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Welcome to total political war

Welcome to total political war

And I’m not talking about the attempt to get advertisers to stop advertising on Rush Limbaugh’s show, or Fox News, although that would be bad enough.

I’m talking about the second-tier of the warfare, the attempt to intimidate those removed by one or more degrees of separation from the dispute, and to use them as tools against the target.

We have seen it a number of times in the past couple of years.

When King & Spalding agreed to represent the U.S. House of Representative after Obama changed positions  and announced that the Justice Department no longer would defend DOMA in court, there were not only protests against King & Spalding, but threats to picket and protest clients of the firm who had nothing to do with the dispute.  The threat that clients of the firm who were completely unconnected to the dispute would be harrasseed was enough to cause the firm to withdraw the representation.

Similarly, when the new Rhode Island Attorney General announced that he would cooperate with the federal goverment in the enforcement of federal immigration laws, protesters not only invaded the lobby of his offices, they picketed his house and confronted neighbors about the issue.  Dragging his neighbors into a dispute which had nothing to do with them did not cause the RI AG to back down, although not for lack of trying.

Which brings me to the present dispute with Rush Limbaugh, and radio show host Kim Komando, who has a very well-known computer talk show.

What did or does Komando have to do with the dispute? Nothing, except that one or more of the advertisers targeted by the anti-Limbaugh groups also advertises on Komando’s show.  Komando received a flood of e-mails demanding that she drop the advertisers.

Here was her response, in pertinent part (emphasis mine):

The majority of the comments directed toward me were critical that:

  1. Certain sponsors of The Kim Komando Show were also sponsors of the Rush Limbaugh Show.
  2. To that end, I had not brought pressure on those sponsors to discontinue their advertising schedules with The Rush Limbaugh Show.
  3. Therefore, I must, in some way agree with Mr. Limbaugh’s positions.
  4. Further, as a woman, I should be especially sensitive to his comments and should have been among the first to denounce him.

Over the years, it has been my decision and policy to refrain from the insertion of general politics, candidate endorsements and criticisms of public officials in my program….

All of this brings me back to Rush Limbaugh.

The old saying that, “Hindsight is 20/20,” is especially true for those of us in media who speak extemporaneously and perform our work without a script. And yes, I believe that Mr. Limbaugh could have phrased his opinions in this matter differently and should have acted much soon to diffuse the entire situation (if that is possible at all)….

What all this said, I know that some of the comments directed at me have come from long time listeners to my program. I appreciate them all.

But many others are not my listeners. Rather, they are individuals who have been motivated by commentators, bloggers and others with a particular political agenda. It is therefore clear that there is an on-going attempt to use me and my program as leverage to bring further pressure upon Rush Limbaugh.

I also do not believe that, “as a woman,” I should be particularly offended at Mr. Limbaugh’s comments. If you perceive a situation as tasteless or offensive, it matters not who or what you are.

It is regrettable that this situation has occurred. Nevertheless, above all else, The Kim Komando Show values its advertisers, its listeners and the loyalty and trust they have shown to me over the years.

We are not a part of the Rush Limbaugh controversy and we will continue to make the best decisions for our program and for whom we advertise regardless of the politics involved.

I would not be surprised to see a similar reaction from the right to the left’s attacks on advertisers, but that would be a mistake.

What is happening goes beyond Obama’s call for people to argue with their neighbors and get in their faces.  It goes far beyond Bill Clinton’s politics of personal destruction directed at accusers, and beyond name-calling by right wing pundits.

This total war, in which no one is allowed to be non-political and neighbors and clients become mere pressure points, is a dangerous development.

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Comments

“I would not be surprised to see a similar reaction from the right to the left’s attacks on advertisers, but that would be a mistake.”

Prof., I’m confused…floored…by that. WTF? When did a TEA Party bus people to someone’s neighborhood to scare their kids…or ANYTHING like that?

I get your instinct to be even-handed, but damn.

    Jaynie59 in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 10:06 am

    I agree. I read that sentence a few times to try to figure out what he meant by it.

    It’s the “both sides are just as bad” caveat that all conservatives seem to need to say.

    William A. Jacobson in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 10:37 am

    Not placing blame, just saying we don’t need to be like them and engage in their tactics, although the temptation will be great.

      But I’ve never known a time when we succumbed, Prof. Collectivism relies on lies, for instance. I detest lying, and would never adopt it as a “tactic”.

      It’s like the silly assertion that OWS is “just like the TEA Party movement”. Except they are OPPOSITE in virtually every possible way. And were DESIGNED to be.

        stevewhitemd in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 2:31 pm

        The good professor doesn’t lower himself to the level of the oppressive Left, the OWS types and so on.

        But there are some on the right who do, either occasionally or repeatedly (*cough* Anne Coulter *cough*). When our side does that it distracts the public from our message.

        Further, because the rules are so skewed (not our fault), we get hammered for this far more than the Left does. Examples:

        Rush calls Ms. Fluke a ‘slut’ and get hammered.

        Bill Maher calls Sarah Palin a ‘cunt’ and gets away with it.

        Completely wrong, completely unfair, but that’s how it rolls in the media.

        So no, we shouldn’t descend to their level.

        Rush usually gets this right — 99% of the time. He laughs at them. Breitbart got it right — he both laughed at them and needled them, and re-tweeted all their insults.

