BuzzFlash
presents Southern Style
by Rebecca Knight
June 28, 2002
From Sublime To Ridiculous
by Rebecca Knight
Punditocracy? I did not even know there was such a word. Well, there is and it is defined as a group of pundits who wield great political influence. Wow! I think that may give them a little too much importance. Some may wield more influence than others, but some are just overgrown windbags. To say that the world of punditry ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous is a gross understatement!
James Carville and Paul Begala are my heroes. Finally, the left has some strong voices speaking up on national television on a daily basis. And boy do they ever speak up. It is great to watch them befuddle the right. They sure don't suffer fools gladly.
Carville, in his inimitable style as the Ragin' Cajun, goes after the right with a vengeance that is envious. Many of my left-leaning friends have applied the standard of trying to "get in touch with our inner Carville" in our efforts to get the record of Republican deceptions and hypocrisy before the public. Carville is unabashed in his support of President and Hillary Clinton. He brought a lot of truth to light regarding Ken Starr in his wonderful book, "And the Horse He Rode in On: The People v. Kenneth Starr."(1) Carville wrote a column for Salon.com in 1996 and 1997 entitled "Swamp Fever"(2), which provides great insight into the political and ideological thinking of Carville. In the world of punditry James Carville has no equal, for no one else is as outspoken, colorful, or intensely honest.
Paul Begala teamed with James Carville as political consultants in the late 1980s. Begala, a soft-spoken devoted family man, is every bit as forthcoming and honest as Carville without the brashness. Begala is the only political pundit I am aware of who has made statements publicly regarding George W. Bush and the AWOL controversy. I heard him reference this subject twice on Crossfire recently. That Begala knows what he is talking about is confirmed by the silence of the right. No one has made a comment of any kind to deny what Begala said. That speaks volumes about the right's inability to disavow the facts regarding Bush's lack of moral authority on military service.
Begala has a little more insight on George W. Bush because he is a Texan. Begala's book on Bush, "Is Our Children Learning?: The Case Against George W. Bush," is a real eye-opener and very entertaining reading. Part of the book description is very revealing about Begala's opinion of Bush: ".....examines the public life and public record of George W. Bush and reveals him for who he is: a man who presents the thinnest, weakest, least impressive record in public life of any major party nominee this century; a man who at every critical juncture has been propelled upward by the forces of wealth, privilege, status, and special interests who use his family's name for their private gain."(6)
Carville and Begala recently wrote a book together entitled "Buck Up, Suck Up and Come Back When You Foul Up,"(10) which provides winning strategies that were used in the "war room" during the Clinton campaign and can be applied to many life situations. These guys know whereof they speak.
Robert Novak, at age 71, has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in political punditry. Mr. Novak is the rarity on the right in that he occasionally takes positions counter to the right's standard line. His one failing seems to be his ability to give George W. Bush a pass far too frequently and he assigns abilities to Bush that most observers simply find to be lacking. As evidence, here is the final sentence in his most recent column in the Chicago Sun-Times, entitled "Corporate Corruption Steams Bush": "But in his heart, George W. Bush seems to understand that only he can restore trust."(11) Come on Mr. Novak. Do you really have that much faith in George W. Bush? I find it hard to believe that Bush can restore trust in the world of corporate corruption based on the administration's close ties to the corporate world. Does Enron ring a bell? How about Kenny Boy? Does the energy policy development under the guidance of the energy conglomerates ring a bell? Bush is very good at feigning outrage over corporate greed, but it is hardly credible given his administration's connections.
Tucker Carlson is extremely annoying. I can't quite put my finger on it, but this guy just gets on my nerves. It could be the haircut, or lack thereof. It could be his baby face. It could be his smirk, simply because smirks are signs of true know-it-all type personalities with which we are very familiar in the current resident of the White House. It could be the bow tie. I am fairly sure it is the bow tie and that is why my favorite nickname for Tucker is "Bow Tie Twit." Combine the bow tie with the smirk and you got the essence of the grating smart boy, Tucker Carlson.
