RSS Feed MenuLast week, NRO’s Ramesh Ponnuru chided me for suggesting that “anger, paranoia, and extremism” beset the “talk radio right.”
This week NRO provides space to Daniel Griswold of Cato to apply a mild but firm rebuke to Fox’s Sean Hannity for showcasing … well my phrase “anger, paranoia and extremism” serves pretty well.
Griswold is concerned that Fox helped to launch a new book by conspiracy fantasist Jerome Corsi.
Boosted by a friendly Fox News interview with Sean Hannity in October, the book has been selling reasonably well. The people buying it are presumably the same conservative-leaning folks who opposed Obama’s election and are now fueling the Tea Party movement. Libertarians and conservatives who value free markets and limited government, however, should keep their distance from this bestselling prophet.
Griswold worries:
While Corsi takes passing shots at government spending and climate-change legislation, his real target is “free trade,” “globalism,” and international agreements such as NAFTA and the World Trade Organization. The villains in his book are trade agreements, trade deficits, growing Chinese foreign-currency reserves, and oil imports, all of which threaten to undermine the U.S. dollar, American independence, and the middle class. Orchestrating our decline is a cast of characters from around the globe, both familiar and obscure, working in public and in secret.
Griswold does not do justice to the nuttiness of Corsi’s fears of a Nafta superhighway, a road that will supposedly expedite the shipping of containers from Mexico through the middle United States to Duluth and thence across the border due north to … Quetico Provincial Park, a pristine nature reserve almost 1000 miles from the nearest Canadian factory.
Nor does Griswold deal with Corsi’s previous adventure in 9/11 denialism or his insinuations in his 2008 book, ObamaNation, that candidate Obama was a practising Muslim. Yet that book too was heavily promoted on Fox, and that time without criticism from NRO. On the contrary, NRO gave considerable space to those who wished to criticize criticism of Corsi.
As an NR alumnus, I’ve been waiting hopefully for the moment when NRO would resume its historical vocation of countering “anger, paranoia, and extremism” on the right. It’s good to see these positive signs, however tentative. Welcome, friends: we’ve been keeping your seat warm.
DFL // Jan 18, 2010 at 10:24 am
I would not expect what congeals as conservative political activism in the future to give globalism and free trade a blank cheque. What was settled policy in Reaganesque conservatism in the 80s will almost be certainly re-examined due to the different circumstances of a different age.
COProgressive // Jan 18, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Griswold wrote of Corsi;
“The villains in his book are trade agreements, trade deficits, growing Chinese foreign-currency reserves, and oil imports, all of which threaten to undermine the U.S. dollar, American independence, and the middle class.”
While not a fan of Corsi at all, there is a modicum of truth to what Corsi writes. Many years ago I watched the Milton Friedman series on PBS “Free to Chose”. In one segment he spoke of the cost of labor and the shift of the manufacturing for locations that had high costs of labor to locations that had lower cost of labor. A lightbulb lit in my head then that the American Middle class was doomed in a global marketplace. America, with its high standard of living, could not compete with countries with labor rates of 1/10th, 1/20th or 1/50th of the going rate here.
It was only a matter of time before jobs started to flow out of our country and we would see the downward forces on our own labor rates and the underpinnings of the American middle class melt away.
Today, the only jobs that can not be exported are those which must be physically done here like fixing a drain, laying railroad track, insolating homes, producing power, etc. All other jobs, like software development, architecture, buying and selling stocks, engineering, producing food, plastic crap to be sold in Malwart can be done much cheaper in locations other than America.
At some time in the future there will come a World-wide labor equalibrium of a sort were OUR country will become a major player in manufacturing again, but not for a generation or more. I worry for the future of my kids and my grandkids as being able to have the same opportunities I had coming of age in the ’60’s. Our country is in a slow decline as the rest of the world is raising due to Globalization. It is sad to see.
TIP: Read Fareed Zakaria’s “Post-American World” for an insight on the subject.
balconesfault // Jan 18, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Today, the only jobs that can not be exported are those which must be physically done here like fixing a drain, laying railroad track, insolating homes, producing power, etc. All other jobs, like software development, architecture, buying and selling stocks, engineering, producing food, plastic crap to be sold in Malwart can be done much cheaper in locations other than America.
Which – by the way – is a great endorsement of why one would want to target stimulus dollars at fixing drains, laying railroad tracks, insulating homes, producing power, etc, if they really wanted to create or preserve jobs domestically.
While giving people lots of money in tax cuts generally ensures that a considerable sum will be spent on stuff manufactured abroad (or even get sent abroad as investments in foreign markets).
One can’t discuss our trade policies and Reagenesque conservatism without recognizing just how much those free trade policies were aimed at destroying domestic unions, since in Reagan’s 1930’s ideology unions still = communism, and thus had to be gutted to preserve our freedoms.
RalfW // Jan 18, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Ultimately, this populism, this anti-trade and anti-free-market stance of many a Tea Partier will come to bite the GOP in the rear. Sooner rather than later, I hope.