        Boy oh boy does the Left hate being laughed at, and they hate even more seeing their insults go awry and boomerang back on them.

        That’s how we fight them. There’s no need to call Ms. Fluke a scandalous name. It’s enough to snicker at her idiotic ‘thinking’ and point out the many fallacies.

        Be Breitbart.

      JimMtnViewCaUSA in reply to William A. Jacobson. | March 5, 2012 at 11:18 am

      I hope I am wrong, but isn’t it the case that war can and typically will drag you down to something approaching the opponent’s level?
      Unless we are willing to give up and surrender…or unless the Left changes its mind about reducing the People to subjects from citizens, this can only ratchet upward.

        Ragspierre in reply to JimMtnViewCaUSA. | March 5, 2012 at 11:26 am

        Your first instinct was correct. You are wrong.

        The US never approached Japanese or German conduct in WWII.

        We never approached Taliban conduct in Afganistan.

        Conservatives, I think, are constitutionally (pun!) incapable of being like Collectivists. All I know are.

          JimMtnViewCaUSA in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 12:28 pm

          A principled reply, Rags. I hope you are right.
          Of course, in WWII the US did not murder civilians on the scale or cruelty of Germany, Japan or our ally Russia.
          Yet, in the end we did not shrink from firestorm bombings of German cities or the nuclear bombs dropped on Japanese cities.
          Justified? I think so. But….
          On a more mundane level, my father (WWII vet) told me of seeing 2 soldiers ordered to deliver a few Japanese prisoners to a base 2 hours back and given 10 min to perform the job. They returned in the allotted 10 min. Same level of cruelty as the opponent? No. But murder of unarmed prisoners falls in the same category, in my view.
          History tells us that normally war ratchets up until one side stops fighting.

          The historical example I would examine is the US civil war.

          Ragspierre in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 12:42 pm

          If discovered, the conduct you describe would have resulted in punishment, would it not?

          Is there really ANY moral equivalence between the INSTITUTIONAL depravity of Japanese and German rank and file, and U.S., British, and other allies?

          Is that REALLY what you want to try to say?

          JimMtnViewCaUSA in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 12:59 pm

          Yeah, I think there is a difference in degree but not in kind.
          And I think that, in the end, people who live in unlucky times and meet unfortunate circumstances get the choice of surrender or a fight to the death with no holds barred.

          Let’s hope that is not our future.

          lichau in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 5:33 pm

          “The US never approached Japanese or German conduct in WWII.”

          Being a bit of a student of that era, I would say that we came altogether too close. Read “Helmet for my pillow” or “With the Old Breed”; both memoirs written before political correctness took over.

          Having dear relatives that were personally involved, I think the principle difference between our actions and the Japanese, for instance, is that most horrific acts by our side were individual acts by bad apples, or so-so types that were driven over the edge, whereas the brutality on the Japanese side was policy. No–don’t look for a lot of prosecutions of miscreants on our side. In the Pacific, we needed dead Japanese soldiers, we weren’t too picky about what went on.

          The general principle that you can become your enemy is too valid for comfort. Rush got too close. He could have made his points just as well without the charged language. Pointing out the non stop stuff on the other side is proper and useful, but doesn’t excuse Rush’s words.

          BTW, the ONLY country, of significance, that treated our POW’s half way decently was the Germans. They were every bit as bad as portrayed in most cases to the Jews and Russians, but, with an exception or two, our guys came home.

          creeper in reply to Ragspierre. | March 6, 2012 at 4:00 pm

          Rags, have you forgotten My Lai?

      I read the comments of conservatives who are constantly telling me that, as conservatives, we must take the “higher” ground. Well, tell us Professor, what has that gotten us so far beside dying on that hill?

      We now have a President who was trained in the art of warfare by those who conducted it 40+ years ago. Saul Alinsky, William Ayers, Bernadette Dohrn. All warriors of the Marxist movement. They designed battle plans and tactics (i.e. Rules For Radicals), but make no mistake, history is repeating itself.

      We are already seeing the battle lines being laid out by the OWS crowd. And as history has shown us, first they protest, then they turn violent. Small groups spinning off the larger movement so that they can act with impunity. Bernadette Dohrn, when asked by Andrew Breitbart (I believe) what ever happened to their movement stated, without reservation, that it still exists in the OWS crowd.

      There is no longer a military war that they are willing to protest (notice how all the CodePinkers have seemed to go underground since we have a Democrat in the Oval Office?) but there is another war that they are willing to do battle over; the war against religion. They still subscribe to the teachings of Gramsci that in order to have the perfect society, you must abolish religious establishments. Sandra Fluke is their reincarnation of John Kerry in the war they have now declared against religious organizations.

      We lost the war of socialism in the 60’s-70’s. We CANNOT lose this most current war on the very basis of our nation. And I for one, will not stand on that hill (higher ground) and not fight back.

      Andrew Breitbart knew one thing. That was how to use the tactics of the left against them. Whatever they threw at us conservatives, he threw back at them with increased velocity. And I know one thing; I can fight back with my dollars. I can refuse to purchase Heinz products (which I have done for years), I can boycott the advertisers of the hard left like Ed Schultz and others. I can refuse to subscribe to HBO and publications that are left wing. You see, Professor, I can throw their tactics back at them, with more velocity.

