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Tuesday, Nov 30, 2010 11:01 PM UTC

Joe Scarborough, Michael Bloomberg, Joe Lieberman to celebrate their centrism

The supposed independents launch a well-funded organization dedicated to solving America's problems with "civility"

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Topics: Joe Scarborough, War Room, Joe Lieberman, Michael Bloomberg, No Labels,

Joe Scarborough, Michael Bloomberg, Joe Lieberman to celebrate their centrismJoe Scarborough and Michael Bloomberg

Sanctimonious self-appointed “centrists” with no constituency outside of their social circles to launch meaningless-but-well-funded campaign in support of their admiration for themselves, Howard Fineman reports.

WASHINGTON — TV’s Joe Scarborough, who today dismissed Sarah Palin as a symbol of “anti-intellectualism” with a “dopey dream” of being president, will help headline the launch next month of a new national group dedicated to restoring civility in politics.
[...]
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also expected to take part, along with an array of other self-described centrists, including retiring Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Sen. Joe Lieberman, (I-Conn.), former Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn), Los Angeles’s Democratic Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Sen. Deb Stabenow (D-Mich.), former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman (R-N.J.) and former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.)

What can you even say about that lineup besides “where’s Harold Ford”?

It gets even more ridiculous: The “No Labels” organization (I’m not sure whether to blame Naomi Klein or feel bad for her) was founded, of course, by longtime Democratic fundraiser Nancy Jacobson — the wife of pollster grifter Mark Penn — and Bush and McCain media guru Mark McKinnon. The group — which promises that its not a stalking-horse for a third party — demands that everyone in politics just civilly solve problems from the “pragmatic center,” which is, if you’ll permit me to be briefly uncivil, childish and stupid.

This is boilerplate that I plan on adding to all posts I write about this organization from now on: There is not a secret majority of fed-up Americans that agrees, politically, with center-right “reasonable” Republicans like Scarborough and Bloomberg and Lieberman. Lieberman doesn’t have a shot at reelection and Bloomberg is disliked by most Americans. “Civility” is a meaningless buzzword, though they seem to define “incivility” as “disagreeing that vague center-right policy proposals will solve America’s problems.”

Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.

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