Don't look now but Biden is doing an amazing job all while trying to restore democratic norms! I would love to see that headline. The media are actively rooting for the Dems to get pummeled in the midterms but will the voters accommodate them? The economy is doing well, Joe Biden is likable and he clearly has a plan for everything. What are Republicans going to pull out of their asses this time? Socialist Commie Radical can only work for so long. Why isn't anyone writing about the possibility of voters tuning out Republican dogma? I think people are quite sick of the Republicans but simply do not want to talk about it. Why waste our breath? Just vote. Also, NPR has been bending over backwards for Republicans since GWB and 9/11. Actually, I would say the entire media have been subdued and lazy since 9/11 messaging from Republicans and have never recovered.
Thanks for the change. This coming from a comic book fan.
Anyway, the Reality Show comparison is very appropriate since there are a lot of Republican congresspersons & senators who have a tendency of saying the most idiotic crap possible to get media attention.
Agree: Performative paired w/lack of substance… (By ‘comic book’, I meant something you can flip through quickly - less detail/context… but there are many comics with complex story arcs - and don’t get me started on graphic novels :)✔️
The way to take Biden down is to convince people the economy is terrible, Biden and the Dems have accomplished nothing and that Biden is responsible for covid not being defeated. That is exactly the message the mainstream media has been shouting from the rooftops. Biden’s low poll numbers are proof they are winning the messaging game, at least for now.
They also act like the midterms will be held in the next couple of months so Democrats have no hope. That messaging can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Lawrence O’Donnell had David Rothkopf and Kurt Andersen on to discuss Rothkopf’s USA Today article “Biden is boring and that’s OK” which most of the media chose to ignore. The discussion starts at the 7:41 mark.
Rothkopf listed the important things Biden has accomplished. What really struck me was Andersen talked about how exciting Trump was for those covering and that “some of them probably genuinely feel that they are no longer an exciting show. “
That rings true for me. I think a lot of reporters and pundits loved being part of a really big “shew” and their egos are suffering because they aren’t part of one anymore. They are like reporters who just want to be in the center of attention covering exciting stories like murder, fires and scandals rather than boring, yet critical, things like school board meetings.
We have 337 days to change the narrative and we are not going into this blind: we have to get out the vote. If we do, we win. I still think Joey and Jaime Harrison have some tricks up their sleeve.
Yes. You want to win? Go out, get the voters, and make sure they get to the polls and vote D. Democracy isn't free. It's a responsibility we all share—or should.
Donating to organizations that are effective at doing that as well as volunteering to work for them seems like the best strategy. Unfortunately I am not sure which organizations are the most effective in my state or even whom to ask.
Still worried that even with massive voter turnout the Republican state legislatures will figure out how to overturn the vote in swing states -- fed courts, Supreme court maybe not a back stop either. They've been perfecting their strategy. Passing the Freedom to Vote Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Act is so important. What can we offer Manchin & Sinema?? -- unfortunately they want to dark money. Nevertheless, I keep phone banking on this issue anyway.
Yes, I would like the Senate to pass the JLVRA. But look longer down the road. There will be immediate challenges to it across the South, led by the AG from Texas, or Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, etc. And these radicals have enough votes on SCOTUS to either overturn the law or make it toothless, just as they hollowed out the previous VRA. So what then? (And what happens if/when Dems scuttle the filibuster and the next GOP majority in Congress immediately repeals the ACA—and has enough votes to override a presidential veto?)
I do not think enough Americans—especially Dems and most notably progressives—appreciate just how screwed we are with a 6-3 radical GOP SCOTUS majority. So, you say, let's expand the courts. Again, not an easy thing to do. But that should be one of the most important battles to fight right now. But just as the GOP fought back against FDR's court-packing, they will do it again if Biden decides to add a few new justices.
The country is most likely going to look very different next summer once the SCOTUS rulings are decided and announced. That could be good for Dems; GOP may get their long sought for wish list and the result will be to mobilize people to vote D in Nov. But one election isn't enough. People have to continue to come out every election, ESPECIALLY if/when Dems can't/don't deliver.
Was happy/surprised to read Dana Milbank’s column over the weekend; seems he’s calling out the press in PressRun fashion. Holy moly. A glimmer of self reflection I pray.
If the majority of folks read Eric's blog or subscribed to Freespeech.org or other progressive media outlets, I would feel very confident going into the midterms. Sadly they don't. Most folks get their news from the MSM, Facebook, and of course Fox News. So the MSM constantly hammering Biden will very likely take hold and make it a close race if not a defeat for the House and perhaps even the Senate. Add to that redistricting and voter suppression tactics and laws, it paints a grim picture for a progressive congress. I hope the American people have had enough and surprise me. We'll see.