      The left, not conservatives, have designed the rules. I intend to find out how they like living by them. If the left wants to use the capitalist system to fight their battles, they need to understand that their tactics lose power when their opponents have the ability to do the same.

      “Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book.”

      General George Patton

    AmandaFitz in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 11:47 am

    Call CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS and let them know you support Rush- you just get a voicemail, but let them know that we KNOW this is a FAUX CONTROVERSY.

    Communications / Media Relations:
    Public Relations
    (210) 822-2828
    [email protected]

    I’m glad someone said it–that sentence kinda took my head off =/

    creeper in reply to Ragspierre. | March 6, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    The Prof’s schizophrenia is showing again. He puts up a post titled “Total War” and then admonishes us to fight nice.

nordic_prince | March 5, 2012 at 9:30 am

This total war, in which no one is allowed to be non-political and neighbors and clients become mere pressure points, is a dangerous development.

And this is precisely what the left wants. They want a kingdom divided, brother against brother, father against son, mother against daughter, etc. When Obama blathered about being the post-racial healer/uniter, that should have been our cue (consummate liar that he is) that he would shamelessly employ the politics of mistrust, envy, and strife. Divided, the nation falls.

The sooner we throw the b@st@rd out, the better.

    MaggotAtBroadAndWall in reply to nordic_prince. | March 5, 2012 at 9:56 am

    I don’t agree. They do not want us divided. They want opposing views completely, totally silenced.

    It’s called Cultural Marxism. The best comprehensive article I’ve ever read about the phenomenon, it’s origins, and the ultimate goals of Cultural Marxism is actually the transcript of a speech given over 12 years ago. It’s more relevant now than it was then. I keep it bookmarked because it’s so enlightening. I’ve linked to it on this blog before. If you are interested in learning more, and have the time (it’s a bit longer than the average blog post), I encourage reading it (if you haven’t already):

    http://www.academia.org/the-origins-of-political-correctness/

      Midwest Rhino in reply to MaggotAtBroadAndWall. | March 5, 2012 at 12:03 pm

      yeah, they want to control the message .. but dividing us is maybe also a tactic.

      If one conservative voice says a word that can be construed as “hateful”, it will be preached by the left that all women must leave since all conservatives are misogynist. If radical liberals constantly use worse terms and language, it is ignored.

      Whitman, Palin, even Hillary can be attacked, as long as it is from the left (the party of “NOW”) then it’s OK. “Bill Clinton may be a pig, but he’s our pig”, I think was the word from NOW.

      Along these lines, Juan Williams was on Special Report the other day, saying how terrible it was that Santorum had said women are too emotional for the battlefield. Of course that was Juan spin … Santorum actually said MEN are too emotional, and might mess up a mission to protect a woman.

      “The Matrix” was on last night, I noticed Neal (the one) almost messes up the final mission saying he’s not going to let Trinity go with him. She is needed, and insists. But it points out what Santorum said. Even Neal almost compromised the mission trying to protect the woman.

      But the left uses any opportunity to divide … race or color or gender or financial status … divide and conquer, AND control the message.

    Ragspierre in reply to nordic_prince. | March 5, 2012 at 10:01 am

    I’d have to agree with Maggot.

    Plus, throwing Bad Luck Barry out will change very little. We ARE divided…and irreconcilably, IMNHO.

    I have no interest in meeting Collectivists half-way, for instance. There is no middle ground between us.

    They want me subservient. I want their statism crushed.

      Squires in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 11:06 am

      As one of the left’s great heroes so boldly put it:

      “Once more I was able to convince myself how criminal the capitalistic octopuses are. On a picture of our old and bewailed comrade Stalin, I swore not to rest before these capitalistic octopuses are destroyed.”
      – Che Guevara to his aunt Beatrice, 1953

    Agreed. “You want war? Fine. It’s about time we stopped dancing.”

stevewhitemd | March 5, 2012 at 9:33 am

It is, as ever for the Left, about control.

The issue now is how to control the Fluke narrative. The Democrats, feminists and MSM (but I repeat myself) had put Ms. Fluke front and center in their latest maneuverings on the contraception ‘debate’ (anything to avoid debating the economy). The Republicans, to their credit, had refused to let Ms. Fluke ‘testify’ in the House, so Nancy Pelosi set up a phony conference, and Ms. Fluke did her little performance. She hit all her high notes as demanded and the MSM dutifully gave her rave reviews.

But the narrative was quickly threatened by a number of bloggers and commentators on the Right who poked holes in Ms. Fluke’s ‘testimony’. Why indeed did it cost her a thousand dollars a year for birth control when the local Target sold a thirty day supply of generic oral contraceptives for nine dollars? Why did she expect taxpayers and insurers to subsidize her behavior when she was spending over fifty thousand dollars a year to attend Georgetown Law? Then it was revealed that far from being a typical co-ed, Ms. Fluke was a professional activist who had entered good old G-Law for the express purpose of agitation (or to use the words of the Left, ‘speak truth to power’).

Oh dear. This was not good.

Then Rush came to their rescue by referring to Ms. Fluke as a ‘slut’ in his incorrect focus on her behavior. Now, calling a woman a ‘slut’ is a fighting word, and Rush should have known better. Yes, he apologized, but he should have known better in the first place.

