I’m a native white female Floridian, and have NEVER been afraid of anyone, black, white, Hispanic, while interacting with any/all people in all of my 62 years living in the sunshine state. Fast forward to the mean spirited, spiteful Trump Shit Show of a Presidency, all that has changed. And with Governor Ron DeathSantis running & ruining Florida with all the hate & willful ignorance he can muster, I can honestly say, I deeply fear for my own safety while out & about anywhere I go these days. Its horrible living here under such threat, it’s sad that my state has been hi-jacked by these right wing GOP male white supremacist. PS. I was a registered Republican up until the 2x impeached guy ascended office. No one person has done more irreversible harm to the GOP & USA than that one man horror show Known as DJT.
I live in Texas too. I've been menaced for wearing a mask. My polling place last year had so many Trump supporters that I wouldn't take my young grandsons with me while I voted, something I did routinely when my sons were young, because I feared for their safety.
It's easy to be kind when your beliefs aren't threatened. I have Trump-supporting friends who are pleasant as long as our conversations are superficial, but go ballistic if we have a difference of opinion.
And what truly amazes me is the lack of personal responsibility from people who tout the virtues of personal responsibility! There's always someone or something to blame for terrible behavior.
We have listened respectively and what we hear is frightening. Dems do not call for violence. We call for ideas and debate in a civilized manner. When violence is the method used to get a point across, then you have no ideas and lack the ability to engage in adult conversation.
Violence is rage that is acted upon. How does that help anyone including those who do the raging! If it’s not ok for kids to hit, scratch, punch and act out their rage via bad behavior, it’s certainly not ok when grownups do it.
Do you actually know any Democrats? Do you know anything about the leader of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, or listen to a word he's ever said? He is a man whose entire life can be summed up by his connections to "faith, family, and place." He honors those ties—as do most Dems. Or Nancy Pelosi, a woman whose been married to the same man for nearly 60 years, raised 5 kids, and reveres her hometown of Baltimore and her adopted city of SF and state of California. Or Beto O'Rourke. Or Sherrod Brown. Or . . .
You have not only swallowed the lie about Dems looking down on others, you consistently regurgitate it (as well as the bullshit about them promoting policies for the rich). The media, hand in glove with the Right, distorted HRC's comments about "deplorables," just as they do the policies and outlooks of the activist left who dominate social media—what they call "wokism"—attributing it to every Dem. Dems truly have always been a big tent party and we still are.
HRC didn't call ALL Trump voters "deplorables." In fact, she made it quite clear how many people were hurting and desperate enough to turn to a dangerous man with no experience besides what they saw on television. The white supremacists, the Proud Boys, etc—they are the ones she was referring to when she talked about the deplorables. Those people are DEPLORABLE.
As to feeling "so demonized"—it's because "Christian" and RW radio and television have been telling them that Dems have been mocking and belittling them for the past thirty years. You keep lying to people long enough and they start to believe you.
Great point. I'm a lifelong Democrat, and the demonizing descriptions put out by the right wing fear merchants don't describe me at all. Then again, they're not meant to be accurate.
Thanks. Exactly! The best lies work because they are wrapped around a grain of truth. Some rioters set fire to buildings during the BLM protests last year and a handful on the left said that was okay. That became ALL the cities are burning/have burnt to a crisp/are burnt out hellscapes and the Dems celebrate the arsonists. It's maddening.
No, they are meant to induce rage. People want a scapegoat for all their problems and the right is more than happy to oblige.
So death threats to Congress members is on us? That is quite a stretch.
In my extended family several of the Trump supporters have been very nasty to their own siblings for not supporting Trump. One hasn’t spoken to her brother since he dared to advocate for getting vaccines — and her brother is very mild-mannered and soft spoken; he is never aggressive. The other Trump supporters in the family are on her side. He is now excluded from their family’s Thanksgiving. If you met this woman you would think she a very nice woman.
I have heard similar stories from several of my friends.
I have relatives who endlessly talk about their "deep christian faith". They're so into christianity that they worship the ground a guy who breaks all 10 commandments and commits the 7 deadly sins daily.
They pray for Biden and Kamala to be impeached and Nancy to be arrested and executed for treason. They post on Facebook and Twitter how they chant "Lets Go Brandon" in their churches. They wear t-shirts saying "F" Biden. Oh and whatever the talking points are on Fox, Newsmax and OANN they post.
Oh and they are also anti-vaxxers who want Fauci sent to The Hague to stand trial for genocide.
Oh but they are very nice people...which is why I have cut myself off from them.
I'm surrounded by those kinds of people here in South Carolina. They claim to know Jesus, even have the "Saved ✝ Life" decals on their trucks, but based on their actions, they don't actually know Jesus. "You will know them by their fruits."
Jesus knows them, too: "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."
One simple question: DJT/GOP DID promise a ‘great healthcare plan’ during the 2016 campaign - repeatedly… yet not even a rough plan ever materialized… WHY? That was a huge promise (and sounded sincere). Yet another pass is given🤔⁉️… this is what confuses me.
I’m actually serious abt this. The whole ‘idea’ of taking a chance on DJT was to let an outsider who - (as a self-funding billionaire) - could somehow ‘rise above’ or work around The Swamp - and get something done. OK, he had his chance. Didn’t even take a ‘swing’ at healthcare, and yet gets +74M votes on round 2??? And never really called out on that detail⁉️ In my employment experience, I always had to either deliver or ‘show my work’. Baffling…
The idea was to elect a successful businessman who was an outsider. I know people who voted for him for that reason. Sadly the media couldn’t be bothered telling people Trump had never been a good businessman; he was a cheat and a phony. They had years and plenty of evidence to report truthfully on Trump but most of the media was having too much fun portraying him as a brash, successful billionaire. David Cay Johnston and the late, great Wayne Barrett were among the few reporters who bothered to investigate Trump’s crooked dealings.
Healthcare is a sore point with me, so I just can’t get past the fact that he point blank promised it - and people are like *shrug* when it never materialized? (Don’t mean to dwell on ancient history…still…)
I don't believe that is what the voters saw in djt. What got what he was really talking about which was not the issues. He was signaling a return to even greater overt racism and misogyny. He was making it ok to demonize and hate immigrants. He promoted fear and hatred to a group of people who were already furious at seeing their middle class existence squeezed out. Those 74 million voters (or a good portion of them) felt heard and verified for the first time in decades.
I’m sure you’re right - I was trying to go back to the VERY early days… but that makes sense - ‘building the wall’, too - was about being given permission to be racist and intolerant. (Nowadays, at the rallies - the fans say on camera that they don’t even care what he says any more)...
I’m sorry but your comment is a big pile of crap. I know the people you describe exist everywhere but it’s off the rails for them to believe anything they hear from trumpist republicans because TRs don’t care about the people you’re describing AT ALL!!! That is what’s so hard to understand. You support the very people who want to keep a knee on your neck.
I think Penny A. just likes to troll around and stir things up. We all know many Trumpists are nice people, but that doesn't stop them from espousing seriously bad attitudes and beliefs that are dangerous to democracy.
I lived in Texas for a time, and I lived in upstate NY's farm country as well. Many immigrants come to pick crops, and they are willing to do these jobs for unfortunately very low wages. Americans don't want to do these jobs, nor do they want to clean motel rooms or wash dishes in restaurants. Where economies are heavily based in agriculture, there is a problem getting anyone to do the work.
These workers, as well as skilled ones, actually contribute to economies. And how many of us have been treated by doctors who are immigrants?
NBC News put out a story titled "Fueled by Trump-inspired grievance, attempts to terrorize public officials escalate". Written by Henry J. Gomez, it outlines the death-threats received by Democrats but then just has to have that one paragraph to talk about the ONE disturbed person who shot up the ballgame (no doubt an awful criminal act) and Kyrsten Sinema getting yelled at in a bathroom. "Balance".
Another tactic that the media repeatedly uses is downplaying facts that go against their preferred narrative, either by not reporting them at all or by burying stories about countervailing facts.
