Civility

Remember how, over the past several years, many of our media gatekeepers have made such a big issue of 'civility'?

Anyone heard a peep out of them concerning last weekend's episode where GOP Congresscritters endlessly repeated, "I object," while their Democratic colleagues were trying to speak?

Me either.  Apparently civility is a more essential quality for left-wing bloggers while posting their opinions on the Internet than for Republican Congressmen and Congresswomen while on the House floor.

We knew that, of course, but it sure gives the game away.

For what it's worth, the Congresscritters in question reminded me of nothing so much as the Un-Man in C.S. Lewis' Perelandra repeating "Ransom...Ransom...Ransom..." over and over again.

Comments

[Sir Charles]

As we all know, these rules only seem to apply to people on the left. It's pretty amazing the degree to which the absolutely batshit crazy quality of the Republican opposition is overlooked on mainstream Op-Ed pages and on the talking head shows.

[kathy a.]

i think that all critters engaging in talk-overs ought to be required to stick their fingers in their ears and sing "la la la la, i can't hear you," to better reflect their purposes. isn't there an officer whose job is to keep order? that person should have the authority to take away their allowances and cell phones, send them to bed early, no television and no dessert for you, buster, and you are grounded for 2 weeks; spend that time thinking about what you did wrong.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Great idea, kathy, except the people who deserve that are not the Congresscritters, but the ones who voted for them. Unfortunately there are these little problems like the Constitution, the secret ballot -- thank you, Australia -- that makes this a wee bit dificult.

Speaking of punishment, isn't it fascinating that 10 months into the reign of the Great _______ Destroyer of America, the robber of our history, not one person can shown to have been seriously punished, dismissed, or threatened -- by act of Government -- for their opposition to The Great Dictator. Palin gets her book deal, Wilson isn't censured, Farah hasn't been punished, Beck is still on. Orly may wind up in jail, but for not paying a fine.

Tsk, tsk, send him back to Dictator School before you 'unleash the next attack on America' you sinister secret masters behind him.

[kathy a.]

prup, i was speaking purely to behavior during the proceedings of government, not the electorate. a little tongue in cheek, because the idea of a House Mom to enforce civil behavior [among adults who are acting like children] amuses me.

but more seriously, if this crap happened in a courtroom, the persons speaking over others would find themselves in lockup, pronto -- because of the disruption, not the underlying content. one may register objections, but not blather on over the person speaking. when 2 people are speaking at once, everything grinds to a halt in court because the court reporter cannot transcribe 2 people at the same time. the judge makes a ruling on the objection. "continuing objections" are often used to avoid an ongoing series of objections. the idea is very basic: we're taking turns, it is not your turn to speak right now.

we expect kindergarteners to be able to follow such basic rules of behavior, at least most of the time. [some kids have a harder time, but they have the excuse of being very very young, and some are learning these rules for the first time.]

[minstrel hussain boy]

oh fuck a buncha goddamned civility. i'm about up to here with those mamby pamby.

what ever happened to "politics ain't beanbag?"

if you really want polite discourse, bring back dueling.

[Eric Wilde]

Let the courts behave as courts. Let Congress behave as children. Sometimes its the right thing to do in that forum. This time, with the moral right being on the side of moving a good health care bill through the system, it is not the right thing for people to be playing obstructionist. I will the Ds had had the balls to be so obstructionist a few short years ago.

[Eric Wilde]

will = wish

[low-tech cyclist]

Let Congress behave as children.

I'm good with that. It's just that it's silly for our media gatekeepers to have lower standards for Congresscritters (or their own selves, for that matter) than they do for lefty bloggers.

Their failure to apply the standards they applied to lefty bloggers to either Congressional Republicans or to their own publications pretty much gives away the game that the purpose of the whole 'civility' bit was simply to shut dirty fucking hippies like us out of the discussion.

[kathy a.]

i respectfully disagree.

the media can have its own standards, however pathetic. but there is no way that one can justify trying to silence the speech of elected representatives who are trying to represent their people's interests. we're not talking time limits. this is more like censorship by tantrum.

government is not supposed to be some extended session of a slime-ball game. my issue has nothing to do with media or bloggers or whatever. it has everything to do with respect for the governmental processes, which is absent in these elected idiots who were allowed to disrupt proceedings to the extent that they became the story.

so see, they won. and for reasons i do not understand, people think that's OK because wtf, everything is nuts.