But worse, Rush had the wrong focus, that of Ms. Fluke’s behavior. Most people really don’t care how many times a day Ms. Fluke does the horizontal tango. The right focus was the one that threatened to unravel the Left’s narrative and expose this particular shenanigan, to wit:

If we must keep our hands off your uterus, Ms. Fluke, shouldn’t you in turn keep your fingers out of our wallets?

That was the question that was breaking through to the public until Rush commandeered the discussion. That’s where it all went off the tracks.

Professor Jacobson correctly notes that the the resulting ‘boycott’ is just another tactic, and extending it to first-degree acquaintances, business associates, and partners also is not new. We’ve seen this before.

It’s all about control. The Left is working to re-seize the narrative here, and they like Rush as their whipping boy. Don’t be surprised if Ms. Fluke promptly fades into the background; her performance is over and a new play is opening.

The narrative, of course, remains the same.

The left do not believe in democracy. They believe in power. And they have changed tactics. Now they use the rhetoric and institutions of democracy to undermine it. Witness all the democratically elected presidents-for-life. We used to call these same people dictators…

Also, Romney sucks.

    Joan Of Argghh in reply to Same Same. | March 5, 2012 at 10:25 am

    Yes! Romney is Bob Dole without the war record.

      Romney is all too familiar with the tactics of the left, he is one of them. Look at Romneys Alinsky tactics, politics of destruction against all the other candidates (except for rp) The man governed to the LEFT of Ted Kennedy for petes sake!!!

The Left has been using these kamikaze tactics for years, but under the Obama administration, where the media is now his PR firm, it’s harder to fight back.

The the Left has been carte blanche to be be vicious, violent and unruly(i.e. Operation Wallstreet).

This is a war, people, and we can no longer be nice, quiet conservatives who say, “Oh, well” and go on with our lives.
If we don’t fight back this time, we will lose out COUNTRY.
It’s THAT serious.

Do not back down, and do not give up. That’s what they expect us to do.
Be Breitbart.

    Joan Of Argghh in reply to Tamminator. | March 5, 2012 at 9:59 am

    I’d propose that if you’re out of work, or if schedule allows, we go, one by one to our respective local network affiliate and station ourselves on their sidewalk every day, with a sign, until they notice.

    BTW, The Simpsons is dead to me. Shepherd Fairey? Really? Might as well embrace the Black Panthers and the Communist Party.

    Mark30339 in reply to Tamminator. | March 5, 2012 at 10:07 am

    The Left needs the competent, productive, conservative people — otherwise they run out of the other people’s money. They also need resistance from the Right, so they can perpetuate poverty and dependency, blame it on the Right and justify further government expansions. Given the tilted playing field on the way news is reported, maybe it’s time to consider a John Galt solution. Let the Left run Washington unopposed with no one else but themselves to blame. And consequently, stop the campaign advertising money bomb that feeds the MSM beast.

Uncle Samuel | March 5, 2012 at 9:56 am

Live coverage of AIPAC via Jerusalem Post – http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=260356&R=R9

Joan Of Argghh | March 5, 2012 at 9:57 am

Changing the Narrative won’t happen here, in the safe womb of the Dextrosphere. Or the Internet, for that matter. It happens one-on-one. It costs you one friend at a time, and earns you precious few new ones. But you have to speak up.

I Am Breitbarticus.

There’s another one born every second. Go wish him well. Watch for potty mouth because he is, after all, a Hollywood screen writer.

The only way to stop a bully is to stand up to him. Most boys learn that in grade school, but most men today have been so chickified they’re afraid to stand up for any principle for fear of being attacked. It’s a valid fear, too, because nobody on the Right will stand up with anyone when they have the courage to fight back.

It has nothing to do with how political someone is. The fact is that the institutional Left has succeeded in making all conservative opinions toxic so that anyone who holds them are called strident “ideologues” while all liberal, progressive, and even Marxist ideas are considered reasonable, mainstream, and even compassionate. It has gotten so that you cannot even LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE with conservative values without being targeted and attacked and IF you have the courage to stand up for yourself you are ridiculed and ostracized. And nobody on the Right will stand with you.

The worst thing you can do with a bully is to show fear and weakness. I hope Komando’s statement is enough to stop the attacks against her company, but I doubt it will. When the local crime boss says “nice little company you’ve got here, be a shame if anything happened to it” you pay up.

    creeper in reply to Jaynie59. | March 6, 2012 at 4:23 pm

    “The only way to stop a bully is to stand up to him. Most boys learn that in grade school…”

    Not any more, they don’t. Which is why the second half of your compound sentence is true…”most men today have been so chickified they’re afraid to stand up for any principle for fear of being attacked.”

    Kids don’t fight any more, at least not physically. They may hurl epithets at each other but seldom do the confrontations become physical. They have learned the lesson well from their teachers and their parents…”nice boys” don’t fight.

    creeper in reply to Jaynie59. | March 6, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    P.S. Liked your post anyway. Please forgive the nitpicking.

Joan Of Argghh | March 5, 2012 at 10:06 am

Don’t Shut Up.

Don’t be shamed into silence.

Keep quiet and they may eat you last, but they’ll eat you, all the same.

    Tamminator in reply to Joan Of Argghh. | March 5, 2012 at 10:13 am

    I love your link, Joan. GO TO THE BATTLE!

