Daily Kos Flashback -- or -- Memo to Dan Abrams

Photo of Seton Motley.

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On Monday night, we were privy to Round II of Dan Abrams' (of MSNBC's Live with Dan Abrams pseudo-fame) lukewarm game show, "Rush Limbaugh -- UnAmerican".

Both times Abrams levied said assertion in response to Limbaugh's apparently effective (at least at tweaking the likes of Abrams) Operation CHAOS.

Which is what Limbaugh has dubbed his call for Republicans to cross over -- where legal -- to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic Presidential primaries. In so doing he hopes to prolong as much as possible the Democrat primary process.

Limbaugh began Operation CHAOS in advance of the March 4th primaries and primary/caucus held in Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont and Texas. It appeared to be at least somewhat effective beyond just ruffling Abrams' feathers, as HRC won three of the four (losing only in Vermont). Which is when Abrams first resorted to Limbaugh name calling -- at least in this regard.

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Limbaugh has continued to bang the drum slowly in anticipation of the April 22nd Pennsylvania primary, and the magic still seems to be present. Keystone Democratic Party enrollment surged past the four million mark on Monday's deadline for registration, setting a state record.

This was apparently too much for the fragile Abrams, and he again last night charged to his sporadically viewed airwaves to look for the "UnAmerican" label.

Abrams outrage here is -- let us say selective. Limbaugh is not at all original in the thinking behind his Operation. For on January 10th Markos Moulitsas -- the Godfather of the tremendously popular Leftist blog Daily Kos -- called on Michigan Democrats to do the exact same thing.

Photo Courtesy of DailyKos.com
Courtesy of the DailyKos (They Even Designed a JPEG)
In what I will now dub CHAOS-Kos, Mr. Moulitsas urged Great Lakes State Ds to cross the line and vote in the January 15th Republican primary for Mitt Romney. And he did so for reasons very similar to those cited by Limbaugh in Operation CHAOS.

"For Michigan Democrats, the Democratic primary is meaningless since the DNC stripped the state of all its delegates (at least temporarily) for violating party rules."

Limbaugh began CHAOS only after Senator John McCain had secured the necessary number of pledged delegates to secure the Republican nomination, thereby rendering all subsequent primaries irrelevant for Rs, at least Presidentially.

"But on the GOP side, this primary will be fiercely contested. John McCain is currently enjoying the afterglow of media love since his New Hamsphire (sic) victory, while Iowa winner Mike Huckabee is poised to do well in South Carolina.

"Fiercely contested" -- you mean like the fight in which HRC and Barack Obama are currently engaged?

"Meanwhile, poor Mitt Romney, who’s suffered back-to-back losses in the last week, desperately needs to win Michigan in order to keep his campaign afloat. Bottom line, if Romney loses Michigan, he's out. If he wins, he stays in.

"And we want Romney in, because the more Republican candidates we have fighting it out, trashing each other with negative ads and spending tons of money, the better it is for us. We want Mitt to stay in the race, and to do that, we need him to win in Michigan."

"The more Republican candidates we have fighting it out, trashing each other with negative ads and spending tons of money, the better it is for us" -- Exactly how Limbaugh described the thinking behind Operation CHAOS. He wishes to keep HRC and BO beating each other senseless for as long as possible.

"Now here's the thing -- without a real Democratic contest on the ballot, and a lack of party registration in Michigan, this is an open primary. Anyone can pick up a Republican ballot. So Michigan Democrats and independents who want to see the Republican battle royale continue should just take a few minutes on Tuesday, January 15th to cast a ballot for Mitt Romney in the Republican primary."

There is now no real Republican contest, and all the primaries since Limbaugh incepted CHAOS -- including the upcoming PA -- have been and are open. Anyone can pick up a Democratic ballot.

All Limbaugh is saying is: Michigan Republicans and independents who want to see the Democratic battle royale continue should just take a few minutes on Tuesday, April 22nd to cast a ballot for Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primary.

Kos even made it easy for Liberals to spread the UnAmerican virus:

If you know someone in Michigan, send them the email I've included below the fold.

Which read (in part):

Dear [Friend],

We're not going to beat around the Bush. If you want to help make mischief for the Republican Party - and bolster the Democrats' chances for taking the White House this November - read on!

