R-Douchebag? Way to keep it classy.

Last week I mailed in 15 Franken votes I found between my sofa cushions. Not sure how it happened, but hope they get counted.

Senator Al Franken?! God help the Republic. Could any event more strongly signal the decline of our nation?

An appropriate historical analogy would be Emperor Cagilula making his horse Inciatus a Roman Senator. When it comes to intelligence and statesmanship I’d give the edge to the horse.

First, Al Franken got an 800 on his math SATs. He's very smart. Second, as a comedy writer, I love the way the comment about the Emperor naming his horse a Roman senator was followed by, "Fuck you and the horse you rode in." That was funny. Just curious about one of the comments: Did you first encounter that word "douchebaggery" on the comedy website "Hot Chicks with Douchebags"? It sounds like their work. In fact, this whole post is starting to sound like their work. I turn to Blue Oregon for some Democratic insights and information, so perhaps you can clear this up for me: Was Sarah Palin a douchebag too or was she an a-hole? I mean her rallies did incite hatred for Barack Obama - that's a douchebag move, isn't it? Carla, what do your political instincts tell you here? Was Sarah Palin a douchebag too?

Pete F

From what I understand while the state counts the ballots they are mailed in and separated by district. With the mail in ballots they have been counting them one district at a time. The state has been publishing on a daily basis --along with their vote tally's-- which districts they plan on counting the following day. The districts that are left outstanding to count are districts where Begich is already ahead and is expected to widen his lead.

And yes Saxby Chambliss is a Douchebag. Is it immature? Perhaps. Does it feel damn good to publicly annouce his douchebaggery. YES!

Carla, I thought T.A. Barnhart had already Bitch Slapped you for calling people names. Grow up.

Carla, I'll tell you one thing, I'm sincerely interested in how many Senators will be Democrats when this is all done. Hopeful, too. I apologize for bringing up the rest of it. I've just been around way too many lightweight comedians who use name-calling as a substitute for having material. Carry on.

I'm not sure about the ballots found between the sofa cushions, but I understand that the names of the voters casting the key ballots in the Minnesota race are already known: Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy.

Many Republicans are honest and honorable members of the opposition. Chambliss is not. He is a race-baiting white supremacist who won office by calling a Vietnam war hero triple amputee a coward and morphing him into Osama bin Laden. He is a disciple of the Atwater-Rove school and waged his Senate campaign on calling a war hero a coward and vowing to protect the Confederate flag - not even a federal issue, but why miss out on an opportunity to flaunt his white sheets. Chambliss is not a Paulus, Hatfield, Durenberger, Dukakis kind of Republican. He is an appalling creature whose presence in elected government is an embarrassing revelation of the failure of public education in Georgia.

”Comparing Franken's intellect to that of a horse is douchebaggery...”

You know, I gave it some thought and you are absolutely right. I was way out of line.

I owe that horse an apology.

I don't think people appreciate how much courage Al Franken has. I walked along with him through a crowd once and I was immediately nervous that someone was going to jump out at us. He stood up to the right-wing talkers at the height of their power with books like, "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations." In fact, there's an example of what I'm talking about. Just calling Rush Limbaugh a Big Fat Idiot is simple name calling. When you add, "And Other Observations" it becomes brilliantly funny. Make the line go "Boom!" Be brilliant. It's more fun and rewarding than that common "I'm radical because I'm willing to say mildly shocking things like you hear at the water cooler." That's Ann Coulter's style and she really is a douchebag. Sorry, I couldn't help it. It would be ironic and tragic if Al Franken is not victorious as the Bush administration and Republican rule finally fall. And it would be classic if we had someone of his caliber in the Senate.

The best part about Carla isn't that she's a low-class hack writer. The best part is she's paid to write for Blue Oregon. Money that could go to somebody good is instead going for... somebody who writes "R-Douchebag".

Whoever thinks Democrats will be gracious in victory can think again. Carla makes the far right look pleasant.

Carla, if you're determined to sink to the level of name-calling (the nadir of any intellectual pursuit) at least lay off the sexist language. I'm embarassed for you and BO.

Carla, if you're determined to sink to the level of name-calling (the nadir of any intellectual pursuit) at least lay off the sexist language. I'm embarassed for you and BO.

At the end of the day, I think the one thing the name-calling does is completely derail the conversation. I would be interested in how many posts by Carla and others who choose to use grade school tactics to add "color" to a story results in the conversation going way off course.

Maybe a membership to ASNE or something to that effect would be better use of the stipend, in order to more effectively learn how to make a post entertaining...unless comments determining the "hackery" of your writing is the goal you want to achieve, Carla.

Carla, I have no doubt that you would more readily recognize a douche bag than I. That being said, I agree with the first post from BM intimating this was beneath you, on so many levels.

Thanks, True.

BO has to decide if it is a journalistic enterprise or an opinion blog.

If the latter, Carla can use any choice of words she wants (and I see nothing wrong with name calling against the guy who called Max Cleland unpatriotic and tried to link him to Osama Bin Laden).

But journalism does have standards. Many newspapers use the AP style manual.

Keep on, keeping on, Carla! Ignore the trolls, people, and don't feed them!

At least she didn't call him a bag of Santorum (as Dan Savage defined it).

"Senator Al Franken?!"

You betchya!

Remember, Al is running in the same state that brought us Governor Jesse Ventura. Anything is possible there.

@ Eric, in the thread on instant-runoff voting (http://is.gd/7x70), you strongly dismissed it and said that proponents were just sore losers trying to change the outcome of races.

Yet all who have looked at "Senator" Al Franken's race are suggesting that, because the state does not use IRV, they may wind up with a Senator (Coleman) being reelected despite the opposition of a significant majority of voters. Worse, exit polling suggests that Franken would be the clear victor had IRV been in place in MN this year.