This has been going on for a long time most people never realize it because they never hear about facts that are contrary to the media’s frame. For example that WSJ story about the easing of the supply chain problems is getting very little attention; stories about shortages are front and center.
The Treasury’s estimate that the BBB bill’s increased taxes, tax collections and prescription drug negotiations will more than pay for the costs of the bill’s other proposals has been buried. The WaPo’s Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman wrote about it on their Plum Line page but the article was not moved to the main web page. Truly balanced journalism would compare and contrast the estimates of the CBO with that of the Treasury, not just report on the CBO’s estimate that BBB will add to the deficit. But stories stoking fear of debt and inflation is a decades long media favorite — but only when Democrats are in control.
I just saw this article by Heather Digby Parton pointing out that the Sunday shows ignored the story about the underestimation of what was actually very strong job growth from June to September. She ascribes it to their seeing that story as old news; my guess is that it goes against their preferred “Biden is failing” narrative.
I imagine that there have been local R and D pols who have been victimized or killed by active shooters. Killers don’t ask for your political affiliation. Imo, Rittenhouse is a troubled (now) 18 year old who had NO business being in Kenosha. His young mom is in her 30s and loves her son but she also drove him to WI while he was carrying a long gun. Not a lot of responsible behavior on her part. Dysfunction to the max, as it seems he shared with the men he killed/injured. Unfortunately but predictably Rittenhouse has become a politicized dupe for the Rs to manipulate. Tucker C anyone? Rittenhouse is a disturbed kid who is being lionized and used. He’ll be dropped by Rs as soon as the next hysteria fomented whopper the Rs invent is in sight. Pitiful. BTW, video shots of the folks who show up at public meetings wearing yellow stars/symbols Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust personify the sheer depth/width of their ignorance about the suffering of Jews and others at the hands of the Nazis during WWII. They have no clue what suffering and sacrifice are. CRT? Masks? Come on. A trip to the Holocaust Museum in DC or Israel might enlighten them and teach them what true suffering looks, feels like and how it emerged under Nazism. When I saw those shots of healthy, free and blessed to live in the US citizens wearing the star, my breath was literally taken away. They besmirch the sacred values universally given to all victims of The Holocaust. And yes, Eric, the normalization of violence is terrifying.
You're still struggling to make sense. You appear to have been on this website all day busting your butt to get people to really, really argue with you because then you will feel validated.
Democrats by their own account are under a near constant barrage of death threats. Schiff talks about how he feels nervous sitting in front of a window in his own home. Even if only the most out of control people commit murder, the trend towards violent rhetoric, meant to affect the mood and behavior of politicians, is primarily from the right.
Oh, so I guess the threats aren't real unless someone is actually shot, is that what you're saying? That 1/6 is no big deal since they didn't get to kill Nancy or Chuck?
It is not hypocrisy on our side. Dems overwhelming decried the man who "shot up the ballgame." I felt terrible for the man who came armed to Rocket Pizza with the goal of "freeing the endangered children." He truly thought he was doing the right thing.
What hypocrisy are you even talking about? Dems don't ignore or condone political violence or threats but today's GOP does. Even 10 years ago, they would have condemned this kind of talk and these actions. With the exception of John McCain's respectful chiding of the voter who disparaged Obama during the 2008 campaign, members of the GOP are not only are silent but complicit, from the vote supporting Gosar to openly calling for secession and taking up arms.
We are the only party (currently) interested in governing and strengthening our democracy. So yeah, in my opinion that makes a difference—and is what makes us the good guys. And why we need to win in 22 and 24.
If you don't think we are the good guys, then what does it matter if we lose in 22 or 24?
Sorry, but your arguments are infantile. Right now, the Dems are the only party trying to uphold our democracy. I wish it wasn't this way. I may have vehemently disagreed with GOP positions in the past but before the past 10 years, it was unthinkable that members of this once great party would celebrate a failed insurrection and encourage threats on fellow members. It hurts to see the GOP brought to its knees by the likes of Trump, Boebert, MTG, etc.
So you’re gonna measure this by this one nut cake? Because I could name a few wingnut nut cakes if forced. Of course I think I am one of the good guys. I was brought up to be a good kind caring person. I would hope most of us would fall into that category. But the right wing hatred for people they think of as being somehow “lesser” puts them beyond the!pale of anything I have ever felt in my heart. So I don’t see how I could support any of that to win anything.
Unfortunately one honest article won’t be enough when cable news consistently allows republicans to lie unchallenged at every opportunity. This week’s Sunday shows where a perfect example. It’s discouraging and disheartening and shows no sign of abating. I can on,y hope as ratings continue to decline, media moguls get the message.
Nobody has the right to gun down people they deem unacceptable. You are illustrating perfectly the point of this piece, that violence is a legitimate form of personal and political expression. That is, at least it appears so. Your posts are incoherent, rather simple minded and immature.
Rapists suck, deplorable. No one disputes that. It’s vigilantism that’s also deplorable imo. That’s why US citizens have long ago decided that voted in/hired/appointed law/judicial enforcement personnel will do the job of keeping public order, punishing etc. I truly don’t want to return to the Wild West when guns ruled the streets. We decry murder in this country. If that’s what you’re selling, I ain’t buying.
Defund almost cost my Congressman his seat and he pushed back hard on it. No Dem in, or running for, office (maybe with the exception of the squad, but I'd have to look that up to be sure)—nor the Dem party itself—"demanded" or pushed to "defund the police" or to abolish prisons. The only people even mentioning that these days are on the right. Got a mailer two months ago from some right wing PAC about how the Dems were pushing it WHICH IS NOT TRUE. I know, because I make the phone calls and knock the doors for Dem candidates. I know what issues we want talk about. And it's neither of these.
Dems ARE in favor of reforms to strengthen police, make them feel safer on the streets, and make citizens feel protected and respected. The proliferation of guns has added to cops' fears, and rightly so. Yet, they overwhelming vote for the GOP, which is anti any limits on guns.
Not one elected Dem official or Dem candidate calls for abolishing prisons, though as a citizen I'm in complete favor of getting rid of PRIVATE, FOR-PROFIT run prisons. Law enforcement is a state and federal govt responsibility, and correctional institutions should not be in private hands. That is why we have the prison industrial complex, which is ripe fruit for corruption and creates a never ending cycle of "arrests" to keep the prison population high.
They do not have the biggest platforms in media, Penny! That's what people like Eric and Margaret Sullivan et al talk about. The right has developed a machine financed by the richest people who want to own us politically and protect their wealth. Fox was always biased, but my God, these days they've become a propaganda machine. The NYT does not like Dems, nor does that bastion of leftism, The Nation. Yes, Bezos owns WAPO. But he doesn't care about shaping the message the way RW media owners do.
As for Dems, they do speak out! The problem is you don't hear their message amplified like it is with the right. Even if they used a slogan like "the GOP wants to arm criminals" the media wouldn't run with it because they would scoff and say, well that isn't true. Yet when the GOP say stupid things like "death panels" they parrot it in every story till it takes hold. Dems use social media like Facebook lives, etc, Twitter, and give press conferences. Fox actually doesn't set the tone for the day's media take, that's the NYT, both the paper and their podcast, The Daily, as well as Playbook and now Punchbowl News—none of these are Dem friendly.
I'm not sure how many of these people truly consider themselves to be Dems. I believe there is a faction on the left that absolutely want to destroy the Democrats. The farthest left Dems—progressives like AOC, etc—are passionate about helping people and I think she's fine being a Dem and wants to strengthen the party. She could have run as an Independent—and won. She does some things that drive me bonkers, but on the whole I think she adds to the party, and once she's become a bit more seasoned can/will be extraordinary.
Don't believe you, sweetheart. When Democrats criticize their party, they don't use every right-wing talking point they can think of. Kind of lazy of you. Next time, Be Best.