Are you a Democrat or independent registered to vote in Michigan? If you are, vote for Mitt Romney in the Republican primary on Tuesday, January 15th!

(Emphasis his. The email text prattles on for quite a bit.) Back to the main Kos screed:

"If you don't know someone in Michigan, send the email to your liberal friends and see if THEY have friends in Michigan. Get the word out, whether by blog, mailing list, MySpace or Facebook page, or whatever.

"If we can help push Mitt over the line, not only do we help keep their field fragmented, but we also pollute Romney's victory. How "legitimate" will the Mittster's victory look if liberals provide the margin of victory? Think of the hilarity that will ensue. We'll simply be adding fuel to their civil war, never a bad thing from our vantage point."

You all get the point, I am sure. The similarities between Limbaugh's Operation CHAOS and its predecessor CHAOS-Kos are striking. The disparity exists only in Abrams' outrage.

A colleague has informed me that Mr. Limbaugh himself pointed this out on at least one occasion. But I have spoken to several others who were unaware of CHAOS-Kos and therefore felt it worthwhile to log it officially here and now.

Perhaps Abrams also was blissfully ignorant. If so, than Dan -- this one's for you.

Photographs courtesy of the DailyKos and MRC Director of Media Analysis Tim Graham.

—Seton Motley is Director of Communications for the Media Research Center.


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Despite Kos' call, it was

Despite Kos' call, it was McCain who truly benefited from cross-overs.

I'm not overjoyed about that outcome. I'm sure others have their own opinions.

Want Private Elections? Use Private Money.

Missing from all the emotion laced arguments on this issue is one simple fact:

The only reason people from opposite parties can crossover and vote for an enemy candidate is because state governments run the elections and pay for them with taxpayer money.

If the Democrats want Republicans excluded from their primaries, all they have to do is organize and pay for their own elections.

Faux Outrage

The only reason Dan Abrams is outraged is because the Kos attempt failed while Operation Chaos works! Rush took a liberal political tactic and successfully used it against them. Take that, Liberals!

Exactly Cobra. You cant

Exactly Cobra. You cant convince me that Abrams dosent know about the Kos Kids plan. He is insensed that the dems cant pull it off, cant get it right, and the Right has done what the left wanted. Put the shoe on the other foot, with their own plan.

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

  they are upset that

 

they are upset that conservitives are better at doing the very thing they tried to do.

could it be that conservitives are just a little better then libs at .....i guess everything but whining, looking for govt handouts, blaming everybody else for thier problems,

 

I was a professional twice over - an analyst and a therapist. The world's first analrapist

Hilarious, their hypocrisy

Hilarious, their hypocrisy truly has no boundaries.

 

"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest". Mark Twain

Sauce for the goose.....

Democrats just hate it when other people copy their tactics....

And they don't even see their hypocrisy....

Here is Rush's transcript from yesterday, talking about this...

Counting Liberal votes, one Republican at a time.

"Now here's the thing -- without a real Democratic contest on the
ballot, and a lack of party registration in Michigan, this is an open
primary. Anyone can pick up a Republican ballot."

If I were a Michigan liberal, I'd be highly insulted by that. He just stated that the only way a liberal vote counts in Michigan is when it's purposely cast for a Republican!

Is Abrams Attempting to Intimidate Voters?

With his calls for prosecution of Limbaugh and ordinary Ohio voters, is Abrams attempting to intimidate voters? Perhaps the good Democrat should also be investigated?

Hold on there allanf! Good

Hold on there allanf! Good Democrat? What you been smokin? :-)

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

Well

Okay replace "Good Democrat" with "MSNBC Democratic advocate"

HOLD IT...

allenf,

I hope the idiots on Lake Erie actually do go after him. It would be a giant circus. If this does happen, I demand that El-Rushbo live up to his promise to wear his Steelers jersey. That would'nt piss off any of the Browns fans now would it.