Please help me understand your concern better. Why is it better for Al Franken to (possibly) lose this seat than to let voters rank their choices so that, as in this case, multiple candidates don't wind up producing a "winner" opposed by most of the voters?

George, why doesn't Minnesota have IRV? Have you ever inquired about that?

Or is this just a theoretical discussion?

I was a faithful listener to the Al Franken show, and I don't remember IRV ever being a topic on the show. Has Franken ever publicly supported IRV?

"Douche bag; a bag used for vaginal irrigation, rinsing of the vagina. (the term douche bag can also be used as an insult) The metaphor of identifying a person as a douche is intended to associate a variety of negative qualities, specifically arrogance and malice." Thus, while salty, the phrase is not out-of-line. Certainly not sexist, particularly as applied here. (to Cambliss) I might add a little verve, and observe that; "He has the countenance of a douchebag." Just so you don't confuse those who might misinterpret your salty prose as unintended sexism. Ta,ta

So, is the politically correct peanut section going to rule out the use of "scumbag" also? (Which might be construed as an anti-male sexist term.)

@ LT: This isn't a theoretical discussion at all. Not that there's anything wrong with theoretical discussions -- which, after all, provide the impetus for action.

But, neither here nor there in this case, as there's been a very active movement for instant runoff-voting in Minnesota for years. See http://www.fairvotemn.org/ to learn about their successful campaign to bring IRV before the voters in Minneapolis, and the bizarre action of the City Council to prevent the initiative from reaching the ballot.

Well, whatever appliance you want to call Chambliss (Tool seems to work just fine, for that matter), he is certainly providing the evidence needed to justify the label:

http://is.gd/7Blo

In which he says that the Treasury blank-check to banks is going fine, and that we just need to trust those smart people ...

Speaking of "not a theoretical question," the Oregon League of Women Voters has an interesting election methods study out, which includes a section on instant runoff voting.

http://www.lwvor.org/documents/ElectionMethods2008.pdf

"I hope you don't quit your day job. Welfare isn't what it once was..."

Since you're so informed on the topic, tell us, how much are you earning on welfare?

Seriously Troll, while I appreciate the softballs you should quit while you're ahead, or at least bring game if you're going to post at BO.

Posted by: jenny | Nov 13, 2008 3:16:46 PM

Carla, I thought T.A. Barnhart had already Bitch Slapped you for calling people names. Grow up.

Personally, I find it refreshing to have someone writing for BO that can distinguish a progressive agenda from the mere fact of whether or not it was a Democrat that won.

And is there a difference between fact and opinion? Has the "I really, really believe it, therefore it must be so" culture made it impossible to give a personal impression without it being taken as a declaration of fact? Does (R-Douchebag) say, "he is a douchebag" or, "omigod, I look at that man and I want to scream, eeewwww, douchebag!"? Obviously the latter. Maybe if we weren't killing people worldwide for having different opinions and stuck to real threats, there would be a semblance of the difference in debate?

Posted by: LT | Nov 14, 2008 10:32:22 AM

Thanks, True.

BO has to decide if it is a journalistic enterprise or an opinion blog.

If the latter, Carla can use any choice of words she wants (and I see nothing wrong with name calling against the guy who called Max Cleland unpatriotic and tried to link him to Osama Bin Laden).

But journalism does have standards. Many newspapers use the AP style manual.

Well, anyone that thinks the right has a monopoly on not getting it needs to read LT. Have you noticed the frequency of non-standard language has gone up since the election? Perhaps some backlash against contentless schtick?

I love it. The AP style manual. Ooh. AP. That sounds important. You mean the AP that said it was a 1 point race on the national, popular vote 3 weeks ago? Oh, accuracy is no bar to imitation! "hemm, er, haww, world leader, er hemm, respected...premier, ummm..." You mean the AP that started their style manual from their ex Pepsico exec? The one that did the Pepsico style manual based on "nothing a sixth grader wouldn't say/understand?" The one that upheld terminating an employee for using the word niggardly as being a racial epithet? Washington DC Mayor Anthony Williams was right to terminate a staffer for the same?

Oh, and if Blue Oregon doesn't immediately accede to your demands they're not journalism! You owe everyone you've ever called troll a major apology. There is no way they could ever come close to your pronouncements.

I want to find out where you work and tell your boss my opinions and why he/she has to choose between professionalism and how you do your job. Let you know what it feels like to have your job directly threatened by someone with stupid opinions!

BO has to decide if it is a journalistic enterprise or an opinion blog.

That's pretty narrow. So, is Kierkegaard not literature because he published in the Corsair (19th Century Sweden's cross between Mad and Harper's, packaged like the Enquirer)? They had no standards.

Maybe next time someone uses the phrase "leap of faith" or quotes from "Dialectical Result of a Literary Police Action", I'll just say, "oh, you're just repeating drivel from the tabloids". Perhaps the latter is worth reading.

Chambliss also has a new ad, essentially accusing Jim Martin of being in favor of allowing the solicitation of child prostitution.

This is a classic, "can we apportion some of that scorn toward the electorate" as opposed to constant pandering to anyone with a vote. I mean, what does it say about Georgians that it could work even marginally? They make very specific claims, and none that he is in favor of legalized prostitution, generally. So, if the statement were true, how would that work? A vice cop sees you solicit a girl, checks her ID and says, "hold on; you're 18; that's a clear violation of the law", because she isn't under 16??? You have to be incredibly stupid for that to affect your vote.

Latest CNN headline: Palin to hit campaign trail in Georgia

It was all a foreshadowing! Douchebags are relevant to the Georgia race!

Now that you've got him back, any of those critics of the language care to repent? Might I suggest ashes on your food tonight?

<h2>Prob. not. The language is way more important, isn't it?</h2>