The journalists who did deep dives while writing books—Rucker, Leonig, Karl, Costa, etc, as well as many of the moderate/conservatives, Frum, Anne Applebaum, Max Boot, Tom Nichols, Jennifer Rubin—see the threat very clearly and talk about it as often as they can, as do media watchers Eric B, Dan Froomkin, Margaret Sullivan (when we need her she's on leave, writing her book), and some others from various fields who have taken to writing columns. Even Scarborough sees it and talks about it—and of course bashes Dems while he does. Karl went from chiding his fellow journalists for covering Trump too harshly (why I couldn't read his previous book) to joining the small chorus of voices warning of the dangers. But their voices aren't enough if the rest of their colleagues—reporters, editors, publishers, producers—downplay or refuse to acknowledge what is happening before our eyes.
I think many journalists don't know how to cover this moment. They've been steeped in bothersidism for so long that they don't know how to see beyond it. Maybe they should go back and look at reporting from the late 1930s to see how the greats covered the rise of fascism and Nazism. Then there are those journalists who are either too close to the trees to see the forest or who refuse to see it at all—the "it won't happen here" crowd. Last week Andrea Mitchell, said the Dems—because of the back and forth negotiations over infrastructure and BBB—were as much of a "clown show" as the GOP with their performative "governing." Needless to say, my head exploded. (Figuratively of course.)
We are living in very dangerous times. Will mainstream journalism rise to the moment, and will it be in time to help save us, or will they fail—utterly and completely?
No, they will not rise to the moment. Journalists don't want to know how to cover the moment. They don't care. They want to do what their bosses tell them. Many/most political "reporters" IMHO are lazy, ignorant, narcissistic hacks who care only about being a kewel kid and a having a sinecure in the Beltway Political Propaganda Complex, where they all have to do is remember the anti Biden/MVP Harris/Democratic Party meme of the day as they nod along as panelists on CNN, MSNBROC, etc. Then there's The Book Deal. They are beyond redemption.
In the case of the Washington Post, online subscriptions have dropped by 28 percent since last year. The New York Times also lost subscribers. This I think has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of junk news articles and clickbait. Heavily featured are Biden and Harris; even their successes are written about as failures waiting to happen.
I'm happy to hear that people are not supporting their horrible reporting. I do have a WaPo subscription but I may not renew it. Every once in awhile they produce riveting stories that keep me hooked. Too bad both papers keep repeating the mistakes that caused the drop to begin with. It would be interesting to know reasons, percentages per reason, etc.
I subscribe to WaPo for the same reason, that they do occasionally have good reporting. I don't plan on renewing my subscription either. I have been so disappointed the NY Times for several months that I canceled my subscription. They have been so negative in covering Biden and everything he has done that I noticed I had stopped reading. Two major newspapers turning to parodies of themselves is alarming.
Having been a member of the media, I can attest to the fact it follows storylines. The reason for that is complicated. Part of it is laziness, IMHO. Much easier to play the story, give it a headline etc., if you know ahead of time what it's going to be.
That explains why, when there's a big news story, the Washington Post unabashedly publishes up to 10 articles on the same subject in one day, at least 4 of which are opinion pieces. It comes across as pushing a single narrative because that is usually the case. This was especially true during the withdrawal from Afghanistan and what a "disaster" it was.
As for the coverage of the January 6th insurrection, it's just not as fired up and indignant or outraged as it should have been. Except for the in-depth articles by WaPo and the NYT, the coverage has been lackluster, and nobody questions why so many participants are being allowed to plead to misdemeanors and are receiving such light sentences.
What I see happening now is the bulk of media coverage beginning to focus on the elections. I swatted Jennifer Rubin today for her horse race column about Biden and Trump and the 2024 race. It infuriated me that she devoted a column to an election 3 years away, and that so many media outlets focus on the elections the moment a president is inaugurated.
I wondered what happened to Margaret Sullivan. I wish the WaPo would make her their media critic instead of Eric Wemple who gets hung up on inside-the-beltway media disputes when he isn't obsessing about the Steele Dossier. I didn’t know she was writing a book. Luckily Jennifer Rubens is back to her regular column after taking time off to promote her book. She recently wrote a great column “Republicans define themselves by misogyny and violence.”
Good to see Jennifer Rubin back and I agree with you about Margaret Sullivan being chief media critic. Or Ombudsman. I guess WaPo doesn't have one of those either.
Eric Wemple works in the noble tradition (sarcasm there) of Howard Kurtz. I rarely read anything Wemple writes because it's mostly chum, especially when it comes to the Steele Dossier. Sullivan's very good and is so needed; she says on Twitter that her leave will be brief. And Rubin is great (I did read that post.) Those of us who love our democracy have found common cause across the political divide.
The insanity of a cohort of the GOP base and how the party is supporting, enabling and empowering them is hugely important. But I would submit that as the Times reporting is the exception that proves the rule of the toxicity of mainstream reporting, it’s far less important than this piece makes it seem. Y’all know this story will get no traction in the media and will be forgotten soon. To it will be flooded away by the usual toxic crap.
Sorry for the reality check.
Important as the issue is (or is it two when one adds the mainstream complicity in promoting it by ignoring it and not calling out the politicians supporting it?), to me there are two bigger stories along the same line.
First I’d the GOP destructive efforts to negate the power of the vote. Latest example is Wisconsin which is working on a bill to put control of elections in the hands of the legislature so, you know, changing results as they see fit is easy.
The other one is the one that pops up then disappears every few months: That Trump’s deliberate response to Covid is directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths and an unknown number of people suffering from the long Covid and related disabilities. Along with what Trump did there’s the complicity and support of the rest of his party with too few exceptions to matter.
These are the kind of stories an honest media would be making huge things of. Instead they’re essentially buried.
I think that once again, we may be looking at the effect of social media. The right wing has a violent and politically triggered presence on social media and the internet which has spilled over into the GOP in general. There is also the tireless effort, especially among the young politicians, to get Donald Trump's attention and approval, both of which are political assets.
What I don't understand is that laziness on the part of the media that makes them ignore this blockbuster story right in front of them. It's easier to plug in the old "both sides" trope and then publish opinion pieces saying the Democrats need to become as violent and aggressive as the Republicans because that's the way to win. True, sometimes the Democrats' responses to violent GOP actions may seem too understated, but otherwise we could be seeing future gun violence escalate beyond reversal. We're that close.
While Social Media makes it easier to spread hate, you need to remember that Newt Gingrich pioneered using language to gin-up hatred back in the '90s. Here’s his list he presented at GOPAC: https://users.wfu.edu/zulick/454/gopac.html
"investigators have not yet found anything tying the vehicular violence to any sort of terrorism or ideology."
As for Rittenhouse, he wouldn't have had to "defend" himself if he wasn't in a city or a state he didn't live in, carrying a weapon it was illegal for him, at 17, to have. He chose to go there armed with a semi-automatic weapon. He is responsible for this.
Yes, right wing vigilantism is a danger to our society and our democracy.
How does any of this make the suspect a leftist? He has no ideology, which is what I pointed out. I did to say or imply the suspect is a right winger. Not every crime is political or ideological. He's just a guy who killed people with his car.
I guess I need a sentence to make sure you know this is now a separate thought.
Vigilantism is absolutely a problem on the right. Antifa and leftists and Dems aren't running around with AK-47s. We didn't invade the Capitol on 1/6. We aren't calling to shoot Republicans. We don't offer vigilante killers Congressional internships. And if anyone says such a thing they are condemned by the party and the rest of us.
It is very sad and dangerous that you think vigilantism under any circumstances, even the ones you list, is okay.
You are sad and damaged woman, Penny. Because I said he's just a guy, rather an a political ideologue? what happened in Kenosha is a tragedy. What happened in Waukesha is a tragedy. No one is making light of the loss of life, except you.
I'm not impossible. It just may be I have better arguments than you.
Barring the fact that Rittenhouse had no business being there in the first place, he was in Kenosha to help friends defend a car dealership. If he had STAYED THERE, he would have been fine and behind the police line. But the pissant punk had to go walkabout, then he got separated from the guy keeping an eye on him, and then the Dumbass found the trouble he went looking for.
Thanks for the link. Yes, this is how it's done and all these people who want to believe eat it up. (And yes, the "believing what you want to believe" does happen on the left too.)
