The GOP excels at the long game. In the 80s, Grover Norquist's No New Taxes pledge was part of his plan to hamstring the government by reducing the money it could raise. In the 90s, Newt Gingrich weaponized the debt ceiling limit to derail the Clinton economy, and since the 2000s, Mitch McConnell has overseen the routine of cutting taxes for Republican presidents, and then claiming the government is broke (out of money) when a Dem is in the Oval. Meanwhile, the media sees all of those trees but swears there is no forest.
Absolutely! It goes all the way back to the 1971 Powell memo. Everything that happened from the early 1970s onward was laid out in that far-reaching and far-thinking outline—from establishing think tanks to academia (look at George Mason University as a perfect example), to politics and the courts, all in the name of protecting Business and capitalism from "Marxists." It's depressing just how successful they have been.
If font size is any indication, the WP thinks a bunch of stubborn health care workers who think being told to get a vaccine or a weekly test is an assault on their personal freedom should be the news header of the day. Oh yeah, and the "congress" is diddling around with something about money that nobody understands or cares about. Yet.
And the word went out to all candidates, declared and undeclared: "You pay our bills you're gonna get primaried." How is countering that, in any rational context, a Democratic concern?
Joe Scar o rough speaking the truth about the debt limit, “(the debt limit is) McConnell’s debt, McCarthy’s debt; Rs spent more $ than Dems under FG and now they don’t want to pay their own bill....”. J. Lemire, AP on AM Joe states it’s ‘McConnell’s hypocrisy....”. Holy moly. Maybe someone’s listening!!!!
Had Congressional Democrats refused to raise the debt ceiling under Trump, the Republicons, the media, and even many Democratic voters would have declared Congressional Democrats to be traitors and hounded them from office. If Republicons prevent the debt ceiling from being raised under Biden, the Republicons, the media, and even many Democratic voters will declare Congressional Democrats to be traitors and hound them from office.
The "Opinion Debate" they've been pushing for months—it's boxed and appears amid individual columns—is enraging:
"Will the Dems face a midterm wipeout?"
They have a list of four columns from January 21, 2021—not even 24 hours after Biden took office!—onward, hectoring and musing on the big losses that await Democrats. Journalistic malpractice, considering the Times did not call for Trump's impeachment.
All the Times—which still sets the tone for most mainstream outlets—does is criticize, blame, and mock the Democrats. It's incredibly destructive and defeatist.
And David Corn also has a good column on the "bothsides" BS. He's started his own newsletter/column in addition to his work at Mother Jones and like Eric B, James Fallows, Dan Froomkin, and the Columbia Journalism Review—among others, there are a bunch of great writers out there—worth a read.
Froomkin helped keep me sane in the GW Bush years with his White House column for the WaPo. In 2009, WaPo dropped the column as no longer necessary - implying Froomkin's job had been simply to hector Bush rather than holding his and other administrations' proverbial feet to the fire. Froomkin expressed his frustration as he left the Post. His newsletter (Press Watch) is well worth reading.
Just waiting for the Press Corpse to cheer when the infrastructure bills fail to pass and we go into a shutdown and default.
Knowing the Times Standard Operating Procedure they will go back to the Ohio diner to talk to the same dozen Trump voters blaming Biden for not getting their Social Security checks...
Yep, because the only members of Congress they talk to are GOP—unless a "disaffected progressive" will give them a juicy quote to highlight their tired "Dems in Disarray" trope.
Cottle’s piece in the Times is egregious. What’s harder to tell is how much the Times is skewing the comments they allow to be posted - and when.
There’s a pile-on effect with comments that get posted first if you look at them ranked by reader picks - and many people apparently do. Those that establish an early lead tend to stay on top; those that get posted later tend to get swamped.
I don’t know how much of this is intentional - some of mine never get approved or only show up hours after I submit them. I wonder how much is simply comments coming in faster than they can be reviewed.
I do notice certain names appear near the top of reader picks on a regular basis. How that happens would be interesting to see explained.
I am at a loss to understand how Republicans think that allowing COVID to ravage their voters in the states while national Republicans crash the economy is a winning strategy for 2022.
It’s simple - and effective. 1) Do bad things. 2) Blame it on the Democrats. 3) Let the media repeat the Republican talking points ad nauseum without context or questioning.
