Buzzfeed takes a lot of flak for trying to strike a balance between cute cat photos and “serious” political coverage, but Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall took issue with Buzzfeed’s GIF-heavy take on liberal hypocrisy, “7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked Out About If Bush Had Done Them.” Because when Buzzfeed asks why Democrats aren’t outraged about Guantanamo, or the Afghanistan surge or drone strikes, it looks all like this:
Marshall was all like:
We have met the bastard child of the cat listicle and the concern troll
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
But then Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith was all like this.
@joshtpm bastard is a very outdated word.
— Ben Smith (@benyt) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen demon seed of cat listicle and concern troll?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@joshtpm I am amused but don't see the actual objection to a compelling way of saying something that seems fairly clear and factually right
— Ben Smith (@benyt) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen only it's a completely false premise & willfully misleading? U mean other than that its right on target?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen I've forgotten that both Kerry & even more Obama campaigned on intensifying Afghanistan conflict, right?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen get back to me when u have a way to square those facts with the piece.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
This is unexpected.
@joshtpm democrats in fact would have been as quiet and supportive of drone strikes and afghan surge were bush president?
— Ben Smith (@benyt) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen in general they haven't been quiet at all abt drone strikes tho I support them
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@joshtpm Obama sent 3x the troops he promised and bought into COIN over Biden objections for the surge. And u are now defending. Qed, no?
— Ben Smith (@benyt) February 12, 2013
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@BuzzFeedBen have u got more than Dems wld sure be agst this because they don't like when anyone gets killed?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen on afghan, Dems hit Bush 4 years 4 not intensifying there. So yes really some question whether they wld have attacked him 4 it
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen NOW I'm defending? Ben, am I stand-in for yr reporters cartoon Democrat or r u reacting to something I wrote?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@joshtpm I would have been surprised if you and others were so sanguine on a Bush drone policy. Call me crazy.
— Ben Smith (@benyt) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen from my own writing, Ben, what do u base that on?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@joshtpm this thread — sorry if I'm misreading. There is no mention at all or campaign promises in the piece you attack.
— Ben Smith (@benyt) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen u seem to think that being agst preemption means yr agst drones. Is that yr logic?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@joshtpm no, that's you putting words in my mouth. I think TPM's pro-drone stance is even more powerful than gifs in telling this story.
— Ben Smith (@benyt) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen isn't that called 'context'? Or more broadly, 'what actually happened'?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen arg behind piece seems to be Iraq & Afghanistan r identical because all wars r identical? Especially if people have brown skin?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@BuzzFeedBen trash talk only gets u so far. If u think I'm inconsistent, make an arg based on things I've written
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 12, 2013
@joshtpm I think when you suggest your interlocutor is a racist, then accuse him of trash talk, it's time for both of us to put kids to bed
— Ben Smith (@benyt) February 12, 2013
It is late, and North Korea very likely just set off a nuclear bomb. We’re going to check out some cute kittens while we wait for the White House to reassure us everything’s under control.
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