First, as a country music fan, I welcome the shout-out to Alan Jackson.
As for the rest, this is the reminder of why the biggest danger is the political media, who refuse to see this as the danger it is. There are some who, yes, fight this problem from within. But when The Times and The Post, which help set the agenda, are almost oblivious in their coverage, it's a problem. Likewise the old problem of the political media letting Fux Noise have a seat at the table, and letting Fux Noise dictate their agenda. Which. It. Does.
The GOP is the pro life party. But that's only if the life in question has yet to pass through vaginal walls into the world. Once that happens all bets are off. For the born child to an unwed mother or those in financially challenged families, those kids can die as far as Republicans are concerned. No aid or benefits for those folks who shouldn't have had kids to begin with they will say. That's nothing new. What's new is the call to violence toward the adult population that think and votes left. We saw the writing on the wall after Sandy Hook when Republicans in power did nothing to pass laws to stop the availability of military style rifles used to massacre children during a typical day in public school. The country is sick beyond belief with Republicans so desperate to keep power that they now use their media mouthpieces, be it the MSM, Facebook, and other online platforms, to overtly spout violence against the left. The media will be very responsible for future violence that will occur right inside the the House chambers with all this rhetoric leading to that inevitability, you can be sure.
It’s not republicans I hate it’s haters I hate. How does one compromise with a bunch of freaks wanting to kill us all for believing differently than they do? What do you say to someone who wants to overthrow our duly elected government? I know this description doesn’t fit every Republican but I do wonder how those people can continue to
Cling to a party that overtly promotes this kind of fearmongering? I don’t ask that they become democrats but I do ask that they become Americans.
Thank you for the print version. I much prefer it to audio. Please excuse the bit of fan mail, but your blog has been indispensable in helping me understand why reading the news is so frustrating to me. At least now I know I'm not crazy. Happy Thanksgiving!
Wapo reprinted an October piece about the four young men involved the Rittenhouse killings, two now dead, that gives the backgrounds of each, plus the timeline of what happened when. Your rant does nothing to further the discussion of this awful event. You seem to have personalized the story to the point of incoherence. Sorry you’re soooo angry at all of us, even your political friends on the D side. We’re dancing as fast as we can.
Maybe it’s because you come out guns blazing from the get go. I found your logic incoherent by choosing Dems to villainize. Your tone is off putting. I’m am sincerely sorry for the horrendous things you have been thru and your rage is now more understandable to me. We are on your side if you could just see that thru the prism of your anger and rage.
With respect, the first young man, in his 20s was carrying a plastic bag, the second one, also in his 20s was carrying a skate board, the third guy who was shot and lived had some medical training. I urge you to read the piece that was republished in Wapo this past Saturday, written in October. I’d forward the link but am unable to. I was outraged by the verdict. Less so since reading the piece by Robert Klemko, Greg Jaffa, which tells the stories about the 4 young men and who they were and what happened that night w/o the political crap going on now, they fill in all the blanks. I didn’t come away from the report with the impression any of these men went to Kenosha to kill anyone.
Please stop wagging your finger at me. I’m trying to understand what happened on that day. Seems you just want to be right. I’m dropping the Mike on you Penny.
I get that is what you believe. Read the Wapo piece I mentioned. Terrific and unbiased. How did Ahmad Arbery get into this thread? Jury starts to weigh the case today.
Even so. It wasn’t Kyle Rittenhouse’s job to sentence them to death, then kill him. HE WAS 17 for goodness sake! Penny, you come off as a rage-full person; not sure why you want to post on PressRun other than to shoot us/Dems down. And yes, Eric has his fan base. He’s earned it and comes by it honestly. He stands up for what he believes; he is smart, honest, KIND, passionate and committed to hounding the press until they get it right. Count me as a proud Eric groupie. He and the rest of us have kept me sane throughput TFG, the pandemic and continue to today.
See above about defund and abolish. And no one, even those on the left who use those stupid terms, support vigilantism.
The only one demonstrating hypocrisy today is you. You claim to want to win in 22 and 24, that you care, and yet all you do is attack the Dems with broad-brush accusations. You have a wonderful opportunity to talk to your Trump neighbors' about the lies and mendacity of the GOP, yet here you are pushing those same attacks in these comments because you seem to believe them yourself. You condemn all Dems for the words of some on the left—when many of those same people spouting that shit don't even affiliate with the Dems.
When it comes to the police, I've had good interactions and unpleasant interactions. When they think you are the victim, they are incredibly helpful. When they think you are at fault for something, they aren't. Cops can also be their own worst enemies, supporting and protecting bad apples who abuse their badges and voting for the party who would militarize them yet make it easy for criminals to get guns, refusing to vote or voting no on any and all gun legislation unless it means more arms in schools, bars, churches, and on the streets.
GOP wants criminals to have guns. That's an easy slogan Dems should be using because it's true!
You know what kills Dems at the polls? People who are too lazy to vote in every election, or mad cause they didn't get everything they wanted and stay home, or only vote for the top candidate and don't bother with the rest of the ballot. Lies also kills Dems at the polls, and one of the things Eric does is point out how the media is failing us by not only allowing but helping those lies to spread.
Most of us here admire Eric's work to hold media accountable. The press is the fifth pillar and essential to our democracy and most of our major outlets are failing our country. Critics and analysts like him point this out using examples every day.
As for your own language, using terms like lovefest and fanboy are dismissive and belittling. I don't think your arguments are incoherent, I think they are misguided and wrong.
I should have said ‘any employed journalist’… 🦊 Reporters twisting themselves into knots when questioned about anti-vaccine mandates (oppo of what their own employer requires!) has been something to behold - yet that situation continues unabated. Sounds like a both-sides stretch(?!)
I’m a native white female Floridian, and have NEVER been afraid of anyone, black, white, Hispanic, while interacting with any/all people in all of my 62 years living in the sunshine state. Fast forward to the mean spirited, spiteful Trump Shit Show of a Presidency, all that has changed. And with Governor Ron DeathSantis running & ruining Florida with all the hate & willful ignorance he can muster, I can honestly say, I deeply fear for my own safety while out & about anywhere I go these days. Its horrible living here under such threat, it’s sad that my state has been hi-jacked by these right wing GOP male white supremacist. PS. I was a registered Republican up until the 2x impeached guy ascended office. No one person has done more irreversible harm to the GOP & USA than that one man horror show Known as DJT.
it's all abt intimidation and making people feel afraid
Like antifa/BLM to the judge and jurors in Kenosha?
Huh?
I live in Texas too. I've been menaced for wearing a mask. My polling place last year had so many Trump supporters that I wouldn't take my young grandsons with me while I voted, something I did routinely when my sons were young, because I feared for their safety.
It's easy to be kind when your beliefs aren't threatened. I have Trump-supporting friends who are pleasant as long as our conversations are superficial, but go ballistic if we have a difference of opinion.
And what truly amazes me is the lack of personal responsibility from people who tout the virtues of personal responsibility! There's always someone or something to blame for terrible behavior.
We have listened respectively and what we hear is frightening. Dems do not call for violence. We call for ideas and debate in a civilized manner. When violence is the method used to get a point across, then you have no ideas and lack the ability to engage in adult conversation.
DEMs also celebrate when ANYONE gets vaccinated… not just D’s
Violence is rage that is acted upon. How does that help anyone including those who do the raging! If it’s not ok for kids to hit, scratch, punch and act out their rage via bad behavior, it’s certainly not ok when grownups do it.
Do you actually know any Democrats? Do you know anything about the leader of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, or listen to a word he's ever said? He is a man whose entire life can be summed up by his connections to "faith, family, and place." He honors those ties—as do most Dems. Or Nancy Pelosi, a woman whose been married to the same man for nearly 60 years, raised 5 kids, and reveres her hometown of Baltimore and her adopted city of SF and state of California. Or Beto O'Rourke. Or Sherrod Brown. Or . . .
