“One of those guys who’s read three books and thinks that’s all the books there are”
by digby
There was gale-force bullshit coming from all points of the compass and nonsense was running at floodtide in the newspapers and on TV this past weekend, a sorry couple of days for elite political journalism. As to the latter, Charlie Rose got a chance to sit down with Steve Bannon, the last heir to House Harkonnen and, despite Rose’s letting Bannon off several hooks, we learned that Steve Bannon is one of those guys who’s read three books and thinks that’s all the books there are, that he’s more than a little batty, and that, as my pal John Fugelsang tweeted this morning, that he continues to look like “a guy who stayed up watching porn until 6:45 and his alarm went off at 7.
How in the world could Rose have this guy on and not even mention the Mercers, the wingnut billionaire power couple without whose bankroll Bannon would be just another Alex Jones hawking brain pills and chemtrail remover? How could he let Bannon, who made his pile at Goldman Sachs and then made another pile in Hollywood, use the phrase “limousine liberals” without picking up a banana from the fruit bowl and throwing it at him? And how in the name of god could he hear Bannon say this without then picking up the phone and calling his bosses at 60 Minutes and telling them they by god better not send him out to interview anymore of these basket cases without a HazMat suit.
If there’s one thing the 19th century is known for, boy, it’s how we controlled our borders. That’s why all those Irish fleeing the Famine ended up in Madagascar. Yeesh.
Bannon is a very scary guy, completely full of shit, smarter than Trump but not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. But he does understand, apparently instinctively, what the Nazi white nationalist right wants to hear. And he’s backed by big money from an equally nutty billionaire, Robert Mercer and his lunatic daughter.
I’m grateful that he’s out of the White House. He’s very dangerous and if Trump finally cut him loose it’s because he realized that Bannon has his own agenda and Trumpie doesn’t like that. It’s supposed to be all about him. Nonetheless, Bannon sees Trump as a tool (he’s said so) that he can deploy to enact his own vision which, to the extent Trump simply channels the ranting of the drunk guy at the end of the bar, dovetails with Trump’s. (There is quite a bit of overlap.)
Anyway, if you get a chance watch the interview if you missed it. After you’ve had a couple of very stiff cocktails.
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