McDictator

John McCain just hired the Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb to be his number-two communications guy. Glenn Greenwald points out that this isn't a particularly encouraging sign when it comes to reining in executive power. Goldfarb has written (falsely, by any reasonable reading of the Constitution, Federalist Papers, or diaries of the Constitutional Convention) that the founders believed the president should have "near dictatorial" powers when it comes to war and foreign policy.

Comments

[Elemenope]

...by any reasonable reading of the Constitution, Federalist Papers, or dairies of the Constitutional Convention...

Those damn time-traveling methane producing cows struck at the very foundation of our democracy!

[Taktix®]

Well, at least they've stopped pretending they don't want a dictator...

[h-dawg]

I didn't think that "near dictatorial" was good enough anymore for McCain. Maybe that's why Goldfarb is only the number two guy.

[joe]

It's odd that these people would go by the appellation "republican."

There is an actual meaning to that word.

[jimmydageek]

John McCain just hired the Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb two be his number-two communications guy.

Forget about those methane producing cows! Two Michael Goldfarbs is more than enough to destroy the democracy!

[SugarFree]

joe, you obviously didn't go to Jesus Camp. Words mean what they say they mean, dammit!

[Joseph]

McKain will be a good president like the Bush. Bush is fightin for our rights in Iraq, protectin the constitushun, protectin us from the iraqkey terists, makin jobs for us, keepin inflashun low, drilin for the oils and more. McCain be good to like Bush he was good president what we got.

[SugarFree]

Question of the day: Is Joseph a joke or a frightening reality?

[D.A. Ridgely]

Question of the day: Is Joseph a joke or a frightening reality?

Let's not rule out frightening reality pretending to be a joke.

[SugarFree]

Point.

[T]

Personally, I have to treat the frightening reality as a joke. Otherwise, I'd be in a strait jacket while they pumped lithium down my throat with a turkey baster.

[Episiarch]

Hey "SuagrFreeJay", check your email address.

[SugarFree]

Ah, thanks. My hands must have been slippery from fingerbanging your mom.

[Episiarch]

You put her in that good mood? Thanks. But I hope you don't have any cuts or lesions on your hands; some things have no cure.

[KenK]

The Founders saw the President as a clerk during peacetime and a general in war.

Of course they also saw Congress as a part-time avocaton, not a life-time sinecure.

[SugarFree]

SHE SAID SHE WAS IN REMISSION! DAMMIT!

[madmikefisk]

Even if that's the role McCain wants to portray, and even (making a huge reach here) he'd be completely benevolent with those powers... what happens when the next administration comes in, whether they be liberal, conservative, worshipper of Moloch, whatever...?

Try putting that genie back in the bottle.

[Episiarch]

Let's go down nightmare street for a moment here. The most powerful country ever with the most powerful military ever...with a dictator at the helm! Oh, think of the Roman-like adventures we could engage in, and the Running Man-like TV shows they would distract us with.

[Marcvs]

As the great philosopher Tyrone once said: "We be fucked."

[longtimelurker]

I long for the days of gary gunnels

[SugarFree]

Epi, maybe with food prices so high, they'll start literally handing out bread... McCain hovering over Bakersfied, CA shoveling out loaves. The order comes to fire on the crowd, McCain disobeys and is framed with faked footage.

We bring you pain, we bring you strife

On a side note... man, I miss government cheese. My grandparents qualified (king and queen of unreported income) and it was delicious. Nothing made a better traditional grilled cheese.

[Jake Boone]

Where have you gone, Gary/Haklyut/Bart
A lurker craves psychodrama from you
Woo woo woo...

[Randolph Carter]

The unfortunate truth is that McCain is a cylon.

Photographic proof here and here

[Andrew Schwartz]

The unfortunate truth is that McCain is a cylon.

Photographic proof here and here

I knew it... frakking toaster.

[semm]

You really need to read more about what the High Federalists where saying in the late 1790's if you think there isn't any truth in what Goldfarb is saying. I found 'A Magnificent Catastrophe' by Larson to be pretty enlightening on this matter.

[Elemenope]

I knew it... frakking toaster.

Oh for the love of...

It's a skinjob. Skinjob, damn it!

[Episiarch]

As I am unfortunately incapable of counting to 10, how many episodes of the first part of the BSG final season are left? I thought it was 10 now, and 10 in the fall, and I have one on my TiVo and (it appears) another scheduled to be recorded this Friday. Is that it? Do we get to know who the final model is Friday?

