So what is Alt Left? In the most crude form, it is Michael Tracey.
But I characterized Matt Taibbi’s piece on the Comey hearings as Alt Left. He asked me to explain myself. Here’s my shot at it.
Taibbi’s piece is titled “Notes from the House Select Intelligence Hearing on Russia.” It begins with an exposition of what the hearing was about.
The hearing on Russia's involvement with the American electoral process began with an army of reporters swarming 'round the committee heads: Republican chair Devin Nunes of the Fresno area, and Democrat and ranking member Adam Schiff of Los Angeles.
The two witnesses were top dogs from the "IC" (everyone in America seems to be using this irritating acronym now). One was FBI Director James Comey, who at various times has been both revered and hated by both Democrat and Republican camps over the years. The other was NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers, who until recently was probably best known for refusing to identify Edward Snowden as a foreign agent.
Nothing Alt Leftie there. Now Taibbi starts his coverage complaining about what he describes as “a small issue in the grand scheme of things” — the characterization of RT in the hearing.
the effort to describe the Russia Today network as diabolical propaganda without mentioning Voice of America and Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe continues to amaze.
This strikes me as an amazing comparison — is Voice of America REALLY like RT? (RFE/Radio Liberty were effectively jammed during the Soviet Era, but at least they were comparable.) This line strikes me as ridiculous sophistry:
Apparently Russia is the only country that funds a media network intended to influence foreign audiences.
It is a symptom of Alt Leftism in my view — the notion that there is moral equivalence between the United States and Russia. It is an alternate view to traditional, at the least, Democratic views that believe the United States can be a force for good in the world. It is wrongheaded in my view but if you agree with it, obviously you will not agree with me.
But you should agree with me that it is an ALTERNATIVE view to that of traditional Democratic or even progressive viewpoints. I don’t care for it but you may. But it IS alternative.
Which leads to my second point of reference:
by these standards pretty much any alternative media outlet is "anti-American," and it's alarming to hear Democrats later ape this language in reference to RT.
Here Taibbi lumps Democratic views on RT with something Devin Nunes said. That’s just wrong. Not even alternative. Cite what the Democrats said if you want to condemn their words, not claim that they are “aping” Nunes.
Then we get to what was undoubtedly the big news of the day — Comey’s publicly confirming the investigation into Trump-Russia coordination. This is how Taibbi describes it:
Comey creates the big headline of the day by saying, "I have been authorized ... to confirm that the FBI is investigating" the Russia story. This both is and isn't big news. Although it's the first time it's been stated publicly, the existence of this investigation has been common knowledge for a long time. Most of the leaked reports on the topic have included this information.
This is disingenuous at best. First, Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer have denied the existence of such an investigation on the record. Indeed, so did Devin Nunes and Richard Burr. It is not at all common knowledge. It was unambiguously big news.
Indeed, this was an important theme of the hearing — the continual contradicting of Trump Administration statements (including from Trump himself.) This is putting a slant on a big deal. In my view, an Alt Left slant.
Taibbi then does a Both Sides schtick:
This is an example of how the hyper-partisan nature of these hearings spoils American politics. Liberals especially should be seriously concerned about such surveillance overreach by the intelligence agencies, and also about leaks directed against individuals by intelligence officials. Similarly, conservatives should be mortified by the possibility of foreign interference in our electoral process.
But because both of these issues are tied in highly specific ways to the political fortunes of Donald Trump, each issue will be ignored by one side and thundered over by the other.
This view is the height of Alt Leftness. The hearing was about Russia’s interference in our election and the Trump campaign’s coordination with Russia. It was NOT about surveillance policy. Does Taibbi REALLY think Republicans care about surveillance abuses? Good gawd.
The issue of surveillance abuse is absolutely valid and vital. The Obama Administration and Democrats in general should be criticized on this point. But not for not taking it up at THIS HEARING? This was Republican deflection and Taibbi must know it. Is the issue of surveillance abuse really about having US persons’ conversation with foreign agents surveilled? Is that the big issue on surveillance? Come on.
And so Taibbi continues. His attitude is exemplified by this passage:
Both Comey and Rogers indicated from the start that they will reserve their more candid testimony for a later classified hearing with these same members. For the public, this means one thing: we'll continue to get no real answers, and a heavily partisan and politicized version of events, no matter what happens. So long as the investigations aren't closed, and the real information is kept behind closed doors, both parties can pursue their rhetorical campaigns unchecked.
More Both Sidesism. To me this is at the heart of Alt Leftism — the charade that the Dems are just as bad as the Republicans in all circumstances. It imbues Taibbi’s attitudes and writing in my view. Indeed, I think he confirms this in a tweet to me:
Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 21, 2017
Taibbi sees equating Dems with Republicans as “not being an unerring mouthpiece for the Democratic Party.” That impulse is the heart of Alt Leftism — its fundamental viewpoint is precisely that — Dems are as bad as Republicans.
I would never equate Taibbi to Tracey — he’s too smart, too good a writer and too decent a person for that.
But I do think his viewpoint is imbued with the notion that equating Dems to Republicans in all settings is the right thing to do.
To me that is the conventional strain of Alt Leftism.