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Five people = "So Many Leftists".

From NYMag:

Why Are So Many Leftists Skeptical of the Russia Investigation?

By  Jonathan Chait

Wow.  As a field commander of the Liberal forces of the middle of Middle America, I am shocked to hear this.

Tell me more, Jonathan Chait!

The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald has gone from insisting evidence of Russian interference should be discounted until Robert Mueller produced some indictments to now saying indictments themselves should also be discounted. Greenwald regularly appears on Tucker Carlson’s show to dismiss the Russia witch hunt, as does The Nation’s Stephen F. Cohen.

OK, but the Spleenwald trolley went off the track years ago, so you're not exactly selling me here.

Aaron Maté, another Nation contributor...

Aaron Maté, who my quick count from The Nation site shows that in the last year and a half has written 12 columns, all of which are "Pay No Attention To The Russia Collusion Thingie" and who never rose to my attention (and I read everything) until Mr. Chait decided to use him as the second pillar of his mighty article.

Which, I am sure, makes me a terrible Liberal.

But I get it.  When Mr. Chait says "So Many Leftists..." he means any bylined, haver-of-opinions anywhere he can dig up to use to sell his stupid premise.

OK, that's two, both of which I would shrug off, but as I have already confessed, I am a bad Liberal.

So what else you got, Mr. Chait?

Situated just to the right of this faction is a slightly less extreme form of skepticism about the Russia investigation. It does not justify or deny Russian hacking. Instead it criticizes liberals for caring too much about Russia, and posits that the Russia fixation is somehow preventing the left from prosecuting a populist case against Trump.

This is an argument more of mood and tone, relying more on implicit contrast than frontal challenge to the Mueller investigation...

Wait, wait, wait, just a minute Jonathan.

Are you telling me you only made it to your third paragraph before you begin kneecapping the whole premise of your article?  That most or all of these "So Many Leftists..."  are not actually skeptical, they just think our limited energies could be better spent elsewhere?


Well given that so far you've only located two actual "skeptics" in the Lefty hay barn -- Spleenwald and some other guy -- can we assume that your second-round draft picks are all seriously heavy hitters who can kick your basketball into your end zone or whatever?


Commenters like Katherine Krueger at Splinter, Seth Ackerman and Corey Robin at Jacobin, and Osita Nwanevu at Slate have all expressed versions of this soft Russiagate skepticism. These critics do not all agree with each other on every point, but share certain overlapping tendencies...

And so, having gathered the tinder and built a little teepee of twigs, Mr. Chait finally gets around to actually setting fire to his own premise --


-- in his second-to-last paragraph:

Few leftists actually want to shut down the Mueller probe, or are even arguing that Democrats should refuse to investigate Russia if they gain congressional majorities...

Dear NYMag,

As long as you're handing out bylines for this kind of codswallop, may I unreservedly recommend myself for a haver-of-opinion gig at your publication.  I am currently a field commander of the Liberal forces of the middle of Middle America, but I'm sure I can find a few spare minutes in my day to knock out articles of equal-or-greater quality to those which you currently buy:


Posted by driftglass at 7/30/2018 10:48:00 AM Professor Fate said...

May I suggest a reason this kind of gibberish exists and why it’s still printed?
There is a moment in Tinker Tailor Solider Spy (you have Science Fiction I have spy novels) where George Smiley talks about a manoeuver by the Mole that “made everyone wrong who was right” If, again nothing has been proven but lord it’s pretty suspicious since every closet the Feds open has a Russian in it, if the turns out that the only reason Donald Trump is president is because the Russians with varying degrees of assistance from the national and local GOP organizations and groups like the NRA hacked the vote so that Trump won by kicking people off the rolls and by actual gimmicking of the vote totals then Chait and the rest’s narrative is shattered
The narrative that it’s all Hillary’s fault she lost, that she fixed the primaries, that she as a neoliberal tool, that she was an awful candidate, and only if the DNC had listened to them, then, then would they have won the election. All this marvelous preening and indulgence in Clinton bashing would end if it turned out She was robbed and they would look like fools. And that more than anything else they fear. They worship at the shrine of the savvy and this would make them look absurd.
They can’t have that so the urge is to bend over backwards until the top of their heads hit the floor is massive. They pretend that there are either reasons to doubt the investigation or that the Democratic Party shouldn’t pay that much attention to it.
The phase useful idiot comes to mind here. They don’t seem to be actually tools of Putin (Greenwald notwithstanding) but as they try to protect their egos they end up protecting Trump and Putin.
To again quote Tinker Tailor “it would be beautiful in another context. “
 
To ; field commander of the Liberal forces of the middle of Middle America.

From; Dog footed liberal on the obscured front lines, never reported of.

Subject; Basic Intel and request reply of advice and marching orders.

* Did America fail to follow through by allowing Nixon to walk without accountability of impeachment?

* Why did GW Bush and Cheney allowed to hold hands throughout the 0/11 commission. Why didn't Condi Rice get to hold hands with them? Did America fail when then prosecutor Fitzgerald was held back from crossing the line of Not above the law. As he ended his investigation and prosecution with , "A dark cloud hangs over the Vice President".

* If Trump is the master Art of the deal and is a superherp named stiff pants. What is his difficulty being interviewed by Meuller" Trump is tough enough to meet and deal with hard line dictators but, is such a shrinking violet when meeting with a US Prosecutor?
Is it Trump is too weak and feeble he cannot meet and point out any and all foreign entities that he might be aware of that work to harm the Good Ole USA for which president tough guy chosen from God herself. he cannot handle assisting with any information to get the bad guys??

If MS-13 was involved in attacking our elections on behalf of Russia or any other foreign or domestic entity and Trump had knowledge of it. Why would he refuse to bare witness to the crimes of others?

*Better yet, Why is it so many want to align themselves with people who have lied in their denials of any knowledge????
No meetings with Russians to the Trump Tower meeting being sniffed out by Dog Faced (in the trenches) liberals, peer reviewed by Right wing Opinion media and obstructed and obstructed and denied by the rightie winger division of aerobatic spin division.

* When or if the evidence is grossly weighted on the scales of lady Jutice as to tip her over with overwhelming proof of wrongness. Should the republican president be allowed the decency to quit and leave? Is that punishment/ Justice?

Never did I see a bank robber to a liquor store robber, when caught and proven guilty. He merely was allowed to retire from his criminal line of work, and so be it?

*Seems as if, too many are too willing to ignore those that used their partisanship to obstruct everyone from the simple task of freedom to see. It is a public job with public scrutiny. As any police officer may pull you over when driving down the road. Ask you questions like, where are you coming from. Where are you going to? When you tell the officer your name and that you have a drivers licence, that your auto is insured. When he doesn't believe you he demands to see the proof.

* Can it be any less than that for the President vs a citizen. never do I see these paid Mercenary opiners writing Op Eds that law enforcement should really not get so enthralled by the people they come in contact with daily?

For the record, they were where during the Benghazi inquisition?

The HRC investigation of Pissa Gate. As the right wing citizen self appointee investigator realized the danger of the situation. Armed, forced his way into a Pizza joint. Fired a shot into the ceiling to show the seriousness of the matter of a presidential candidate running a pedophile ring out of a basement of a Pizza joint that did not exist.

How they openly, freely with gusto "believed this accusation? With only the proof from someone on a right wing web site and right wing radio, (picked up by right wing FOX TV).

* as a Dog footed mutt in the obscure battle zones of partisanship. Maybe these guys should embed themselves with the Dog Footed before speculating.