You have not only swallowed the lie about Dems looking down on others, you consistently regurgitate it (as well as the bullshit about them promoting policies for the rich). The media, hand in glove with the Right, distorted HRC's comments about "deplorables," just as they do the policies and outlooks of the activist left who dominate social media—what they call "wokism"—attributing it to every Dem. Dems truly have always been a big tent party and we still are.
HRC didn't call ALL Trump voters "deplorables." In fact, she made it quite clear how many people were hurting and desperate enough to turn to a dangerous man with no experience besides what they saw on television. The white supremacists, the Proud Boys, etc—they are the ones she was referring to when she talked about the deplorables. Those people are DEPLORABLE.
As to feeling "so demonized"—it's because "Christian" and RW radio and television have been telling them that Dems have been mocking and belittling them for the past thirty years. You keep lying to people long enough and they start to believe you.
Great point. I'm a lifelong Democrat, and the demonizing descriptions put out by the right wing fear merchants don't describe me at all. Then again, they're not meant to be accurate.
Thanks. Exactly! The best lies work because they are wrapped around a grain of truth. Some rioters set fire to buildings during the BLM protests last year and a handful on the left said that was okay. That became ALL the cities are burning/have burnt to a crisp/are burnt out hellscapes and the Dems celebrate the arsonists. It's maddening.
No, they are meant to induce rage. People want a scapegoat for all their problems and the right is more than happy to oblige.
So death threats to Congress members is on us? That is quite a stretch.
In my extended family several of the Trump supporters have been very nasty to their own siblings for not supporting Trump. One hasn’t spoken to her brother since he dared to advocate for getting vaccines — and her brother is very mild-mannered and soft spoken; he is never aggressive. The other Trump supporters in the family are on her side. He is now excluded from their family’s Thanksgiving. If you met this woman you would think she a very nice woman.
I have heard similar stories from several of my friends.
I have relatives who endlessly talk about their "deep christian faith". They're so into christianity that they worship the ground a guy who breaks all 10 commandments and commits the 7 deadly sins daily.
They pray for Biden and Kamala to be impeached and Nancy to be arrested and executed for treason. They post on Facebook and Twitter how they chant "Lets Go Brandon" in their churches. They wear t-shirts saying "F" Biden. Oh and whatever the talking points are on Fox, Newsmax and OANN they post.
Oh and they are also anti-vaxxers who want Fauci sent to The Hague to stand trial for genocide.
Oh but they are very nice people...which is why I have cut myself off from them.
I'm surrounded by those kinds of people here in South Carolina. They claim to know Jesus, even have the "Saved ✝ Life" decals on their trucks, but based on their actions, they don't actually know Jesus. "You will know them by their fruits."
Jesus knows them, too: "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward."
Oh I got relatives in South Carolina. I know that all too well and you have my sympathies!
One simple question: DJT/GOP DID promise a ‘great healthcare plan’ during the 2016 campaign - repeatedly… yet not even a rough plan ever materialized… WHY? That was a huge promise (and sounded sincere). Yet another pass is given🤔⁉️… this is what confuses me.
He was too busy with infrastructure week.😀
I’m actually serious abt this. The whole ‘idea’ of taking a chance on DJT was to let an outsider who - (as a self-funding billionaire) - could somehow ‘rise above’ or work around The Swamp - and get something done. OK, he had his chance. Didn’t even take a ‘swing’ at healthcare, and yet gets +74M votes on round 2??? And never really called out on that detail⁉️ In my employment experience, I always had to either deliver or ‘show my work’. Baffling…
The idea was to elect a successful businessman who was an outsider. I know people who voted for him for that reason. Sadly the media couldn’t be bothered telling people Trump had never been a good businessman; he was a cheat and a phony. They had years and plenty of evidence to report truthfully on Trump but most of the media was having too much fun portraying him as a brash, successful billionaire. David Cay Johnston and the late, great Wayne Barrett were among the few reporters who bothered to investigate Trump’s crooked dealings.
Right wing propaganda has kept the con going.
Healthcare is a sore point with me, so I just can’t get past the fact that he point blank promised it - and people are like *shrug* when it never materialized? (Don’t mean to dwell on ancient history…still…)
I don't believe that is what the voters saw in djt. What got what he was really talking about which was not the issues. He was signaling a return to even greater overt racism and misogyny. He was making it ok to demonize and hate immigrants. He promoted fear and hatred to a group of people who were already furious at seeing their middle class existence squeezed out. Those 74 million voters (or a good portion of them) felt heard and verified for the first time in decades.
A cult was born.
I’m sure you’re right - I was trying to go back to the VERY early days… but that makes sense - ‘building the wall’, too - was about being given permission to be racist and intolerant. (Nowadays, at the rallies - the fans say on camera that they don’t even care what he says any more)...
On a post about not Both-Sidesering you decide to both sides?
Got it.
Precisely. Well done!
Telling people they sound ridiculous is very unkind.
I’m sorry but your comment is a big pile of crap. I know the people you describe exist everywhere but it’s off the rails for them to believe anything they hear from trumpist republicans because TRs don’t care about the people you’re describing AT ALL!!! That is what’s so hard to understand. You support the very people who want to keep a knee on your neck.
I think Penny A. just likes to troll around and stir things up. We all know many Trumpists are nice people, but that doesn't stop them from espousing seriously bad attitudes and beliefs that are dangerous to democracy.
I lived in Texas for a time, and I lived in upstate NY's farm country as well. Many immigrants come to pick crops, and they are willing to do these jobs for unfortunately very low wages. Americans don't want to do these jobs, nor do they want to clean motel rooms or wash dishes in restaurants. Where economies are heavily based in agriculture, there is a problem getting anyone to do the work.
These workers, as well as skilled ones, actually contribute to economies. And how many of us have been treated by doctors who are immigrants?
You've been listening to Rush re-runs, haven't you.
Good news—audio now working for today’s podcast
NBC News put out a story titled "Fueled by Trump-inspired grievance, attempts to terrorize public officials escalate". Written by Henry J. Gomez, it outlines the death-threats received by Democrats but then just has to have that one paragraph to talk about the ONE disturbed person who shot up the ballgame (no doubt an awful criminal act) and Kyrsten Sinema getting yelled at in a bathroom. "Balance".
press def wants to lean into the Both Sides view of this dangerous trend
Another tactic that the media repeatedly uses is downplaying facts that go against their preferred narrative, either by not reporting them at all or by burying stories about countervailing facts.
This has been going on for a long time most people never realize it because they never hear about facts that are contrary to the media’s frame. For example that WSJ story about the easing of the supply chain problems is getting very little attention; stories about shortages are front and center.
The Treasury’s estimate that the BBB bill’s increased taxes, tax collections and prescription drug negotiations will more than pay for the costs of the bill’s other proposals has been buried. The WaPo’s Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman wrote about it on their Plum Line page but the article was not moved to the main web page. Truly balanced journalism would compare and contrast the estimates of the CBO with that of the Treasury, not just report on the CBO’s estimate that BBB will add to the deficit. But stories stoking fear of debt and inflation is a decades long media favorite — but only when Democrats are in control.
I just saw this article by Heather Digby Parton pointing out that the Sunday shows ignored the story about the underestimation of what was actually very strong job growth from June to September. She ascribes it to their seeing that story as old news; my guess is that it goes against their preferred “Biden is failing” narrative.
https://digbysblog.net/2021/11/21/oh-look-2/
The media call the BBB the "spending bill."
Uh -- we're talking about the news media, not party operatives.
Far left. Omg! What did they do? Hold an insulting sign?
Link us that article then.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/fueled-trump-inspired-grievance-attempts-terrorize-public-officials-escalate-n1284291
Also, "Can you please link the article? Thank you in advance."