As for for Abrams attempting to intimidate voters, he's too much of a punk to intimidate anyone, & his blind hatred of anybody who does not kiss his @$$ ( a requirement @ MSNBC ) detracts from his already weak arguements. I just wonder when those in charge at 30Rock will quit putting lipstick on that pig & cut their losses? Of course, I've been asking that about MSNBC period for a while. It little more then "Air America Television News"

 

 

Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise"  Mark Levin

They would have to prove

They would have to prove that people "lied" when they registered Democrat. Rush brought up that apparently some states have a "loyalty oath" kind of thing where when you sign your registration card, you are stating that you agree with the principles of the Democratic Party? Now if they want to talk about "illegal" how illegal is requiring a "loyalty" oath?? and how would they prove otherswise? (you just say you agree, but we know you don't?)

Are they ready to have Kos prosecuted also? Or to have all the faux Republican registrations investigated?


He's doing the same thing we did!!! That's illegal!

It just goes to show ya, they don't think things through.

 

Hmmm

"Principles of the Party". Does that mean you have to be in favor of abortion, gay marriage  .... the whole party platform to be a member of the Democratic party?

Will the prosecutors up there start indicting Democrats who are not in favor of abortion?

It's just like Rush said,

The left cannot stand for their tactics to be turned around and used against them.

Here in Georgia, which does not require registration by party and has open primaries, cross-over voting has been a time-honored tradition for decades by members of both parties.

Abrams is full of himself.

Theme for Election '08: I want my mommy!

has anyone noticed that Dan

has anyone noticed that Dan Abrams and Chris Mathews both slobber
when they talk?? what is up with that. Its nasty to see spit come out
of their mouths. Are they just that upset about Rush or just life
in general? What a couple of losers.

mom

David too.....

David Shuster does the same thing trying to mimic Chris
Mathews, in his always hilarious face contortion displays.

Hey Abrams... I've been

Hey Abrams...

I've been watching your nightly whine lately in your pathetic attempt at acting a man regarding all of this so-called CHAOS... just remember....what goes around comes around.

You and your ilk gave us McCain...turn-about is fair play.

Suck it up, shut it up... deal with it buddy.

Rush is right....hahahaaaa!

I have never had so much fun as watching these leftist whining losers....always a law-suit on the horizon with them...the wimps all of them. 

"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill

BT

I love watching these pathetic excuses for journalist divulge their true colors. Operation Chaos is driving them nuts. Either Mathews or Abrams is going to pop a blood vessel. Maybe both. 

Does Abrams know that Fast

Does Abrams know that Fast Eddie Rendell was also asking Republicans to cross over and vote for Hillary?

Selective outrage?

D

Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.

Tenuous

Abrams hangs his outrage on the very tenuous fact that Ohio asks voters to sign some sort of pledge to support the "principles" of the Democratic Party.  So according to his reasoning, if a Republican signed the pledge they were signing false statement.

Sounds very amorphous to me. One can support the princples without supporting the candidates. 

I thought loyalty oaths went out after McCarthy.

Party system

This is a just a lawyer banging a table, because he has no facts.

If the parties have effectively collaborated to make it impossible for any third party to compete, then they lose the right to pretend that they're merely private clubs who can impose rules on members. Sorry. That ship has sailed.

Abrams is trying to peddle the idea that you owe your vote to some Platonic ideal. You must vote for the "best" candidate (and of course, the media wants to instruct you on who the best candidate is). The American system is exactly the opposite. We want you to vote your self-interest. That makes your vote yours. It isn't all about the candidates, no matter what the candidates try to tell you. It's about what you want, not what they want. If you have a choice between a Harvard professor and Bullwinkle, and the Harvard professor wants to raise taxes, vote for Bullwinkle, and do it without shame. That's how we play this game. Abrams just doesn't know how to play.

My aunt received a robocall

My aunt received a robocall a week or so ago from the Obama campaign urging her to vote for Obama, even if she had to re-register as a Democrat to do it, so I laughed when I saw Abrams last night in his faux outrage. Abrams is a pretty weak host, and, sad to say, a poor imitation of Keefy. And that is pretty pathetic.

