Like I said, “if what Sparkle was saying was completely true”. As with most instances of manufactured outraged, it isn’t “completely true”. Turns out that Sparkle is outraged that Olbermann is outraged that Glenn Beck is outraged about the “czars” that President Obama has put in place in his administration. Or something like that. Her basic premise is that it is wrong for Mr. Olbermann to ask people for dirt on Mr. Beck, Mr. Beck’s producer and Fox News’ Roger Ailes. Especially people from DailyKos. And especially since Mr. Beck has long aired his personal failings and couldn’t possibly have more skeletons in his closet because he has, after all, redeemed himself.
So, she is outraged that Mr. Olbermann asked for dirt on those guys. And yet, from her own links, it is easy to deduce what is happening here. Mr. Olbermann posted his plea for dirt on DailyKos Sun Sep 06, 2009 at 10:14:03 AM PDT. And right in the middle of his request is a link to what he says is the reason for it.
This becomes necessary after this in order to prove various cliches about goose and gander, and to remind everybody to walk softly and carry a big popsicle, and most particularly to save this nation from the Oligarhy of The Stupid.
Clicking on his “this” link takes you to, well, this.
As he makes a real impact in pushing conservative fringe attacks on Obama administration officials into the mainstream, Glenn Beck’s Twitter feed has become a must-read. In a message from last night, Beck told his followers to “FIND EVERYTHING YOU CAN ON CASS SUNSTEIN, MARK LLOYD AND CAROL BROWNER.” They are, respectively, the nominee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer of the FCC, and the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. Browner was also administrator of the EPA for all eight years of Bill Clinton’s presidency.
And then clicking on the link in that paragraph takes you to Glenn Beck’s tweet sent at 10:18 PM Sep 3rd:
Watch Dogs: FIND EVERYTHING YOU CAN ON CASS SUNSTEIN, MARK LLOYD AND CAROL BROWNER. Do not link before burning to disc.
Following the timeline, the reality is that Mr. Olbermann was simply responding to Mr. Beck’s attempt to find dirt on three of President Obama’s czars. As he said, what is good for the goose…
Frankly, I’m tired of this nonsense of manufactured outrage from the right over media personalities. Yes, they do drive the news and “help” in the eyes of some but why not focus our energy and efforts on real issues? Do we really think that the “vast middle ground” or “critical middle” or “independents” or whatever the word of the day is for that group of people that actually decide elections cannot understand the principles of conservatism?
If conservatism offers the best path forward for our country, as I believe it does, why can’t we simply stand on principle and tell our friends and neighbors about it?