I imagine that there have been local R and D pols who have been victimized or killed by active shooters. Killers don’t ask for your political affiliation. Imo, Rittenhouse is a troubled (now) 18 year old who had NO business being in Kenosha. His young mom is in her 30s and loves her son but she also drove him to WI while he was carrying a long gun. Not a lot of responsible behavior on her part. Dysfunction to the max, as it seems he shared with the men he killed/injured. Unfortunately but predictably Rittenhouse has become a politicized dupe for the Rs to manipulate. Tucker C anyone? Rittenhouse is a disturbed kid who is being lionized and used. He’ll be dropped by Rs as soon as the next hysteria fomented whopper the Rs invent is in sight. Pitiful. BTW, video shots of the folks who show up at public meetings wearing yellow stars/symbols Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust personify the sheer depth/width of their ignorance about the suffering of Jews and others at the hands of the Nazis during WWII. They have no clue what suffering and sacrifice are. CRT? Masks? Come on. A trip to the Holocaust Museum in DC or Israel might enlighten them and teach them what true suffering looks, feels like and how it emerged under Nazism. When I saw those shots of healthy, free and blessed to live in the US citizens wearing the star, my breath was literally taken away. They besmirch the sacred values universally given to all victims of The Holocaust. And yes, Eric, the normalization of violence is terrifying.
You're still struggling to make sense. You appear to have been on this website all day busting your butt to get people to really, really argue with you because then you will feel validated.
So, somebody has to die to convince you that, yeah, Trumpers might be dangerous? Nice.
You’re right. I’m wrong. Happy now?
Huh?
Democrats by their own account are under a near constant barrage of death threats. Schiff talks about how he feels nervous sitting in front of a window in his own home. Even if only the most out of control people commit murder, the trend towards violent rhetoric, meant to affect the mood and behavior of politicians, is primarily from the right.
Oh, so I guess the threats aren't real unless someone is actually shot, is that what you're saying? That 1/6 is no big deal since they didn't get to kill Nancy or Chuck?
It is not hypocrisy on our side. Dems overwhelming decried the man who "shot up the ballgame." I felt terrible for the man who came armed to Rocket Pizza with the goal of "freeing the endangered children." He truly thought he was doing the right thing.
What hypocrisy are you even talking about? Dems don't ignore or condone political violence or threats but today's GOP does. Even 10 years ago, they would have condemned this kind of talk and these actions. With the exception of John McCain's respectful chiding of the voter who disparaged Obama during the 2008 campaign, members of the GOP are not only are silent but complicit, from the vote supporting Gosar to openly calling for secession and taking up arms.
We are the only party (currently) interested in governing and strengthening our democracy. So yeah, in my opinion that makes a difference—and is what makes us the good guys. And why we need to win in 22 and 24.
If you don't think we are the good guys, then what does it matter if we lose in 22 or 24?
Sorry, but your arguments are infantile. Right now, the Dems are the only party trying to uphold our democracy. I wish it wasn't this way. I may have vehemently disagreed with GOP positions in the past but before the past 10 years, it was unthinkable that members of this once great party would celebrate a failed insurrection and encourage threats on fellow members. It hurts to see the GOP brought to its knees by the likes of Trump, Boebert, MTG, etc.
So does that mean you don’t have any opinion that does not include your opposition’s argument? Jeez.
Because those people issuing threats don't really mean it. You're just a sad person.
There’s probably a pretty good reason that you can’t tell ‘Fire!’ In a theater… or mention ‘bombs’ in an airport!?
Um, Jan. 6 was incited by Republican rhetoric. But a Republican woman died, so that doesn't count, right?
Okay. I think there’s a bit of a trumpian screw loose up there.
So you’re gonna measure this by this one nut cake? Because I could name a few wingnut nut cakes if forced. Of course I think I am one of the good guys. I was brought up to be a good kind caring person. I would hope most of us would fall into that category. But the right wing hatred for people they think of as being somehow “lesser” puts them beyond the!pale of anything I have ever felt in my heart. So I don’t see how I could support any of that to win anything.
Oh, one more question. If Democrats are so awful, why are you "terrified" they're going to lose. Be honest, and just put on your red hat, dear.
Unfortunately one honest article won’t be enough when cable news consistently allows republicans to lie unchallenged at every opportunity. This week’s Sunday shows where a perfect example. It’s discouraging and disheartening and shows no sign of abating. I can on,y hope as ratings continue to decline, media moguls get the message.
Nobody has the right to gun down people they deem unacceptable. You are illustrating perfectly the point of this piece, that violence is a legitimate form of personal and political expression. That is, at least it appears so. Your posts are incoherent, rather simple minded and immature.
You have a habit of personally attacking people but I don't let you under my skin. You're like a fly in the room. Eventually you'll go away.
Rapists suck, deplorable. No one disputes that. It’s vigilantism that’s also deplorable imo. That’s why US citizens have long ago decided that voted in/hired/appointed law/judicial enforcement personnel will do the job of keeping public order, punishing etc. I truly don’t want to return to the Wild West when guns ruled the streets. We decry murder in this country. If that’s what you’re selling, I ain’t buying.
Defund almost cost my Congressman his seat and he pushed back hard on it. No Dem in, or running for, office (maybe with the exception of the squad, but I'd have to look that up to be sure)—nor the Dem party itself—"demanded" or pushed to "defund the police" or to abolish prisons. The only people even mentioning that these days are on the right. Got a mailer two months ago from some right wing PAC about how the Dems were pushing it WHICH IS NOT TRUE. I know, because I make the phone calls and knock the doors for Dem candidates. I know what issues we want talk about. And it's neither of these.
Dems ARE in favor of reforms to strengthen police, make them feel safer on the streets, and make citizens feel protected and respected. The proliferation of guns has added to cops' fears, and rightly so. Yet, they overwhelming vote for the GOP, which is anti any limits on guns.
Not one elected Dem official or Dem candidate calls for abolishing prisons, though as a citizen I'm in complete favor of getting rid of PRIVATE, FOR-PROFIT run prisons. Law enforcement is a state and federal govt responsibility, and correctional institutions should not be in private hands. That is why we have the prison industrial complex, which is ripe fruit for corruption and creates a never ending cycle of "arrests" to keep the prison population high.
They do not have the biggest platforms in media, Penny! That's what people like Eric and Margaret Sullivan et al talk about. The right has developed a machine financed by the richest people who want to own us politically and protect their wealth. Fox was always biased, but my God, these days they've become a propaganda machine. The NYT does not like Dems, nor does that bastion of leftism, The Nation. Yes, Bezos owns WAPO. But he doesn't care about shaping the message the way RW media owners do.
As for Dems, they do speak out! The problem is you don't hear their message amplified like it is with the right. Even if they used a slogan like "the GOP wants to arm criminals" the media wouldn't run with it because they would scoff and say, well that isn't true. Yet when the GOP say stupid things like "death panels" they parrot it in every story till it takes hold. Dems use social media like Facebook lives, etc, Twitter, and give press conferences. Fox actually doesn't set the tone for the day's media take, that's the NYT, both the paper and their podcast, The Daily, as well as Playbook and now Punchbowl News—none of these are Dem friendly.
I believe there is a faction within the Party that wants to destroy it.
I'm not sure how many of these people truly consider themselves to be Dems. I believe there is a faction on the left that absolutely want to destroy the Democrats. The farthest left Dems—progressives like AOC, etc—are passionate about helping people and I think she's fine being a Dem and wants to strengthen the party. She could have run as an Independent—and won. She does some things that drive me bonkers, but on the whole I think she adds to the party, and once she's become a bit more seasoned can/will be extraordinary.
Why is it you repeat every talking point I hear from the Trumpers I know? Gosh ...
Oh Penny. Your delusion is boundless. No one wants to hear about it anymore.
You don't expect us to believe you're a Democrat, do you, dear
Don't believe you, sweetheart. When Democrats criticize their party, they don't use every right-wing talking point they can think of. Kind of lazy of you. Next time, Be Best.
The journalists who did deep dives while writing books—Rucker, Leonig, Karl, Costa, etc, as well as many of the moderate/conservatives, Frum, Anne Applebaum, Max Boot, Tom Nichols, Jennifer Rubin—see the threat very clearly and talk about it as often as they can, as do media watchers Eric B, Dan Froomkin, Margaret Sullivan (when we need her she's on leave, writing her book), and some others from various fields who have taken to writing columns. Even Scarborough sees it and talks about it—and of course bashes Dems while he does. Karl went from chiding his fellow journalists for covering Trump too harshly (why I couldn't read his previous book) to joining the small chorus of voices warning of the dangers. But their voices aren't enough if the rest of their colleagues—reporters, editors, publishers, producers—downplay or refuse to acknowledge what is happening before our eyes.