    Joan Of Argghh in reply to Joan Of Argghh. | March 5, 2012 at 10:23 am

    Our cause is just and our ideals are intact. The foundations are good, we’re well equipped. Our reasons are sound. This is no time to quibble about our verbal weaponry! Because if you’re looking for perfection on the field of battle, you’ll see it in the opposition’s steel resolve: The never give an inch of ground gained.

Henry Hawkins | March 5, 2012 at 10:12 am

The entire Fluke thing is a diversion first, a trial balloon for another class of entitlements second, and only tertiarily an effort to shut up another name conservative, a lucky happenstance for the liberals that it was Limbaugh and not a lesser conservative light who said something they could demagogue.

Motives two and three have or will fail, but motive #1 – diversion from economic issues – is working marvelously. You may rest assured there is another diversionwaiting in the wings for the current one to fade from the front pages.

We need to behead the progressive liberal agenda. Take the White House, strengthen the House, and take the Senate. Then we can dismantle the damage done. To do this we need to not take the bait on diversions and stick to the real issues: the economy, jobs, taxes, and reducing the size and power of the federal government.

The liberal political/media machine is to our society what a troll is to a message or comment forum. Stop rewarding trollish behavior with reactions that are irrelevant to the real issues and our greater goals.

What Would Brietbart Do …
Fight back … target the 7 fleckless advertises who abandoned Rush and refuse to do business with them and let them know you are going to convince your friends and family to do the same … they want to get involved in politics then they need to understand that we vote everyday with our pocketbooks …

    Ragspierre in reply to dorsaighost. | March 5, 2012 at 10:22 am

    Just a slight suggested shift of em-PHA-sis, here…

    make it a point to DO BUSINESS with the competitors of the craven 7…AND let them BOTH know WHY.

    Boycott/BUYcott…all rolled in to one sweet, sweet act.

      Midwest Rhino in reply to Ragspierre. | March 5, 2012 at 12:37 pm

      I agree, though I’m thinking most successful business/management people are more conservative. But “punishing” any company that bows to the radical left may indeed be necessary, even if they are “conservative” run.

      I don’t understand how Carbonite could drop Rush. It would be interesting to know how management thought that decision could profit their company. Did they think they’d already tapped the faithful Rush market, and few would leave them? Did they think they could capitalize on the news cycle and gain liberal market share? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a moral stand. Hard to believe they simply responded to the astro turf attack.

myohmymanatee | March 5, 2012 at 10:16 am

I disagreed with with Bill Bennet radio show. Playing nice doesn’t work here. Rush Limbaugh pointed out correctly the absurdity of the absurd. Democrats commies wants us to bow to the new minted church, the federal government, and fund all their utopian wish lists.

    I had to turn him off this morning. He has no clue. Playing nice is what got us to this point. And he doesn’t seem to understand that if Rush goes down, so does he.
    We need to fight back. As Tamminator says – Be Breitbart.

Henry, I love most of your posts, but on this one, you are dead wrong.

This issue jumped the shark as soon as organized leftist groups went after Rush Limbaugh’s advertisers. They are now trying to destroy the livelihood of a fellow citizen.
This is war.

This isn’t some internet “troll”. These are active, organized groups who are DOING something. Anyone can sit on a blog all day and blab their opinions. It’s meaningless unless you take action.

And issues such as the economy, jobs, taxes, etc are controlled by the MEDIA.
You may WANT the narrative to change, but you are not in control of it. And until we fight back, we lose.

How do I know this? I learned from one of my best friends, a former LEFTIST ACTIVIST.
If you allow the Left to destroy your fellow citizens, then they will feel empowered and go after more of them.
That’s how they operate.

    Joan Of Argghh in reply to Tamminator. | March 5, 2012 at 10:28 am

    Exactly.

    The Fear of Looking Stupid[TM] is killing Conservatism. Add heaping piles of SHAME and if we allow it, we may as well lay down and die.

    Close ranks! Hold!

    Henry Hawkins in reply to Tamminator. | March 5, 2012 at 11:00 am

    Tamm, I agree it’s war, but we have to prioritize our battles. Something like this happens to Rush on a small scale every year and on a big scale every five years or so. It’s no big deal to him – he’ll be fine. Watch his ratings soar over the next few weeks.

    The libs want to happen exactly what is happening – people who were focused on the economy, jobs, taxes, etc., are now focused on this ‘war’. It’s a diversionary tactic and it’s working. I’m recommending we set aside for later these lesser battles, and focus on the one and only battle we need to focus on between now and November: beating Obama by keeping the focus ever and always on the economy, jobs, taxes, and making the federal government smaller.

    Once we achieve that, then we’ll march down the list of issues and battles to correct the madness. I’ll even support a measure that hands over all prisoners to you to do with what you want.

    I’m not saying this battle isn’t a battle or isn’t important. I am saying that the left wants us to fight these lesser battles from now through November – they have other diversionary, precast ‘crises’ all lined up and ready to go – while they go about getting Obama reelected.

    As for me, I’m cancelling my Carbonite account and moving back to the main battlefront – beating Obama by focusing on our economy, jobs, deficits, etc., etc.

      Tamminator in reply to Henry Hawkins. | March 5, 2012 at 11:08 am

      Henry, I know what YOU want to focus on, but you are not the media, and they run the narrative.

      I am not walking into a trap. I know exactly what I’m doing, and while I’m active locally in politics, we also have to fight the narrative that we are handed.

