SocraticGadfly: 9/2/18 - 9/9/18

September 07, 2018

Glenn Greenwald is getting closer to drinking
Bill Binney / Ray McGovern DeepState Kool-Aid

And, this is an observation, and based on empirical Twitter evidence, that's only been growing.

The latest?

The "anonymous" NY Times op-ed that has everybody speculating about its authorship.

It's not Pence unless the NYT's deep backgrounding included encouraging him to throw in the "job fear" issue as a smokescreen for having Constitutional protection. Otherwise, my guesses are in kind of order: Elaine Chao, aka Ms. Mitch McConnell at Transportation; chief of staff John Kelly, whose military background might lead to "lodestar"; intelligence establishment hack Dan Coats at DNI; press spox Sarah Sanders, whose position would put herself in the best place of covering her own tracks; and Trump himself (with sufficient editorial help), throwing shade on the GOP establishment.

Speaking of, that's the cue to go to non-leftist Greenwald. (He supported, and still supports, Citizens United. No leftist does that, and with Kavanaugh a potential fifth vote to gut the last few shreds of campaign finance regulation, Glenn is a fitful ally of actual leftists at this time.)

So, off to Twitter, starting with:
Followed by:
I've Tweeted the material in the first tweet before. I am not sure if I shadowtweeted, quote-tweeted, or directly replied.

Anyway, Glenn knows this all himself. Given the amount of people Trump has already hired and fired, he should have little compunction about canning even more.

But, let's go beyond that. Let's note that Trump has not only hired some of these people but even promoted them. Like moving Mike Pompeo from CIA to State. Or moving Kelly from Homeland Security to be his Chief of Staff. Or hiring John Bolton, an America Firster neocon who told the world "fuck you" on this year's 9/11.

It's these facts, which Glenn also knows, that lead to the second Tweet.

And, related to that, let's look at stuff in his original thread:
Specifically, let's look at the last sentence. 

Among members of #TheResistance who are not its dimmer bulbs, and certainly among those with some degree of renown, I'm unaware of anybody claiming all three simultaneously. As a lawyer, Glenn should have edited that sentence; it's not only untrue, it's a poor legal argument.

I then want to look together at a second tweet plus the one I quoted.

So:
and:
Again, poor legal argumentation.

It's EITHER largely inside the White House (which is exactly what the column was about) OR it's "out there" in the broader government. 

Theoretically, it could be both. But, the amount of Trump loyalty pushing you hear in many agencies, if it's "out there," it's at lower levels. And, as the whole post-Steele FBI shows, there are factions that cut both ways before Trump was ever elected. I'm talking in large part about NYC FBI agents whom Comey worried were anti-Clinton leakers par excellence. And, if it's in the legislative branch, well, Glenn, that's the old division of powers.

If it's inside the WH, well, Glenn, we're back to the top half of this column. All Trump has to do is fire people, and stop hiring people who will try to "control" him.

Beyond that, such "cabals" aren't new anyway.

History shows Wilson's second wife, along with Joe Tumulty and select others, covering for his stroke. It shows Henry Kissenger and Al Haig covering for Nixon's late-Watergate nuttery. It shows Whig politicos who had planned to manipulate William Henry Harrison.

Confounding this all are Greenwald fanboys who conflate leftists and liberals, and many other things.

Glenn himself, again, per the top, is NOT a leftist. His youth Socialist speaking events have never been about anything other than First Amendment issues. To some degree, on constitutional jurisprudence, he's one of those First Amendment Weaponizers who, like Ken White (Popehat) claim their legal shit doesn't stink when in reality they back the same results-oriented jurisprudence others do.

Finally, Greenwald, while buying Edward Snowden at face value, and having a certain amount of condemnation for the "deep state" then, is a Johnny-come-lately for the privatization of the national security state to the Booz Allens of the world who get people like Snowden working for the government in the first place.

In reality, Glenn is getting closer to becoming a more psychologically complex version of Justin Raimundo.

September 06, 2018

Beto and national Democrats

Even as President Trump, without an invite from Havana Ted Cruz, said he'd come to the Pointy Abandoned Object State to campaign for Rafael, where are the national Democrats? (For that matter, where's The Donald and his big stadium? As of Oct. 5, all he had actually done to date was send Junior down here.

(Answer, Oct. 5: Beto deliberately chose not to ask for the Big Dog Obama endorsement.)

Yeah, Bernie's got his own Senate campaign. And, the DNC isn't going to dump a lot of money in there. But where are either Bill or Hillary? Or Barack or Michelle? Or JoePa Biden?

Is O'Rourke not on their radar? Or is he and they're being asked by him not to come? Related: Where, in terms of either money or campaign pinch-hitting, does this race now stand on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee radar?

Just a little additional food for thought.

The real answer, or the meta-answer, is that this is part of Beto's "bipartisanship" schtick. Avoiding national Dems being on the stage with him is part of trying to dodge flak. That said, saying he supported Kaepernick's rights destroyed that strategery to some degree.

That said, with Rafael Cruz shooting himself in the foot with campaign commercials that are considered pro-O'Rourke in national mainstream liberal media, he may not need the help. And, he's probably got more excuse than he did a month ago to junk debating with Cruz.

Brains has similar thoughts on the debates issue.


September 04, 2018

TX Progressives talk Labor Day and labor-based voting

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy Labor Day week — and reminds you to vote only for Democrats and third-party candidates who show they actually care for labor — as it brings you this week's roundup. It also reminds you, per the material inside the dashes and World Socialist Web Site, that many Dems are ConservaDems whose support for labor issues is tepid.

SocraticGadfly offers some critical analysis about Corey Robin's claim that socialism is specially identifiable with freedom.

David Hogg has decided to intervene in the Texas Senate race. Yours truly told him on Twitter he should have been here during the Democratic primary, or even he really wants something to do, tend to political knitting in Florida and help out third parties and their candidates. Even worse in some ways, Basta Michael Avenatti in the Texas Senate race. If he visits South Carolina post-November, he’s running for president.

At least one of Beto’s campaign gambles, documented here, is at risk of backfiring. Reportedly, many Valley Hispanics still don’t know who he is..

Off the Kuff notes the motion by the plaintiffs in the Texas redistricting lawsuit to bring the state back under preclearance for its discrimination in map-drawing.

Via Grits for BreakfastOff the Kuff McLennan County DA Abel Reyna is officially barred from doing anything more on Twin Peaks until he is out of office.

Eric Berger invites you to share your memories of Hurricane Harvey.

Cory Garcia revisits a viral warning about Harvey.

David Bruce Collins laments “libruls” attacking Glenn Greenwald.

Dan Solomon tells Alex Jones' Tumblr tale.

Better Texas Blog says all workers deserve paid sick days.

Paradise in Hell cites Ken Paxton as a good role model for lower ethical standards.

Jackie Wang reports on the status of a Confederate monument that had been removed from a San Antonio park.

Finally, yours truly asks, via collected Tweets, if John McCain is finally fully dead and buried.