Rumour that some new acquaintance is in fact a Serious Person is greatly reassuring, as it means he is not a “Wingnut”. A Wingnut is an unsociable crank, living outside of The Consensus. Wingnuts demonstrate this by suggesting unserious ideas, such as cutting the defence budget, curtailing the surveillance state, or questioning the demands of the public health bureaucracy. Glenn Greenwald is a Wingnut par excellence. Nobody wants to be associated with a Wingnut, as that can taint your reputation as a Serious Person. And then you’ll never be invited to a swanky conference in Aspen again. Which is probably why for every mile closer to Capitol Hill a foreign policy think tank is, the more measurably it advocates in favour of militant internationalism. These are the Serious Institutions, able to court the serious money necessary to afford prime real estate.
2 comments:
Yes, I think he's closer, I've seen some of this in action on a smaller scale. When a congressman elected for two years spends 50% on his term on the phone chatting with donors you understand how he can introduce a bill he hasn't read. Staff do the work, read laws, write laws, and explain it to the congress critter if he has the time and attention span.
Photo shows them DIS-embarking.
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