I think the Democrats have finally learned their lesson. That lesson is to ignore this BS from the DC press and move ahead with their agenda. Because let's face it, every time the Dems reach across the aisle or kiss the media's ass, inevitably they get their hand bitten off. Their strategy is working. Get the work done. Show the American people what Democrats can actually do for the them. The press wants a press conference. What Democrats want, as well as many Republicans and Independents, is Covid relief and increased vaccinations- we're getting that. Infrastructure, immigration reform, voting rights, and most importantly addressing climate change is coming. Kowtowing to the mainstream media is not in the best interest of the country. Turning the press to favor Democrats will come provided the Dems keep their heads down, ignore the noise and continue to deliver for the American people. Give the people what they want and to hell with the DC Press.
"[The Dems] strategy of ignoring the press and just getting on with the agenda, is not the Dem's strategy, it is Joe's strategy and no one else's. The Dems are stupider than a box of rocks, and without Joe they would slip back into their endless public bickering about who's more progressive and who's a Wall Street shill (which most of the party accused Joe of being), and an environment-savage (as most accused Joe of being), and anti-working class (as most of them accused Joe of being). This is all about Joe and no one else.
Look at the comments under the WaPo editorial. Other than trolls, the overwhelming response was ' we don't care if he EVER does a press conference!'. And why? Because all of the responders know that msm are merely looking for a 'gotcha' moment. And the responders are all thrilled that he is doing the job he promised us he was going to do. Watching Jen Psaki's daily pressers is enough to make me gag. More 'gotcha' moments and insipid questions.
Hi Eric! This is completely off-topic, but how do I renew my subscription? I’m sure I got a one-year subscription around this time last year, but I haven’t gotten anything about renewing my subscription and I don’t want to lapse. Will you be sending something out to your existing longterm subscribers? Sorry! I didn’t know how else to contact you.
Remember, last week one of the reporters told Psaki that "Americans" were saying Biden had let in a swarm of immigrants, and when Psaki asked "Who are these Americans?" the answer was "Donald Trump." So they're not even passively promoting GOP talking points anymore; they're actively doing it.
A solo press conference will feature such pressing questions as "Donald Trump thinks you suck, what do you think about that?" and "Why didn't you get any Republicans to vote for this bill?" I suppose he should do one from time to time, but thanks to the press corps it's going the way of the turkey pardon.
I also think that one of the reasons why they want Biden to do a presser is that they want to be able to jump on him if he commits a gaffe, or says something that they deem to be inaccurate, so that they can both-sides it. Then they can demonstrate to Republicans that they're just as tough on Biden as they think they were on Trump, so maybe he'll stop calling them the 'fake news.'
The Washington Post editorial page is really going after Biden. As I posted before the Post had two editorials hammering the size of the Covid relief bill as well as at least two more op eds doing the same. Their basic argument went “Larry Summers, a named right wing economist and anonymous economists thought the bill was too big and would cause inflation. I didn’t see any columns giving the other side of the argument made by prominence to economists on their main page in the days leading up to the Senate vote.
The Post does have columnists like Jennifer Rubin and The Plum Line’s Paul Waldman and Greg Sargent who write daily columns and are not playing the gotcha game with Biden. However their columns aren’t usually featured on the main page unless they get a lot of clicks so a lot of people miss them. Rubin recently wrote this excellent column praising Biden’s success on his ignoring the conventional wisdom the media has been spouting and just plowing ahead with his agenda. I think that explains why Biden has waited so long for a press conference. Had he held one before the passage of the relief bill it would have fanned the flames of the inflation fear mongering, helping Republicans by justifying their lack of support for the bill.
I wish the political press would present of both sides of issues the way 60 Minutes used to do with their Point-Counterpoint segments featuring the conservative James J Kilpatrick and liberal Shana Alexander but that would require having intellectually honest conservatives, not propagandists arguing that side. Maybe they could just do a print form of Dan Ackroyd Jane Curtain SNL’s
Jen Psaki already told them Biden will be holding a press conference in a few weeks. The question has been asked and answered, yet the press continues to make an issue of it. Why?
I think you’re being generous when you say it’s just your average narcissism. I’m more inclined to say they need his press conference to get the sound bites and zingers to propagate the rightwing narrative around the Covid relief bill and other legislative initiatives. Biden has effectively stopped that nonsense in its tracks and forced the White House Press Corps into being professional.
It’s really beautiful to watch.
On another note, I absolutely love this new band. Thanks for the recommendation.