I think many journalists don't know how to cover this moment. They've been steeped in bothersidism for so long that they don't know how to see beyond it. Maybe they should go back and look at reporting from the late 1930s to see how the greats covered the rise of fascism and Nazism. Then there are those journalists who are either too close to the trees to see the forest or who refuse to see it at all—the "it won't happen here" crowd. Last week Andrea Mitchell, said the Dems—because of the back and forth negotiations over infrastructure and BBB—were as much of a "clown show" as the GOP with their performative "governing." Needless to say, my head exploded. (Figuratively of course.)
We are living in very dangerous times. Will mainstream journalism rise to the moment, and will it be in time to help save us, or will they fail—utterly and completely?
No, they will not rise to the moment. Journalists don't want to know how to cover the moment. They don't care. They want to do what their bosses tell them. Many/most political "reporters" IMHO are lazy, ignorant, narcissistic hacks who care only about being a kewel kid and a having a sinecure in the Beltway Political Propaganda Complex, where they all have to do is remember the anti Biden/MVP Harris/Democratic Party meme of the day as they nod along as panelists on CNN, MSNBROC, etc. Then there's The Book Deal. They are beyond redemption.
In the case of the Washington Post, online subscriptions have dropped by 28 percent since last year. The New York Times also lost subscribers. This I think has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of junk news articles and clickbait. Heavily featured are Biden and Harris; even their successes are written about as failures waiting to happen.
I'm happy to hear that people are not supporting their horrible reporting. I do have a WaPo subscription but I may not renew it. Every once in awhile they produce riveting stories that keep me hooked. Too bad both papers keep repeating the mistakes that caused the drop to begin with. It would be interesting to know reasons, percentages per reason, etc.
I subscribe to WaPo for the same reason, that they do occasionally have good reporting. I don't plan on renewing my subscription either. I have been so disappointed the NY Times for several months that I canceled my subscription. They have been so negative in covering Biden and everything he has done that I noticed I had stopped reading. Two major newspapers turning to parodies of themselves is alarming.
It truly is.
Having been a member of the media, I can attest to the fact it follows storylines. The reason for that is complicated. Part of it is laziness, IMHO. Much easier to play the story, give it a headline etc., if you know ahead of time what it's going to be.
Thank you for your insight. I always appreciate the perspective of people who have had experience in a given topic.
That explains why, when there's a big news story, the Washington Post unabashedly publishes up to 10 articles on the same subject in one day, at least 4 of which are opinion pieces. It comes across as pushing a single narrative because that is usually the case. This was especially true during the withdrawal from Afghanistan and what a "disaster" it was.
As for the coverage of the January 6th insurrection, it's just not as fired up and indignant or outraged as it should have been. Except for the in-depth articles by WaPo and the NYT, the coverage has been lackluster, and nobody questions why so many participants are being allowed to plead to misdemeanors and are receiving such light sentences.
What I see happening now is the bulk of media coverage beginning to focus on the elections. I swatted Jennifer Rubin today for her horse race column about Biden and Trump and the 2024 race. It infuriated me that she devoted a column to an election 3 years away, and that so many media outlets focus on the elections the moment a president is inaugurated.
I wondered what happened to Margaret Sullivan. I wish the WaPo would make her their media critic instead of Eric Wemple who gets hung up on inside-the-beltway media disputes when he isn't obsessing about the Steele Dossier. I didn’t know she was writing a book. Luckily Jennifer Rubens is back to her regular column after taking time off to promote her book. She recently wrote a great column “Republicans define themselves by misogyny and violence.”
She now writes perspectives on media, but it's been a month since I've seen one of her columns.
Sullivan is on a brief book leave.
Good to see Jennifer Rubin back and I agree with you about Margaret Sullivan being chief media critic. Or Ombudsman. I guess WaPo doesn't have one of those either.
Eric Wemple works in the noble tradition (sarcasm there) of Howard Kurtz. I rarely read anything Wemple writes because it's mostly chum, especially when it comes to the Steele Dossier. Sullivan's very good and is so needed; she says on Twitter that her leave will be brief. And Rubin is great (I did read that post.) Those of us who love our democracy have found common cause across the political divide.
I like Wemple, and he's right about the Steele Dossier.
We will agree to disagree.
The insanity of a cohort of the GOP base and how the party is supporting, enabling and empowering them is hugely important. But I would submit that as the Times reporting is the exception that proves the rule of the toxicity of mainstream reporting, it’s far less important than this piece makes it seem. Y’all know this story will get no traction in the media and will be forgotten soon. To it will be flooded away by the usual toxic crap.
Sorry for the reality check.
Important as the issue is (or is it two when one adds the mainstream complicity in promoting it by ignoring it and not calling out the politicians supporting it?), to me there are two bigger stories along the same line.
First I’d the GOP destructive efforts to negate the power of the vote. Latest example is Wisconsin which is working on a bill to put control of elections in the hands of the legislature so, you know, changing results as they see fit is easy.
The other one is the one that pops up then disappears every few months: That Trump’s deliberate response to Covid is directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths and an unknown number of people suffering from the long Covid and related disabilities. Along with what Trump did there’s the complicity and support of the rest of his party with too few exceptions to matter.
These are the kind of stories an honest media would be making huge things of. Instead they’re essentially buried.
I think that once again, we may be looking at the effect of social media. The right wing has a violent and politically triggered presence on social media and the internet which has spilled over into the GOP in general. There is also the tireless effort, especially among the young politicians, to get Donald Trump's attention and approval, both of which are political assets.
What I don't understand is that laziness on the part of the media that makes them ignore this blockbuster story right in front of them. It's easier to plug in the old "both sides" trope and then publish opinion pieces saying the Democrats need to become as violent and aggressive as the Republicans because that's the way to win. True, sometimes the Democrats' responses to violent GOP actions may seem too understated, but otherwise we could be seeing future gun violence escalate beyond reversal. We're that close.
Today's GOP would cheer Timothy McVeigh. I'm surprised we haven't begun seeing revisionist takes already.
While Social Media makes it easier to spread hate, you need to remember that Newt Gingrich pioneered using language to gin-up hatred back in the '90s. Here’s his list he presented at GOPAC: https://users.wfu.edu/zulick/454/gopac.html
So consider that, too.
Yes. Gingrich continued the traditions of Atwater, Rove, except as an office holder vs a "consultant" or campaign manager.
*& Don’t forget Rush…. :/
I really was trying to LOL! You wouldn't let me get away with it!
“Three hours after Rittenhouse verdict, conservative pages ruled Facebook's engagement algorithms by a factor of 9 to 1”
Ugh.
Good timing with what happened in Waukesha. Radical leftist killing 5 people. But Rittenhouse defending himself is the real danger.
Ah, the trolls are here.
Radical leftist? From the Washington Post:
"investigators have not yet found anything tying the vehicular violence to any sort of terrorism or ideology."
As for Rittenhouse, he wouldn't have had to "defend" himself if he wasn't in a city or a state he didn't live in, carrying a weapon it was illegal for him, at 17, to have. He chose to go there armed with a semi-automatic weapon. He is responsible for this.
Yes, right wing vigilantism is a danger to our society and our democracy.
How does any of this make the suspect a leftist? He has no ideology, which is what I pointed out. I did to say or imply the suspect is a right winger. Not every crime is political or ideological. He's just a guy who killed people with his car.
I guess I need a sentence to make sure you know this is now a separate thought.
Vigilantism is absolutely a problem on the right. Antifa and leftists and Dems aren't running around with AK-47s. We didn't invade the Capitol on 1/6. We aren't calling to shoot Republicans. We don't offer vigilante killers Congressional internships. And if anyone says such a thing they are condemned by the party and the rest of us.