CRhetts // Jan 18, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I certainly agree with your premise and the work of Corsi is a perfect example. Extremism in American politics today is as it always has been, that is, paranoid, subjective fantasies with a few odd facts mixed in to give it the appearance of plausibility. Our balance of trade problems are a lot more complicated than the simple paradigm that people in other countries are willing to work for less money than they are in this country. As for manufacturing, anyone who cares to look into this will find that the U.S. has some overwhelming infrastructure advantages when compared to any other country on Earth. Heck, if Honda, Toyota, KIA and other Asian companies can build cars at a profit in this country – we can too. What we really need is for government to stop bouncing back and forth between one ideological extreme and the other – and start acting as a worthwhile partner for both private enterprise and individual citizens. Extremists like Corsi promote the concept that there can be no effective comprimise between conservative and liberal thinking. Because of this we are always stuck with either the left or right transcendant in government, while the party out of power is forced to adopt the role of adversary – therefore making cooperation virtually impossible.
jrlcorsi // Jan 18, 2010 at 9:44 pm
I am not a 911 denier as David Frum suggests.
This is an accusation typically charged only by leftists such as Media Matters, or the Obama campaign after I wrote The Obama Nation.
Please see:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=72787
Also, see:http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=74554
In which I wrote:
“Then, the Obama rebuttal claims, “And in perhaps the gravest sign that his views can’t be trusted, he [Corsi] alleges a government cover-up of the 9/11 attacks and denies that airplanes were to blame for the towers’ collapse.” The Obama campaign can find nothing I have ever published to substantiate those claims. I did publish, however, an article in WorldNetDaily on Feb. 29, 2008, that examined a test conducted at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The video accompanying my article showed a F4 jet vaporizing on impact with a 700-ton concrete block. (Jerome R. Corsi, “Sept. 11 redux: Video shows jet vaporizing,” WorldNetDaily, Feb. 29, 2008.) The test was conducted to demonstrate whether a proposed Japanese nuclear power plant could withstand the impact of a heavy airliner. As I noted in the article, the video of the F-4 being pulverized on impact with a hardened target provides evidence to answer 9/11 skeptics who question why so little identifiable airplane debris remained after the hijacked American Airlines Boeing 757 hit the Pentagon.
“Let me state categorically here that I continue to support the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission that the cause of the 9/11 attacks were the hijackers who flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I see no credible evidence that the U.S. government was involved or complicit in causing the 9/11 attacks.”
To further clear the record, in THE OBAMA NATION, I did not charge that Barack Obama was a Muslim. What I proved was that BHO had Islamic instruction in Indonesia when he was a child, a fact BHO had denied in the campaign.
It is deeply disappointing to see David Frum make accusations that cannot be substantiated. Unless David apologizes, I guess I will just have to accept that he wants to reduce himself to the level of Wikipedia.
Jerome R. Corsi
TAZ // Jan 19, 2010 at 12:30 am
“It is deeply disappointing to see David Frum make accusations that cannot be substantiated.”
Why, you seem to be o.k. with it when you do it?
ericna // Jan 19, 2010 at 8:11 am
To Corsi. What do you mean unsubstantiated. By following the link we gert to the youtube clip where we can hear you say. You may not have published it, but you said it on a radio show.
jrlcorsi // Jan 19, 2010 at 9:17 am
ericna
If you actually listened to what I said on the radio show, I pointed out that even contrary scientific evidence to the 9-11 Commission does not prove a government conspiracy. I have never said or written anything that suggested a government conspiracy. Why don’t you just join the political left? You are doing so in tactics. My detractors on that side of the aisle typically edit my comments on the radio show to exclude my point that there was still no evidence of government complicity. I am the best authority on what I believe and I do not believe the government was complicit in the 9-11 attacks. I have never believed this.
Jerome Corsi
jrlcorsi // Jan 19, 2010 at 9:20 am
Taz:
You are guilty of what you accuse me of doing. Please give me an example of my making accusations that cannot be substantiated. I invite you too to join the political left. There I am typically accused of being a liar, etc., without any proof of such. The Obama campaign never answered my rejoinder to their attack on THE OBAMA NATION. The book will be issued as a paperback on Jan 25 and I am happy to defend it, in case maybe you want to support BHO.
Jerome Corsi
mlloyd // Jan 19, 2010 at 9:30 am
Yes, David, and before the Obama lies, he pumped out lies about Kerry, and the Clintons.
http://www.thenextright.com/jon-henke/jerome-corsi
And today, his spirit lives on in the “death panels” Lie of the Year that defines GOP opposition to reducing health care costs and expanding the number of insured.
Corsi is the embodiment of the extreme, irrational, paranoid, fact-averse Republican Party.
teabag // Jan 19, 2010 at 9:47 am
“In 1995, Corsi and a business partner convinced 20 Minnesota investors to give him money for Polish investments. That money disappeared and the FBI was called in to investigate. Though they didn’t find enough evidence to charge Corsi, several investors sued him, winning cases in Hennepin and Dodge counties.
