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NYT Opinionator: Pam Spaulding = Glenn Beck

When you’re on the road (dealing with big ups and downs on life’s roller coaster), this kind of hilarious flaming horsecrap is entertaining.

If only I had the juice (and cash) of sick, bloviating, untethered-from-reality-and-the truth Glenn Beck! The New York Times Opinionator Tobin Harshaw compares my call to shut down the gAyTM to the radical, racist, bigoted diatribes of Glenn Beck. His reasoning?

We know that hard-line conservatives are riled up. But so are hard-left Democrats and their gay allies.”

Who knew my statement was equivalent to the nut-teabaggers and a radical call to arms:

“Let’s just say that a little leaked email proves LGBTs are seen as the easy gAyTM to the DNC that can be manipulated, ignored, and pickpocketed as mob rule strips us of civil rights without a finger being lifted to help at the eleventh hour,” adds the influential gay blogger Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend. “It’s worse - stripping resources at the time of need.”

She offers a call to arms along the lines of MoveOn’s:

I don’t know about you, but at the very least, it’s a peek at the kind the two-timing that goes on in national politics with constituencies they find “troublesome” or a perceived “liability” (save the $$$, of course). The difference is that the peek inside makes you realize how easily you’ve been had …

Shut the gAyTM down; only give directly to candidates and organizations you believe are truly working in your best interest. Not a penny to the DNC; it’s the only leverage you have as an average citizen. The big donors in our community have to take a stand on this kind of nonsense, otherwise, they are enabling this kind of treatment of our community. It’s party-building at our expense each and every time …

Pam, you may not like to hear it, but that last line could just as easily have come from Glenn Beck. Just goes to show: it may be entertaining to watch your enemies rip themselves apart, but you might just want to keep an eye on the guy to your left.

WTF? It’s time to lay down the crack pipe, Tobin. Let’s see, how do you equate a call for spending one’s donation dollars wisely and directly to a candidate that supports your issues to, say, riling up teabaggers to show up in DC waving racist/Nazi signs with the President’s image, calling for a revolution, stoking the fears and anxieties of the working class who are losing their jobs and homes because of the massive f*ckups of the last eight years by the man who took off in the helicopter this January as the crowds cheered “Na na na na…hey hey hey…goodbye.” Please.

At least the folks in the comments had a good time shredding the comparison. A snippet below the fold.

I say to Pam Spaulding: You go girl!

Excuse the dated language, but I’m a 62-yr old straight white woman. Sorry. wink

Anyway, why the caution at the end of this entry? Pam is right.

I worked my butt off trying to get single payer insurance at least on the horizon, something I think should be a human right — healthcare for all of us (instead of bank CEOs with $1,000 cigars).

Then Pelosi, et al. put the kibosh on a straight floor vote that was promised publicly to Rep. Weiner, who supports single payer.

Don’t support people who don’t support you. That is the only way a representative democracy can work. Simple as that. What are we? Fools???

***

Pam Spaulding = Glenn Beck?? Um, no sir.

Do Beck & Limbaugh and Spaulding advocate for a certain set of political ideas? Well obviously. What are they supposed to do: advocate a certain set of policies and then back the pol who’ll do just the opposite?

I’m a proud liberal, and I’m gay, and I’ve no problem with the conservatives asking their pols to vote a in certain way. There’s nothing unreasonable or RADICAL for citizens to (gasp!) demand a certain voting record from their pols & parties after spending money, time and effort getting these people elected. And yes, as it should be, people are concerned with policy issues, not coddling parties and pols or spineless centrists.

So here are the real issues from a liberal perspective: the problem with Beck and Limbaugh is that they say things that many find bigoted and untrue; and conservative dems can’t explain why progressives should be motivated to support them given they will not support many of the things we care most about.

— MabPharos

Back to your original, laff-a-minute political progamming.

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Posted by Pam Spaulding on 09:13 AM • (34) Comments

Wait, when did Pam start Vapo-rubbing her eyes and making completely unhinged conspiracy theories?

Cause, short of that, she’s no Glenn Beck.