It is very sad and dangerous that you think vigilantism under any circumstances, even the ones you list, is okay.
You are sad and damaged woman, Penny. Because I said he's just a guy, rather an a political ideologue? what happened in Kenosha is a tragedy. What happened in Waukesha is a tragedy. No one is making light of the loss of life, except you.
I'm not impossible. It just may be I have better arguments than you.
Uh -- so RIttenhouse is not only a hero, but a psychic, who knew he was killing two dangerous predators. A young man of many wonders.
Um, sweetie, being a career criminal is not an ideology.
Barring the fact that Rittenhouse had no business being there in the first place, he was in Kenosha to help friends defend a car dealership. If he had STAYED THERE, he would have been fine and behind the police line. But the pissant punk had to go walkabout, then he got separated from the guy keeping an eye on him, and then the Dumbass found the trouble he went looking for.
This Twitter thread is worth reading, because honestly, the noise machine and trolls are trying to shape the narrative: https://twitter.com/BobSaietta/status/1462834623252209668
Thanks for the link. Yes, this is how it's done and all these people who want to believe eat it up. (And yes, the "believing what you want to believe" does happen on the left too.)
First, as a country music fan, I welcome the shout-out to Alan Jackson.
As for the rest, this is the reminder of why the biggest danger is the political media, who refuse to see this as the danger it is. There are some who, yes, fight this problem from within. But when The Times and The Post, which help set the agenda, are almost oblivious in their coverage, it's a problem. Likewise the old problem of the political media letting Fux Noise have a seat at the table, and letting Fux Noise dictate their agenda. Which. It. Does.
The GOP is the pro life party. But that's only if the life in question has yet to pass through vaginal walls into the world. Once that happens all bets are off. For the born child to an unwed mother or those in financially challenged families, those kids can die as far as Republicans are concerned. No aid or benefits for those folks who shouldn't have had kids to begin with they will say. That's nothing new. What's new is the call to violence toward the adult population that think and votes left. We saw the writing on the wall after Sandy Hook when Republicans in power did nothing to pass laws to stop the availability of military style rifles used to massacre children during a typical day in public school. The country is sick beyond belief with Republicans so desperate to keep power that they now use their media mouthpieces, be it the MSM, Facebook, and other online platforms, to overtly spout violence against the left. The media will be very responsible for future violence that will occur right inside the the House chambers with all this rhetoric leading to that inevitability, you can be sure.
It’s not republicans I hate it’s haters I hate. How does one compromise with a bunch of freaks wanting to kill us all for believing differently than they do? What do you say to someone who wants to overthrow our duly elected government? I know this description doesn’t fit every Republican but I do wonder how those people can continue to
Cling to a party that overtly promotes this kind of fearmongering? I don’t ask that they become democrats but I do ask that they become Americans.
There is something wrong with the audio of your podcast today.
The audio isn't working properly this time out. Thanks
ugh, thanks i'll try to fix.
Thank you for the print version. I much prefer it to audio. Please excuse the bit of fan mail, but your blog has been indispensable in helping me understand why reading the news is so frustrating to me. At least now I know I'm not crazy. Happy Thanksgiving!
oh good! and thanks
your comments are incoherent. Rittenhouse had no idea the background of men when he executed them in the streets.
Wapo reprinted an October piece about the four young men involved the Rittenhouse killings, two now dead, that gives the backgrounds of each, plus the timeline of what happened when. Your rant does nothing to further the discussion of this awful event. You seem to have personalized the story to the point of incoherence. Sorry you’re soooo angry at all of us, even your political friends on the D side. We’re dancing as fast as we can.
Maybe it’s because you come out guns blazing from the get go. I found your logic incoherent by choosing Dems to villainize. Your tone is off putting. I’m am sincerely sorry for the horrendous things you have been thru and your rage is now more understandable to me. We are on your side if you could just see that thru the prism of your anger and rage.
Be less obvious, dear. Seriously. Did "Walkaway" send you over here to do its thing?
First amendment?
Gee. I wonder how much time you spend criticizing Carlson, Hannity, etc.
With respect, the first young man, in his 20s was carrying a plastic bag, the second one, also in his 20s was carrying a skate board, the third guy who was shot and lived had some medical training. I urge you to read the piece that was republished in Wapo this past Saturday, written in October. I’d forward the link but am unable to. I was outraged by the verdict. Less so since reading the piece by Robert Klemko, Greg Jaffa, which tells the stories about the 4 young men and who they were and what happened that night w/o the political crap going on now, they fill in all the blanks. I didn’t come away from the report with the impression any of these men went to Kenosha to kill anyone.
Psychic Kyle. Goodness, we're so lucky he may go to Washington.
He’s already been to Mad man Largo. He’s being used. I don’t see DC in his future anytime soon.
Ok. So? Killing is still wrong and the jury has spoken. Better they decide and not you, figuratively speaking,
Please stop wagging your finger at me. I’m trying to understand what happened on that day. Seems you just want to be right. I’m dropping the Mike on you Penny.
I get that is what you believe. Read the Wapo piece I mentioned. Terrific and unbiased. How did Ahmad Arbery get into this thread? Jury starts to weigh the case today.
So they picked out a kid with an Ar-15 to molest? LOL. I hope your replacement is better than this.
Nice to see you blame the victim.
Even so. It wasn’t Kyle Rittenhouse’s job to sentence them to death, then kill him. HE WAS 17 for goodness sake! Penny, you come off as a rage-full person; not sure why you want to post on PressRun other than to shoot us/Dems down. And yes, Eric has his fan base. He’s earned it and comes by it honestly. He stands up for what he believes; he is smart, honest, KIND, passionate and committed to hounding the press until they get it right. Count me as a proud Eric groupie. He and the rest of us have kept me sane throughput TFG, the pandemic and continue to today.
So according to you people have the right to kill whomever they think deserves it.
Eric is quite correct about you.
See above about defund and abolish. And no one, even those on the left who use those stupid terms, support vigilantism.
The only one demonstrating hypocrisy today is you. You claim to want to win in 22 and 24, that you care, and yet all you do is attack the Dems with broad-brush accusations. You have a wonderful opportunity to talk to your Trump neighbors' about the lies and mendacity of the GOP, yet here you are pushing those same attacks in these comments because you seem to believe them yourself. You condemn all Dems for the words of some on the left—when many of those same people spouting that shit don't even affiliate with the Dems.
When it comes to the police, I've had good interactions and unpleasant interactions. When they think you are the victim, they are incredibly helpful. When they think you are at fault for something, they aren't. Cops can also be their own worst enemies, supporting and protecting bad apples who abuse their badges and voting for the party who would militarize them yet make it easy for criminals to get guns, refusing to vote or voting no on any and all gun legislation unless it means more arms in schools, bars, churches, and on the streets.
GOP wants criminals to have guns. That's an easy slogan Dems should be using because it's true!
You know what kills Dems at the polls? People who are too lazy to vote in every election, or mad cause they didn't get everything they wanted and stay home, or only vote for the top candidate and don't bother with the rest of the ballot. Lies also kills Dems at the polls, and one of the things Eric does is point out how the media is failing us by not only allowing but helping those lies to spread.
Most of us here admire Eric's work to hold media accountable. The press is the fifth pillar and essential to our democracy and most of our major outlets are failing our country. Critics and analysts like him point this out using examples every day.
As for your own language, using terms like lovefest and fanboy are dismissive and belittling. I don't think your arguments are incoherent, I think they are misguided and wrong.
You have not one good word to say about Democrats. Not one good word. And we're supposed to believe you ARE one? LOL. And I'm a woman too, sweetheart.
I’m female.
Yes I am a fan of Eric. I appreciate what he does. I'm used to insults and when someone does them I will put them on ignore.
No one believes you're a progressive Democrat, dear.
I should have said ‘any employed journalist’… 🦊 Reporters twisting themselves into knots when questioned about anti-vaccine mandates (oppo of what their own employer requires!) has been something to behold - yet that situation continues unabated. Sounds like a both-sides stretch(?!)