“The Chicago Way” [Update]
By Bronwyn's Harbor on October 23, 2009 at 4:30 PM in Current Affairs
Is now the American Way, apparently. [See my update at the end of the article about the "way" of the Obama administration that is antithetical to America.] Note this from Kimberley Strassel’s column, “The Chicago Way,” in today’s Wall Street Journal:
They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way. – Jim Malone, The Untouchables
When Barack Obama promised to deliver “a new kind of politics” to Washington, most folk didn’t picture Rahm Emanuel with a baseball bat. These days, the capital would make David Mamet, who wrote Malone’s memorable movie dialogue, proud.
A White House set on kneecapping its opponents isn’t, of course, entirely new. (See: Nixon*) What is a little novel is the public and bare-knuckle way in which the Obama team is waging these campaigns against the other side.
Then I turned to Memeorandum.com, a favorite source for the hot political news, and see these disturbing posts and stories about the Obama administration’s anti-democratic tactics:
- “It’s come to this: White House tries to bar Fox News from interviewing pay czar” (Hot Air)
- “Unprecedented: White House Tries to Ban Fox from Press Pool” (Directorblue) — “Today the White House stepped up its attack on Fox News, announcing that the network would no longer be able to conduct interviews with officials as a member of the Press Pool. …”
- “W.H. attacks worry moderate Dems” (The Politico), and
- “Jake Tapper, And The Press Pool, Stand Together” here at NoQuarter, written by Reverend Amy
There’s another Mafia reference in today’s Charles Krauthammer column with “The ‘post-partisan’ president makes an enemies list“:
Rahm Emanuel once sent a dead fish to a live pollster. Now he’s put a horse’s head in Roger Ailes’s bed.
Krauthammer points out the frightening implications of the White House’s tactics for advertisers and other media, and then recounts the admirable behavior of other media:
Meaning? If Fox runs a story critical of the administration — from exposing “green jobs” czar Van Jones as a loony 9/11 “truther” to exhaustively examining the mathematical chicanery and hidden loopholes in proposed health-care legislation — the other news organizations should think twice before following the lead.
The signal to corporations is equally clear: You might have dealings with a federal behemoth that not only disburses more than $3 trillion every year but is extending its reach ever deeper into private industry — finance, autos, soon health care and energy. Think twice before you run an ad on Fox.
At first, there was little reaction from other media. Then on Thursday, the administration tried to make them complicit in an actual boycott of Fox. The Treasury Department made available Ken Feinberg, the executive pay czar, for interviews with the White House “pool” news organizations — except Fox. The other networks admirably refused, saying they would not interview Feinberg unless Fox was permitted to as well. The administration backed down.
Krauthammer explains why this is such an important issue for the citizenry of the United States:
This was an important defeat because there’s a principle at stake here. While government can and should debate and criticize opposition voices, the current White House goes beyond that. It wants to delegitimize any significant dissent. The objective is no secret. White House aides openly told Politico that they’re engaged in a deliberate campaign to marginalize and ostracize recalcitrants, from Fox to health insurers to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
There’s nothing illegal about such search-and-destroy tactics. Nor unconstitutional. But our politics are defined not just by limits of legality or constitutionality. We have norms, Madisonian norms.
Madison argued that the safety of a great republic, its defense against tyranny, requires the contest between factions or interests. His insight was to understand “the greater security afforded by a greater variety of parties.” They would help guarantee liberty by checking and balancing and restraining each other — and an otherwise imperious government.
Factions should compete, but they should also recognize the legitimacy of other factions and, indeed, their necessity for a vigorous self-regulating democracy. Seeking to deliberately undermine, delegitimize and destroy is not Madisonian. It is Nixonian. …
I remember the days when I mocked “Faux News.” That was before my experience as a supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential run. Then I was stunned to discover that Fox News was the sole news outlet that gave fair-minded coverage of Clinton and her campaign. And I was shocked by how leftie bloggers abused both Clinton and ANY of us who dared to support her.
It is my hope that, even in those days when I derided Fox News, I would never have supported the Obama administration’s anti-democratic abuses of power and strong-arming tactics towards the media.
While Lefties preen before a reflection of themselves as idealistic and humane, the truth about the Left is that there is a vicious Mob element to their methods.
Kim Strassel’s column ends like this:
The Oval Office might be more concerned with the long term. It is 10 months in; more than three long years to go. The strategy to play dirty now and triangulate later is risky. One day, say when immigration reform comes due, the Chamber might come in handy. That is if the Chamber isn’t too far gone.
