From Jimmy Stewart to Kim Jong Il

Columnist Ron Hart on GOP gains in the midterms:

We must remind these new representatives to stay on task. Somehow, all politicians start out in Washington as Jimmy Stewart did in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," but then after about a year they turn into something more like Kim Jong Il.

More here.

Comments

[Joshua Corning]

Ok there is no author for the Olbermann tribute and now no author for this post.

No more double secret authors please.

[Hobie Hanson]

Yes, libertarians only support anonymity when financing attack ads against our public servants.

[jv]

"Servants" has really got to stop.

[Hobie, Hobie]

Enough of the sorority-sister humor, Hobie...

[Ewing]

I'm sure he really meant public self-servants.

[PIRS]

Is this sarcastic?

Or is this a post by a bitter troll?

[tarran]

Hobie Hanson is Dan T's latest moniker. The only way he can get people to interact with him is to keep changing his name to something new.

He's kind of a one trick pony and gets really boring.

[Slap the Enlightened!]

Oddly enough, it seems the only way lefties get people to keep voting for them is to keep changing their name too.

[Robert A. Heinlein]

"In a mature society, 'civil servant' is semantically equal to 'civil master.'"

[Episiarch]

SHUT UP DANNY DEVITO

[Hobie Hanson]

...except when it comes to unions being able to finance attack ads against non-Democrats. I'm fine with that.

[Mr. FIFY]

Because public servants should never be criticized.

Right, Hobie? Did I nail it?

[Rahm Emanuel]

If I coulda done things MY way, criticizing public servants would be met with a severe fuckin' beatdown by my... um, associates.

[Teamsters]

We is waitin' for da woid, Mister Emanuel.

[Max]

ARFARFARFARFARFARF!!!!!!!!

["To Serve Man"]

["To Serve Man"]

Mr. Chambers, don't get on that ship! The book... To Serve Man. It... it's a cookbook!

[AA]

It was the Jacket and the Hair, minus Nick.

[Ryanpatgray]

Lord Acton said it best:

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Before they take office they may well be ethical people who want to do good. But their power corrupts most of them if they stay more than a few terms.

[0x90]

I disagree: corruption is not a result of attaining power, it's a prerequisite.

[prolefeed]

It's like what the Hawaiian natives said of the missionaries who came here:

"They came here to do good, and their children did very well indeed."

[Adonisus]

Lord Acton knew a good phrase when he heard it. Not only did he compose that particular dictum, he also used it more than once. XD

But yes, he was indeed quite correct. In fact, when he wrote that he was refering to the Pope. Acton was an 'old catholic', who believed that the Pope was not infallible as was the tradition for centuries. But when Pope Pius IX made it offical Vatican dogman that the Pope was sanctified by simply having the office....well, that's where Acton made his famous admonishment.

[SIV]

Waiting for P Brooks...

[Not P Brooks]

Congressmen should be forced to resign after two terms or report to Carrousel.

[Rhywun]

Those who don't wind up crazy old cat-people inhabiting the festering ruins of DC.

[ListenEllipse]

Oh God, can you say lame ducks? The only thing worst than a career politician is a lame duck. Terms limits breed lame ducks like crazy.

[Rhywun]

What's wrong with lame ducks...? Granted, I think every politician should be a lame duck - so it's hard to see your point.

[Chairman LMAO]

lame ducks are easier to shoot

[Chairman LMAO]

though only Republican lame ducks should be shot

[Dakotian]

The problem with lame ducks is that they have no accountability. They have no one they have to attempt to keep happy "back home". Presidents work on their legacies when they are lame ducks. I am not sure I want to see what "projects" a lame duck congressman would pursue.

[Rhywun]

Good. I'd rather see them keeping the seat warm than trying to keep anyone "happy". As for projects, lame ducks (especially with term limits) don't generally accumulate enough power to do any real damage.

[PapayaSF]

I support a two-term limit: one term in office, one term in jail.

[Hugh Akston]

Somehow, all politicians start out in Washington as Jimmy Stewart did in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," but then after about a year they turn into something more like Kim Jong Il.

This is half right.

[Xeones]

Yeah, that "all" should be "a small handful." Then it should be noted that the rest of them start out like Kim Jong Il, but with less fashion sense.

[Episiarch]

SHUT THE FUCK UP X

[Xeones]

Who is this?

[Mr Whipple]

You can't argue with sensible shoes.

[brotherben]

It won't matter. in two years our epileptic masses will vote a bunch more out. The white house and the Senate will be republican. Then the world will end in December 2012 and it will be the fault of the R's. Bwaahaaahaaaaaa.

[The Ancient Mayans]

We predicted this a long time ago.

[juju beast]

The world ended for you Mayans a long time ago. Good riddance. You were killing everyone's buzz.

[mr simple]

You'll be speaking a different tune when our Roman-Mayan overlords come to save us in 2010.

[mr simple]

Uh, I mean 2012. Damnit.

[juju beast]

At first, I was confused. Then, I came across the lines

the sophisticated use of psychedelic drugs for the purposes of religion and self-exploration

and

with its sophisticated psychology based on psychedelic drugs they soon became aware by studying the dreams of psychotics

and it all became clear to me. The Mayans are only a buzzkill in our timestream.

[R C Dean]

Then the world will end in December 2012 and it will be the fault of the R's. Bwaahaaahaaaaaa.

In December 2012, Obama will still be President, and the Dems will still control the Senate. No matter how the 2012 elections come out.

[P Brooks' Stunt Double]

What if reason linked to a lame Ron Hart column and nobody (but sockpuppets) came?

[prolefeed]

@PBSD:

So you're self-identifying as a sockpuppet?

[Mr Whipple]

The first step is to admit you have a problem.

