Nero's AmericanPower(?) again misleads

I routinely get commenters here arguing that today's left-wing of Barack Obama, William Ayers, Markos Moulitsas, Tom Matzzie, Andrew Sullivan, Jeremiah Wright and on and on ... represents a movement of moderate Democrats and "progressive" reformers.

That's a lie.

While my old friend Nero seems to enjoy dragging me into his little delusions (despite the fact that its been months since I've bothered to waste the time commenting on his blog), I have never made the argument he attributes to me, and I once again renew my call for him to quote whichever of my words lead him to think I've done so. (which I predict he will once again ignore, preferring his easy fiction and wingnut "sources" to any shred of documented fact.)

I have never spoken of the folks he's listed in one sentence, or suggested that that group represents any movement on the left, be it hard left, progressive, or moderate. In fact, I tend to avoid speaking monolithically about any social or political group. Unlike Nero, I recognize that "the left" (or "the right") doesn't uniformly believe any one particular thing about any particular issue. In fact, I believe that bullshit sweeping generalizations like the ones Nero routinely uses (along with many other bloggers & opinioneers, left and right) not only do not prove what they intend to prove, but actually hurt the political process. To me, any suggestion that Andrew Sullivan & Jeremiah Wright are together on some mythical ideological "team" which all right-thinking people (like Nero & his ilk) must oppose at face value, is just friggin' silly, and causes me to question the level of pure partisanship (if not intelligence) of anyone making that argument.

In the post which includes this little reference to me, Nero argues that the "nihilist, socialist, stalinist" ect. left opposes the bailout, while conveniently ignoring the fact that many rightwing Republican House members have similar concerns about Corporate Socialism, and that up until the one word answer in the debate where he finally took a definitive position, there was some talk about whether McCain was thinking the same, as well. While I cannot say whether those rightwing populists were also out protesting against the bailout, there is little doubt that opposition to corporate welfare and concern for common citizens is in no way purely a "hard-left" issue, whatever Nero's paint-by-partisanship post tries to suggest.

While I ultimately believe some form of bailout is a necessary evil, I support those left AND RIGHT who are arguing for a more free market & better protections for the folks on Main Street, too.