There was no "coordinated message operation."

Whereas, of course, that's EXACTLY what the "tea parties" are. Score another one for the right-wing projection machine.

I understand that if you look really hard, you can find some of these so-called "blogs" on the internets. I think it's how they communicate with each other to keep the conspiracy going.

Your denials are only more proof of teh conspiracy!

If it were all as innocent as you'd lead us to believe, Steve, you wouldn't spend so much time rationalizing it.

The vast left-wing conspiracy in action.

This seems to me a case of hating most in others what you fear most about yourself. In the Time of the Shrub, the coordination between right wing media was coordinated to the point of replicating errors, so they assume this must be what's going on among their "enemies."

Huh. No doubt you were directed to say exactly this, in order to deflect the laser-like scrutiny of conservative bloggers.

It's precisely posts like this that prove the point.

And you can bet that soon there will be other posts that attempt the same thing -- yet further proof!

Time to stockpile some more ammo.

These people wrote the book on "coordinated message operation!"
The truth is that the Tea Tantrums are a pretty stupid idea, especially coming from the conservatives, and it doesn't take a covert operation for various people to all come to that very obvious conclusion.

George Soros didn't pay me to write the post; I wasn't compensated in the new "global currency" that Michele Bachmann is worried about; and I'm not in league with ACORN or any of the other assorted right-wing boogeymen.

Well, why the hell not??!?!

This writer from The American Spectator is projecting.

In mind of Red State reader, message operation coordinates you!

Wasn't the Bradley and Scaife Family Foundation funded American Spectator and its "Arkansas Project" the mojo behind Clinton's "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy"? I guess it takes a conspirator to see a conspiracy - no?

How amusing that the subject that brought this charge of coordinated message was the Tea Party 'movement'. Ha!

Just imagine how outraged the American Spectator will be when they notice that this blog features posts by someone calling herself "Hilzoy" that are pushing precisely the same message as those published on the blog Obsidian Wings by someone calling herself... Hilzoy! Egads! It's a vile conspiracy, all right.

It's nice to have a good laugh on a Monday morning. Thanks, American Spectator.

Congratulations Commander Benen, this post hits all the pre-approved talking points as agreed to in memorandum #4,563,234. Continue with your glorious work in service of the Great Revolution.

If a republican accuses you of something crazy, it is almost as good as proof that that is exactly what they are doing.

"...that there are many others is easily inferred."

That strikes me as something crazy people would say all the time.

So, um, the fact that Steve quoted another blogger is proof -- PROOF! -- that there's a secret conspiracy against the teabaggers?

We must really suck at conspiracy, what with the quoting actual people on the record and all. I though conspiracies were supposed to be, like, secret.

I had noticed how successful the Left was at (a) getting its favorite narratives picked up by the national media, and (b) discouraging coverage of narratives unfavorable to Democrats.

Somehow, I never noticed that the left had this kind of power. Way to go, lefties!

Now you know.

And knowing is half the battle! Go Joe!

Wow. You made the Spew-tator's "enemies list." Wish I could do that.

Oh, and Oliver---memorandum #4,563,234 was the one about test-targeting Saddam's missing nuclear munitions to Glenn Beck's GPS coordinates (I finished that up yesterday, right after breakfast; the irretractable nano-chip you put in his coffee last Monday works really, really good, by the way). I think you're talking about the "tie-'em-in-knots-with-truth" communique---that was #4,563,243....

Love complaints like this from the same folks who made a religion out of spewing whatever GOP talking points emanated from Grover Norquist's and Karl Rove's fax machines every day. They naturally assume that the opposition is now doing the same and it really freaks them out. But then the GOP has never been bothered by rampant hypocrisy....EVER!

So, um, the fact that Steve quoted another blogger is proof -- PROOF! -- that there's a secret conspiracy against the teabaggers?

I'm with martin. I'm disappointed that you aren't part of the great lefty cabal. That's why I read you every day, so I don't have to read all the other lefty blogs. It saves so much time.

I'm with everyone else who notes that the right has the amazing capacity to project whatever its doing onto the left. If they start howling about something that Obama is doing or the Dems are doing, better look quickly to see what they themselves are doing.

Please. This is worthy of nothing more than a hearty guffaw. Even by the right's standard, it's pretty weak tea. (Pun intended).

I agree with the first post here.

Projection once again. We often see what we are, what we fear, we know, what is very familiar to us.

It's also just beyond ridiculously stupid, to put it more plainly.

Sorry you had that experience--keep blogging, keep trusting your instincts and don't hesitate to share your level-headed, frank take on matters. They inform tremendously!

If the left really had a conspiracy going on, would the economy be better?

"...that there are many others is easily inferred."

That strikes me as something crazy people would say all the time.

After a while, blogging is bound to give someone a thick skin. Some people are going to like what you have to say, others won't.

Good advice for commenters also. I must get over the hurt of being banned from commenting on Michelle Malkin's blog.