Carlson apparently got his start in Arkansas, of all places. He was a writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock. Perhaps that explains his fixation with the Clintons. Twice recently he has attacked the Clintons for failure to pay millions in legal bills remaining for their defense during the impeachment proceedings and for earning millions post presidency. Of course Begala and Carville, who state that the Clintons regularly make payments against their legal fees, invalidate Carlson's attacks. Carlson might be wiser to wonder why the party he supports so wholeheartedly supported wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on a desperate attempt to remove Bill Clinton from office. All they got was a Starr report totally devoid of any evidence against the Clintons on Whitewater, Filegate, and Travelgate. Oh, but they were able to bring a president's sex life into the homes of every American with their perjury trap attempts. Come on Bow Tie Twit, just admit that it was all a futile waste of taxpayer money. And Republicans claim to be fiscally responsible!
Giving credit where credit is due, in watching Crossfire Thursday night, Carlson did something out of character for him. He actually was slightly critical of the right-wing pundit, Ann Coulter, who is my winner for the most ridiculous political pundit currently commenting in the mainstream media. Carlson pointed out to Coulter that she was not answering the questions asked of her. Congratulations Tucker! Even you apparently find Coulter to be somewhat ridiculous!
Ahhhh, Ann Coulter! She wins the prize for the most ridiculous political pundit in today's media. I certainly hope you readers have had the opportunity to see the video of Katie Couric's interview of Coulter on Today(12) conducted earlier this week. It is truly a must see! A STANDING OVATION to Katie Couric for her ability to control that interview, make her points, and corner Coulter! When Coulter began the interview by accusing liberals of name-calling, I actually wondered if the heavens would open up and a bolt of lightening would strike her dead on the spot. This woman whines about name-calling! She is the "Queen B" of name-calling!
Coulter is making the rounds pushing a new book in which she apparently takes liberals to task for lying about conservatives. Thank you, but no thanks, Ms. Coulter. The very concept of the book is a lie. You will get a penny of my money for such bilge when frogs have wings.
Just consider a few of the quotes by "info babe" Coulter:
"God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'" --Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01
The "backbone of the Democratic Party" is a "typical fat, implacable welfare recipient" --syndicated column, 10/29/99
"Women like Pamela Harriman and Patricia Duff are basically Anna Nicole Smith from the waist down. Let's just call it for what it is. They're whores." --Salon.com, 11/16/00
"I think there should be a literacy test and a poll tax for people to vote." --Hannity & Colmes, 8/17/99
"I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote." --Politically Incorrect, 2/26/01
"[Clinton] masturbates in the sinks." --Rivera Live, 8/2/99
"If you don't hate Clinton and the people who labored to keep him in office, you don't love your country." --George, 7/99
"It's enough [to be impeached] for the president to be a pervert." --The Case Against Bill Clinton, Coulter's 1998 book.
"Clinton is in love with the erect penis." --This Evening with Judith Regan, Fox News Channel, 2/6/00
"We're now at the point that it's beyond whether or not this guy is a horny hick. I really think it's a question of his mental stability. He really could be a lunatic. I think it is a rational question for Americans to ask whether their president is insane." --Equal Time
"If they have the one innocent person who has ever to be put to death this century out of over 7,000, you probably will get a good movie deal out of it." –MSNBC, 7/27/97
"If those kids had been carrying guns they would have gunned down this one [child] gunman. ... Don't pray. Learn to use guns." --Politically Incorrect, 12/18/97
"The presumption of innocence only means you don't go right to jail." --Hannity & Colmes, 8/24/01
"I have to say I'm all for public flogging. One type of criminal that a public humiliation might work particularly well with are the juvenile delinquents, a lot of whom consider it a badge of honor to be sent to juvenile detention. And it might not be such a cool thing in the 'hood to be flogged publicly." --MSNBC, 3/22/97
"I am emboldened by my looks to say things Republican men wouldn't." --TV Guide, 8/97
"Let's say I go out every night, I meet a guy and have sex with him. Good for me. I'm not married." --Rivera Live, 6/7/00
"I think [Whitewater]'s going to prevent the First Lady from running for Senate." --Rivera Live, 3/12/99
"My
track record is pretty good on predictions." --Rivera Live, 12/8/98
"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed too. Otherwise they will turn out to be outright traitors." -Meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, 2/2002
"Anorexics never have boyfriends....That's one way to know you don't have anorexia, if you have a boyfriend." –Politically Incorrect, 7/21/97
"The thing I like about Bush is I think he hates liberals." - Washington Post, 8/1/00
"The swing voters --- I like to refer to them as the idiot voters because they don't have set philosophical principles. You're either a liberal or you're a conservative if you have an IQ above a toaster." --Beyond the News, Fox News Channel, 6/4/00
"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." --Town Hall, 9/14/01
In a thoroughly documented article by Brendan Nyhan entitled "Ann Coulter: The Jargon Vanguard,"(13) it is pointed out that Ms. Coulter called Ted Kennedy an adulterous drunk; joked about Clinton having crack pipes on the White House Christmas tree; called Clinton "a known felon," "a pervert, liar, and felon," "a flim-flam artist," and made other cheap shots. Liberals are called "terrorists" and a "cult" who "can never just make a principled argument." She claims the Democratic message is "socialism, class warfare, and atheism." It goes on and on. I recommend you read this article for an understanding of the true nature of Ms. Coulter.