Yesterday, a question from a NYPost (total rag) reporter was 'Is the Biden's dog going to be euthanized for a bite incident?' Did they do this when Obama's dog bit someone in the face for sticking his/her face in the dog's face to kiss it? BTW, I run a dog rescue, you have to be a total moron to do this.
Eric - you hit the nail on the head when you noted the self-promotion desired by the WH press corps. It reminded me of how much more useful, and shorter, congressional hearings would be if the questioning was left to committee lawyers instead of being done by showboating clowns like Jim Jordan. The whining about a presidential presser is a reminder of how the media acquiesced in Trump's determination to ignore the pandemic.
I agree about Jim Jordan but that would mean missing impressive questioning by some of the Democrats and things like Dick Durbin calling out Ted Cruz for lying, claiming that illegal immigrants will get money from the stimulus bill.
No, Biden does not owe the media anything: the media that nastily savaged him for his whole campaign over his speech impediment. Under pressure, a stutter can re-emerge, as we saw when Harris stabbed him in the back with a lie, at the first debate. An attack by the nasties, like the dumb a-hole from Fox, who keeps trying to trip up Jen Psaki, and who keeps on repeating the lie that Biden hasn't delivered the unity he promised, could cause Joe's stutter to make him look less than fully competent. He's the most competent president since FDR. Who in the media saw that right away? An ignorant press causes an ignorant citizenry, and most of the media should be sweeping floors in a warehouse.
The DC Press Corpse--obsessed with Dr. Seuss, Potato Head, Joe's dogs and their fee fees are hurt because they can't use their Frank Luntz tested gotcha questions on Joe.
Frank Luntz says he is no longer in that business after he lost control of a focus group about unity. A man said he stopped supporting Trump because he treated covid like a joke. A woman from Texas who was clearly a Trumper said it is a joke then mocked the man when he said he had lost his mother to it. The woman also mocked another person who said her uncle had died from it. Luntz doesn’t acknowledge that his push for unity failed because of this kind of irrational nasty behavior of the Trump supporter, he implies both sides just don’t want unity which made poor little Frankie extremely discouraged. Of course he didn’t acknowledge he was a major player in the dishonest right wing propaganda that created this mess.
I infuriated me that NBC used to hire Luntz to do focus groups for them to broadcast despite the fact that he was so clearly a partisan Republican master of spin and bamboozlement.
Eric, do you compile your "Fun Stuff" music selections into a Spotify playlist?? I'd follow that in a HEARTBEAT! You've introduced me to so many great new songs and artists! And of course, your journalism is the cherry on top :)
"It's odd that the media let Trump lie his way through solo press events and now are demanding Biden hold one because that's where presidents are held accountable by the media."
Hope that irony not to be taken too literally. The establishment press' DC press corps is little less hypocritical than the GOP (and probably much more than the Dems).
Can say, but won't say it again that the establishment press has reached and past the point that they're doing far more harm to the nation than good.
And Eric is of course pretty spot on. Maybe Biden is just too busy for the kabuki of a full out press conference. Or maybe he wants to wait till the push to get HR1/S1 passed.
I like this option you've added Eric. Hearing you read what you've posted has been beneficial when I can't actually stop and read. Appreciate it. Jen Psaki has been great at shutting down the nonsense. Biden will have his press conference when he's good and got damn ready! Nuff said
Maybe I missed it ... has anyone mentioned the so-called "chopper-talk" ... something that I thought was beyond the pale. This was the headline to an article in "Esquire" in November of 2019. "Chopper Talk: Where the White House Press Corps Goes to Get Ritually Abused by Donald Trump In a world without press briefings, reporters are forced to ask the world's most powerful man questions over the roar of a helicopter." That the press participated was unbelievable to me.
I think the Democrats have finally learned their lesson. That lesson is to ignore this BS from the DC press and move ahead with their agenda. Because let's face it, every time the Dems reach across the aisle or kiss the media's ass, inevitably they get their hand bitten off. Their strategy is working. Get the work done. Show the American people what Democrats can actually do for the them. The press wants a press conference. What Democrats want, as well as many Republicans and Independents, is Covid relief and increased vaccinations- we're getting that. Infrastructure, immigration reform, voting rights, and most importantly addressing climate change is coming. Kowtowing to the mainstream media is not in the best interest of the country. Turning the press to favor Democrats will come provided the Dems keep their heads down, ignore the noise and continue to deliver for the American people. Give the people what they want and to hell with the DC Press.
indeed, Biden is doing an excellent job ignoring the BS
I think so too, which is one of the reasons he was my number one pick a year ago. Years of experience to know how to deal with press.