I am not as confident as I sound but being all mopey about the current situation is not the answer. Jaime Harrison should watch Max Scherzer's press conference when his deal with the Mets was finalized. I have never seen a more confident player and I was around for the Reggie Jackson show. Confidence can go a long way in changing the narrative. In fact, I think Joey connects with people because he is confident that he can help them. People feel it. All is not lost yet. Be confident.
It's not mopey. It's a fact. The media is aiding and abetting a right wing win for 2022. Every Democrat must come out and vote. Short of that, we lose. It's that simple.
Are you under the impression that I am unaware of this? I have just acknowledged that the media are working against Democrats. I have acknowledged that it will take massive turnout. Feel free to be mopey but I want my Dems working it with confidence when it counts. The media are not insurmountable. Actually, I think they're self-destructing and they are the only ones who are unaware of it. The Democrats are not going down without a fight.
Jaime Harrison is very confident. I heard him say the the DNC is putting a lot of resources towards getting out the vote now instead of waiting. Of course he is another Democratic leader that the media mostly ignores, unlike Marjorie Taylor Greene who recently asked why we don’t have to wear masks around people with cancer.
Another person who is confident and gets the Democrats message out every day is Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary. She is fantastic in combating the right wing's talking points being constantly thrown at her. When people say the Democrats don't get their message out, it infuriates me. Jen does but sadly only MSNBC telecasts the daily press conference. When Trump was in office, all the news networks covered them and sadly that's what they're hoping for again. To the media, it's clicks and ratings. Telling the people the truth is not part of their mission statement.
MSNBC doesn’t air the briefings either unless they have started again. I don’t tune in until 4 these days. One of the e major differences between TFG’s coverage and now.
Yes, as Cyndi Lauper once said so eloquently, money changes everything. The Democrats can buy themselves out of this. Maybe Steve Cohen should be in charge of the DNC?
No, I want progressives to grow up and vote for Democrats on November 8, 2022. Since that will not happen because nothing Biden does is enough, how about raising more money than Republicans? Democrats have to stop pretending to be pure. Money does change everything and it's not my fault - that's capitalism.
Too many people on the left have confused the lack of leaking and bragging by the 1/6 committee to be a lack not only of progress, but proof that they are doing nothing. We talk a lot about how the press "normalized" the radicalization of Trump. Well, so it appears, has much of the public. Or maybe it's just the 24/7 instant gratification the internet and streaming provides that has done it. But I agree. Much has been accomplished and unlike Obama, Joe does go out on the road and talk about (or tries to). Obama hated the politicking; Joe loves it. And Joe knows how to talk to ordinary folk.
As for the GOP, Mitch has announced the party isn't running on ANYTHING in 2022—well anything but hate and lies about the left, that is. The media response to this? Crickets. Of course. Now they do pay attention to the right calling us Socialist Commie Radicals who are destroying the country. This tactic has worked before—and continues to do so—with a dumbed-down, distracted, and impatient electorate suffering from collective ADHD, and (with a pathological distrust of government and a penchant to believe in fake conspiracies while ignoring real ones like 1/6).
Very good point about the 1/6 Committee and seriously, in retrospect, Obama sucked! I like him on a personal level - smart guy, witty, charming, handled himself with dignity. As President? Why was he so afraid of Mitch McConnell? Why did he nominate Merrick Garland (now that we've had a look at him - sheesh)? Obama had a big ego and I didn't recognize it until now. Joey is going to have more of an impact that Obama.
I share your criticisms of Obama but he did pull us out of a near complete economic crash and did a better job than the EU countries who were and are so debt averse that they won’t spend money even to stimulate a dangerously bad economy which is weakening their democracies. The same thing has happened during the pandemic. The US economy is doing much better than the other major democracies because of Biden’s stimulus spending, so much so that we are helping pull up European countries.
Obama was the first BLACK who was elected and he was elected during different times. ACA, saving the financial mess he inherited, not small potatoes. Medicaid was expanded to meet the needs of millions of the uninsured. Too glib to say he sucked. Obama paved a way for Joe to build upon. TFG truly sucked, not Obama. PLEEZE. Btw, they ALL have big egos otherwise they wouldn’t want the job.