Comment #1: Caren-Sun-blocking Creator of Animorphic Pancakes  on  11/09  at  09:48 AM

Well, it’s true, Pam…but only if Beck is your doppelganger. wink

Comment #2: bomberE  on  11/09  at  09:50 AM

As the heat gets turned up on the bigoted insanity spewing out of the mouths of Limbaugh and Beck, expect to see more of this false equivalency in the media.  The media has replaced objective journalism, which is hard, with report both sides, which is just lazy.

Comment #3: Todd  on  11/09  at  10:14 AM

Also, when did you get a national TV and radio show?!?!

Comment #4: bomberE  on  11/09  at  10:29 AM

Hey, don’t reject the comparison out of hand! I have it on good authority that both you and Glenn Beck regularly use the word “the.” Ergo, you are exactly the same on every issue anybody could possibly imagine. </villager>

Comment #5: Maronan  on  11/09  at  10:48 AM

Well, Amanda is like Ann Coulter and Jesse is a dead ringer for Rush, so Pandagon has officially hit the trifecta.

Comment #6: Michael Bérubé  on  11/09  at  11:06 AM

Unfortunately it’s fairly simple: it’s CMSM false equivalencies again.  Their whole schtick rests on the notion that the “left” and “right” are the same.  Stuff like this hashas to be said, and consistently said and believed by the sayer, lest they be forced to face facts which are at odds with this worldview: the vast disparities in resources, in vitriol, in levels of violence, in ideological fixations, in eliminationist language, and so on and so on.

Look at the ludicrous level of self-delusion necessary to believe that one blogger who advocates not giving money to candidates who screw you over is exactly the same as a massively-watched demagogue with a boundless budget, audience of millions and who is integrated into a billion-dollar operation for his side.  This guy ought to feel ashamed for being that stupid that publicly.

Comment #7: seeker6079  on  11/09  at  11:14 AM

This is so classic. The right could be calling for wholesale slaughter of anyone to the left of Rush, including their babies and cats, and it would still be represented as a equivalent to a leftist strategizing about communicating with their elected officials. Awesome.

Oh, Pat, congrats on being “influential” and all that. Does that mean you finally got your pony?

Comment #8: CassieC  on  11/09  at  11:20 AM

Glenn Beck wishes he was the Pam Spaulding of TV/radio.  But to do that he’d have to be a decent human being who is dedicated to making sure that all human beings are treated fairly and equally, and dedicated to making sure the civil rights of all human beings are not granted or removed at the whim of the manipulators of democracy.

Glenn Beck:  Decent Human Being FAIL…

Comment #9: MikeEss  on  11/09  at  11:21 AM

People like Harshaw make my head hurt.

Comment #10: Incertus, Nacho Daddy  on  11/09  at  11:41 AM

Glenn Beck’s followers shoot cops, shoot doctors, wave guns around at tea parties, and fantasize about the violent overthrow of the government. On the other hand, Pam Spaulding says her readers should stop donating to Democrats who don’t support Democratic causes.

It’s a small miracle that Harshaw didn’t instead declare that you were a BILLION TIMES WORSE.

Comment #11: Scott  on  11/09  at  11:44 AM

Well, Mike, I doubt Glenn Blech would want to be Pam, because he would have to give up his TV and radio programs and zillion dollar salary, because decent human beings rarely get the opportunities afforded to jackasses like him.  It’s a trade-off he gladly makes as he cries all the way to the bank.

Comment #12: Kathy  on  11/09  at  11:48 AM

Well, I think it’s obvious which one is the evil twin.

Comment #13: bananacat  on  11/09  at  11:50 AM

Harshaw obviously got a hernia straining for that false equivalency.  We can only wish that the “far left” progressive wing of the Democratic Party (you know, the bulk of the actual membership) had the kind of clout and influence that Beck and his flying monkey whackjobs do.

Comment #14: DrDick  on  11/09  at  12:00 PM

WTF?!?!?!?

I mean, no offense to Pam, she has some influence in the LGBTQ community, but… comparing a blogger to someone with both a cable news TV show AND the 2nd largest radio show…. my brain, it HURTS.

Comment #15: themann1086  on  11/09  at  12:01 PM

I hate the false equivalencies. It’s all part of the same goalpost-moving strategy.