"[The Dems] strategy of ignoring the press and just getting on with the agenda, is not the Dem's strategy, it is Joe's strategy and no one else's. The Dems are stupider than a box of rocks, and without Joe they would slip back into their endless public bickering about who's more progressive and who's a Wall Street shill (which most of the party accused Joe of being), and an environment-savage (as most accused Joe of being), and anti-working class (as most of them accused Joe of being). This is all about Joe and no one else.
Look at the comments under the WaPo editorial. Other than trolls, the overwhelming response was ' we don't care if he EVER does a press conference!'. And why? Because all of the responders know that msm are merely looking for a 'gotcha' moment. And the responders are all thrilled that he is doing the job he promised us he was going to do. Watching Jen Psaki's daily pressers is enough to make me gag. More 'gotcha' moments and insipid questions.
yes, I’ve seen same response on Twitter when journos raise issue: “He’s kinda busy!”
Hi Eric! This is completely off-topic, but how do I renew my subscription? I’m sure I got a one-year subscription around this time last year, but I haven’t gotten anything about renewing my subscription and I don’t want to lapse. Will you be sending something out to your existing longterm subscribers? Sorry! I didn’t know how else to contact you.
You should get an email.
I haven’t gotten one.
I was curious myself, went looking for more, and found a Help link in the drop-down next to the Subscribe button. The Reader help page says your subscription will automatically renew: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045091251-Will-my-subscription-automatically-renew-
Yes. It's not like they're only interrupting his golf weekends.
When there is no scandal, trust the Washington press corp to manufacture one.
boy it certainly feels that way, right?
Remember, last week one of the reporters told Psaki that "Americans" were saying Biden had let in a swarm of immigrants, and when Psaki asked "Who are these Americans?" the answer was "Donald Trump." So they're not even passively promoting GOP talking points anymore; they're actively doing it.
A solo press conference will feature such pressing questions as "Donald Trump thinks you suck, what do you think about that?" and "Why didn't you get any Republicans to vote for this bill?" I suppose he should do one from time to time, but thanks to the press corps it's going the way of the turkey pardon.
I also think that one of the reasons why they want Biden to do a presser is that they want to be able to jump on him if he commits a gaffe, or says something that they deem to be inaccurate, so that they can both-sides it. Then they can demonstrate to Republicans that they're just as tough on Biden as they think they were on Trump, so maybe he'll stop calling them the 'fake news.'
The Washington Post editorial page is really going after Biden. As I posted before the Post had two editorials hammering the size of the Covid relief bill as well as at least two more op eds doing the same. Their basic argument went “Larry Summers, a named right wing economist and anonymous economists thought the bill was too big and would cause inflation. I didn’t see any columns giving the other side of the argument made by prominence to economists on their main page in the days leading up to the Senate vote.
The Post does have columnists like Jennifer Rubin and The Plum Line’s Paul Waldman and Greg Sargent who write daily columns and are not playing the gotcha game with Biden. However their columns aren’t usually featured on the main page unless they get a lot of clicks so a lot of people miss them. Rubin recently wrote this excellent column praising Biden’s success on his ignoring the conventional wisdom the media has been spouting and just plowing ahead with his agenda. I think that explains why Biden has waited so long for a press conference. Had he held one before the passage of the relief bill it would have fanned the flames of the inflation fear mongering, helping Republicans by justifying their lack of support for the bill.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/03/08/biden-grasped-what-media-did-not/
I wish the political press would present of both sides of issues the way 60 Minutes used to do with their Point-Counterpoint segments featuring the conservative James J Kilpatrick and liberal Shana Alexander but that would require having intellectually honest conservatives, not propagandists arguing that side. Maybe they could just do a print form of Dan Ackroyd Jane Curtain SNL’s
I agree he’s the game in town for next 4 yrs and wants to establish “combat” rules early on. Also anxious to prove they be tough on Dem
THIS White House won't subject them to abuse and death threats from hoards of illiterate cult followers, so they are emboldened to be "tough" again.
Yup...as in"used to"
Jen Psaki already told them Biden will be holding a press conference in a few weeks. The question has been asked and answered, yet the press continues to make an issue of it. Why?
I think you’re being generous when you say it’s just your average narcissism. I’m more inclined to say they need his press conference to get the sound bites and zingers to propagate the rightwing narrative around the Covid relief bill and other legislative initiatives. Biden has effectively stopped that nonsense in its tracks and forced the White House Press Corps into being professional.