[TallDave]

If you're going to quote Goldfarb, shouldn't you link where he said it so we can have some idea of the context?

In the meantime, I'll keep a close eye on McCain in case he tries doing something crazily dictatorial like interning 100,000 people on the basis of their ethnicity, summarily executing terrorists and saboteurs, or carrying out mass arrests of war protestors.

[TallDave]

Oh, wait, you cited Glenn Greenwald so you can't possibly expect this be taken seriously anyway.

Never mind.

[SugarFree]

Epi, there should be two more. Sine Qua Non was the 8th episode. The 10th episode will air on June 13th.

[SugarFree]

Speaking of... Season 3 of The Venture Brothers started last night... and they have a new line of T-shirts.

[Kolohe]

As I am unfortunately incapable of counting to 10, how many episodes of the first part of the BSG final season are left?

It looks like there are two episodes left in this half season (6/6 and 6/13)

Then 10 that will be aired in 2009 according to IMDB (I'm guessing the writer's strike delayed everything a few months)

[R C Dean]

Well, not that I don't think McCain is chock-full of creamy authoritarian goodness, but I seriously doubt his communications director's views on much of anything matter. At all.

[Elemenope]

McCain is chock-full of creamy authoritarian goodness...

Ewwwww. Something tells me that ain't a reference to salt water taffy.

[Fluffy]

TallDave -

Please link to something false posted on Greenwald's blog in the last 3 months, or admit that you continue to suck all the moose cock you can find.

You've got nothing, because you're a fucking idiot and a bullshit artist. Stop gargling with McCain cum for ten seconds and find me something false, bitch.

[Episiarch]

Season 3 of The Venture Brothers started last night

Yes, I watched it. The show is always enjoyable but it's really not insane enough for my tastes.

[Fluffy]

Here is Goldfarb writing exactly what is claimed in this post and at Greenwald's blog, directly from the Weekly Standard itself.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/04/senator_george_mitchell_on_ira.asp

Are you satisfied now that one of your fellow neocons is being correctly quoted, you queef?

Two interesting things about the Hamilton writing Goldfarb himself links to: first of all, it says nothing like what he represents it says; and second, it exposes that Alexander Hamilton knew virtually nothing about Roman history, although he employs it at length as an example in his piece. My respect for Hamilton has been steadily declining for a couple of decades now.

[Episiarch]

you queef, suck all the moose cock you can find, gargling with McCain cum

See, these are the unusual and original insults we need more of. I am particularly impressed by the rarely-used and very funny queef.

[Ben]

Hamilton was the original neo-con.

[Taktix®]

Queef!

He he he. That's just fun to type.

Queef!

Hew hew!

[SugarFree]

but it's really not insane enough for my tastes

One of the things I like about it is it's sense of control. They actually try to tell a story as opposed to just throwing things against a wall and seeing what sticks. Squidbillies, anyone?

Queef is long overdue for a douchebagesque reintroduction to the American insult patois.

[SugarFree]

As is cumfart, a closely related term.

[joe]

I haven't seen anyone called a "queef" in 25 years.

[Barry]

THE WEEKLY STANDARD makes me revise the old line about Playboy: "I only read it for the Joseph Epstein and PJ O'Roarke articles."

[joe]

We should set up a spoof Glen Greenwald page, in which he touts Teh Good News From Iraq, and see how many milliseconds it takes the Queef to link to it.

[Episiarch]

One of the things I like about it is it's sense of control. They actually try to tell a story as opposed to just throwing things against a wall and seeing what sticks. Squidbillies, anyone?

Well, Squidbillies is shit, as is most of the stuff on Adult Swim. VB is good and enjoyable, but ATHF is the shit as they expertly walk that fine line between nonsensical insanity and some sort of plot to tie it together. Both shows have the other important element of well-defined characters with very distinct personalities.

[SugarFree]

I think VB gets the nod because the incredible density of references they make, but it is too fine a hair to bother splitting.

[Bob]

Who's going to vote in another neoconservative? They must really like getting the rest of the world to hate us. I can't believe any sane republicans (the decent conservative humans) would allow their party to nominate a reptile. It would be nice to have a little competition instead of a land slide come November.

Maybe they're just setting up another 9-11 to happen before then. Just to help us vote "correctly".

[official scorer]

So is this an implicit admission by TallDave that he does, in fact, suck all the moose cock he can find?

A related follow-up question - why moose in particular? You can't find that many in most places, and it's probably pretty dangerous to try sucking their cocks. Why not squirrel?