Republicans have shown that they are all in with Critical Race Theory. They got a majority on the school board in my home town and their first action is banning CRT in high school. Teachers are required to instruct students Pro-American curriculum, in other words they will get Critical RACIST Theory about White Christian Supremacy rammed down their throats!
What was that saying about the soft bigotry of low expectations? The flip side of that is the impossible burden of high expectations.
Democrats are supposed to remake the world into an earthly paradise for everyone, including the people sabotaging their every effort. When they inevitably fall short, the press calls it a failure despite what they have managed to do.
All anyone expects Republicans to do is keep Democrats from succeeding. No one expects them to actually solve any problems. They get a free pass.
I stopped listening to NPR after Inskeep was installed as a cohost of Morning Edition to replace beloved curmudgeon Bob Edwards. Inskeep’s arrogance and bias was obvious then (in 2004) and both my husband I couldn’t stand him after a year or so. I certainly miss the old NPR, but what it became this century, no so much. Whenever I see high praise for either NPR—funny they dropped their full name National Public Radio—or PBS Newshour, I roll my eyes. Both have the same biases but they overlooked because of the “public” nature of their ownership.
Inskeep might do better to read Dana Milbank before he stupid-tweets again:
You should look up NPR's shifting rationals for his removal. Just pathetic. We decry how members of TFG's admin tiptoed around him so as not to upset him. Well, it's what the media has been doing for the GOP for decades now, since the first charges of "liberal bias." GOP are pros at working the refs. The media is so cowed (and infiltrated by conservatives) they handcuff themselves. Stockholm syndrome.
You can’t get any more mainstream than Wapo. But judging by the idiocy of the WH press corps and their questions… I want to bang all their heads together! (Metaphorically of course.)
Joe Biden = Jimmy Carter is a meme that the clown car of Republican Senate candidates in Ohio have been hammering. The ads sound like a history of the 70s written by someone who wasn't an adult back then, and who hasn't done any reading on the mess Carter inherited in 1977. But, Biden = Carter is red meat for the rubes, and it warms Republican strategists' black hearts to see the media carry water for the GOP....again.
Had the media been objective and informed people about Carter’s many accomplishments as president this wouldn’t work. Read Jonathan Alter’s new biography of Carter. Alter was shocked to find that Carter had been a much better president that even Alter, a journalist, had realized. Carter’s list of accomplishments is impressive but he was just a peanut farmer who bored the media with all his focus on substance, not a glamorous Hollywood star pretending to be a cowboy.
I recall very clearly of Carter's speech from the Oval Office clearly pointing out the dangers we were headed in because of our insatiable appetite for oil. The Press excoriated him and aided in Carter not winning a second term. The double standard, more obvious than ever today, is actually several decades old now.
Yep, media—and voters—don't like a Debbie Downer, aka a grown up truth teller. They loved Reagan with his "it's a new day in America" crap sunshiny ad.
But when Neil Bush had to admit under oath in his divorce deposition that he had been consorting with high priced call girls the media ignored that President’s trashy brother narrative in contrast to their reporting about the antics and misdeeds of Billy Carter and Roger Clinton. The Bush’s didn’t fit the southern white trash image.
Iran-Contra, the S&L scandal, the affairs and scandals of the GOP, all given short shrift by the media. The disparity in coverage would be amusing if it weren't so harmful to the country and our welfare.
I was thinking about this the other day; could the press' disparagement of Carter be related to some anti-southern bias? I wonder if there's still that kind of bias in media?
Yes it was exactly that. Their disparagement of Bill Clinton was the result of the same attitude. The same journalists who worshipped the ground the much more reckless and promiscuous JFK were appalled over Clinton’s behavior. (Chris Matthews is a perfect example.) I had a chance to talk with a woman who had worked on his CNBC show. She said she had asked him why he kept ignoring stories his staff had researched for him and just kept obsessing about Clinton. He replied that he was as well educated as Clinton who was just a guy from Arkansas. She said it was obvious that Matthews couldn’t stand the idea of a guy from nowheresville Arkansas rising above him.
Jonathan Alter’s bio of Carter describes how the media gave Carter’s people the Southern rube treatment.
NPR has been little more than Fox News with tote bags for years. I stopped listening to their news coverage long ago, propelled by the offensive but subtle partisanship of Leann Hansen on Sunday mornings. Like other commenters, I also lamented the loss of Bob Edwards, a far superior journalist than any of the hacks currently populating their airwaves.