White House targets also aren’t dopes. The corporate community is realizing that playing nice doesn’t guarantee safety. The health executives signed up for reform, only to remain the president’s political piñatas. It surely grates that the unions—now running their own ads against ObamaCare—haven’t been targeted. If the choice is cooperate and get nailed, or oppose and possibly win, some might take that bet.
There’s also the little fact that many Americans voted for this president in thrall to his vow to bring the country together. It’s hard to do that amid gunfire, and voters might just notice.
(“I do not approve of your methods! Yeah, well . . . You’re not from Chicago.”)
As a devotee of the ideals of the Fourth Estate, what is left of it, I pray that the citizenry do not fall for Mob Rule.
(For more on Nixon and his relationship to the press here, here, and here .)
…………………………………………………
UPDATE: I’ve been thinking about what Krauthammer wrote:
The signal to corporations is equally clear: You might have dealings with a federal behemoth that not only disburses more than $3 trillion every year but is extending its reach ever deeper into private industry — finance, autos, soon health care and energy. Think twice before you run an ad on Fox. …
I just wrote this to a friend:
The attacks on Fox are, quite frankly, attacks on capitalism.
These are attacks on the freedom of a news organization, which is a profit-making enterprise, to deliver its own style of news and opinion.
These are attacks on and intimidation of advertisers, all of whom seek profits from their ads.
Obama’s Maoist-inspired cadre — and I state this calmly, rationally, and without hyperbole — is anti-capitalism and anti-profits. Ask the health insurance companies that got screwed after their, what they supposed were, successful (albeit secret) meetings at the White House months ago. Maybe making profits off health care is objected by many, but if there are no inducements for profit (which help to control costs), we end up with Medicare which has how many trillions in debt?
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It is important and good that NoQuarter continues to focus on our potential loss of liberties. I’m absolutely amazed that the BOT’s only care about Free Speech when it is politically correct. I’m guessing that quite a few of the higher ups are Stalinists at heart and do not believe in democracy…..
After all, they know better.
Obama doesn’t want free speech. He wants to kill the capitalist system and shut the naysayers up while he does it.
Just out!
Excerpts from Obama’s University thesis!
This is what he REALLY thinks:
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/10/obamas_columbia_thesis_excerpt.html
Don’t even go to the link. I found out that this is satire.
Obama’s papers, grades, admissions, and all the rest are still top secret.
The crux of Immanuel’s and Axelrod’s attack on FOX was that whereas other networks broadcast the news, FOX was promulgating a point of view. One of the enlightening things I was taught, in the fourth grade I think, was that magazines and newspapers had a point of view and did not express events in a totally neutral way. Presumably, MSNBC’s bias is not bias because it agrees with Thee One’s own POV. This kind of elementary nonsense is not going to wash with the American public. Hurray for the collective news media in standing up to the administration’s boycott of FOX!
“I remember the days when I mocked “Faux News.” That was before my experience as a supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential run. Then I was stunned to discover that Fox News was the sole news outlet that gave fair-minded coverage of Clinton and her campaign. And I was shocked by how leftie bloggers abused both Clinton and ANY of us who dared to support her.”
I have said the above almost verbatim many times. I watch Fox news. Go ahead and demonize me. Who care? At least I know what is really going on with the world more so than if I watched CNN or MSNBC.
PS: I liked Larry’s casual pic-bring it back!!! After all I’m in Ft. Lauderdale.
I am in Colorado, a place that swings from cold to hot in a day, but I also like the more casual photo.
It’s back up! We were doing some programming … and …
The pic now up is about as casual as it gets. The old one was a shock everytime I looked at it.
This was exactly the modus op the whole of His campaign.
Divert, misdirect and smear.
Obama hasn’t changed at all, it’s the way he’s always been.
He’s just gotten much much better at it, and with a whole lot more power.
This can’t be a good thing for USA.
That’s what I keep thinking, and can’t believe these relatively intelligent people didn’t pick up on this during the elction. Obama acted like a whiney spoiled BRAT whenever anyonre didn’t praise him or dared ask a question. Remember his hissy fit after the ONE debate (the last one I might add, because after his temper tantrm he refused to debate Hillary any more)BUT just because someone FINALLY asked some questions about his past, he had a fit, the next day while pouting he did the flip Hillary off, brushed the dirt off his shoulders and shoes and accused Hillary of twisting the knife in, just because she didn’t defend him and make that mean George quit asking him about Wright, ect. It didn’t matter that every debate before that Hillary was slammed by the mods and Obama gleefully jumped in, with the help of that slime John Edwards. Remember how all the papers, MSM reported how terrible it was of ABC to ask Obama real questions and the Bots weere trying to start a boycott of ABC because the were mean to Obama and asked 3 hard questions?