I wonder whether conservatives or liberals are more likely to censor and ban opposing viewpoints? Some sneaky bloggers fix it so the commenter can see his comments, but nobody else. Cruel.

Love complaints like this from the same folks who made a religion out of spewing whatever GOP talking points emanated from Grover Norquist's and Karl Rove's fax machines every day. They naturally assume that the opposition is now doing the same and it really freaks them out.

I forget which left wing blogger first pointed this out -- but "if the right wing accuses the left wing of doing something it's because the right wing is already doing it."

This is in large part a simple case of psychological projection. It's natural to project your feelings/emotions onto others to try to explain their actions. However, when doing this most people realize that projection is only a semi-useful tool -- that other people think and feel differently so their motivations may be entirely different.

But, in the non-empathetic world of a right wing paranoid, there is no "but maybe they think differently" reflective moment. They simply assume that the left is exactly like them in personality.

This is why the wingnuts argue absurdities like "scientists have a religious belief in evolution". Because wingnut logic goes like this: start with conclusion, then find facts to support -- the wingnut can't understand scientific thought. Therefore the wingnut assumes that scientists think like they do.

Similarly, it's why they are accusing Obama of building concentration camps to house right wingers. Because if you review Freeper posts and Mike Savage rants over the past 8 years you'll find that they frequently proposed doing exactly that to lefties.

It's why they ferverently believe that Obama is locking the wingnuts in Congress out of discussions on policy -- despite all evidence that Obama spends more time with the wingnut fringe than he does many of his own supporting groups. Because that's what wingnuts do when they are in power -- lock out anyone who doesn't agree with them. So, facts be damned, they assume he's doing the same.

And their paranoia about raising taxes on working people and confiscating their guns? Despite all evidence to the contrary they are convinced that Obama is doing both right now -- because they know that if they were in power they'd ram their most controversial agenda items down the throat of the minority, and they assume the Democrats will do the same.

"...that there are many others is easily inferred."

That strikes me as something crazy people would say all the time.

I hope in the future you will consider criticism from the rightwing as a badge of honor.

Nice try Steve.

But your plaintive denial includes a link to the noted right wing blog "American Spectator".

Obviously this means you've been paid off by Scaife in an attempt to give this left-wing conspiracy bull some legs, and to trick me in visiting a right wing link.

And to think at one time I was considering a post that compared you favorably to the passive but incorruptable Kevin Drum.

That was a close one.

I believe you, Steve.
I have to - it's part of what I was taught to do in Re-education Camp.

"It's a practice some of us refer to as 'blogging.'"

Really? I thought it was part of the conspiracy to unendingly regurgitate each other's comments, thoughts, and "facts" until they are part of the mainstream.

Oh. Um, sorry. I thought this was a right-wing blog.

Good advice for commenters also. I must get over the hurt of being banned from commenting on Michelle Malkin's blog.

It must hurt to realize that you're too crazy even for Malkin's blog.

Oh, and we can all still see your posts. We just ignore them. As I'm about to go back to doing.

"... wait for it .."

How many hundred more times are you guys going to repeat this tired old joke? Seriously.

"So you can imagine my reaction when I spotted Steve Benen of Washington Monthly pushing an anti-Tea Party message by Oliver Willis of Media Matters."

When RightWingers get caught LYING, they REALLY HATE IT when you point out they are LIARS.

Some sort of crime in their book.

unfortunately, facts have a liberal bias, as colbert pointed out. so when the libs point out facts, of course it looks like a conspiracy! a conspiracy to adhere to facts! and point out the obvious! and tell the truth!

The left-wing coordinated message operation should scare us all.

First, some blog catches a wingnut lying. Other bloggers read that blog, and highlight/add their own thoughts. Or, they don't - depending on the story's relevance. Then it gets even more scary - George Soros' army of millions of 'commenters' are activated, setting an independent thinking machine into motion.

Heil democracy.

/snark off

One of the main differences between the left and the right is precisely that the left is full of renegades that hold no brief for the DNC, and the right has no such people. Lefties support people like Amy Goodman, Glenzilla, Michael Moore, et al, even though none of them has any particular affinity for the Democratic Party, and though all are perfectly willing to castigate politicians nominally on the same side of the aisle as themselves.

By contrast, the late effort Culture11.com was a rare (though worthy) exception on the right, in terms of willingness to criticize themselves and their fellow travelers, and their demise pretty much proves the rule. "No enemies on the right", a dictum of the Prophet Ronnie Himself, is how the conservative movement has always behaved.

There is no conspiracy. We have always been at war with East Asia.

So if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck and waddles like a duck the people observing and mentioning that it may be a duck are guilty of a coordinated message operation.
Good to know.
I have always been suspicious of those sunrise/sundown prognosticators and their coordinated messaging operation.

The Intertubes are a back channel.

Hmm. Ok, what's the front channel, where people can talk honorably and out in the open?

The "Ezra Klein Controls The Universe" meme lives on.