NPR is the NY Times of the airwaves. It's focus ultimately boils down to the interests of business. That said, the creep rightwards to appease loudmouthed Republicans is clearly a factor. It's just that Republicans say boo and NPR jumps twice as far to the right as they need to.
They have used a literally hysterical tone in reporting on inflation and supply chain problems as well, but never follow-up with how the problems are resolving. Their political reporting is irresponsibly shallow, mainly focused on conventional wisdom and horse race style reporting.
As I posted a few days ago the jobs number reported in the media is based on the survey done of employers, not the survey that is done of individuals. That second survey indicated a very good jobs number. On Andrea Mitchell’s show Austin Goolsbee pointed that out and explained that other data shows record number of people starting new businesses. The hiring by those new businesses won’t show up in the employer survey for awhile which could explain the big discrepancy between the number reported and the drop in unemployment claims. That drop was the lowest in 52 years. Given that the last jobs report had to be revised upward — significantly — it would be reasonable to expect an unbiased media to be much more skeptical of the low number they jumped on.
Not evidence a conspiracy, just of deeply ingrained bias on the part of a media.
Thank you for validating me pounding my steering wheel with my fist sometimes when I'm listening to NPR in the car (oddly enough it's my only NPR time even though I'm a sustaining member of my local station). Audie Cornish of A-1 is also guilty of this behavior. She tends to toss volatile fuel on tiny embers, looking to generate a fire where none exists and it makes me crazy. Anyhow, a big THANK YOU for what you do - don't let up!
I've given up on NPR for some time. Used to be a frequent listener and supporter. No more. I wonder how they will do in the coming fascist America that this kind of one-sided, hypocritical reporting will enable. Maybe they will dive in and become what one comment here noted: Fox News with tote bags. The MSM has apparently joined in some kind of "both-sides-do-it" suicide pact, and they are going to take all of us down with them.
I gave up on NPR a number of years ago as well. The shift to a more main stream style of reporting and commenting was quite obvious. I also quit donating to them and no longer have a membership.
Thanks Eric. You struck a nerve this morning. An NPR nerve.
I discovered NPR in college, working with a construction crew to pay tuition, when the crew foreman tuned out truck radio to All Things Considered at the end of our workday. Around the same time I had my driveway moments on Saturday Nights with A Prairie Home Companion.
But in the last 4-5 years NPR shows like Morning Edition, etc., have practiced both-siderism to an alarming degree. The Muslim ban, child separation, et al we all know the list of things that started in 2017. And last month my favorite local program here in Philadelphia aired an economist espousing trickle-down economics. And by "aired" I mean gave him the same amount of time as the economist trying to explain how important Build Back Better is to the recovery.
(Noting: Was it also 3 months in a row that monthly jobs reports were drastically revised upwards?… Historically had never been ‘that off’? So much happening so quickly, would have to research that one… but a lack of ‘noise’ over those huge corrections also feels like another miss - ?)
I've noticed a lot of media reporting bad opinions of Biden's achievements and proposed policies. First of all, he HAS policies! Isn't that amazing after 4 years of no policy? Second, you presented the facts well, and for the average American, unless NPR and other media spell out WHY they are bashing Biden and cheered Drump's similar achievements, we cannot not know their thinking. The fact that jobs have increased and the economy is booming after the chaotic and destructive pandemic is amazing. And, it's noted that the Biden administration has been trying to rebuild what Drump and his administration destroyed in addition to reaching out to help the average American citizen. Are there mistakes? Yes, but at least we have a president that doesn't spend press conferences lying incessantly and boasting his self-perceived great qualities. And, I have yet to hear or see Biden bully someone for taking an opposite view from his. I really think that media is stuck on creating drama and trauma to "sell" their headlines.
Joe was recently in my state touting BBB… and afterwards the radio newscasters spent most of their recap discussing ‘BUT he only got 13 R House votes’ for the bill… not a very impressive BIPARTISAN achievement…. Srsly - THAT was the takeaway! ( Not a robust enough win, I guess :/ ?! ) Sad.
You can blame Newt Gingrich for convincing his fellow Republicans to view the Democrats as the enemy which was the beginning of the end for bipartisanship as we knew it.
The bigger disappointment is the late Bob Dole's complicity for allowing that adulterous piece of sh*t to get away with destroying the bipartisanship the former claimed to support.
As a non-American, I used to believe that your country's politicians were able to put country ahead over political, ideological & personal differences.
However, that's no longer true and the Capitol is probably one step closer to installing a UFC Octagon or a wrestling ring inside the Congressional & Senatorial floors.
