Howard Fineman Joins the Village Freakout

by: David Sirota

Sat Oct 25, 2008 at 20:00


Surprise, surprise - Howard Fineman joins fellow Newsweeker John Meacham, Wall Street Journal sycophant Peggy Noonan and  other elders of the Elite Media Village in freaking out about an Obama presidency and how it might actually mean real change:

This is the engine room of a novel grass-roots machine that may soon have another purpose: to help Obama govern the country. If he wins, it also could cause him headaches...'His supporters have sky-high expectations and expect to be involved,' says Will Marshall, who studied the Obama organization for the Democratic Leadership Council. 'They are loyal but not easy to control.'...

It could also cause Obama problems. Much of America may be gung-ho about putting more troops into Afghanistan, but it's not clear Obamaworld is; he could run into opposition if he seriously pursues it. On the other hand, initiating talks with Iranian and Venezuelan dictators enjoys more support on his e-mail lists than in the rest of the country. If the Democrats win bigger majorities in the House and Senate, they (if not Obama) may well be eager to exact vengeance on Republicans, or at least cram Democratic ideas down GOP throats. Obama supporters might prefer more reaching-out. As Marshall sees it, most of them want a "transpartisan" approach that jettisons the old labels. "These people feel a close, personal tie to Obama, just as conservatives did to Reagan," he says. "But if and when he starts governing, he is going to start disappointing them."

Fineman's take is a bit more honest than other Villagers - he does correctly note that Obama's grassroots organization could end up pressuring a President Obama. Where he veers back to the Village, however, is in how he casts that possibility.

David Sirota :: Howard Fineman Joins the Village Freakout
To the Village, it would be horrible - catastrophic even - if Obama supporters dared to expect Obama to actually pursue a true progressive agenda. Obama supporters are therefore depicted as a wild-eyed, bewildered herd of lunatic leftists that, as the corporate-backed DLC says, are - gasp! - "not easy to control."

This is a portrayal designed to press Obama to immediately shun his base, capitulate to conservatives (in the spirit of "transpartisanship"), reject "cramming Democratic ideas down GOP throats" (even though Obama campaigned on Democratic ideas), and bow down to the Serious and Respected Villagers after the election. Of course, these are the same Villagers whose neoconservatism got us into Iraq and whose free-market fundamentalism drove the country to the bring of economic disaster - all under the guise of "transpartisanship." Now, these same Villagers are making it clear that the Serious and Responsible thing for Obama to do is deliberately "disappoint" the people who elected him.

This Village freakout is only going to get more vocal after the election - and we better be prepared to fight back.

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Howard Fineman Joins the Village Freakout | 20 comments
Fineman has to have something to write about (4.00 / 1)
So, he can't write about the election because that's old news. So he's got to bring up some drama about what happens after. What if.. what if... what if.......
Here in the reality based community we have a president to elect, still.
The Village (0.00 / 0)
doesn't seem to understand that if the middle class is eviscerated, their (Villagers') lifestyle goes to crap too. I don't have to explain to anyone here how that simple chain reaction works.

On the other hand, maybe they just don't freakin' care. Maybe they've already made their plans move to Dubai.

They live in a Green Zone. (4.00 / 2)
Like all decadent elites. The middle class is not necessary to their world at all, they can get by just fine surrounded by serfs alone. Remember the ancient Greeks had slaves as architects, doctors and tutors.

Montani semper liberi
[ Parent ]
"the green zone" (4.00 / 2)
Is a pretty terrific metaphor for the place that many of the people most responsible for the current mess live (high-end journalists, politicians, the finance types -- who continue to draw lavish salaries even as their mistakes are paid off.)
[ Parent ]
Not that clear cut anymore (0.00 / 0)
Technically true, but it's not so cut and dry these days. Especially if we're talking about The Villagers (which I was), I'm pretty sure they do indeed need the middle class, at least if they want to keep their current jobs.

Isn't the "traditional" media largely dependent on advertising that targets the middle class? And if so, won't those ad revenues dry up if there's no middle class to purchase those products? Serfs certainly can't afford that stuff. Nor can serfs afford to have cable TV or the internet.

But The Villagers are not the Elite, elite. And yes of course I agree, nothing can ever touch the Elite elite. Except perhaps the plague.

[ Parent ]
the "high end" (4.00 / 1)
will always have a job -- if the New York Times goes under, or something drastic, they will still be able to charge $10k minimum to give a talk to the plutocrats about how the Earth is Flat and the Next Six Months are Crucial, or whatever the latest rubbish is.

Now, in the long run, can the kind of right-wing policies they advocate (overtly or not) sustain them and the rest of the country? No (and that's why we're here.) But in the mean time, it's an easier day at the office to think otherwise.

[ Parent ]
Exactly. (0.00 / 0)
The wingnut welfare gravy train will roll on, regardless of what happens to the rest of us.

Although actually a better metaphor for the Village elders might be those enslaved tutors. Not truly the elite, serving at the privilege of their sponsors and allowed to marry into the cast only on the rarest of occasions, but kept on hand for the sake of maintaining the appearance of gentility.

Montani semper liberi

[ Parent ]
Keep in mind (0.00 / 0)
what I said was...
if they want to keep their current jobs.

[ Parent ]
I still don't get it. (0.00 / 0)
GE owns how much of our media?

What would the end of the middle class mean they had to lay off their courtiers, whose job is to compose praise hymns in honor of great men and sing songs of war? The elite never get tired of that.