      This is what we’re up against, sir. http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/05/secretive-nationwide-network-gives-seiu-new-organizing-muscle/

      I cancelled my subscription to Carbonite and bought a 1 TB external hard drive yesterday. I’ll back up my own damn computer.

      You can talk all you want about what the narrative SHOULD be, but I live in reality.
      I deal with the narrative that is pervasive.
      As the professor says, this is war.
      And if you don’t see how serious this is, you just don’t get it.

      quiznilo in reply to Henry Hawkins. | March 5, 2012 at 11:29 am

      Very astute. Well said.

I’m wondering how fruitful it would be to bring a legal action (say, RICO). against the organizers of these recent boycotts against Rush, Fox News, Glen Beck and others. They appear to be pushing the bounds of the law, but I’m no lawyer.

Ah, the odor of full-frontal self-righteousness. It’s every bit as attractive as those middle-aged, unfit San Francisco protesters that use every cause as an excuse to show up naked.

This is why our government is divided and balanced. If we make use of those qualities, we will be able to get what reasonable people want, and discard the worst of the nonsense.

Reasonable people want a political discourse that is not reliant on hyperbolic insult to make a point. The reason is that this over-the-top personal attack drives normal people out of politics. That is the point of the attack: to silence one person, and it is effective. The net result, however, is that most people do not want to get involved. We are the lesser as a people for tolerating such nastiness on the part of our talking heads, who do, in a sense, represent us.

Rush went too far. These jerks are going too far. We do not need the government to intervene, because we can handle this, ourselves. The article by the Professor and other articles, will put out this particular fire.

I submit, though, that it might be useful for us as individuals to contact various talking heads and let them know that we really do not want to teach another generation of Americans to keep their heads down and out of politics.

i’d say we are very close to action squads running rampant.

jonah goldberg is just proven more right every day.

Joan Of Argghh | March 5, 2012 at 10:54 am

Alright ladies, here’s your assignment.

Take it to them.

Newt was just on Mike Gallagher show, he says he is now 20 points up in Georgia and moving up fast in Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Henry Hawkins | March 5, 2012 at 11:06 am

Email sent to Carbonite about two minutes ago:

“Carbonite’s decision to withdraw its advertising from the Rush Limbaugh show disappointed me deeply. I recognize and honor Carbonite’s right to advertise with whomever it pleases, but this is different. Carbonite did not withdraw its advertising from the Ed Shultz show when he called Laura Ingraham a slut. Something is not as claimed here. For the following reasons I demand to cancel my Carbonite account:

– I cannot support financially any company that clearly favors a particular political party and their polices. I need my business contracts to be with companies who are largely apolitical.

– I cannot support financially any company that behaves so hypocritically, keeping ads on one program while withdrawing them from another when both programs have committed the same offense.

– I cannot support financially any company that will lie to me. You withdrew from the Limbaugh show due to the politics of your company’s leadership, not over any outrage over what Limbaugh said. Schultz did the exact same thing, but that wasn’t a problem for Carbonite.

– I cannot trust the information located on my computers to a company that will surrender so easily to political pressure. I no longer trust Carbonite to protect my information.

Please end my account with Carbonite immediately and refund my money.”

Also, if it wasn’t completely obvious, THIS is Operation Re-elect Obama. All very carefully set up and co-ordinated and it kicked off with stephie stephanopolis asking the contraception question at that January debate. Obama is definitely trying to steer the debate away from gas prices and the economy and to social issues.

I realize sinking to the Left’s level makes many Conservatives uncomfortable but sooner or later don’t we have to accept that “playing nice” has accomplished little other than increase our sense of righteousness?

It’s hard to “win” using ethical ROE when the other side has gone guerilla. Or do we not want to win – is our position that we’d rather not win than sink to their level?? Do people really think that squishy moderates assess the lies the Left dishes and give attention & kudos to the Right for taking the high road?

    MrMichael in reply to katiejane. | March 5, 2012 at 11:37 am

    Speaking for myself, KatieJane… I don’t want to sink to their level because it is wrong. I have surveyed the length and breadth of the Left’s substance and it’s narrative, and I find BOTH to be as close to Evil as makes no difference.

    I make my choices based on some prime principles… and I want to join with others who share my principles and ideas, and lift the rest who do not yet share them, but will once they are exposed to them.

    I do NOT want to ‘win the argument’ at all costs. What would be the benefit? Power? Ability to DICTATE to those who disagree with me? IF so, then yes: I would rather lose the argument than win and become that Evil which I have denounced.

      quiznilo in reply to MrMichael. | March 5, 2012 at 11:46 am

      KatieJane has a great point. You speak of your honor and principles and the evilness of the left. I believe that honor and principles are very expensive when we’re talking about fighting for our very way of life and the future for our children. This “war” is unprecedented in the history of our country.

      “no great country was ever saved by good men because good men will not go to the length that may be necessary.” – Horace Walpole

      katiejane in reply to MrMichael. | March 5, 2012 at 12:24 pm

      If you prefer to keep your hands clean rather than fight to win that is indeed your right. However then don’t complain when the Dems’s tactics win and once again we on the receiving end of the cr*p the Dems dish after they win.

      JMO but at that point those who actually took the battle to the Left might be inclined to question whether you’re part of the solution.