I'll tell you what...Associated Press the only thing I read now...just straight news, thank you very much. NPR has gone way way off track and I'm so glad you got Steve Inskeep's attention, though doubt they will change their 'both-side-ism' ways.
Don't look now but Biden is doing an amazing job all while trying to restore democratic norms! I would love to see that headline. The media are actively rooting for the Dems to get pummeled in the midterms but will the voters accommodate them? The economy is doing well, Joe Biden is likable and he clearly has a plan for everything. What are Republicans going to pull out of their asses this time? Socialist Commie Radical can only work for so long. Why isn't anyone writing about the possibility of voters tuning out Republican dogma? I think people are quite sick of the Republicans but simply do not want to talk about it. Why waste our breath? Just vote. Also, NPR has been bending over backwards for Republicans since GWB and 9/11. Actually, I would say the entire media have been subdued and lazy since 9/11 messaging from Republicans and have never recovered.
the media disconnect is truly amazing
Moved from Reality Show to full-on Comic Book, IMO 😞
Changing that to *Caricature* ( to be fair to the comic book genre )!
Thanks for the change. This coming from a comic book fan.
Anyway, the Reality Show comparison is very appropriate since there are a lot of Republican congresspersons & senators who have a tendency of saying the most idiotic crap possible to get media attention.
Agree: Performative paired w/lack of substance… (By ‘comic book’, I meant something you can flip through quickly - less detail/context… but there are many comics with complex story arcs - and don’t get me started on graphic novels :)✔️
Well, the Republicans now are a combination of Hate-Monger (an old Fantastic Four villain) & a less interesting Thanos.
The way to take Biden down is to convince people the economy is terrible, Biden and the Dems have accomplished nothing and that Biden is responsible for covid not being defeated. That is exactly the message the mainstream media has been shouting from the rooftops. Biden’s low poll numbers are proof they are winning the messaging game, at least for now.
They also act like the midterms will be held in the next couple of months so Democrats have no hope. That messaging can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
there’s so little daylight between press narrative and GOP
Lawrence O’Donnell had David Rothkopf and Kurt Andersen on to discuss Rothkopf’s USA Today article “Biden is boring and that’s OK” which most of the media chose to ignore. The discussion starts at the 7:41 mark.
https://archive.org/details/MSNBCW_20211204_030000_The_Last_Word_With_Lawrence_ODonnell/start/2700/end/2760
Rothkopf listed the important things Biden has accomplished. What really struck me was Andersen talked about how exciting Trump was for those covering and that “some of them probably genuinely feel that they are no longer an exciting show. “
That rings true for me. I think a lot of reporters and pundits loved being part of a really big “shew” and their egos are suffering because they aren’t part of one anymore. They are like reporters who just want to be in the center of attention covering exciting stories like murder, fires and scandals rather than boring, yet critical, things like school board meetings.
We have 337 days to change the narrative and we are not going into this blind: we have to get out the vote. If we do, we win. I still think Joey and Jaime Harrison have some tricks up their sleeve.
Yes. You want to win? Go out, get the voters, and make sure they get to the polls and vote D. Democracy isn't free. It's a responsibility we all share—or should.
Donating to organizations that are effective at doing that as well as volunteering to work for them seems like the best strategy. Unfortunately I am not sure which organizations are the most effective in my state or even whom to ask.
Here's one place to start - https://messagebox.substack.com/p/the-dangers-of-the-democratic-doom -- in some of Dan's older articles there are some lists of places that people are volunteering / donating.
What state are you in?
Still worried that even with massive voter turnout the Republican state legislatures will figure out how to overturn the vote in swing states -- fed courts, Supreme court maybe not a back stop either. They've been perfecting their strategy. Passing the Freedom to Vote Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Act is so important. What can we offer Manchin & Sinema?? -- unfortunately they want to dark money. Nevertheless, I keep phone banking on this issue anyway.
Yes, I would like the Senate to pass the JLVRA. But look longer down the road. There will be immediate challenges to it across the South, led by the AG from Texas, or Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, etc. And these radicals have enough votes on SCOTUS to either overturn the law or make it toothless, just as they hollowed out the previous VRA. So what then? (And what happens if/when Dems scuttle the filibuster and the next GOP majority in Congress immediately repeals the ACA—and has enough votes to override a presidential veto?)
I do not think enough Americans—especially Dems and most notably progressives—appreciate just how screwed we are with a 6-3 radical GOP SCOTUS majority. So, you say, let's expand the courts. Again, not an easy thing to do. But that should be one of the most important battles to fight right now. But just as the GOP fought back against FDR's court-packing, they will do it again if Biden decides to add a few new justices.