Montani semper liberi

[ Parent ]
I Agree With Your Point, But... (0.00 / 0)
In the end I come down with Oaktown Girl.  They don't really need that many courtiers, if push comes to shove.  They just need to not have anyone out of step.

They've already fired so many of them over the past 20 years, they're quite used to it now.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
I have to go with Thorstein Veblen. (0.00 / 0)
The longer the train of well-dressed, useless retainers waving palm fronds and singing of center-right nations, the greater the glory of their masters. Their uselessness is their purpose, because it says to all, "Look how rich I am that I can be so wasteful. Even my eunuchs have houses on Martha's Island."

But that's just me.

Montani semper liberi

[ Parent ]
This Is, Of Course The Natural Progression (4.00 / 2)
Indeed, this is presicely what has brought us to a point of such ruin.

But now that we are at a point of such ruin, what's most deeply wanted cannot be had anymore.

"Jolten Joe has left and gone away" as Paul Simon so eloquently put it.

And Joe the Plumber is all that remains.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
Villagers never change (4.00 / 1)
    Same old bullshit. Obama has spent a year and a half explaining what he wants to do but the villagers still preach about the "middle", whatever the hell that is. I don't expect Obama to to be as liberal as I am, but I do expect him to try to implement the programs and positions he's run (and won) on. The PPI and Will Marshal are obsolete. We don't need another Clintonian regime.  
He's either for or agin his positions... (4.00 / 1)
We will need Obama's help with this fight.  If he stays on track and stands tall, we have a shot at winning this fight.  If he doesn't, well, we can't fight them and him, too.  

They're asking for another four years -- in a just world, they'd get 10 to 20. ~~ Dennis Kucinich  
[ Parent ]
I do recall that the word "change" (0.00 / 0)
appeared in an Obama campaign event .. more than one event IIRC .. it was on a campaign sign or two .. and I believe Obama used the change theme in a speech .. maybe I can dig up a reference .. I'm sure there's a picture or video somewhere ..
Not just could, but must (0.00 / 0)
Obama's made it clear that whatever his underlying ideals may be, he's going to govern based on consensus. This means that basically anybody can control what Obama does from here on out, so long as you're able to change the consensus.

Obama's basically going to govern with Markos Moulitsas on one shoulder and David Broder on the other. The question of which of these two he'll eventually follow gets asked a lot, but the answer is actually pretty easy: whichever one talks louder. It will be easier for Obama to do the right thing-- and easier for him to brush off the conventional-wisdom pundit hordes yelling at him to do the wrong thing-- if he has ten zillion people on MyBo screaming for it.

So if we want Obama to do the right thing, we better get ready for a lot of screaming.

Fortunately, this election has amply demonstrated that the left-wing blogosphere is good at screaming :)

has nothing to do with how loud you scream (4.00 / 2)
has everything to do with how much money you've got.

Look at what happened with the bailout. Massive popular opposition, both from Republicans and Democrats, enough to scuttle the bill the first time it came around. There was plenty of screaming then, angry phone calls, letters demanding that the Congress slow down and give us a real plan instead of passing Paulson's crappy plan.

Obama didn't give a good goddamn. He told Congress they had to pass the bill, with the basic premises of the crappy Paulson plan intact, and twisted their arms and called in favors and made promises until they got it passed.

He is perfectly willing to defy his own base when the establishment demands it, and perfectly willing to fight hard on their behalf in the face of popular opposition. I have yet to see any indication he will do the opposite.

This is a country run by the wealthiest 1%, for the wealthiest 0.5%. Obama understands this and behaves accordingly. If he didn't, they wouldn't let him be president. Simple as that.

[ Parent ]
"Be prepared to fight back?" (4.00 / 1)
This Village freakout is only going to get more vocal after the election - and we better be prepared to fight back.

How do we plan on fighting back?  And, shouldn't we plan on mounting an offensive effort to pressure the next administration, instead of a defensive effort to limit the effectiveness of the Villager freakout that is already starting?  Forget the Villagers.  How do we successfully lobby for what we want?

Hey, it's a center-right country! (4.00 / 1)
Didn't everyone know that? Doesn't matter how unpopular and even loathed Republicans and conservatives are, and how many Democrats voters put into office. The country LOVES right-wing ideas and policies and HATES left-wing ones. It's all about FREEDOM and AMERICA and DRILL BABY DRILL and GOD and TRADITIONAL VALUES and PATIO GUY and GO USA!

Man do these bloviators disgust me. They're smart enough to know that they're full of shit, but lack the courage and decency to be honest about it. Plus the money's really, really good, and they do love them their cocktail parties. Basically, they have good lives, and if lying is what they have to do to maintain them, then it's a "sacrifice" they're willing to make.

Any time someone talks about "The American People", it's a fair bet that they're full of it.

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything...Mankind are forever destined to be the dupes of bold & cunning imposture" -- Alexander Hamilton

Not the best example (0.00 / 0)
While I (mostly) agree with your overall premise, this isn't a particularly good example.  (The 'mostly' is due to lack of certainty how much is on purpose and how much is humans sucked in by conventional wisdom and herd mentality; I suspect more of the later and you suggest mostly the prior.)  

I think we all agree with Fineman's basic premise.  I mean, you complain about the "easy to control" line, yet you point out the need for this every day.

Howard Fineman Joins the Village Freakout | 20 comments





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