Please keep this in mind. In my opinion, we forget this at our peril.

[WilliamPitt]

Something jumped out at me a few minutes ago while I was perusing the new Dem majority celebration threads. Lots of people were talking about how bummed the newly-minted minority GOP members must be, and one poster offered the pleasant image of Ann Coulter being catastrophically depressed.

A nice thought, but one that I fear is far from the truth. I'm not throwing this against the wall to be a joykill, but I believe in my heart this is something we can't forget.

If I had to bet, I would wager all the money in my wallet that Ann Coulter and her cohorts are thrilled with the new Dem majority in Congress. Why? Because the same right-wing cash factory that created her in the first place is still very much around, and will be there to cut her a lot of fat checks with many zeroes. Ann Coulter watched Pelosi take the oath and thought two words: "Job security."

Because we have been dealing with it for so long, it may seem like the insane, deranged, ruthless and staggeringly effective right-wing spin/propaganda/smear juggernaut has always been with us. In truth, however, it only came into full bloom roundabout 1994, when Clinton was on the ropes and Gingrich took the gavel. The nitwits we despise today came into being during that time, and got paid a whole lot of money to shriek as loud as they could.

Go and re-read "The Hunting of the President" for a refresher course. That book is a blueprint for bedlam, and the time and tactics it describes are a fairly large reason why so much is so screwed up today.

Are these hard-core righties bummed? I doubt it. That money machine is being dusted off, book deals and speaking tours are being arranged, guest slots on the talking head shows are being filled, and the same people whose bank accounts were fattened with blood money a decade ago will be all too happy to bring back that old black magic. They will slip back into the role with comfort and ease, and why not? They cauterized their scruples a long time ago.

One other thought that is pure opinion on my part. I'm sure the GOP congressfolk are not pleased by their new circumstances, but remember: these last years have shown that the GOP is terrible at governing but excellent at campaigning. I wouldn't expect them to slink away any time soon. They are back in campaign mode now, and I don't expect them to be pleasant about it.

Just some stuff to bear in mind.

[Mikey929]

1. Yup

Lots of red meat for the folks who earn a living yakking about what other people do. The R-wing pundits will have a field day and will rejoice at having two years of Dem power to fume over.

They won't have to cover for the R-wing guys in office; now they can really let their furor out against the Dems. Anything goes wrong, it's going to be the Dems' fault.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

2. I hear ya...

would be very unwise to 'misunderestimate' those soul-eaters. They are simply sharpening their teeth and claws ... waiting for the call to arms.

[Beetwasher]

3. Yes BUT Things Are Different This Time Around

We have our OWN movement now and it's far superior to their noise machine. We own the internets and blogs AND we're ready for them this time. I'm not saying it will be easy, but we ARE ready and we DO have the tools and we DO know how to use them.

That being said, you are still correct, they are still out there and nothing is a given either way. But they should be just as wary as we should be because anything they give, we can give back now and then some, since we've got the truth AND the numbers on our side.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Yes, and there's that 28 to 35% of the population who will jump on the bandwagon to try and

sink the Democrats again.

[blm]

5. Yep - it didn't start with the swifts - it started with the impeachmenters.

They had just perfected their attack machine to INVENT the swift attacks.

[mike_c]

6. agreed 100 percent....

This is exactly what produced Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter in the first place-- and they will just become shriller than ever now that they've been restored to "fighting underdog" status.

[lancdem]

8. Exactly

They love to see themselves as victims.

[ginnyinWI]

14. I'll never forget what Rush said when Clinton was re-elected:

"It's great--lots of material!"

[SoCalDem]

7. I have thought this for a long time too.

The whiny-crybaby section of the republican party "feeds" on being put upon. They are a minority..have always been a minority, but since they gobble up all the oxygen everywhere they go, they "appear" to be a majority.

their success reminds me of the advice given to people who venture into the woods.."...if confronted by a bear, wave your arms around, make lots of noise and make yourself appear to be bigger than you are..."

Their media-megaphone/plethora of talk shows/FoxNews/ etc have smothered out any opposing position so they began to believe their own press.

But I digress.. they got where they ARE, by hollering about how "abused" they were.

they've got the media-thing down pat, and I look for them to be back..meaner than ever... and of course now they can pile all their screwed up messes onto the backs of the dems, and blame them..

In a :tinfoilhat: sort of way, us winning in '06 could be just the thing that repubes needed to come storming back in '08..:scared:

[LSK]

9. "The Hunting of the President" is that the Joe Conason book??

If so I just picked it up last weekend at a used bookstore. I will have to get to it faster than planned.

[WilliamPitt]

11. Yup

When I first read it, Clinton was still in office and all this crap hadn't happened yet. It was still an utterly infuriating read. I will be interested in your perspective with so much time and so many bad things having happened. Reading it for the first time, I suspect you'll be reeling at the names involved...and the fact that the book basically describes a good swath of the reasons why we are where we are.