The country is most likely going to look very different next summer once the SCOTUS rulings are decided and announced. That could be good for Dems; GOP may get their long sought for wish list and the result will be to mobilize people to vote D in Nov. But one election isn't enough. People have to continue to come out every election, ESPECIALLY if/when Dems can't/don't deliver.
The pressure increases with each election. After yesterday's conversation, I want to leave this country preemptively.
I’m worried, too.
Was happy/surprised to read Dana Milbank’s column over the weekend; seems he’s calling out the press in PressRun fashion. Holy moly. A glimmer of self reflection I pray.
If the majority of folks read Eric's blog or subscribed to Freespeech.org or other progressive media outlets, I would feel very confident going into the midterms. Sadly they don't. Most folks get their news from the MSM, Facebook, and of course Fox News. So the MSM constantly hammering Biden will very likely take hold and make it a close race if not a defeat for the House and perhaps even the Senate. Add to that redistricting and voter suppression tactics and laws, it paints a grim picture for a progressive congress. I hope the American people have had enough and surprise me. We'll see.
I am not as confident as I sound but being all mopey about the current situation is not the answer. Jaime Harrison should watch Max Scherzer's press conference when his deal with the Mets was finalized. I have never seen a more confident player and I was around for the Reggie Jackson show. Confidence can go a long way in changing the narrative. In fact, I think Joey connects with people because he is confident that he can help them. People feel it. All is not lost yet. Be confident.
It's not mopey. It's a fact. The media is aiding and abetting a right wing win for 2022. Every Democrat must come out and vote. Short of that, we lose. It's that simple.
Are you under the impression that I am unaware of this? I have just acknowledged that the media are working against Democrats. I have acknowledged that it will take massive turnout. Feel free to be mopey but I want my Dems working it with confidence when it counts. The media are not insurmountable. Actually, I think they're self-destructing and they are the only ones who are unaware of it. The Democrats are not going down without a fight.
Jaime Harrison is very confident. I heard him say the the DNC is putting a lot of resources towards getting out the vote now instead of waiting. Of course he is another Democratic leader that the media mostly ignores, unlike Marjorie Taylor Greene who recently asked why we don’t have to wear masks around people with cancer.
Another person who is confident and gets the Democrats message out every day is Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary. She is fantastic in combating the right wing's talking points being constantly thrown at her. When people say the Democrats don't get their message out, it infuriates me. Jen does but sadly only MSNBC telecasts the daily press conference. When Trump was in office, all the news networks covered them and sadly that's what they're hoping for again. To the media, it's clicks and ratings. Telling the people the truth is not part of their mission statement.
MSNBC doesn’t air the briefings either unless they have started again. I don’t tune in until 4 these days. One of the e major differences between TFG’s coverage and now.
I have watched quite a few of Biden's press conferences on MSNBC. Not so much Jen Psaki's.
Especially after he said he didn't want to play in NY. I guess 43 million over 3 years can make anyone change their mind.
Yes, as Cyndi Lauper once said so eloquently, money changes everything. The Democrats can buy themselves out of this. Maybe Steve Cohen should be in charge of the DNC?
OMG do you want every progressive to stay home? They already don’t like the Dems who take money (who aren’t Manchin and Sinema).
No, I want progressives to grow up and vote for Democrats on November 8, 2022. Since that will not happen because nothing Biden does is enough, how about raising more money than Republicans? Democrats have to stop pretending to be pure. Money does change everything and it's not my fault - that's capitalism.
Too many people on the left have confused the lack of leaking and bragging by the 1/6 committee to be a lack not only of progress, but proof that they are doing nothing. We talk a lot about how the press "normalized" the radicalization of Trump. Well, so it appears, has much of the public. Or maybe it's just the 24/7 instant gratification the internet and streaming provides that has done it. But I agree. Much has been accomplished and unlike Obama, Joe does go out on the road and talk about (or tries to). Obama hated the politicking; Joe loves it. And Joe knows how to talk to ordinary folk.
As for the GOP, Mitch has announced the party isn't running on ANYTHING in 2022—well anything but hate and lies about the left, that is. The media response to this? Crickets. Of course. Now they do pay attention to the right calling us Socialist Commie Radicals who are destroying the country. This tactic has worked before—and continues to do so—with a dumbed-down, distracted, and impatient electorate suffering from collective ADHD, and (with a pathological distrust of government and a penchant to believe in fake conspiracies while ignoring real ones like 1/6).