 

NewsBusters: Remote

NewsBusters: Remote Listening Station for the MSNBC Empty Forest: "Yes, that falling Abrams Tree does seem to make a sound".  :)

What is it with the networks

What is it with the networks and pure, unadulterated nepotism?  Bubbles Brzezinski, Andrew Cuomo, Maria Shriver, Julie Chen, Andrea Koppel and this toupee mannequin Dan Abrams on MSDNC...all of them products of famous socialists in media and politics...and all of them ignorant blowdried buffoons who couldn't find their a****s with both hands.  Abrams is so incompetent that he had to fire himself to improve MSDNC's ratings, but he's so full of his own gas that he couldn't resist putting his smug face back on the air.  He must believe that the only way to get his ratings up to statistical zero is to have Rush Limbaugh effectively promote his show by playing laughable clips on the EIB Network...so he takes his lame little shots every day, Limbaugh plays them back, Rush's audience laughs at Abrams and Abrams' ratings remain below sea level. 

"... but he's so full of his

"... but he's so full of his own gas that he couldn't resist putting his smug face back on the air."

Fitz, in all fairness, since it doesn't improve ratings no matter who they put on the air, perhaps NBC ordered Abrams to save money by taking on two jobs at MSNBC. Maybe it was either this show or night watchman... :)

Rush is not far right.He's

Rush is not far right.He's just right.

It seems I remember this

It seems I remember this same thing happening in Michigan before, when Dems crossed over to vote for McCain over Bush, trying to sabotage him even then. That had to be in 2000, though. I even think I first heard about it from Rush.

Does that sound familiar to anyone? 

Great job in pointing this

Great job in pointing this out, Seton. It will be interesting to see if Dan Abrams has the intellectual honesty to acknowledge the parallels.

Notice how Olbermann and

Notice how Olbermann and Abrams both latch onto some pet peeve and try to blow it up as a threat to the republic? Notice how no one else picks it up and runs with it - including their ilk at other networks? They are alone in their echo chambers...

Pennyslvania

..................I thought Hillary already had this state in the bag?.......Anyone?

Operation CHAOS insures that

Operation CHAOS insures that it's a double bag in case the first one rips...

Very nice post

Very nice post. And very telling. Surely this torpedo is enough is to burst Dan Abrams' cozy little liberal bubble, the one he floats around in at that converted old warehouse they call the MSNBC studio.

But, somehow, I doubt it. Abrams will probably start gushing about "loyalty oaths" like a giddy little schoolgirl.

poor Dan Abrams

It must be so hard to be a liberal and constantly get embarrassed because you don't know what you're talking about.

We should really feel bad for him.

Seton, is that a real

Seton, is that a real picture of you in your profile, or of David Spade when he joined SNL in 1991?

 

Brutal -- Simply Brutal.

RS,

DAVID SPADE?  I am at once chagrined, disappointed and deeply nauseous.

DAVID SPADE? 

SM

Seton Motley
Director of Communications
Media Research Center

david spade

Seton.......

take that as a compliment..in case you did not know...David Spade gets a lot of hot women...really, I am not kidding...

also I think he is a closet consevative...sort of half in and half out..

chagrined? Now if you

chagrined?

Now if you were SHAGRINED I'd be impressed. Yeah baby. Groovy.

Vote 4 change. Vote 4 anything. See Jack & Mr Shy's first campaign ad for the ONLY viable 3rd party candidate.

Man, I did not know you'd

Man, I did not know you'd take it that hard. No offense was meant. Your staff photo always reminded me of Spade when he was young. I guess it's better than looking like Chris Farley...

 

There's a little

Dave Foley in that picture...

Good thing, really.

Perhaps

" Perhaps Abrams also was blissfully ignorant. If so, than Dan -- this one's for you."

Abrams is a liberal, therefore he is blissfully ignorant.  You can bet that he reported this based on his feelings, not the facts.

Democrats: Stuck on Stupid since 2000.

A penny for your thoughts, Dan

It would be great if Dan Abrams would put his "Rush Limbaugh – UnAmerican” thoughts down on MSNBC letterhead, and send it to Rush’s broadcaster. Then Rush could raise some more money for charity.

Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.

Abrams ignorant and biased

No group in the history of the world knows more about how to cheat in an election than Democrats. The Clintons have made cheating even more outrageous with the "Motor Voter Act," which the HillBilly team made the second act of their new administration, right after gays in the military (which gave us Janet Karpinski and Abu Ghraib).

