Charles Johnson's Dorian Gray Moment...

Charles Johnson is at it again.

Over at the steaming pile that is Little Green Footballs, Charles jumps up and down, waves his arms frantically, and screams, "Look at me!! Look at me!!" to the rest of the political blogosphere. For his troubles he gets a shout out from Think Progress.

Wow. Think Progress.

Anyway, this is what has Mr. Moral Authority all aflutter...

What exactly does Doug Hoffman stand for? And who is he standing with? Would you believe … Glenn Beck?

At the endorsements page of Doug Hoffman For Congress, we find a link to the “Gold List” at 912candidates.org, consisting of politicians who have “pledged their sacred honor” to uphold the Glenn Beck 9/12 Project’s “9 Principles and 12 Values.”

Of course, you mention the word "honor" to Charles Johnson and what you're going to get is a blank look. That's a given. Remember, this is the greasy conman who rode Roger L. Simon's dirty coattails for all it was worth, and who is now trying to hitch onto the coattails of larger, more useful, fry.

And since he seems to think them damning, here's the 9 principles and 12 values...

The 9 Principles:

1. America is good.
2. I believe in God. He is the center of my life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for the people. The people do not answer to the government; the government answers to the people.

The 12 Values:

1. Honesty
2. Reverence
3. Hope
4. Thrift
5. Humility
6. Charity
7. Sincerity
8. Moderation
9. Hard Work
10. Courage
11. Personal Responsibility
12. Gratitude

Can you see why these principles and these values would horrify someone like Charles Johnson? I sure can. Charles Johnson is...

... a divorced atheist, a failed musician, a failed internet businessman and a failed pundit/public intellectual. He made his name, such as it is, practicing standard, mindless anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry. When he thought he could make a buck helping Roger L. Simon lie, cheat and swindle folks through Pajamas Media, he did so and did so cheerfully.

And...

... when it became obvious that neither mindless anti-Muslim bigotry nor Simon's PJM con game was going to get him where he wanted to be (either in terms of money or ego gratification) he betrayed all of his so-called friends and associates by turning upon them. He now courts, in the name of personal advancement only, the sort of people - such as Markos Moulitsas of DailyKOS - who a few years ago he was damning as the worst of the worst.

Of course Beck's 9 Principles and 12 Values horrify Charles Johnson. He's a greedy, amoral, self-obsessed nonentity. He looks at what Glenn Beck and Doug Hoffman take seriously and recoils. He pretends -and I do mean pretends - that he is recoiling at conservatism in extremist form.

That's bullshit, and he knows it.

What he is actually recoiling at is a Dorian Gray moment. What a pity he's too weak to admit what the moment actually says about what he had done and what he has become.  

Comments

[ThomasD]

Well, that blaze-and-noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch loaded to blastin' point
He rides head first into a hurricane and disappears into a point
And there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell, that is, nothin' left that you could sell
Just junk all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell

Bruce Springsteen

[Mike C.]

As an atheist, I have to skip over the "God" part myself. But I don't get my panties in a wad because others don't.

I wonder if he's actually going to have the chutzpah to run his annual "Fiskie" award contest again? If so, the most deserving winner seems self-evident. What a putz.

Off topic, sorry to hear about Peter.

[Jane2]

I'm hard pressed to choose between the Charles Johnson-style Crazy and the Glenn Beck-style Crazy.

[David]

Also OT, but I was sorry to hear about PeterUK as well. For having such a small readership, Dennis, you tend to attract an above-average level of comment (the fuckwit that is Mark Garrity notwithstanding), and Peter was no exception.

To me the most damning indictment of Johnson is that he doesn't reply to these charges, which -- if false -- are almost certainly defamatory. What this says is that they're true.

It's not hard to spot the droning careerists in politic and blogging. I'd nominate Charles, Pammycakes, Malkin and the rubes over at Daily Pundit. For the left, well, there's Andrew Sullivan, but I'm not sure he qualifies, as this is a list of human beings, and human beings aren't supposed to be able to suck their own dicks.

[Dennis The Peasant]

Jane-

Glenn Beck may be crazy, and I'd be the last to dismiss it out of hand, but there really isn't anything extremist about the 9 and 12. Sure, some are ripe for use by the self-serving on the right, but that does not invalidate them per se. That Johnson would dismiss them all as evidence of craziness or extremism speaks volumes about the sort of person he is and the sort of fundamental values he lacks.

David-

Evidently Charles is quite limber...

[Jane2]

Dennis, most of his principles are apple pie stuff and fine as they read, but stuff like "the family is sacred" puts me in mind of the good old days when spousal and child abuse was a-ok because the family was indeed sacred. Not sure about Beck's sub-text, or indeed any sub-text of a laundry list of principles, right or left. Besides, everyone knows God is a She.

On the other hand, Charles Johnston's quivery blogger ego is typical of "professional bloggers" everywhere, and an endless source of cheap amusement.

And I too will miss PeterUK...a worthy adversary.

[Randy Rager]

Dennis, why are you lending Charles Johnson your credibility by acknowledging his existence? Not that I object, mind you, do as you please, it's just that I think he's rather beneath notice.

[bonze blayk]

Uh, the "9/12" principles and values do not compare favorably to the Scout's Oath and Scout's Law, which are concise and pithy.

The 9 principles are a mish-mash, including self-contradictions--"God is the center of my life" but "My spouse and I are the ultimate authority"?

"I must always try to be... more honest..." WTF?

"America is Good." That's a principle?

"The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me." That's the original principle, which was altered to suit for political candidates. ??? In what universe is this Universal Führerprinzip supposed to be feasible?

Not to disagree with you about Charles, but any politician who wants to endorse this incoherent mess is suffering from either 1) a deficit of rationality or 2) a lust for votes from Beckies. Or both.

[DocSavage]

I think the better course would be to limit CJ news to once a week. Granted, that is what brought most of us here in the first place, but let's not try and duplicate his tactics. I've done a lot of soul-searching over CJ's shift to the dark side. And I've came to the conclusion that I read his crap over the years because it made me feel better. In other words, it was all about affirmation. And we all know where that leads.

[The Poster Formerly Known as Gordon]

He looks at what Glenn Beck and Doug Hoffman take seriously

Can't speak for Hoffman, but I don't think Glenn Beck takes all this stuff seriously. I think he's realized that Obamahatred is his passport to riches, and he's going to get it stamped as much as possible.

[XopXproxyX]

Can't speak for Hoffman, but I don't think Glenn Beck takes all this stuff seriously. I think he's realized that Obamahatred is his passport to riches, and he's going to get it stamped as much as possible.

I wanted to post a comment to say pretty much exactly that too. Your Chuckie commentary is superb, but seriously, wake up and smell the Glenn Beck coffee.

[DocSavage]

Wonderful. The House just seized control of the economy. I wonder what's going to happen when the bill gets to the Senate.
What is really funny is reading the Dem's comments who are screaming about an "anti-choice" provision in the bill.
Funny, I didn't think "choice" ever figured into that bill.