Oh, they'll do plenty...plan on a Biden impeachment (if they take the House in 2022), more destructive tax cuts, more corrupt judges, more deregulation, oh, and gutting Social Security and Medicare as icing on the cake.
The GOP is the Party of "Hud," best captured by Academy award winning actor Melvyn Douglas (as Homer Bannon) in this scene where he expresses his contempt for his own son with this observation: "I was sick of you a long time before that."
Maddow deftly handled this issue last night. Either she or her guest, former U.S. Senator Jon Tester, D-Montana, likened the GOP's position to running up a big credit card debt, then refusing to pay it. No matter one's politics, how is this right? How does the media blame both sides? Following this story makes me wonder whether my wife has slipped a reality-altering something in my coffee. How hard is it to just report the facts and makes sense for readers?
This sort of bloodless reporting on the debt ceiling and possible default from Our Failed Political Press reminds me of Chris Matthews’ Hard Ball show (long cancelled) where he would have on pundits to discuss actions like this from an amoral position of, “Did/will it work?” That’s all he ever asked.
I don’t know what the Republicans game is here, except to have some sort of general 2022 ad saying that Blue Team are big spenders (but the GOP is going to do that, regardless). So in the Chris Matthews tradition, will it work? Is it worth it to put out of work up to 6M people and crash the world economy for one bullet point on an ad?
Like the media, voters on both sides, sadly, have the memories of fleas and don't seem to understand how government actually works. The GOP wants to get back their full power by making Biden fail and will do everything to make it happen. Sadly, too many on the left—I didn't get what I want now now now—just might give it to them by pouting and staying home in 2022, especially if Sinema, Manchin, and the Progressive House caucus get their way and tank the BBB legislation. There is just too much at stake right now and while many understand just how precarious our democracy—and the direction of our future—is, many others do not.
The GOP excels at the long game. In the 80s, Grover Norquist's No New Taxes pledge was part of his plan to hamstring the government by reducing the money it could raise. In the 90s, Newt Gingrich weaponized the debt ceiling limit to derail the Clinton economy, and since the 2000s, Mitch McConnell has overseen the routine of cutting taxes for Republican presidents, and then claiming the government is broke (out of money) when a Dem is in the Oval. Meanwhile, the media sees all of those trees but swears there is no forest.
Absolutely! It goes all the way back to the 1971 Powell memo. Everything that happened from the early 1970s onward was laid out in that far-reaching and far-thinking outline—from establishing think tanks to academia (look at George Mason University as a perfect example), to politics and the courts, all in the name of protecting Business and capitalism from "Marxists." It's depressing just how successful they have been.
“It’s sort of fun to watch their chaos,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said of the Democrats.
As he holds up a middle finger to all of his constituents who will be impacted by this.
If font size is any indication, the WP thinks a bunch of stubborn health care workers who think being told to get a vaccine or a weekly test is an assault on their personal freedom should be the news header of the day. Oh yeah, and the "congress" is diddling around with something about money that nobody understands or cares about. Yet.
they’re obsessed w/ Trump voters
And the word went out to all candidates, declared and undeclared: "You pay our bills you're gonna get primaried." How is countering that, in any rational context, a Democratic concern?
Joe Scar o rough speaking the truth about the debt limit, “(the debt limit is) McConnell’s debt, McCarthy’s debt; Rs spent more $ than Dems under FG and now they don’t want to pay their own bill....”. J. Lemire, AP on AM Joe states it’s ‘McConnell’s hypocrisy....”. Holy moly. Maybe someone’s listening!!!!
oh definitely, Trump tax cuts are huge reason for borrowing
Had Congressional Democrats refused to raise the debt ceiling under Trump, the Republicons, the media, and even many Democratic voters would have declared Congressional Democrats to be traitors and hounded them from office. If Republicons prevent the debt ceiling from being raised under Biden, the Republicons, the media, and even many Democratic voters will declare Congressional Democrats to be traitors and hound them from office.
The facts don't matter when you're trying to protect your sources and maintain access.
The "Opinion Debate" they've been pushing for months—it's boxed and appears amid individual columns—is enraging:
"Will the Dems face a midterm wipeout?"
They have a list of four columns from January 21, 2021—not even 24 hours after Biden took office!—onward, hectoring and musing on the big losses that await Democrats. Journalistic malpractice, considering the Times did not call for Trump's impeachment.
