episode a "watershed". At least it should be one.
Jonathan Alter, awash in the unintended hilarity of pompous self-deception, writes:
"So I won't contribute to expanding your readership by belaboring this publicly."
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Oooo! Alter's column -- I quit reading him the LAST time he waxed pompous and all-knowing about the candidacy of John Edwards, using Elizabeth Edwards' wife's breast-cancer report as his jumping-off place -- is a crock of complacency.
Having already commented, in passing, about his putzy prose on the "Innocent Bystander" page, will leave further establishment of Jonathan Alter's has-been status to other readers.//
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