It’s like saying that Martin Luther King was just the left-wing version of Nathan Bedford Forrest.

If Pam really is like Glenn Beck, give her a show already. If she’s really that extreme and that radical, then she deserves the same platform that Beck does. But since she’s proposing sane, responsible political action instead of telling a bunch of maudlin attention hungry crybabies to lock and load, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of room for her in the cable news/am radio arena.

Comment #16: Mighty Ponygirl  on  11/09  at  12:28 PM

Ya know, if and/or when Beck tells his knuckle-dragging acolytes that donating money to Republican candidates or organizations that he believes do not follow core Republican values, it would probably be the jackass’s least objectionable action since he infected the public consciousness.

Comment #17: Matt T.  on  11/09  at  12:28 PM

Even taking arguendo the idea that Pam and Beck are equally distant from a reasonable center, doesn’t Beck’s audience exceed Pam’s by two orders of magnitude, thus completely demonstrating the radicalization of the Right?

Comment #18: Punditus Maximus  on  11/09  at  12:32 PM

Pam the progressive Glenn Beck?  Ludicrous.  The progressive Glenn Beck is John Aravosis.

Comment #19: FlipYrWhig  on  11/09  at  01:30 PM

(OK, not really, I just had a momentary urge to be snippy.)

Comment #20: FlipYrWhig  on  11/09  at  01:30 PM

Speaking of false equivalencies:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/11/consistency-revisited-i.html

Comment #21: seeker6079  on  11/09  at  01:50 PM

I’m waiting for the REVERSE DISCRIMINATION!!1eleventy one1!!! comparison.

Comment #22: pitbullgirl65  on  11/09  at  01:53 PM

Even taking arguendo the idea that Pam and Beck are equally distant from a reasonable center, doesn’t Beck’s audience exceed Pam’s by two orders of magnitude, thus completely demonstrating the radicalization of the Right?

I’d say, in that hypothetical instance, it would actually demonstrate the right-wing radicalization of the mass media…

Comment #23: Scott  on  11/09  at  03:09 PM

Who the hell is Tobin Harshaw?? I thought I knew all the NY Times opinion writers. Maybe he’s trying to pull himself out of anonymity by being insane. It’s worked for Kristol, Douthat, and of course MoDo.

Comment #24: Liz212  on  11/09  at  03:19 PM

Two parties, Pam.  You’re job is to STFU and pick one.  Don’t come crying to us about civil liberties because of Nancy Pelosi.  You’ll turn over your paycheck to the DCCC and you’ll like it, dammit.  Or you’re nothing better than a rock ribbed, bible belting Alabama Republican.


Seriously, though.  It’s not enough to simply flip lackluster candidates the bird and go home.  Shutting down the gAyTM just means you’ll be getting that much less attention from elected representatives.  If you don’t like a pol or a policy that Congressman is pushing, you need to find a cause or a pol you do support (ideally in the same region) and hype that instead.  If you don’t like the NY-23 rep, but you’ve got $50 to add to the pot, divert that energy to Prop 1 Maine.  If you are uninspired by Obama in 2012, don’t just leave your money in your wallet.  Find a solid LGBT candidate running for a House seat, or even a state or local race.  Then get your readership pointed in that direction.

The powers that be don’t like being stiffed.  They whine and cry and say their doing the best they can, then snub you the next chance they get, just for threatening them.  But it’s a lot easier to argue “It’s me or nothin’” than it is to demand the money you’re budgeting to your local city councilor or state rep demands a higher calling.  Telling Harshaw you’re keeping your money in your wallet lets him spine you as stingy.  Telling him it’s going to a better cause, and you’ve got the high road.

Comment #25: Zifnab  on  11/09  at  03:44 PM

“Who the hell is Tobin Harshaw??”

It doesn’t matter who he is. Our Overlords, in their wisdom, have chosen him to represent their POV on the pages of the NYT.  That should be all we need to accept him.

Now, let’s all be good proles and go back to the celebrity gossip and sports competitions we are supposed to be preoccupied with at all times.  Go [some football team]!...

Comment #26: MikeEss  on  11/09  at  03:46 PM

WTF?!?!?!?