[fishnfla]

10. mirror point

can our own side hold a coalition?

The knives will come out anytime we compromise on a issue at home or abroad, bipartisanship will be a code word for treason.

In Iraq, there is no simple solution and it will be a problem beyond '08. Those who want 'troops out now' may never find the voice they want and our party will be further fractured. Remember what happened in '68?

The coming 2 years are gonna be interesting, and challenging

[havocmom]

12. To the Greatest Page with ya!

They're re-grouping. The shit hasn't hit the fan just yet and they want DEMS in when it does.

[MichiganVote]

13. Best thing to do w/any of these RW pundits is act as if they don't exist

Everytime we grant them any kind of attention they say 'Hot damn, more money' Please people, ignore these freaks, they are marketing themselves to you daily.

[WilliamPitt]

15. That ploy failed pretty spectacularly a decade ago.

The problem isn't the number of viewers, but the general skewing of the debate and the broadbanding of slander and outright lies. The TV stations don't pay these people; guys like Scaife do.

I wish ignoring them worked, and you may well be right about the effectiveness of dismissing them. History hasn't borne this out. Hell, one of the worst of the lot became Solicitor General.

[MichiganVote]

17. Its true that ignoring them has not worked Will. Neither has responding to

every sleazeball comment or commentator. The fact is the more outrageous their claim, the more people tune in, the more advertising cashes in. Guess it's a question for the philosopher's or the psychologist's about what is best for people. I can't be an objective observer as I make my living trying to help families and children live in a more civilized way. Something these speakers clearly reject.

To be fair, you may not be able to provide an objective view either as you too engage in some political tit for tat. Thankfully your writings are hardly abrasive.

Yet I do believe its time for people to move beyond these attention seekers. Stopping to examine their poop every time we turn a corner, is counter-productive. They are noise makers.

[Vincardog]

16. IF the Democratic congress does nothing else they have to Require Paper Ballots and random audits.

Once that is in place we have a reasonable chance of holding the radical reich to account.

Will you are correct in the opinion that the reich wingers are happy to have the Democratic Congress in control. They want to be able to point to the left side of the isle as the reason their demented illegal war of aggression in Iraq failed.

[Skidmore]

18. Which is all the more reason for Dems to do their job and

stay on top of it. Our job is to keep them on task.

[Booster]

19. I have always said that I bet Ann Coulter and Rush Linbaugh

both vote for Dems - they make more money and have more listeners when the Dems are in charge. Just watch and see if Rush's ratings don't go up and Coulter's books sell more (that is if she can come up with something more outrageous than she already has).

[Pacifist Patriot]

20. Histrionics are in order!

The only effective response I can think of is to counter each and every speech, column, sound bite, with...

Quite obvious rolling eyeballs, recommendations for psychological profiles or side-splitting agreement with their raucous satire.

Anyone who counters their vitriol with an attempt at legitimate debate should be tarred and feathered. Please lampoon them as the cartoon characters they are. Loudly, frequently and consistently. Make them the laughing stock! PLEASE!!!!!!!

[OneBlueSky]

21. precisely why they would LOVE Hillary as our candidate in 2008 . . . n/t

.

[DemReadingDU]

22. I haven't seen Ann Coulter for awhile

She must be getting her new talking points lined up! No doubt, she will be in action soon. ugh

:evilfrown:

[GalleryGod]

23. Spot on, Will. I agree 110%. They're just hiding out and

locking and loading:puke: :argh:

[aikoaiko]

24. Ann Coulter types cannot hurt us unless we hand her the ammo.

Sure, she'll always be harrassing, but her shrill complaints will only preach to the converted as long as don't act on our prgrams without bulding consensus, agreement, or at least compromise with the republicans.

The 1994 take over didn't happen because of Rush and talk radio, it happened because the voters in the political middle feared an unfettered Democratic agenda (Democratic congress and Presidency). We needed more support from moderates on the other side of the aisle saying, "Don't worry, {insert democratic program} is ok". We will succeed in our agenda if we are able to convince moderate Republicans to come along for the ride.

[salin]

25. bummed, no. Angry - yes and they thrive on anger

it seems to energize them.

I say - be prepared and vigilant - but at the same time, during this period of time when the public is a little more awarea and more than a little fed up with the rw antics - when they act ridiculous in their attempts to ridicule - I say turn the tables - keep their ridiculousness in the public eye - and be the ones who douse the image with ridicule. In some ways they stand to do more damage to themselves and their cause than we could do to them - as in their anger some can really appear unhinged.

Seriously. ORielly wasn't viewed as a babbling unhinged fringe guy until the last couple of years when his anger (and his choice of battles) became more and more ridiculous - he is now a regular and easy point of ridicule.

[GeorgeGist]

26. I hope the Democratic leadership ...

is better on Offense than they were on Defense.

[eppur_se_muova]

27. "Ann Coulter ... thought two words"

All in a day's work. Hell, that IS a day's work for her.