Matt Taibbi is an A**clown

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1180877230894923776
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1180988244449730561

In 2016 we saw a pair of electoral revolts, one on the right and one on the left, against the cratering popularity of our political elite. The rightist populist revolt succeeded, the Sanders movement did not. Ukrainegate to me looks like a continuation of Russiagate, which was a reaction of that defeated political elite to the rightists. I don’t feel solidarity with either group.
The argument that’s supposed to be galvanizing everyone right now is the idea that we need to “stand up and be counted,” because failing to rally to the cause is effectively advocacy for Trump. This line of thinking is based on the presumption that Trump is clearly worse than the people opposing him.

God will he just join Tracey on Fox already the hack fruad

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

As someone who has enjoyed Taibbi's writing over the years, I have to say that  he (and other anti-establishment journalists generally perceived as "left", such as Glen Greenwald) have been discrediting themselves throughout Mr. Trump's time on the national political spotlight. Most recently it's been the utter hypocrisy of people who approved and (in Greenwald's case) played an essential role in Edward Snowden's whistleblowing (which I approved, because good faith whistleblowing is a good thing) and who are now outraged and critical of recent whistleblowing (which I also approve, because good faith whistleblowing is a good thing) that exposes the Trump administrations crimes and incompetence.

And its not just these guys, it's a whole spectrum of "far left" reporting that is just utterly unwilling to even consider the idea that our established political institutions and power structures (even though they are very problematic) could possibly be preferable to a raving madman conducting an open assault on representative government and America's more positive ideals. I'm talking the type of reporting that has spent the last four years eager to repeated any attack on the Democratic establishment, no matter how poorly sourced, but is clearly extremely reluctant to report on even Mr. Trump's most heinous violations of the law.

[Hindsight was 2020]

As someone who has enjoyed Taibbi's writing over the years, I have to say that  he (and other anti-establishment journalists generally perceived as "left", such as Glen Greenwald) have been discrediting themselves throughout Mr. Trump's time on the national political spotlight. Most recently it's been the utter hypocrisy of people who approved and (in Greenwald's case) played an essential role in Edward Snowden's whistleblowing (which I approved, because good faith whistleblowing is a good thing) and who are now outraged and critical of recent whistleblowing (which I also approve, because good faith whistleblowing is a good thing) that exposes the Trump administrations crimes and incompetence.

And its not just these guys, it's a whole spectrum of "far left" reporting that is just utterly unwilling to even consider the idea that our established political institutions and power structures (even though they are very problematic) could possibly be preferable to a raving madman conducting an open assault on representative government and America's more positive ideals. I'm talking the type of reporting that has spent the last four years eager to repeated any attack on the Democratic establishment, no matter how poorly sourced, but is clearly extremely reluctant to report on even Mr. Trump's most heinous violations of the law.

As I said back in the Russiagate days it’s clear that “leftist” like Taibbi secretly root on Trump because they want him to do irreversible damage to the government. Also it’s clear like Russiagate that Taibbi thinks Biden probably deserves it he will gladly be a shield for Trump 

[136or142]

As far as I can tell, a lot of it ties in with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  The Bernie Bros seem to be the leaders on the left in believing that the obviously true Trump charges regarding Russia/Putin conspiracy, emoluments and apparently now this are all trumped up.

I read several Bernie Bros on twitter who fell for the William Barr summary of the Mueller report.

I can only think the logic here is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and these Bernie Bros hate Hillary Clinton more than anybody else.

[T'Chenka]

As far as I can tell, a lot of it ties in with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  The Bernie Bros seem to be the leaders on the left in believing that the obviously true Trump charges regarding Russia/Putin conspiracy, emoluments and apparently now this are all trumped up.

I read several Bernie Bros on twitter who fell for the William Barr summary of the Mueller report.

I can only think the logic here is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and these Bernie Bros hate Hillary Clinton more than anybody else.