Democrats cheated before the Civil War to keep slavery legal, then they cheated it after the Civil War to segregate blacks, Catholics, Jews, et al., and now they do it as neo-segregationists exploiting statements of peace, love and equality.

Florida 2000? All three districts were Democrats and in Janet Reno's backyard. I recall local elections in which Democrats cooked the books and voted in GOP primaries to disrupt the candidate selection process.

Abrams, some things to keep in mind...

Hypocrisy is a liberal curse........

Life's tough, it's even tougher if you're stupid...John Wayne

Go sell crazy somewhere else, we're all full up here..Jack Nicholson

 

Abrams, some things to keep in mind...

ooops..double post.trigger finger..

 

The funniest part is

that the Dems are now crowing about the unprecedented increases in Dem Party registration, proving, they say, that America has finally seen the light and they will have the presidency and veto proof majorities (like they'd need those with a Dem in the White House) in both the House and the Senate.

They're on a roll they are!

kimsch 

I need to read a copy of

I need to read a copy of Abrams' Constitution, or his Bill of Rights, because last I checked as an American you can vote for any damned body you want to in an open primary. I'm a Texan, I voted for the Hildabeast, if Abrams wants to meet me and discuss with me what I CAN'T do, I will accomodate him.

GoodGodalmighty the crying that'll be going on if McCain wins!! We all need to get ready for a big blowout!

I was disappointed as,

over the years, Men's Health magazine moved even further and further to the left. The addition of Dan Abrams to the magazine was the final straw and I cancelled my subscription.

Ironically, I'm healthier now due to the reduction in stress by not reading it anymore.

Yes, but at what cost to the

Yes, but at what cost to the health of your pores due to lack of proper hydration through moisturizer?  Stop the insanity!

My pores could only dream...

I also stopped day-dreaming that someday, mustard from my hot dog would slop onto clothing costing more than my car. I'm destined to live with the condiment stains on my $12 shirts and $20 jeans as always. Dan Abrams has ruined the dreams of my pores and clothing.

Stop the insanity; stop Dan Abrams!

But cheer up, Karma.  Just

But cheer up, Karma.  Just because you can't afford $350 polo shirts, $600 jeans and $1000 half boots doesn't mean you can't pamper yourself once in a while.  Surely Dan Abrams could tell you that you should ditch that sodium-laced processed hot dog and mustard for the more healthy and satisfying seared ahi with saffron cous cous.  Hey, why not treat yourself to a spa day?  And remember, when buying sheets for your bed, DON'T SKIMP ON THREAD COUNT! ;-)

Thanks for the lift,

Thanks for the lift, fitzfong. Your humor made my day even better than it was.

And no...I don't skimp on thread count. My Mini-Aussie enjoys the heightened challenge of shredding through superior fabric.

However, staying on the topic of Dan Abrams... While not watching him rant the other day, I was walked through the fascinating manufacturing process of cous cous on How It's Made. See, even Dan, in his small and unknowing way, contributes to society.

That's nice of you to say,

That's nice of you to say, Karma.  While we're on the subject of Dan Abrams catharsis, did you know that he was once living with (and I think engaged to) Elizabeth Rohm...the wooden blonde actress they used as 2nd chair window dressing on Law & Order a few years back?  As a result, it gave me great pleasure to see her character get fired on her last episode of L&O by...Fred Thompson!

MSNBC

Dan Abrams is a sophomoric punk. Add him to NBC's list of Bush/McCain/Cheney haters.. Russert , Matthews, David Gregory and the obnoxious Krazy K.Olberman

Operation Chaos

Well, I'm in Pennsylvania and I registered as a Democrat.  I plan on voting for Hillary.  I can't say it was Limbaugh that inspired my move, because the idea of tweaking the other party's primary has always been intriguing.

 

At least I can honestly say I'm not sure I'll vote for McCain.  Wouldn't vote for BO or Billary, but McCain's not earned my vote yet.

Operation Chaos

Well, I'm in Pennsylvania and I registered as a Democrat.  I plan on voting for Hillary.  I can't say it was Limbaugh that inspired my move, because the idea of tweaking the other party's primary has always been intriguing.

 

At least I can honestly say I'm not sure I'll vote for McCain.  Wouldn't vote for BO or Billary, but McCain's not earned my vote yet.