But they weren’t able to collect from Corsi. He had reportedly transferred all his assets and funds to his wife’s name.”
Fraudster in all things………..
teabag // Jan 19, 2010 at 9:56 am
Newsweek and factcheck.org absolutely destroyed the book of lies. How this man gets a platform to spew such nonsense is amazing. Fox (GOPTV) will put any BS on if it gets ratings.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/159112
TAZ // Jan 19, 2010 at 10:14 am
“Taz:
You are guilty of what you accuse me of doing. Please give me an example of my making accusations that cannot be substantiated. I invite you too to join the political left. There I am typically accused of being a liar, etc., without any proof of such. The Obama campaign never answered my rejoinder to their attack on THE OBAMA NATION. The book will be issued as a paperback on Jan 25 and I am happy to defend it, in case maybe you want to support BHO.
Jerome Corsi”
I said “seem” Mr Corsi, you took my words out of context………..
kevin47 // Jan 19, 2010 at 11:37 am
“I said “seem” Mr Corsi, you took my words out of context………..”
No he didn’t. Throwing the word “seems” in front of your accusation does not change the thrust of the accusation.
Sorry, I’m not in this discussion, but that’s just a pet peeve of mine.
sparty // Jan 19, 2010 at 3:04 pm
jrlcorsi:
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/jerome-corsi/
Go away.
jrlcorsi // Jan 19, 2010 at 4:23 pm
sparty
Thanks for confirming you are an advocate of Democratic leftist attack sites. BTW, I’m not going anywhere.
Jerome Corsi
mlloyd // Jan 19, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Reality has a well-known liberal bias.
jrlcorsi // Jan 19, 2010 at 4:40 pm
David
Do you intentionally recruit leftists to this website?
On Politifact’s leftist bias, see:
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/05/28/polifacts-fixers/1
Maybe next someone you could encourage someone to quote Media Matters directly attacking me.
Jerome Corsi
sparty // Jan 19, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Jerome:
“Thanks for confirming you are an advocate of Democratic leftist attack sites. BTW, I’m not going anywhere.”
Hmm…posting a link makes me an “advocate” of “Democratic leftist attack sites”? Yeah, that’s probably how I’d respond if I was a complete hack. And you went to Harvard. That makes you an elitist hack – the worst kind.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/corsis_dull_hatchet.html
Let me guess: another “Democratic leftist attack site”.
You are pathetic.
Thanks for the link to The American Spectator – a truly non-biased source of information for Real Americans. Thanks to this dynamite piece of journalism, I now know that Judge Sotomayer is an “undistinguished radical.” Well, if she’s a radical, I’m a raving Communist and you’re Captain America. Thankfully, in reality, we all know that she is not a radical, I am centrist, and you produce political porn for a living.
“Do you intentionally recruit leftists to this website?”
Do you intentionally beat your wife? Do you think asking loaded questions makes you look less fat?
BTW, no one is “attacking” you. Just pointing out that you lie.
jrlcorsi // Jan 19, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Keep spinning, Sparta. It’s a sight to behold.
Jerome Corsi
jrlcorsi // Jan 19, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Name the lies, Sparta. Be sure it’s not just a conflict of opinion. Look forward to you being specific, not just citing a website that carries your water.
BTW, David Frum, what’s your point in starting all this off?
Jerome Corsi
mlloyd // Jan 19, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Wow. I’ve been beaten. What can I do but admit it, and come clean. I have two really important confessions to make.
First off, Jerome Corsi is of course right. David Frum recruited leftists to this website. I get paid $0.02 per word for every post here. I’m deeply ashamed. I didn’t think we’d ever got caught, but I didn’t count on Jerome Corsi– THE Jerome Corsi– to show up in the comment threads.
Second, I didn’t actually come up with the phrase “reality has a well-known left-wing bias”– that was actually Stephen Colbert. But everyone steals words from other people sometimes, as Jerome knows. I hope that this common thread will allow us to come together and leave behind any ill feeling.
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/1061/swift-boat-author-corsi-wnd-plagiarize-schlussel/
jrlcorsi // Jan 19, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Brown’s victory in Mass. tonight was a victory for independent voters and the Tea Party movement, not the Republican Party of John McCain, Michael Steele or David Frum. I have asked for a formal apology from DF for his calumny against me and I expect to see it in print. BTW, if Debbie Schlessel or anyone else wants to sue me for plagiarism, I will save her the trouble of legal notice by paying for the Federal Express to serve me papers. Mlloyd and the other BHO supporters on this site should take notice of their defeat and the death of the Kennedy legacy once and for all.
Jerome Corsi
jrlcorsi // Jan 19, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Also, mlloyd, did you get the attack on me by Debbie Schlessel from Wikipedia, as I predicted those like you would do, or did you actually do some independent research. I doubt it. Anyone else who wants to attack me on this website, go for it. I can recommend some Soros-supported websites where you can merely repeat their attacks, if you like.
Jerome Corsi