Very good point about the 1/6 Committee and seriously, in retrospect, Obama sucked! I like him on a personal level - smart guy, witty, charming, handled himself with dignity. As President? Why was he so afraid of Mitch McConnell? Why did he nominate Merrick Garland (now that we've had a look at him - sheesh)? Obama had a big ego and I didn't recognize it until now. Joey is going to have more of an impact that Obama.
I share your criticisms of Obama but he did pull us out of a near complete economic crash and did a better job than the EU countries who were and are so debt averse that they won’t spend money even to stimulate a dangerously bad economy which is weakening their democracies. The same thing has happened during the pandemic. The US economy is doing much better than the other major democracies because of Biden’s stimulus spending, so much so that we are helping pull up European countries.
I agree. He doesn't get enough credit for steadying the economy. Even I forgot about this until you mentioned it. I am really angry at him.
Obama was the first BLACK who was elected and he was elected during different times. ACA, saving the financial mess he inherited, not small potatoes. Medicaid was expanded to meet the needs of millions of the uninsured. Too glib to say he sucked. Obama paved a way for Joe to build upon. TFG truly sucked, not Obama. PLEEZE. Btw, they ALL have big egos otherwise they wouldn’t want the job.
Just because TFG sucked more is no reason not to assess Obama's presidency with adult eyes.
Read Obama’s book
I did.
Republicans have shown that they are all in with Critical Race Theory. They got a majority on the school board in my home town and their first action is banning CRT in high school. Teachers are required to instruct students Pro-American curriculum, in other words they will get Critical RACIST Theory about White Christian Supremacy rammed down their throats!
Not learning from history dooms us to repeat it.
I am so sorry; we did beat the MAGA in our school board election here in PA06 (Chester County). Where do you live?
They are insane and anti-civilization. That can be exploited by a smart candidate and party.
I STILL want the Senate to approve a 'carve-out' in the filibuster for voting rights. Most people do not even know what that is!! I have been educating my friends. Let's GET GOING ON THIS. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/fixing-senate-filibuster
What was that saying about the soft bigotry of low expectations? The flip side of that is the impossible burden of high expectations.
Democrats are supposed to remake the world into an earthly paradise for everyone, including the people sabotaging their every effort. When they inevitably fall short, the press calls it a failure despite what they have managed to do.
All anyone expects Republicans to do is keep Democrats from succeeding. No one expects them to actually solve any problems. They get a free pass.
remember when press demanded Biden guarantee every Amazon package arrive by Xmas?
Well said. And voters get mad because it wasn’t “good enough” or “fast enough.”
And the media eggs on with those fairytale expectations.
I stopped listening to NPR after Inskeep was installed as a cohost of Morning Edition to replace beloved curmudgeon Bob Edwards. Inskeep’s arrogance and bias was obvious then (in 2004) and both my husband I couldn’t stand him after a year or so. I certainly miss the old NPR, but what it became this century, no so much. Whenever I see high praise for either NPR—funny they dropped their full name National Public Radio—or PBS Newshour, I roll my eyes. Both have the same biases but they overlooked because of the “public” nature of their ownership.
Inskeep might do better to read Dana Milbank before he stupid-tweets again:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/03/biden-media-coverage-worse-trump-favorable/
And here’s an interesting tidbit I found involving Bob Edwards:
https://ioconnor.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/why-bob-edwards-got-fired-from-npr/
Thank you for posting the Bob Edwards speech. That was new to me.
You should look up NPR's shifting rationals for his removal. Just pathetic. We decry how members of TFG's admin tiptoed around him so as not to upset him. Well, it's what the media has been doing for the GOP for decades now, since the first charges of "liberal bias." GOP are pros at working the refs. The media is so cowed (and infiltrated by conservatives) they handcuff themselves. Stockholm syndrome.
LOL I should have read the thread before posting above about Milbank's piece. Thanks very much for providing the link.
No problem. The more people who see it, the better!
I’m hoping it goes ‘mainstream,’ no pun.....shake the press up some more. Call them out. It has to get really uncomfortable for the msm folks.
You can’t get any more mainstream than Wapo. But judging by the idiocy of the WH press corps and their questions… I want to bang all their heads together! (Metaphorically of course.)