All the Times—which still sets the tone for most mainstream outlets—does is criticize, blame, and mock the Democrats. It's incredibly destructive and defeatist.
And David Corn also has a good column on the "bothsides" BS. He's started his own newsletter/column in addition to his work at Mother Jones and like Eric B, James Fallows, Dan Froomkin, and the Columbia Journalism Review—among others, there are a bunch of great writers out there—worth a read.
Froomkin helped keep me sane in the GW Bush years with his White House column for the WaPo. In 2009, WaPo dropped the column as no longer necessary - implying Froomkin's job had been simply to hector Bush rather than holding his and other administrations' proverbial feet to the fire. Froomkin expressed his frustration as he left the Post. His newsletter (Press Watch) is well worth reading.
It's also deliberate. The New York Times wants Trump back in office.
it sure looks that way
Just waiting for the Press Corpse to cheer when the infrastructure bills fail to pass and we go into a shutdown and default.
Knowing the Times Standard Operating Procedure they will go back to the Ohio diner to talk to the same dozen Trump voters blaming Biden for not getting their Social Security checks...
Yep, because the only members of Congress they talk to are GOP—unless a "disaffected progressive" will give them a juicy quote to highlight their tired "Dems in Disarray" trope.
Cottle’s piece in the Times is egregious. What’s harder to tell is how much the Times is skewing the comments they allow to be posted - and when.
There’s a pile-on effect with comments that get posted first if you look at them ranked by reader picks - and many people apparently do. Those that establish an early lead tend to stay on top; those that get posted later tend to get swamped.
I don’t know how much of this is intentional - some of mine never get approved or only show up hours after I submit them. I wonder how much is simply comments coming in faster than they can be reviewed.
I do notice certain names appear near the top of reader picks on a regular basis. How that happens would be interesting to see explained.
it’s really an awful, awful piece
I am at a loss to understand how Republicans think that allowing COVID to ravage their voters in the states while national Republicans crash the economy is a winning strategy for 2022.
It’s simple - and effective. 1) Do bad things. 2) Blame it on the Democrats. 3) Let the media repeat the Republican talking points ad nauseum without context or questioning.
Because their opposition platform will be "ending all the chaos" and should they regain power they'll...do nothing.
Oh, they'll do plenty...plan on a Biden impeachment (if they take the House in 2022), more destructive tax cuts, more corrupt judges, more deregulation, oh, and gutting Social Security and Medicare as icing on the cake.
What I meant by nothing is that they'll do nothing to fight the ongoing pandemic and economy. I know they'll do all those other things if they can.
The GOP is the Party of "Hud," best captured by Academy award winning actor Melvyn Douglas (as Homer Bannon) in this scene where he expresses his contempt for his own son with this observation: "I was sick of you a long time before that."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gVa4FAikBg
Maddow deftly handled this issue last night. Either she or her guest, former U.S. Senator Jon Tester, D-Montana, likened the GOP's position to running up a big credit card debt, then refusing to pay it. No matter one's politics, how is this right? How does the media blame both sides? Following this story makes me wonder whether my wife has slipped a reality-altering something in my coffee. How hard is it to just report the facts and makes sense for readers?
And it was on FG’s watch. Duh.
This sort of bloodless reporting on the debt ceiling and possible default from Our Failed Political Press reminds me of Chris Matthews’ Hard Ball show (long cancelled) where he would have on pundits to discuss actions like this from an amoral position of, “Did/will it work?” That’s all he ever asked.
I don’t know what the Republicans game is here, except to have some sort of general 2022 ad saying that Blue Team are big spenders (but the GOP is going to do that, regardless). So in the Chris Matthews tradition, will it work? Is it worth it to put out of work up to 6M people and crash the world economy for one bullet point on an ad?
Like the media, voters on both sides, sadly, have the memories of fleas and don't seem to understand how government actually works. The GOP wants to get back their full power by making Biden fail and will do everything to make it happen. Sadly, too many on the left—I didn't get what I want now now now—just might give it to them by pouting and staying home in 2022, especially if Sinema, Manchin, and the Progressive House caucus get their way and tank the BBB legislation. There is just too much at stake right now and while many understand just how precarious our democracy—and the direction of our future—is, many others do not.
Kevin Drum has a sample of headlines that may be of interest. https://jabberwocking.com/headline-watch-debt-ceiling-edition/