Professor Jacobson is correct, we do not need to engage in the tactics of the left because conservatives have factual standpoints, reasoned arguments and logical debate.

This is not about greater access to quality “universal” health care for women, this is about the leftist politics of division, the mobilization of human capitol for social change.
They are hijacking the narrative of the Republican primary to inset their own values… ie hold every Republican candidates feet to the fire on the liberal narrative.

The subject of greater access = equality for women, its a non-starter when it comes to constitutionally assured individual freedom and religious liberty.
The liberals could care less about greater access of quality healthcare because we already know it will result in greater access to crappy healthcare, and equally crappy healthcare for all fulfills the equality narrative.
It then translates to liberal argument that the Fabian socialist utopia… ie hopenchange is never bankrupt, its merely underfunded.

Or we can go the liberal route which actually means a totalitarian government will be way worse than the government being in the bedroom. They will be in the bedroom and setting the curfew, and in the kitchen and in the dining room etc … gov’t campaigns to further divide Americans to mobilize human capitol for social change.

Since the recent trend is to reduce the argument to the lowest common denominator, I would lavish the thought of what does greater access to healthcare for women equate in terms of true equality for men…
Got Fluke?

    quiznilo in reply to OcTEApi. | March 5, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    We’re about to logically debate ourselves out of a country. This is not some National Honor Society debate. We have all the “reasoned arguments” and “factual standpoints” and have had them for awhile, and guess what, the left doesn’t care about facts or reason.

    Play to win or be prepared to explain to your grand children how you fought honorably and with principal for them and their future but the other side “cheated”.

      OcTEApi in reply to quiznilo. | March 5, 2012 at 1:41 pm

      Liars never win, cheaters never prosper.
      Its important to let people rant and rave, however their liberal ideology is based on lies, smoke-n-mirrors and raw emotionalism.

      It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens them.

Jeffery Lord has been doing some reasearch and has a very good question:
“And oh yes, Mr. Friend isn’t the only Rush-drop out whose leftist connections are suspect in this episode. Sleep Number’s CEO Bill McLaughlin, Sleep Number being a product of a company called Select Comforter? That appears to be the same “William McLaughlin” who identified himself to the FEC as being with Select Comforter of Minneapolis — when he contributed to the same Soros-funded “America Coming Together” as Mr. Friend.

And how about two of the four guys running Legal Zoom? Mr. Brian Liu is recorded as giving tens of thousands of dollars to two Obama campaign outlets, including the Obama Victory Fund 2012. Brian Lee gives his bucks to the Democratic National Committee Services Corporation. Did I mention Mark Templeton of Citrix gave Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign $2,300?”

“….Are these sponsors really that stupid that they aren’t aware they are being played for suckers by leftist radicals? Or, in fact, like David Friend and Carbonite, are they shadowy, behind-the-scenes participants?”
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/03/05/rally-for-rush

[…] “Total political warfare.” With a guest appearance by Kim Komando. […]

StrangernFiction | March 5, 2012 at 11:49 am

The Left is the enemy. It is them or us.

[…] William A. Jacobson writes at Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, today: And I’m not talking about the attempt to get advertisers to […]

[…] MORE Rate this: Share this:FacebookTwitterDiggLinkedInRedditStumbleUponEmailPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. […]

We need a way to organize conservatives in ACADEMIA.

    bobby b in reply to Will. | March 5, 2012 at 2:00 pm

    Good idea. I’ll get the six of them together in a room, and then you can talk to them.

Joan Of Argghh | March 5, 2012 at 1:24 pm

Carbonite Stock ticker.

Let the Left bail them out with their OWN money.

[…] Total War? They haven’t seen Total War until confirm it. I’m talking about the second-tier of the warfare, the attempt to intimidate those removed by one or more degrees of separation from the dispute, and to use them as tools against the target. […]

The term ‘Liberal Fascism’ seems more relevant than ever – and not so harmless. If you don’t tow the Leftist ideology or don’t come out against the Right strongly enough, you are subject to their thuggery and intimidation. It’s frightening just how much totalitarianism the Left feels comfortable displaying.

Henry Hawkins | March 5, 2012 at 2:02 pm

They don’t think of it as totalitarianism. They think of it as generously coercing the correct thoughts, actions, and requirements on a populace too stupid to understand or accept the correct thoughts, actions, and requirements for themselves. This is why they come off as so arrogant and condescending.

[…] Congrats Kevin. And thanks, Glenn!Egregious Twaddle was thinking on similar lines UPDATE III: Total Political War: What is happening goes beyond Obama’s call for people to argue with their neighbors and get in […]

[…] not have bargained for is that we will damn well finish it. Professor Jacobson uses the term “political war.” He makes this observation today: And I’m not talking about the attempt to get advertisers […]

In war, one has to be on the offense rather than play defense. We’ve been defensive for far too long, so “not stooping to their level” isn’t enough to advance our cause.
I submit that we need to do exactly what they do, only better. We have to call them out. Organize. INITIATE fire, not return it.
I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for too long. I’m changing my ways and going to start exposing everything I see – and I see plenty. This is indeed war.