[P Brooks' Stunt Double]

So you're self-identifying as a sockpuppet?

Very good.

You win a cookie.

[prolefeed]

Email the cookie to me.

[PapayaSF]

It's there. Look in %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies.

[NoStar]

With the Fed monetizing the debt, the Chinese will soon say no to buying our notes. We have reach our Weimar moment and the hyper-inflation will soon begin.
We may not even make it to the 2012 elections before our republic collapses and the New World Order begins.

[0x90]

lol.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to max yourself out on fixed-rate debt right now though.

[Slap the Enlightened!]

And we all know what comes after the Weimar moment.

[shrike]

Bushitler!

[Ed Schultz]

Your check is in the mail, shrike.

Now, if I can just convince these fuckers to give me Olbermann's time slot...

[Rachel Maddow]

Stand in line, bub. You're nothing but a mirror-universe version of Rush Limbaugh.

[Chairman LMAO]

the tune is kinda snappy, i wish i knew german so i could understand the lyrics

[Adonisus]

....Lyndon LaRouche?

[Tulpa]

No shit. My silver coins have appreciated nearly $5000 in the past few months, but no fucking way I'm selling them. If anything I might want to buy more soon.

[Bingo]

I really think it depends on how fast the Fed inflates. We've easily got enough political momentum to make it to the 2012 elections, especially if people blame Obama for the economic ills. If there's a doubling of food prices in that time, it will cause a lot of grumbling and likely another changing of the guard in 2012 but right now it seems unlikely that there will be a collapse.

I would agree that the 2012 elections are basically the point of no return for the current Republic. If serious minded reformers are not elected, then all bets are off. And I mean "serious" as in Ron Paul-level serious: massive reform needs to be made to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; the Defense budget needs to be gutted; and the Fed needs to be brought under control. Those are the sacred cows that need to be slaughtered in order to bring fiscal sanity back to this country.

However, there are quite a few people that are invested in the status quo. People may endure very strict austerity measures while the Fed pumps more money into the economy, as long as they feel they are getting something out of it. Don't forget that the catalyst for a lot of Tea Partiers was the concern that Obamacare was going to cut their entitlement benefits. A large number of people are quite comfortable in the current situation, and cutting entitlements will not be a popular position to take unless things get really bad.

I don't see the collapse into tyranny that the others are talking about. If I had a guess, we'll see some sort of slow, authoritarian decline with increased taxes, an increased number of people on the dole with food stamps or healthcare, and an increase in millionaires making vacation plans with one-way plane tickets. Or we might see some genuine reform, who knows.

[Federal Dog]

"Those are the sacred cows that need to be slaughtered in order to bring fiscal sanity back to this country."

Don't forget liabilities for public employee pension and healthcare. The time will soon come when they simply can't be paid.

[Some Guy]

but then after about a year they turn into something more like Kim Jong Il.

Yeah right. Like it'll really take a year.

[Kim Jong Il]

I resent the comparison to Nancy Pelosi.

[Nancy Pelosi]

Are you serious???

[Barabara Boxer]

I have earned the title Senator, bitch.

[sevo]

ey, he's better looking and smells better besides!

[Chairman LMAO]

now this is more like it! i'm all for more Kim Jong Il types! too much freedom is bad.

[shrike]

Sing it, brother!

[Max]

Springtime for Hitler, and Germanyyyy...!

[Goose-steppin' on May Day!]

[BG]

now this is more like it! i'm all for more Kim Jong Il types! too much freedom is bad.

If you ever run for office, this should be your campaign song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0&ob=av2n

(Truth be told: if not for the problematic lyrics, I might want that as my campaign song if I ever ran for office - for the bad ass guitar solo alone.)

[Chairman LMAO]

you Republitards had better stop using my copyrighted nickname, or i'm gonna get a court order to make this shitrag website give me your e-mail and ip addresses. i'm a lawyer, i can do shit like that.

[Chairman LMAO]

... and by "lawyer" i mean a 12 year old itg

[Chairman Meow]

Don't be a pussy.

[Dave]

I didn't know Everest College was offering law degrees now.

[Chairman LMAO]

... in my semen-encrusted bachelor's pad in my mother's basement.

[Chairman LMAO]

...and i'm sure you know that "in my mother's basement" is a euphemism

[Chairman LMAO]

...meaning "in my mom's ass".

[TJ McSmartAss]

what is this I don't even

[Ted S.]

At least the Claude Rains character had the good sense to try to commit suicide when he saw what his "pragmatism" was doing to Jimmy Stewart.

[human omelet]

Speaking of drawing equivalencies, did anyone see this by Bill Maher? Maher blasts people on false equivalencies then asserts it's fair to compare Bush to Hitler.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/.....g-New-Rule

[Chairman LMAO]

of course it's fair. Bush is exactly like Hitler.

[Rhywun]

"We also saw 31% of gay people voted Republican this Tuesday. Talk about voting against your own interests!"

It was hard to pick the biggest stupid out of that article... but this must be up there. It's just inconceivable to these people that others might have a mind of their own, isn't it.

[human omelet]

dern, I read it again. Actually, what Maher had said was that comparing Obama to Hitler was not equivalent to saying Bush is a war criminal. That's fair. But Maher and the left have amnesia if they forget that it was pretty common back in the day to equate Bush with Hitler or even to say he was worse. Some still equate Bush with Hitler. As much as I disliked Bush, I still find that to be terrible hyperbole.

[Kim Jong Mentally Il]

I see why Nick likes this writer, he is LMAO funny.

[links of london]

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[dsgv]

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[Rhywun]

I like the cut of your jib.

[RyanXXX]

No, it is you who is wrong!

[Wiley]

Red Tide would have been a good title of this column too.

I reads like Roy Blount or PJ, I like it.

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