Which alternate reality are you living in? "Bernie Bros" are a SMALL piece if the progressive movement.

[morgieb]

As far as I can tell, a lot of it ties in with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  The Bernie Bros seem to be the leaders on the left in believing that the obviously true Trump charges regarding Russia/Putin conspiracy, emoluments and apparently now this are all trumped up.

I read several Bernie Bros on twitter who fell for the William Barr summary of the Mueller report.

I can only think the logic here is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and these Bernie Bros hate Hillary Clinton more than anybody else.

Which alternate reality are you living in? "Bernie Bros" are a SMALL piece if the progressive movement.

Unfortuantely, they also seem a very loud piece of the movement. And have a non-negligible journalistic presence too.

[136or142]

As far as I can tell, a lot of it ties in with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  The Bernie Bros seem to be the leaders on the left in believing that the obviously true Trump charges regarding Russia/Putin conspiracy, emoluments and apparently now this are all trumped up.

I read several Bernie Bros on twitter who fell for the William Barr summary of the Mueller report.

I can only think the logic here is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and these Bernie Bros hate Hillary Clinton more than anybody else.

Which alternate reality are you living in? "Bernie Bros" are a SMALL piece of the progressive movement.

They seem to constitute a large piece of the progressive movement who defend/enable Trump though.

[morgieb]

As far as I can tell, a lot of it ties in with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  The Bernie Bros seem to be the leaders on the left in believing that the obviously true Trump charges regarding Russia/Putin conspiracy, emoluments and apparently now this are all trumped up.

I read several Bernie Bros on twitter who fell for the William Barr summary of the Mueller report.

I can only think the logic here is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and these Bernie Bros hate Hillary Clinton more than anybody else.

Which alternate reality are you living in? "Bernie Bros" are a SMALL piece of the progressive movement.

They seem to constitute a large piece of the progressive movement who defend/enable Trump though.

Of course very few progressives genuinely defend/enable Trump.

[136or142]

As far as I can tell, a lot of it ties in with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  The Bernie Bros seem to be the leaders on the left in believing that the obviously true Trump charges regarding Russia/Putin conspiracy, emoluments and apparently now this are all trumped up.

I read several Bernie Bros on twitter who fell for the William Barr summary of the Mueller report.

I can only think the logic here is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and these Bernie Bros hate Hillary Clinton more than anybody else.

Which alternate reality are you living in? "Bernie Bros" are a SMALL piece of the progressive movement.

They seem to constitute a large piece of the progressive movement who defend/enable Trump though.

Of course very few progressives genuinely defend/enable Trump.

I don't watch them or really care about them, but they do have a fair amount of influence among progressives.  What position do the Young Turks have on Trump's criminal actions?

I know they're idiot Hillary haters.

[This user has not been convicted of 34 felonies]

I don't think I've read a single good take from Matt Taibbi in...years.

[Orser67]

Since we're criticizing Matt Taibbi, it's also worth mentioning his misogynist misadventures as an editor for the Exile in the 1990s.

Taibbi once wrote in the eXile that women had no business wearing "painter's pants and sneakers" when they ought to be more like Russian women, with "their tight skirts, blowjob-ready lips, and swinging, meaty chests." Ames described going to the senior prom of an international high school with a 17-year-old date he called his "Jew-broad"; he was 34. Back home she would be "jailbait," he wrote in the eXile , but Russia "permits sex with a fourteen-year-old, so long as you had reason to believe she was sixteen, the legal statutory age." A photo shows Ames in the front row with his date.

[Hindsight was 2020]

I just don’t get how someone as nice as Bernie gets such douchebag followers like this

[136or142]

I just don’t get how someone as nice as Bernie gets such douchebag followers like this

He doesn't disavow them.

