I missed this bit of DC think-tank inside-baseball yesterday. Matt Yglesias wrote something critical about Third Way:
Third Way is a neat organization — I used to work across the hall from them. And they do a lot of clever messaging stuff that a lot of candidates find very useful. But their domestic policy agenda is hyper-timid incrementalist bullshit.
Shortly thereafter, GlaDOS Jennifer Palmieri of the Center for American progress appeared from behind the scenes and posted to Matt’s blog:
This is Jennifer Palmieri, acting CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Most readers know that the views expressed on Matt’s blog are his own and don’t always reflect the views of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Such is the case with regard to Matt’s comments about Third Way. Our institution has partnered with Third Way on a number of important projects … and have a great deal of respect for their critical thinking and excellent work product. They are key leaders in the progressive movement and we look forward to working with them in the future.
Whoops. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. Please place the device on the ground, then lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly to collect you for your party.
Things now seem to have returned to normal, with “weak tea” metaphors substituting for that stuff about “timid incrementalist bullshit.”
{ 21 comments }
R.Mutt 12.22.08 at 7:41 pm
Not to worry, Jennifer Palmieri will soon be working at the Pentagon, where she can do no more harm.
jim 12.22.08 at 8:21 pm
I suppose my astonishment is that a director of communications, who’s been in the White House press office, who’s run the 2004 Edwards campaign’s press relations, would do such a boneheaded thing. Surely she should have known better. Google her now and the third hit is Brad DeLong intoning magisterially: This is a mistake on so many levels.
It’s not as if political blogs are a new thing.
David in NY 12.22.08 at 8:24 pm
Why do tempests always occur in teapots?
Watson Aname 12.22.08 at 8:29 pm
Why do tempests always occur in teapots?
Low energy cost?
alkali 12.22.08 at 8:48 pm
I’m not even sure that this is a mistake. Someone wanted a clarification; they got one; and Yglesias keeps on blogging. No crimes against humanity seem to have been committed. (Who wants to maintain the Godwin’s Law countdown timer?)
dan 12.22.08 at 8:52 pm
(Who wants to maintain the Godwin’s Law countdown timer?)
Maybe Hitler Palmieri would, when she’s done oppressing the Interblogs.
Steve LaBonne 12.22.08 at 9:06 pm
It’s a mistake in the sense of being massively counterproductive, since it drew 100,000 times as much attention to MY’s original comment than it would otherwise have received.
alkali 12.22.08 at 9:08 pm
It’s a mistake in the sense of being massively counterproductive, since it drew 100,000 times as much attention to MY’s original comment than it would otherwise have received.
I don’t deny that it’s come in for a lot of criticism; the question is whether the criticism is really warranted.
Watson Aname 12.22.08 at 9:08 pm
It’s also remarkably tone-deaf for someone in her position.
Steve LaBonne 12.22.08 at 9:25 pm
I’d say that when you attempt damage-control PR and it makes the damage a lot worse instead, then yeah, you deserve criticism. When on top of it you also call your star blogger’s editorial independence (as well your thinktank’s intellectual independence from Village groupthink and logrolling) into question by intruding yourself into his blog, that doesns’t exactly make it better. It’s not immoral or anything, just not very bright.
Aaron Swartz 12.22.08 at 9:44 pm
WTF? Who let GlaDOS into the Pentagon? Military contractors were bad enough! Jesus, people…
SocraticGadfly 12.22.08 at 11:54 pm
I try to invoke the Stalin Corollary, rather than the original version of Godwin; jazzes things up a bit.
bob mcmanus 12.23.08 at 12:08 am
I think only a Congressperson, powerful lobbyist or high WH staffer would have the clout, the ego, and the stupidity to make this happen. Check out the names at Third Way.
liza 12.23.08 at 6:00 am
you the whole brou-ha-ha debate just for that Portals reference.
Tom West 12.23.08 at 12:03 pm
It’s a mistake in the sense of being massively counterproductive, since it drew 100,000 times as much attention to MY’s original comment than it would otherwise have received.
Externally, the comment was probably not a net plus. However, if it managed to stall some massive infighting, bad feelings, etc. inside the organizations, it was still a wise thing to do.
Egos are delicate, and way too many organizations that are nominally pointing in the same direction spend their time fighting each other rather than all pushing together because of past indiscretions.
politicalfootball 12.23.08 at 1:28 pm
It’s interesting that the critique here is essentially operational – what Palmieri did was bad because it didn’t work. I’d propose that:
1 – Third Way wanted to throw it’s weight around and make sure that Yglesias understood that Third Way had enough pull to reach into his blog.
2 – Palmieri abetted this.
3 – Yglesias allowed this.
4 – Yglesias’s readers objected.
Of these events, No. 4 is the only one that seems unambiguously okay.
nick s 12.23.08 at 3:49 pm
You can never have too many Portal references.
Third Way has just ensured that it will be associated with this little incident (and thus will inspire the same reaction as ‘DLC’ in certain circles on the left) for the years to come. Nice work, peeps.
Uncle Kvetch 12.23.08 at 5:01 pm
Yglesias needs to get with the program: hyper-timid incrementalist bullshit is the new black, and we’re all gonna party like it’s 1993. If he keeps deviating from the “Just like the Republicans, only somewhat slightly less so” orthodoxy he’s not going to be invited to any more good parties.
rea 12.23.08 at 5:38 pm
. . . a tempest in a weak teapot, evidently . . .
Geoff 12.23.08 at 6:10 pm
The cake is a lie!
newshutz 12.25.08 at 10:07 pm
Of course if you check out the republicans, they are saying they have to stop being just like the democrats, only somewhat less so.
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