I think the DC press corps sent a message to Obama and his Chicago thugs by making sure that FoxNews was not excluded.
This is amateur hour. The intelligence level in the White House is at an all time low and the regard for the Constitution does not exist.
I am not that concerned yet about Obama abridging my rights because his group is not handling this well and the election in 2010 will make Obama a lame duck.
If you want to see governments acting like Obama’s administration then you would have to go to other countries and ones that have dictators, because this is what they do.
re: “This is amateur hour”
Dead on, hokma. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what the worst component of this administration is. I think I’ve found it. It’s the juvenile attitude they bring to everything. From the cutout-groping Jon Favreau to the dissembling Gibbs to the finger-flashing Obama, they act like a bunch of frat boys.
These people need to grow up.
Great followup to Amy’s article, Bronwyn. I think we should all be encouraged [if only a little] by the stand that the Washington press pool made yesterday. It makes me think that we still have a spark out there. Jake Tapper’s confrontation with Gibbs earlier this week seems to have tweaked some consciences, maybe hit a still viable nerve: the country needs a robust Fourth Estate. Not a bunch of lapdogs.
I,too, am amazed I’m defending Fox News, an organization I never watched before last year. But Krauthammer is absolutely correct. This isn’t about whether you agree or disagree with the opinions of Fox News or particular personalities. It’s about the freedom to have those opinions. And if they’re bunk? They’ll fall of their own accord. But if true, the WH is in deep trouble. Van Jones? That was an utter disgrace. And if it hadn’t been for Fox, the man would still be in position. Acorn? Another disaster.
The WH has shown itself as thin-skinned and petty on this one. And they went waaay too far.
Thumbs up to Tapper and the men and women who finally grew a pair!
We ain’t dead yet.
its becoming clear to anyone with half a brain, that obama and his minions DO NOT have the the best interests of america in mind.(although i thought this as far back as the primaries).their main priority is not to make america stronger, but to make it weaker and eventually to bring it to its knees. its all about grabbing power for themselves and screw everyone else. why else would they want to control banks, insurance cos., the auto industry, healthcare,the airwaves,the press, the internet, and who knows what else. they thought they would have 8 years to do all this behind closed doors but now that americans are getting wise to them, they are in a big hurry to shove their agenda thru before everyone is on to them. isnt that the real reason they are trying to shut fox news up. doesnt anyone wonder why they want to take away our guns, our freedom of speech, control over our healthcare, what news we listen to, and behind the scenes they are building a private militia, in obamas own words “as well funded and well equipped as the military”. is this to stifle the revolution they know will come when the citizens of this country awaken from their koolaid induced comas. we MUST stay alert and not allow them to silence us. they have literally given the public the finger and we must return the favor come the next election.
Obama pretended to run as a “different kind of politician” and played the “innocent” to the hilt during the 2008 campaign. Poor little inexperienced Barack Obama up against the mean tough Clintons. HA HA HA. Obama is nothing more than an old style Chicago thug and mobster politician. He is well schooled in Mayor Daley tactics, Al Capone style, cut them off at the knees if you have to. Obama’s smile is sweet but he is very cunning. He has no qualms about exposing all of his opponents weaknesses and doing any dirty tricks that may be needed to win. In the 2008 primary, he turned the tables on Hillary and made her the bad one; in fact, the DNC tied her hands and she could not respond to the strong arm tactics of Obama, ACORN & Co., his playing of the race card, voter fraud, intimidation, and so much more. Now we have Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and Barack Obama in the White House. The ghost of Richard Daley Sr. lurks in the Oval Office.
How funny that Glenn Beck did his monologue holding a bat, talking about the Chicago Way, just as I was reading this. Que Twilight Zone music. Spot on column, BTW.
Sybill, I watched that too tonight. I was laughing my arse off. Glenn was very funny with the bat and the accent to go with it. He showed the clips from the Untouchables movie too. Maybe they will rerun it over the weekend.
