Home » Blogs » vastleft's blog

Are there any Sirota hate-stalkers with a little free time?

Mon, 02/16/2009 - 11:03am — vastleft

Real-life calls, so I don't have time right now to properly consider David Sirota's post about how progressives who are critical of Obama are marginalized as "dangerous."

Sounds like a worthy topic. Looks like Niki is in, and Jessica is back inside the mirror. (No Heroes spoilers please, I'm a season behind!)

FYI, background on the post title.

»

Comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Maybe it is time to lose this gag

By DCblogger on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 12:54pm

Sirota is doing some outstanding work on health care. We all have our off days when we lose it.

»

It's hard to lose a gag

By vastleft on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 1:03pm

When you're under express orders from A-list bloggers to STFU.

Maybe if I can somehow mumble the safe word, whatever it may be.

»

Sirota may be doing good work, but

By chezmadame on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 8:28pm

I think that his recent vehement personal nastiness obviates his efforts.

Who is he to judge what any of us are or aren't? How is silencing the dialogue (heated and messy though it may be) in any way progressive?

We just went through eight years during which we couldn't question or critique "our president" without having our motives, our patriotism, and our committment impugned.

Sorry, but I'm into neither kneejerk nor lockstep.

Lately, Sirota dosen't reason; he reacts, and that makes him...

»

Nothing new from Sirota

By gqmartinez on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 8:44pm

I posted this before.

But you don't need anyone to point it out. He, much like many other bloggers, take all critiques personally and that leads to erratic, petulant behavior. Also, Sirota seems to suffer from a massive case of CDS which rivals that of any right-winger. This clouds his judgment on most issues since the Clintons are involved in many policy areas. Also, like Kilgore says, Sirota operates on a need to have a big bad DLC to slay. This also clouds his judgment IMO.

—

Only tyrants rig elections.

»

Indeed

By vastleft on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 9:14pm

I wish some of his friends who find his talent for invective so useful would have a private word to him now and then and suggest there are a few lines in intra-party debate that should not be crossed.

One such line might be the calling of someone who's posted about him maybe six times in three years, and most of those citations favorable, a deranged "hate stalker." I don't have an etiquette book handy, but I think I'm on solid ground with that.

»

On behalf of the rational universe,

By Card-carrying_B... on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 10:31am

may I tender an apology for Sirota's truly unacceptable behavior.

He ought to know better, so why does he not?

—

Reporter to Mahatma Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?
Gandhi to reporter: I think it would be a good idea.

»

Not to worry, he's decided to stop going personal

By vastleft on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 12:14pm

http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId...

Sadly,* in what had been (at least on my part) an attempt at a substantive debate about differing strands of progressivism, Nate Silver has opted to now act like an infant - or to be even more precise, that of an infant whose behavior suggests his parents too often strapped him to a chair and forced him, Clockwork Orange-style, to watch a running loop of Sean Hannity.

»

I'm sure the asterisked material is gem-like, as well

By lambert on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 12:54pm

Care to share it?

—

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi

»

Here it is

By vastleft on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 2:19pm

* By the way, I really meant "sadly" not just as a rhetorical device, but to express some level of sadness. I think Nate is a valuable part of the progressive constellation, I think he's trying to mature beyond just being a numbers cruncher, and I think that's a good thing. But it kinda bums me out that he first foray into movement activism is to slander everyone he disagrees with as Soviet sympathizers. I'm hopeful in the future that if/when he matures further, he tries to have a few debates on the merits of actual policies, rather than focusing his attention on subdividing his world into those who agree with him on political strategy (ie. people who he says are "rational") and the rest of the Planet that he insists is too "radical."

I haven't had the time to read Nate's or my hate-stalkees posts to have an opinion on the issue, just noting that DS does seem to have a tendency for getting rather personal.

»

More mind-fucking

By lambert on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 2:30pm

Priceless:

I think he's trying to mature beyond just being a numbers cruncher...

Leaving the issue of what constitutes the baseline for maturity here aside, I've done the mock sympathy bit, too. Somebody slap me if I do it again, because I'm trying to get out of "any stick to beat a dog" mode. Sure, it's fun to get the other guy so mad they can't think straight, and "win" the argument that way, I've done it, but that hardly comes under the heading of advancing progressive discourse. (Not a plea for civility, Fuck no, just a plea for keeping on point.)

—

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi

»

I will slap you, lambert, if need be.

By Card-carrying_B... on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 11:53pm

And I'm buddhist, dude, so that's quite a sacrifice por la causa, is it not?

So, you know, keep the faith. ; )

—

Reporter to Mahatma Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?
Gandhi to reporter: I think it would be a good idea.

»