[junior chįmp]

Journalism is a scam

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://mobile.twitter.com/randygdub/status/1180996296632483840
Lol

[T'Chenka]

As far as I can tell, a lot of it ties in with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  The Bernie Bros seem to be the leaders on the left in believing that the obviously true Trump charges regarding Russia/Putin conspiracy, emoluments and apparently now this are all trumped up.

I read several Bernie Bros on twitter who fell for the William Barr summary of the Mueller report.

I can only think the logic here is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and these Bernie Bros hate Hillary Clinton more than anybody else.

Which alternate reality are you living in? "Bernie Bros" are a SMALL piece of the progressive movement.

They seem to constitute a large piece of the progressive movement who defend/enable Trump though.

Of course very few progressives genuinely defend/enable Trump.

I don't watch them or really care about them, but they do have a fair amount of influence among progressives.  What position do the Young Turks have on Trump's criminal actions?

I know they're idiot Hillary haters.

The Young Turks dislike Hillary Clintom for being a corrupt corpiratist establishment centrist that has very little interest in rocking the boat of growing income inequality, corporatioms doing whatever they want includimg polluting and paying minimal taxes, and lower and middle class Americans not getting actual representation in.the House or the Senate. I agree with them.

The Young turks HATE Trump for being (a) corrupt (b) criminal (c) authoritarian (d) VERY stupid and incompetent (e) for himself and the rich and not for working Americans (f) not taking his job seriously (g) being a bigot and a bully (h) I can go on and on and on. I agree with them.

[GeneralMacArthur]

The Young Turks dislike Hillary Clintom for being a corrupt corpiratist establishment centrist

This is your near-daily reminder that there is not a single shred of evidence that Hillary Clinton has ever, even once in her forty-year career, engaged in corruption.

Zero.  Zip.  Nada.

You'd think, given that we have access to nearly every single e-mail she's ever sent or received, and that she's the most thoroughly investigated human being in the history of the planet, that something would have come up by now.

Instead, Republicans like Peter Schweizer, John Solomon, Sean Hannity, Glenn Greenwald, etc. have to keep inventing "scandals" out of thin air like Glenn Beck on his chalkboard.

[forgotten manatee]

I'm severely disappointed with Taibbi, and I'm frankly suspicious of his motives. The guy acted like there was no "there" there throughout the Russia investigation, and now publishes stuff like this. Given his affinity for Russia as a younger man, including a decent chunk of time spent there, I find his articles troubling - especially considering the enhanced Russian information warfare of recent years.

The Young Turks dislike Hillary Clintom for being a corrupt corpiratist establishment centrist

This is your near-daily reminder that there is not a single shred of evidence that Hillary Clinton has ever, even once in her forty-year career, engaged in corruption.

Zero.  Zip.  Nada.

You'd think, given that we have access to nearly every single e-mail she's ever sent or received, and that she's the most thoroughly investigated human being in the history of the planet, that something would have come up by now.

Instead, Republicans like Peter Schweizer, John Solomon, Sean Hannity, Glenn Greenwald, etc. have to keep inventing "scandals" out of thin air like Glenn Beck on his chalkboard.

You hit the nail on the head. They're all a bunch of self important douchebags.

[GeneralMacArthur]

I'm severely disappointed with Taibbi, and I'm frankly suspicious of his motives. The guy acted like there was no "there" there throughout the Russia investigation, and now publishes stuff like this. Given his affinity for Russia as a younger man, including a decent chunk of time spent there, I find his articles troubling - especially considering the enhanced Russian information warfare of recent years.

I mean, Jimmy Dore of TYT has literally been getting paid under the table by the Assad regime for the last three years.

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2019/09/30/pro-assad-lobby-group-rewards-bloggers-on-both-the-left-and-the-right/

[T'Chenka]

I'm severely disappointed with Taibbi, and I'm frankly suspicious of his motives. The guy acted like there was no "there" there throughout the Russia investigation, and now publishes stuff like this. Given his affinity for Russia as a younger man, including a decent chunk of time spent there, I find his articles troubling - especially considering the enhanced Russian information warfare of recent years.

