Los Angeles Times: Charlotte Allen- Liberals vs. Conservatives'

Source:DC Ist- Los Angeles Times columnist Charlotte Allen. I wish I could find a better picture of her.

"A few years ago Ann Coulter published a book titled “How to Talk to Liberal (If You Must).” With all due respect, Coulter, one of my favorite conservative eye-pokers, was wrong. There is no “how” in talking to a liberal. You can’t talk to a liberal, period.

Believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve got a liberal mother, four liberal siblings and their assorted liberal offspring, and a horde of liberal friends (I went to college and grad school). Whenever I advance to them even the mildest of challenges to liberal orthodoxies, on topics ranging from the welfare state to illegal immigration to abortion, I’m greeted with name-calling, obscenities, shout-overs and, finally, the grave-like silence of ostracism.

The problem is this: We conservatives think liberals are silly; they think we’re evil. Tell a liberal that you hope President Obama will be defeated in the upcoming election, and you’ll be branded a racist. Voice your opposition to same-sex marriage, and you’re a homophobe. Express outrage at the idea of building a mosque on the spot where one of the planes’ fuselages fell in the 9/11massacre, and you’re an Islamophobe. If you support the tea party, or Rick Santorum for president, or defunding Planned Parenthood, or setting up credible border enforcement, you could be all of the above plus more: anti-woman, anti-poor-people, anti-tolerance and a “fascist” to boot... 

You can read the rest of Charlotte Allen's piece at the Los Angeles Times  

“A Republican wants a chunk of Southern California to secede and become the 51st state. Ana Kasparian and comedian Jimmy Dore discuss if we should split the United States into a red country and a blue country.” 

Source:The Young Turks- NBC News's Tim Russert's prediction coming true?

From The Young Turks

I think the main problem with the Left in America (or at least the Far-Left) is that they divide everything into Right versus Left or their version of Right versus Left.

So according to the Left (at least according to Ana Kasparian and Jimmy Dore) California is divided between 1960s left-wing hippies and today’s hipsters, who was just want to give piece a chance and want government to be generous with other people’s money and have government provide everyone with all sorts of what they call free services.

And on the Right (at least according to Ana Kasparian and Jimmy Dore) they are just a bunch of 19th century, backwards looking and thinking country bumpkins, who think Italians and Jews (let alone Latinos and Middler Easterners) and everyone else with dark hair and olive complexion are foreigners and invaders to their Confederate States of America (what they call the United States) who want to nationalize religion and require all of their citizens to carry guns and prey to Jesus everyday. If only life, especially American life were that simple.

I don’t even live in California, but I know from what I’ve read and seen about it, as well as having family there, that California is not divided between some Anglo-Saxon-Protestant, confederate theocracy, and some hippie, socialist state, where the rest of California lives. But if you watch Ana Kasparian and Jimmy Dore here and you’ve never even heard of California, let alone have lived there, you might believe that’s exactly how California is divided today. And then of course you probably also believe in UFO’s and flying marshmallows as well.

The Atlantic: Dino Grandoni- 'Jon Stewart Shows That Pandering Can be Tricky'

Source:The Atlantic- do you get Jon Stewart's point?

Source:Real Life Journal 

“Since every candidate is doing it, pandering may seem pretty easy. But as Jon Stewart discovers, it’s pretty easy to slip up. On The Daily Show we see Newt Gingrich regretting ever saying English is the “language of prosperity” now that he needs Hispanic votes, while Mitt Romney proves he’s no Barack Obama with his rendition of “America the Beautiful.” As for the president himself? Asking for people’s resumes online makes him look no less of a panderer.” 

From The Atlantic 

“This is the reason CNN’s Crossfire is no longer on the air. Jon Stewart shows up these two ignorant political show hosts… 2 against 1, on their own show, and brings to light how these shows “Hurt America.” Thank you Jon for always pointing out political hypocrisy. I hope continuing to broadcast this video helps your voice continue to be heard.” 

Source:Alex Felker- political satirist Jon Stewart on CNN's Crossfire in 2004.

From Alex Felker 

As far as American politicians and their pandering and just the way we are in 2012: a career politician who is not a panderer, would be like a fish out of water, a pilot without a plane, a lawyer who never passed the bar. Career politicians can’t stay in office without the pandering. 

I mean imagine a honest politician who only told his or her voters the truth and these are the problems and this is what we need to do to solve them, they would have to go get real jobs, but at least they would be able to tell the truth without having to worry about getting fired for doing just that. 

As much as American voters say they want honest politicians and honesty in government, they almost always never vote for it. So as much as Jon Stewart might say it’s the system that’s the problem with American politics and government, it’s the voters who keep voting for and subsidizing that very system.

I think the point that political satirist Jon Stewart was trying to get across to Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson in 2004, is that Begala and Carlson and the hyper-partisans that they represent from the Left and Right, is exactly what’s wrong with America. And they represent the problem with America, at least as it has to do with our political system. With Begala and Carlson seeming to go out-of-their-way to make Stewart’s point with their hyper-partisanship.