It’s really beautiful to watch.
On another note, I absolutely love this new band. Thanks for the recommendation.
oh good! I’m so in live w/ Kiwi Jr
"The question has been asked and answered, yet the press continues to make an issue of it. Why?"
The answer is to make money.
The answer is that most of the modern press is little better than check-out press.
Yesterday, a question from a NYPost (total rag) reporter was 'Is the Biden's dog going to be euthanized for a bite incident?' Did they do this when Obama's dog bit someone in the face for sticking his/her face in the dog's face to kiss it? BTW, I run a dog rescue, you have to be a total moron to do this.
Right?! Like the President of the United States is going to euthanize his dog while the whole world watches. It was an idiotic question.
I'd just like to take this moment to say I think White House press secretary Jen Psaki is a total ace. Thank you.
I hope the President and Democrats simply hold town halls getting questions from the people. Be open to the people.
DC press would *hate* that;)
Eric - you hit the nail on the head when you noted the self-promotion desired by the WH press corps. It reminded me of how much more useful, and shorter, congressional hearings would be if the questioning was left to committee lawyers instead of being done by showboating clowns like Jim Jordan. The whining about a presidential presser is a reminder of how the media acquiesced in Trump's determination to ignore the pandemic.
I agree about Jim Jordan but that would mean missing impressive questioning by some of the Democrats and things like Dick Durbin calling out Ted Cruz for lying, claiming that illegal immigrants will get money from the stimulus bill.
No, Biden does not owe the media anything: the media that nastily savaged him for his whole campaign over his speech impediment. Under pressure, a stutter can re-emerge, as we saw when Harris stabbed him in the back with a lie, at the first debate. An attack by the nasties, like the dumb a-hole from Fox, who keeps trying to trip up Jen Psaki, and who keeps on repeating the lie that Biden hasn't delivered the unity he promised, could cause Joe's stutter to make him look less than fully competent. He's the most competent president since FDR. Who in the media saw that right away? An ignorant press causes an ignorant citizenry, and most of the media should be sweeping floors in a warehouse.
The DC Press Corpse--obsessed with Dr. Seuss, Potato Head, Joe's dogs and their fee fees are hurt because they can't use their Frank Luntz tested gotcha questions on Joe.
Frank Luntz says he is no longer in that business after he lost control of a focus group about unity. A man said he stopped supporting Trump because he treated covid like a joke. A woman from Texas who was clearly a Trumper said it is a joke then mocked the man when he said he had lost his mother to it. The woman also mocked another person who said her uncle had died from it. Luntz doesn’t acknowledge that his push for unity failed because of this kind of irrational nasty behavior of the Trump supporter, he implies both sides just don’t want unity which made poor little Frankie extremely discouraged. Of course he didn’t acknowledge he was a major player in the dishonest right wing propaganda that created this mess.
https://www.businessinsider.com/video-frank-luntz-focus-group-unity-goes-off-the-rails-2021-1
I infuriated me that NBC used to hire Luntz to do focus groups for them to broadcast despite the fact that he was so clearly a partisan Republican master of spin and bamboozlement.
I love the "DC Press Corpse"!
Eric, do you compile your "Fun Stuff" music selections into a Spotify playlist?? I'd follow that in a HEARTBEAT! You've introduced me to so many great new songs and artists! And of course, your journalism is the cherry on top :)
I really need to....glad yr enjoying!
"It's odd that the media let Trump lie his way through solo press events and now are demanding Biden hold one because that's where presidents are held accountable by the media."
Hope that irony not to be taken too literally. The establishment press' DC press corps is little less hypocritical than the GOP (and probably much more than the Dems).
Can say, but won't say it again that the establishment press has reached and past the point that they're doing far more harm to the nation than good.
And Eric is of course pretty spot on. Maybe Biden is just too busy for the kabuki of a full out press conference. Or maybe he wants to wait till the push to get HR1/S1 passed.
I like this option you've added Eric. Hearing you read what you've posted has been beneficial when I can't actually stop and read. Appreciate it. Jen Psaki has been great at shutting down the nonsense. Biden will have his press conference when he's good and got damn ready! Nuff said
Maybe I missed it ... has anyone mentioned the so-called "chopper-talk" ... something that I thought was beyond the pale. This was the headline to an article in "Esquire" in November of 2019. "Chopper Talk: Where the White House Press Corps Goes to Get Ritually Abused by Donald Trump In a world without press briefings, reporters are forced to ask the world's most powerful man questions over the roar of a helicopter." That the press participated was unbelievable to me.