Coulter is a little more than the typical pundit. She is an attorney who advised Paula Jones' lawyers in the suit against Clinton and helped Jones find new attorneys when her first team quit. She also admits to having heard one of the Lewinsky tapes prior to the story becoming public.(14) MediaTransparency.org (15) reports that Coulter is deeply connected to conservative philanthropies. She has worked for or received funds from at least six of their organizations, including while in college, the Collegiate Network funded by Richard Mellon Scaife.
I think Ms. Coulter definitely qualifies as the most ridiculous of the political pundits and should never be taken seriously. Of course she has her audience who just adores her. It takes all kinds!
Ann Coulter appears to be an example of the worst aspects of political punditry in the mainstream media today. Her commentaries are filled with bitter invective, stunning generalizations, and plain old-fashioned stupidity. The fact that she is given air time on national television at all speaks volumes on the sad state of opinion journalism.
Others who belong in the ridiculous category for many reasons: Rush Limbaugh, David Horowitz, Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes, Dick Morris, Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, and Bill O'Reilly.
It is astonishing that there are so many talking heads making a living at spouting opinions, which are many times based upon false information or outright lies. Sometimes they appear to be so out of touch with the people that one has to wonder how they remain employed. We should remember that pundits are merely entertainers. Yes, they have a certain responsibility to ascertain the facts and bring them to the public, but the fact that they fall short of this idealistic goal should not go unnoticed. Understand what they are and give their information and their opinions the appropriate value. Always keep in mind that their opinions are no more significant than ours, especially if we remain responsible citizens in understanding our leaders and their political tactics. Those who make voting decisions based upon the opinion of pundits without verifying the facts for themselves are walking a dangerous path. However, if you enjoy political pundits as entertainers only, you are on the right track, for they certainly range from the sublime to the ridiculous!
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(1) The Carville report: Rollin' up his sleeves and rollin' back into battle http://www.bookpage.com/9811bp/james_carville.html
(2) "Swamp Fever" by James Carville http://www.salon.com/archives/carville.html
(3) James Carville's Web Site http://www.jamescarvillesoffice.com/index.html
(4) Interview with James Carville http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/interviews/carville.html
(5) Interview with Paul Begala http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/interviews/begala2.html
(6) "Is Our Children Learning?: The Case Against George W. Bush" http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/Is_Our_Children_Learning.html
(7) Interview with Paul Begala http://abcnews.go.com/onair/nightline/clintonyears/clinton/interviews/begala.html
(8) BuzzFlash Interviews Paul Begala Part One http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/2002/03/27_Paul_Begala.html
(9) BuzzFlash Interviews Paul Begala Part Two http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/2002/03/29_Paul_Begala.html
(10) "Buck Up, Suck Up and Come Back When You Foul Up" http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/Buck_Up_Suck_Up.html
(11) Corporate Corruption Steams Bush by Robert Novak http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak27.html
(12) Katie Couric video interview of Ann Coulter (scroll to mid page) http://msnbc.com/news/763069.asp
(13) http://www.spinsanity.org/columns/20010716.html
(14) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/coulter101698.htm
(15)
http://www.mediatransparency.org/people/ann_coulter.htm
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Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville, and currently resides in a small town near Nashville. Ms. Knight's political awareness evolved through the civil rights movement, the Vietnam era, the Watergate era, and the cold war. The debacle of the 2000 election increased her sense of responsibility for political activism. You may contact Rebecca Knight via e-mail at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.
© 2002 by Rebecca Knight