I mean, no offense to Pam, she has some influence in the LGBTQ community, but… comparing a blogger to someone with both a cable news TV show AND the 2nd largest radio show…. my brain, it HURTS.

I think even if Pam did have an similar-sized audience reach as Glenn Beck, the point Harshaw seems to be arguing would still be utterly ludicrous.  Not only is there no equivalency in the reach of Pam’s message compared to Beck’s, there is no equivalency in the truthfulness of Pam’s message compared to Beck’s.  And this isn’t simply an argument that’s influenced by my own ideology… the fact is, while no one will deny that Pam, like all of us, has a particular bias, and that Beck also has a particular bias, the critical difference between how the two make their cases is that Pam relies on facts, whereas Beck relies on wildly skewed fabrications.

Everytime I hear a self-proclaimed independent (which is often code for “I’m too embarrassed to admit that I’m actually a Republican”) try to tell me that Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, and Ed Schultz are nothing more than the liberal counterparts of Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, I want to scream.  For one, none of the three progressive leaning MSNBC hosts attempt to deny the existence of their own liberal bias, unlike O’Reilly and Beck, who constantly try to claim that they criticize both parties equally.  But above and beyond being open about their own bias, what the MSNBC hosts also do is utilize actual facts in making their arguments for progressive policy.  O’Reilly, Hannity, and Beck all rely heavily on pure conjecture and patent falsehoods when making their arguments.

It is not the same, no matter how many wish to claim otherwise.

I honestly have no objection to Fox News operating as the official media arm of the Republican National Committee.  What offends me is their perpetual denial of their own bias.  And what offends me even more is their heavy reliance on completely made-up bullshit to argue their editorial perspective.  If they would stop claiming to be politically neutral and they would stop spreading false information, I would never complain about them again.

Comment #27: DTG in STL  on  11/09  at  04:22 PM

I’m just fantasizing that Pam does, indeed, have “a cable news TV show AND the 2nd largest radio show”.  Pam has as much MSM visibility and influence as Glenn Beck.  More!! Ahhhhhhhh…

Comment #28: somebody42  on  11/09  at  05:27 PM

it’s rather like the equivalency between born-again xians and their excessive ranting and raving about “family vales/morals” etc. etc. and trying to legislate that
and atheists who SPEAK UP with the opposing view.

Obviously we’re just as bad as they are. For having an opinion and all.

Pfft.

Comment #29: Danica Lefse Queen  on  11/09  at  05:29 PM

I think - I hope - most people will be able to see right through Harshaw’s flimsy argument.

Comment #30: Nil  on  11/09  at  07:02 PM

Okay Pam, so when is our tea party?  I just need a couple of days notice to come up with a truly tasteless and offensive sign to be photographed with.

Comment #31: pablo  on  11/09  at  07:50 PM

Ya know, if and/or when Beck tells his knuckle-dragging acolytes that donating money to Republican candidates or organizations that he believes do not follow core Republican values, it would probably be the jackass’s least objectionable action since he infected the public consciousness. email domain hosting

Unfortunately it’s fairly simple: it’s CMSM false equivalencies again.  Their whole schtick rests on the notion that the “left” and “right” are the same.  Stuff like this hashas to be said, and consistently said and believed by the sayer, lest they be forced to face facts which are at odds with this worldview: the vast disparities in resources, in vitriol, in levels of violence, in ideological fixations, in eliminationist language, and so on and so on. image hosting

Look at the ludicrous level of self-delusion necessary to believe that one blogger who advocates not giving money to candidates who screw you over is exactly the same as a massively-watched demagogue with a boundless budget, audience of millions and who is integrated into a billion-dollar operation for his side ftp site hosting.  This guy ought to feel ashamed for being that stupid that publicly.

Comment #32: shawn  on  11/10  at  02:00 AM

“Okay Pam, so when is our tea party”

English Breakfast, green tea, Earl Grey, hot? smile

Comment #33: Pam Spaulding  on  11/10  at  06:18 AM

Pam, would you ban Shawn, please?  He is cutting and pasting the stuff of others as a vehicle for putting in advertising links.

Comment #34: seeker6079  on  11/10  at  01:02 PM
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