I mean, Jimmy Dore of TYT has literally been getting paid under the table by the Assad regime for the last three years.

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2019/09/30/pro-assad-lobby-group-rewards-bloggers-on-both-the-left-and-the-right/

He parted ways with TYT over political differences.

[T'Chenka]

The Young Turks dislike Hillary Clintom for being a corrupt corpiratist establishment centrist

This is your near-daily reminder that there is not a single shred of evidence that Hillary Clinton has ever, even once in her forty-year career, engaged in corruption.

Zero.  Zip.  Nada.

You'd think, given that we have access to nearly every single e-mail she's ever sent or received, and that she's the most thoroughly investigated human being in the history of the planet, that something would have come up by now.

Instead, Republicans like Peter Schweizer, John Solomon, Sean Hannity, Glenn Greenwald, etc. have to keep inventing "scandals" out of thin air like Glenn Beck on his chalkboard.

I'm referring to legal corruption... Super-PACs, getting overpaid for Wall Street speeches, etc etc. Corruption of political mission to sell out for money to tje rixh and corporations, legal or not.

[GeneralMacArthur]

The Young Turks dislike Hillary Clintom for being a corrupt corpiratist establishment centrist

This is your near-daily reminder that there is not a single shred of evidence that Hillary Clinton has ever, even once in her forty-year career, engaged in corruption.

Zero.  Zip.  Nada.

You'd think, given that we have access to nearly every single e-mail she's ever sent or received, and that she's the most thoroughly investigated human being in the history of the planet, that something would have come up by now.

Instead, Republicans like Peter Schweizer, John Solomon, Sean Hannity, Glenn Greenwald, etc. have to keep inventing "scandals" out of thin air like Glenn Beck on his chalkboard.

I'm referring to legal corruption... Super-PACs, getting overpaid for Wall Street speeches, etc etc. Corruption of political mission to sell out for money to tje rixh and corporations, legal or not.

I don't think you know what "corruption" means, then.

[T'Chenka]

The Young Turks dislike Hillary Clintom for being a corrupt corpiratist establishment centrist

This is your near-daily reminder that there is not a single shred of evidence that Hillary Clinton has ever, even once in her forty-year career, engaged in corruption.

Zero.  Zip.  Nada.

You'd think, given that we have access to nearly every single e-mail she's ever sent or received, and that she's the most thoroughly investigated human being in the history of the planet, that something would have come up by now.

Instead, Republicans like Peter Schweizer, John Solomon, Sean Hannity, Glenn Greenwald, etc. have to keep inventing "scandals" out of thin air like Glenn Beck on his chalkboard.

I'm referring to legal corruption... Super-PACs, getting overpaid for Wall Street speeches, etc etc. Corruption of political mission to sell out for money to tje rixh and corporations, legal or not.

I don't think you know what "corruption" means, then.

cor·rupt
/kəˈrəpt/
adjective

    having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.

[emailking]

I'm referring to legal corruption... Super-PACs, getting overpaid for Wall Street speeches, etc etc. Corruption of political mission to sell out for money to tje rixh and corporations, legal or not.

Do you think she should have turned down the speeches? I've never understood this criticism. Like who would turn down 6 figures to give a speech?

[T'Chenka]

I'm referring to legal corruption... Super-PACs, getting overpaid for Wall Street speeches, etc etc. Corruption of political mission to sell out for money to tje rixh and corporations, legal or not.

Do you think she should have turned down the speeches? I've never understood this criticism. Like who would turn down 6 figures to give a speech?

If you're in government office in a very high position, it's inappropriate to take money from people who will be pressuring you and your colleagues to change laws in their favor. Bernie Sanders would not have taken the money.

OR, you already helped them get / keep the laws they wanted, and paying you thus much fkr a speech is essentially a legal form of after-the-fact bribery payment.