Friday, October 16, 2009

Brian Sussman: So Desperate So Sad

Tonight on the Brian Sussman show a woman called Molly called in and tried to have a reasonable conversation with him.

I want to point out to Molly the tricks that the Suss-man used on you. Today's trick was the strawman set up, where he asks questions and if you don't have all the facts and know the context you might believe it. Sussman tried to set up Robert Reich as un-Patriotic because of something he said in 2007. (I believe Molly was objecting to being called un-patriotic if she didn't agree with the views of the right.)

But of course the supposedly un-Patriotic thing that Reich said was part of a political science class at Berkeley where he played a "politically incorrect and tone-deaf" presidential candidate. So, it was NOT something that Reich believes. HE WAS ACTING. IT WAS FICTION.

Molly might have been like me years ago, thinking you could have an honest conversation with these hosts, but as shown yet again, that's not possible. I hope Molly finds this blog because I'd love to hear her side of that conversation. How did you feel Molly when you were cut off and mocked? Does it make you even angrier to find out that Sussman's strawman was based on a false quote?.

Molly, below is Robert Reich's blog post on this topic so you can see how dishonest Sussman's strawman really was. it turns out that he's not even original with his attack. Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Rush have already used this line, although probably not as rudely as he used on you. LINK


More Desperation from the Right

Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Rush, and the right-wing blogosphere seem interested in a talk I gave in September, 2007 to students in a political science class here at Berkeley, in which I played the role of a presidential candidate so politically incorrect and tone-deaf as to pummel every sacred cow in sight -- including the notion that our society could afford and would continue forever to pay whatever amount of money was required to keep everyone alive forever. The whole point of the mock exercise was to show that presidential candidates can't state what everyone knows to be the truth because they'll be taken apart by the Right or the Left. I slew many other sacred cows in that mock exercise, some of which are held dearly by the Left. Nonetheless, two years later the Right has exhumed the lecture and taken my words completely out of context purportedly to show that Obama and the Democrats plan death panels.

If their desperation weren't so pathetic it would be funny. After all, they have proven the whole point of my lecture. UC Berkeley maintains an archive of webcasts and my speech is available there verbatim, should you wish to listen to it in its entirety.

5 Comments:

Blogger Jim said...

I disagee with the statement that riech dodesn't believe this stuff. In the speech he said that this is the truth that candidates can't speak but should (I'm paraphrasing that about 6:35 into the speech) and on his blog post he states " The whole point of the mock exercise was to show that presidential candidates can't state what everyone knows to be the truth ..."

These weren't statements that he believed were untrue- he said so twice. These are policies that he thinks are true but can't be voiced. I agree that his detailing of policies wasn't the point of the speech and that he was acting as a candidate, but there was certainly no clear indication of what he believes and what he feels was false. If you are trying to say that all the stuff Reich said was stuff he believes the opposite of what he believes I think you'd find that almost all of the statements are relatively mainstream leftists.

2:51 PM  
Blogger Jim said...

I hit submit too soon, also listen to the speech starting at 15:55 where he said (paraphrased) "I've said some things that a politician wouldn't say, because although they seem reasonable to be they are sacred cows and can't be touched"

3:00 PM  
Blogger Montag said...

Yo, Spocko!

Didn't realize you'd left me a couple of comments at my blog residence--I can measure traffic on one hand each month, and didn't realize that Blogger, at its last reincarnation, turned off the email notification of comments... so, I just haven't been checking for them. Don't want you to think you're being ignored. :)

Anyway, thanks--and I'll take you up on the offer, if I ever get back to SF (admittedly, haven't been back there since 1968, though).

Cheers.

6:23 PM  
Blogger Mark W. Schumann said...

I love Robt. Reich as much as anyone, but I took that lecture the same way commenter "Jim" did. Yes, Reich is playing a role, but he's playing the role of someone who's telling the truth.

If Reich was taking the angle of an fearless iconoclast who might be wrong his explanation makes sense. But it seems he left that part out, which makes the explanation still a little ambiguous.

8:55 AM  
Blogger spocko said...

Test

8:51 PM  

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