[…] Read it. I’m talking about the second-tier of the warfare, the attempt to intimidate those removed by one or more degrees of separation from the dispute, and to use them as tools against the target. […]

Sandra Fluke – The woeful tale of a 1%er pleading for the 99% to pay for her contraception. It is heartrending that a woman who pays $23,000 per semester at Georgetown Law School has to pay for her own birth control pills.

http://www.law.georgetown.edu/finaff/studaccts/tuition.html

donsmith7777 | March 5, 2012 at 4:13 pm

In my humble opinion Rush crossed the line. It’s not a war against conservatives or Republicans this is Rush Limbaugh’s own personal problem and not anyone else. He’s apologized and that’s great, however he still has do accept the consequences of his actions.

Rush is a big boy, he can take it and he’ll be a better man as well as a better representative of conservative causes for it in the end.

Democrats and liberals can milk this for what it’s worth but the conservative movement is FAR larger than one man as they’ll soon find out.

    If Rush wants to apologize for his use of language, that is his business. If you disagree with what words Rush used, fair enough. But conservative need to call BS on BS. This false outrage is just an Alinsky tactic (given the vileness and misogyny of the left in going after conservative women) and the sooner you realize that the better.

      donsmith7777 in reply to EBL. | March 5, 2012 at 6:13 pm

      Maybe your right EBL but I played the video for my wife to get her to get her opinion… she hears A LOT of salty language around here, but she was visibly shaken. Not good.

[…] Oh, Yes. New? Not In the Least Posted on March 5, 2012 3:30 pm by Bill Quick » Welcome to total political war – Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion This total war, in which no one is allowed to be non-political and neighbors and clients become […]

“As a woman,” I think that Sandra Fluke needs better taste in boyfriends, a vibrator, or a shrink, because no grown woman with an ounce of self-respect sleeps with men who let her pay three grand for birth control without chipping in.

As a woman, I see no reason to denounce the people who refuse to enable her neuroses.

[…] with the schools and entertainment industry indoctrinating our children with leftist propaganda. These people are at war with us and it’s about time we figured that out and started fighting back – really fighting […]

[…] a post titled, “Welcome to total political war,” Bill Jacobson highlights another radio host being pressured to get on board and slam […]

Somebody has a quote out about the nature of some conflicts removes neutrality. Everyone must take a stand, one side or the other, or be shot as a traitor by either side. The progressives think they have victory near at hand, which is why they are forcing issues.

[…] if the one side fights according to the Marquis of Queensbury while the other like Kimbo Slice.  Professor William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection says that only the Left truly knows how to wage “total political war” in contrast to […]

[…] Should FOX Business Drop Don Imus? Should We DEMAND IT? No, not really. That’s what leftists do when they disagree with someone’s opinion. […]

[…] with the schools and entertainment industry indoctrinating our children with leftist propaganda. These people are at war with us and it’s about time we figured that out and started fighting back – really fighting […]

I’m sorry to disagree in part with the professor. We are not battling honest folk engaged in honest struggle. Alinsky’s rules are not the same as the Marquess of Queensberry’s. Without overstating the point, see “Neville Chamberlain”. He meant well, and tried to be “civilized”. Fat lot of good it did him.

These people are trying to enslave us. I will not politely allow that to occur. I’d rather take my cue from the Maccabees and Habbani, and apologize after the left’s defeat if I’ve offended anyone’s sensibilities. But that might only be me.

    iconotastic in reply to 49erDweet. | March 6, 2012 at 2:58 am

    Many others recognize that it is total war–not just total political war–with the progressives. They merely want to control every aspect of your life, as capriciously as they choose. I suppose if they weren’t wrong about, well, virtually everything it might not be such a bad idea to have a mummy and daddy decide everything. But since progressives have an unerring instinct for the wrong choice (see Hitler and Stalin for good examples of the logical endpoint of progressives) allowing them to control every aspect of our lives is idiocy.

iconotastic | March 6, 2012 at 2:55 am

Good for Kim.
As for the real-life Carrie (from Sex and the City), if a woman wants to be a slut then more power to her. But why she expects me to pay for any of her medical costs for that decision is beyond me any more. Rather like a drunk insisting that I help pay for his vodka…

[…] on the Left quite like Limbaugh, but it’s also true that certain figures on the Left pursue a “total war” campaign against people on the Right they deem as impure, and deserving of being driven out of […]

Just got my first email from Carbonite offering me a 3-month trial after I emailed them to shove it!! Laughing myself silly! They dump on Rush and then want my business! RIGHT, like that’s going to happen

[…] Welcome to total political war – Re: Rush Limbaugh – And I’m not talking about the attempt to get advertisers to stop advertising on Rush Limbaugh’s show, or Fox News, although that would be bad enough. […]

On Monday, after apologizing to that partisan hack Fluke, Rush Limbaugh stated that never again would he stoop to the methods of the left, like trying to deprive people of their right to free speech. Within 10 minutes he entered into one of his diatribes about Ron Paul, even refusing to mention him by name.

When Obama was elected I really started worrying that it was over for the US. Now after seeing what the big government “conservatives” like Limbaugh have done to Ron Paul, I know that it is over for the US and its empire.

I used to try to defend the Republican party against accusations that it was no different from the left. Now we have the proof that they are the same. By participating in media blackouts and covering up stolen primaries, Limbaugh=Maher, both are partisan hacks just like Fluke.

A pox on both houses.

[…] Over at Legal Insurrection, Will has a story up that rings very close to my own experiences, called Welcome to total political war: …I’m not talking about the attempt to get advertisers to stop advertising on Rush […]