Bronwyn, this is my hope for myself, too. It’s hard looking back on my past political self. I’ve always been involved in the elections to some extent, since the first year I could vote (’72), but this year was the first that I was totally immersed in the primary and election.
Witnessing the fraud during the primary, becoming so angry because so many who were not as involved seemed to think we were all exaggerating, knowing that we could not count on the MSM to tell the story–all this made me realize the importance of preserving our ideals rather than fighting for specific “causes.”
I wonder: if I had been like some of my friends and family and just watched snatches here and there, would I have fallen for the administration’s move to send Fox to the morgue?
I don’t know. I just know that every time I watched the primary and the election debates, I was not impressed with the man the DNC had selected. I was and still am so totally confused as to how so many people thought/think he is so marvelous.
My wake up call during the primary came when MoveOn, an organization I am ashamed to say I joined at one time, sent me their polls. Q. Who did I prefer? A. Hillary. Q. Who should get the nomination? (back when the delegate vs. superdelegate/caucus vs. election issues were hot) A. the candidate with the most popular votes. Then they changed their tune when their obvious pick was not going to get the most popular votes. Then they asked “Will you vote for Obama if your candidate does not get the nomination? (Something to that effect.) My answer? NO.
The man just creeped me out and kept on creeping me out.
It comes back all the time to the lesson in one of my Bible studies programs I attended about twenty years ago. In questions of faith or belief; the Biblical characters who had what was termed “spiritual discernment” were the heroes.
I hope I did have “political discernment.” I just always thought a really good leader could handle all questions, all criticisms–that is, if he/she were really a good leader.
And, I saw that in Hillary. And, indeed, she handled Fox as well as all the others who questioned her. So I hope I would have stood firm against this Chicago mob attempt on the life of Fox.
Beautiful Diana L.C.! It’s like you are living inside my head–you summed up exactly how I feel–but you are a far more eloquent speaker.
Off topic.
Looking at the photo above the line “Larry Johnson bio” must be a mistake because this blog is not published by Jimmy Buffett?
Just what are you implying, hokma? Are you saying that Larry is incapable of wasting away in Margaritaville?
The trolls would say that that happened a long time ago. Consider the source.
Excellent post. I agree.
This reminds me of the old westerns where one guy finally shows some guts, and one by one the rest of the town comes out of the shadows.
Fox and other organizations have the brain-power and money to ante up for the poker game.
We will see who holds and who folds!
I’m relieved that we bit players have some gutsy guys stepping in!
Did you guys every see this article? Very interesting.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040627142700/eastandard.net/headlines/news26060403.htm
Kenyan-born Obama all set for US Senate
Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama, appeared set to take over the Illinois Senate seat after his main rival, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race on Friday night amid a furor over lurid sex club allegations.
The allegations that horrified fellow Republicans and caused his once-promising candidacy to implode in four short days have given Obama a clear lead as Republicans struggled to fetch an alternative.
Ryan’s campaign began to crumble on Monday following the release of embarrassing records from his divorce. In the records, his ex-wife, Boston Public actress Jeri Ryan, said her former husband took her to kinky sex clubs in Paris, New York and New Orleans.
Whoa. That would be quite a find.
There used to be quite a few articles like that, but they would mysteriously disappear from the web. I wonder how they missed this one during the scrubbing
I am fascinated at their ability to have scrubbed his past so completely. It must be difficult–wondering if something will surface one day.
You would think it would leave him wide open for Blackmail
Watching this video, if ya ask me, he’s high.
I’ve always wondered how he could quit cocaine but not cigarettes
I’ve always heard that cigarettes are harder to quit than even heroin…
Posted over at PUMA:
CONTACT: The Yes Men
people@theyesmen.org, info@mayfirst.org,
347-675-0953 (Alfredo Lopez)
US Chamber Shuts off TheYesMen.org and Websites of Hundreds of Other Activist Groups
Free Speech, Free Commerce Threatened by “Free Trade” Champion
WASHINGTON – October 23 – Hundreds of activist organizations had their internet service turned off last night after the US Chamber of Commerce strong-armed an upstream provider, Hurricane Electric, to pull the plug on The Yes Men and May First / People Link, a 400-member-strong organization with a strong commitment to protecting free speech.
“This is a blow against free speech, and it demostrates in gory detail the full hypocrisy of the Chamber,” said Andy Bichlbaum of The Yes Men. “The only freedom they care about is the economic freedom of large corporations to operate free of the hassles of science, reality, and democracy.”
continued at:
commondreams.org