Talking Points Galore ... and the Best Ever

» Newsweek: The Truth About Denial (Sharon Begley)

Great overview of the talking points machine on the right and how they do combat with those who think global warming ought to be ... ya know ... NOT happening.

Since the late 1980s, this well-coordinated, well-funded campaign by contrarian scientists, free-market think tanks and industry has created a paralyzing fog of doubt around climate change. Through advertisements, op-eds, lobbying and media attention, greenhouse doubters (they hate being called deniers) argued first that the world is not warming; measurements indicating otherwise are flawed, they said. Then they claimed that any warming is natural, not caused by human activities. Now they contend that the looming warming will be minuscule and harmless. "They patterned what they did after the tobacco industry," says former senator Tim Wirth, who spearheaded environmental issues as an under secretary of State in the Clinton administration. "Both figured, sow enough doubt, call the science uncertain and in dispute. That's had a huge impact on both the public and Congress."

I'm sure it's just a massive coincidence that all of those folks just independently arrived at the view that global warming wasn't happening ... or was happening, but man-made causes weren't to blame ... or was happening and maybe or maybe not our fault, but negligible in effect ... or it's China's fault. Whatever talking point seems to be polling well at the time.

» Slate: Combat ConfessionalWhat to make of the New Republic's Baghdad Diarist? (Phillip Carter)

Talking points, continued ...

Almost immediately after Beauchamp's third story hit the newsstand in the July 23 issue, right-wing journalists and bloggers launched an offensive against the New Republic and the author, then still hidden behind the pseudonym of his first and middle names. Michael Goldfarb of the Weekly Standard led a number of prominent conservative bloggers to question the author's combat credentials, experiences, even the fact that he was a soldier.

Then again, maybe it just depends on your definition of "independently arrived at." That said, Carter's conclusion is worth bearing in mind far more than the parrots of the right (or the left):

The Beauchamp dispatches show the extent to which the discourse over Iraq has been poisoned and how quickly the left, the right, and the military were willing to go to the mat to defend their version of what is—or what they thought ought to be—true. No one cares anymore about the troops, the truth of their reports from Iraq, or the serious issues of professional journalism associated with a series of this type. The troops have become pawns in this debate; their stories a kind of Rorschach test that reveals more about how we view the war than its reality on the ground.

» TAP: The Failure of Antigovernment Conservatism (Paul Waldman)

Just another datapoint to follow on the "Can't Do Nation" meme. Not the strongest overall argument - a bit too heavy on the timely issue of SCHIP and a bit too accepting of the Sullivan critigue of HRC - but great in parts. Namely:

It's time for prominent Democrats, the ones who have the power to get on the evening news, to talk in explicit terms about the consequences of the conservative antigovernment philosophy and what it says about the people who advocate it. Conservatives are the people who degrade government to the point that it cannot effectively maintain our roads and bridges. Conservatives are the people who turn over our defense budget to corrupt contractors who steal the money that ought to go to our troops. Conservatives are the people who won't let poor kids have health insurance.

We see this at the state level, as well. Look no further than the TYC scandal and all that it says about Texas' limited government approach to both oversight and social services. There are ideas that warrant less containment and more rollback from a Democratic perspective. Protecting people, ensuring that kids get off to the best start in life possible - especially in terms of education and health care - are two biggies. The other side simply doesn't believe government has a role to play there. The majority of Americans and Texans do. I'll take my odds on that fight.

» Best Ever ... deal with it: