It’s not the most important issue in the world, but I thought it was striking that the Pajamafolk are seem genuinely tickled by the same exchange that lefties think is hilariously pompous. Just one of those things, I guess.
by Ted on February 6, 2006
It’s not the most important issue in the world, but I thought it was striking that the Pajamafolk are seem genuinely tickled by the same exchange that lefties think is hilariously pompous. Just one of those things, I guess.
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P O'Neill 02.06.06 at 5:10 pm
It seems that the Winger New Testament begins with the Bush military records/kerning incident.
Matt Weiner 02.06.06 at 5:11 pm
So the question (by Mirengoff) that sets this off is:
Well, why don’t – if you disagree with that argument, why don’t you go on the floor and try to get a vote and have the Senate say whether or not the authorization of force – with all force necessary-
Mirengoff is a lawyer and I’m not, but isn’t this a strange theory of legislative interpretation, that after passing the AUMF the Senate has to vote again to clarify what it means? I thought the Legislature passes the laws, and the executive interprets them.
Richard Bellamy 02.06.06 at 5:13 pm
I thought the Legislature passes the laws, and the executive interprets them.
No. You’ve got your Schoolhouse Rock wrong.
The legislature makes the laws.
The executive ENFORCES the laws.
The JUDICIARY interprets the laws.
The proper question would be, “If you disagree with him, why don’t you sue him?”
Which is actually not a bad question.
Matt Weiner 02.06.06 at 5:19 pm
(The last comment is a snark on some alleged Bush statement that I’m not actually able to find a reliable citation for right now. Regardless, Mirengoff’s idea strikes me as odd.)
Matt Weiner 02.06.06 at 5:20 pm
That is, Bush is supposed to have said the legislature passes the laws and the executive enforces them; Mirengoff seems to be putting the burden on the legislature to enforce them. And 4 referred to the last sentence of 2.
Seth Finkelstein 02.06.06 at 5:33 pm
I believe the answer – which I suspect they know Durbin won’t give right now – is “Many Republican Senators don’t want to take the political heat for embarrassing the President”.
By the way, there’s a huge mythology that’s been created over the Dan Rather incident. In fact there was much right-wing big media involvement.
Jasper Milvain 02.06.06 at 7:04 pm
“are seem”?
nick s 02.06.06 at 8:24 pm
It’s particularly amusing if you assume, understandably, that Mirengoff is a Young Republican upstart. When you realise that ‘Deacon’ is in fact a lawyer in his mid-50s, it’s more than a little sad. (Though somewhat explained by the fact that he’s an Everton fan.)
That is, Bush is supposed to have said the legislature passes the laws and the executive enforces them
No, Bush said in 2000 that “it’s the executive branch’s job to interpret law”. And has lived to that Bushism.
Matt Weiner 02.06.06 at 9:13 pm
Nick S, thanks for the citation and correction. Of course it is the executive’s responsibility to enforce the law.
s9 02.06.06 at 9:38 pm
They’re tickled because they think the question Mirengoff asked was too difficult for Durbin to answer— they suppose it was embarassing to the Senator not to have what they consider a straight answer. The reason we’re amused, on the other hand, is that their question was obviously predicated on bullshit and they’re too stupid even to know that themselves.
When Mirengoff cracks that line about Dan Rather, which is what is really making their digglers schwing in this case, they’re tickled because it seems like a great zinger to them. To us, it looks like the lame and unseemly grandstanding it was, and which would, in normal times, be sneered away as inappropriate behavior for a reporter at a press conference.
Alas, these are not normal times, and any behavior that would be inappropriate for a professional journalist at a press conference with a Democratic Senator is a demonstration of refinement and courtesy when it comes from one of the favored popinjays of the wingnut propaganda corps.
I’ll say this, if Senator Durbin really didn’t know who these goobers were, then he needs to fire his staff and hire replacements who know what’s going on. These guys are just getting started.
neil 02.06.06 at 10:49 pm
Amazing that their silly tough-guy machismo extends all the way to the guy in the press briefing room, though. And you’d think Dan Rather was Muhammad Ali to hear these guys beat their chests about it.
neil 02.06.06 at 10:51 pm
And it’s also a little funny to think that they believe Dan Rather sits at home cursing the name of Pajamas. Why, if it wasn’t for those meddling kids…
Daniel 02.07.06 at 1:28 am
good god. The Glenn Reynolds post was, in its entirety: “Dick Durbin, interview. Update: Heh”.
I had always thought that this was an unkind parody of the man by his enemies. Does he really do that all the time?
Neil the Ethical Werewolf 02.07.06 at 3:02 am
Wow! It’s like on-air trolling!
Belle Waring 02.07.06 at 8:22 am
heh.
nick s 02.07.06 at 9:20 am
Does he really do that all the time?
Indeed.
Cryptic Ned 02.07.06 at 9:41 am
But really…he makes a post…and then he decides to punch it up a bit, so he goes back and adds an update. And his update consists entirely of “Heh?”
I think we’ve outed Instapundit as a parody of himself. Any time now he’s going to say “I am astonished at how many right-wing lummoxes actually enjoyed the nonsense I spouted month after month in an attempt to be as predictable and content-free as possible. You people have been P0WN3D! O RLY? YA RLY! Oh no he di’n’t! That’s right, I want you to think long and hard about your lives and decide that U R LUZERZ!”
JRoth 02.07.06 at 10:42 am
17 gets it exactly right.
neil 02.07.06 at 12:26 pm
To be fair, the word ‘heh’ was a link to another post.
norbizness 02.07.06 at 2:17 pm
This whole episode reminds me of the Simpsons/Critic crossover episode, where Jay Sherman happened to carry all his awards on him. Substitute Powerline for Sherman, and “honorable mention ribbon from the 8th grade science fair” for “multiple national film criticism awards.”
John Lederer 02.07.06 at 7:29 pm
Aww…you guys are just jealous.
y81 02.07.06 at 7:45 pm
I don’t understand this criticism of Reynolds. His is a true blog (my secret essentialist identify peeks out), i.e., it’s a collection of links that he has found while surfing the net, not a collection of essays or the sort of dialogue found here. You have to read the linked items: in their entirety they constitute an oeuvre which many people find mildly entertaining, just as some people find, say, Harper’s magazine mildly entertaining.
If you don’t find the oeuvre mildly entertaining, don’t read it.
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