Joe Biden = Jimmy Carter is a meme that the clown car of Republican Senate candidates in Ohio have been hammering. The ads sound like a history of the 70s written by someone who wasn't an adult back then, and who hasn't done any reading on the mess Carter inherited in 1977. But, Biden = Carter is red meat for the rubes, and it warms Republican strategists' black hearts to see the media carry water for the GOP....again.
Had the media been objective and informed people about Carter’s many accomplishments as president this wouldn’t work. Read Jonathan Alter’s new biography of Carter. Alter was shocked to find that Carter had been a much better president that even Alter, a journalist, had realized. Carter’s list of accomplishments is impressive but he was just a peanut farmer who bored the media with all his focus on substance, not a glamorous Hollywood star pretending to be a cowboy.
I recall very clearly of Carter's speech from the Oval Office clearly pointing out the dangers we were headed in because of our insatiable appetite for oil. The Press excoriated him and aided in Carter not winning a second term. The double standard, more obvious than ever today, is actually several decades old now.
Yep, media—and voters—don't like a Debbie Downer, aka a grown up truth teller. They loved Reagan with his "it's a new day in America" crap sunshiny ad.
Oh I remember how the Press endlessly trashed Billy Carter.
But when Neil Bush had to admit under oath in his divorce deposition that he had been consorting with high priced call girls the media ignored that President’s trashy brother narrative in contrast to their reporting about the antics and misdeeds of Billy Carter and Roger Clinton. The Bush’s didn’t fit the southern white trash image.
Iran-Contra, the S&L scandal, the affairs and scandals of the GOP, all given short shrift by the media. The disparity in coverage would be amusing if it weren't so harmful to the country and our welfare.
And let's remember how Neil Bush was let off the hook with the shenanigans at Silverado S&L!
Oh and how the press gave Sleazy Neil pass after pass.
I was thinking about this the other day; could the press' disparagement of Carter be related to some anti-southern bias? I wonder if there's still that kind of bias in media?
Yes it was exactly that. Their disparagement of Bill Clinton was the result of the same attitude. The same journalists who worshipped the ground the much more reckless and promiscuous JFK were appalled over Clinton’s behavior. (Chris Matthews is a perfect example.) I had a chance to talk with a woman who had worked on his CNBC show. She said she had asked him why he kept ignoring stories his staff had researched for him and just kept obsessing about Clinton. He replied that he was as well educated as Clinton who was just a guy from Arkansas. She said it was obvious that Matthews couldn’t stand the idea of a guy from nowheresville Arkansas rising above him.
Jonathan Alter’s bio of Carter describes how the media gave Carter’s people the Southern rube treatment.
"red meat for the rubes" -- Great phrase (from MST in Columbus)
However, younger voters haven’t a clue who the hell Jimmy Carter is.
NPR has been little more than Fox News with tote bags for years. I stopped listening to their news coverage long ago, propelled by the offensive but subtle partisanship of Leann Hansen on Sunday mornings. Like other commenters, I also lamented the loss of Bob Edwards, a far superior journalist than any of the hacks currently populating their airwaves.
To be fair, NPR tote bags are pretty awesome 😉
NPR is the NY Times of the airwaves. It's focus ultimately boils down to the interests of business. That said, the creep rightwards to appease loudmouthed Republicans is clearly a factor. It's just that Republicans say boo and NPR jumps twice as far to the right as they need to.
https://twitter.com/soledadobrien/status/1467837872766164992?s=20
They have used a literally hysterical tone in reporting on inflation and supply chain problems as well, but never follow-up with how the problems are resolving. Their political reporting is irresponsibly shallow, mainly focused on conventional wisdom and horse race style reporting.
I hear these complaints a lot abt NPR
Jeez, et tu NPR? Is everyone drinking the kool aid now?
They started drinking the Flavor Aid long ago.
As I posted a few days ago the jobs number reported in the media is based on the survey done of employers, not the survey that is done of individuals. That second survey indicated a very good jobs number. On Andrea Mitchell’s show Austin Goolsbee pointed that out and explained that other data shows record number of people starting new businesses. The hiring by those new businesses won’t show up in the employer survey for awhile which could explain the big discrepancy between the number reported and the drop in unemployment claims. That drop was the lowest in 52 years. Given that the last jobs report had to be revised upward — significantly — it would be reasonable to expect an unbiased media to be much more skeptical of the low number they jumped on.
Not evidence a conspiracy, just of deeply ingrained bias on the part of a media.
Thank you for validating me pounding my steering wheel with my fist sometimes when I'm listening to NPR in the car (oddly enough it's my only NPR time even though I'm a sustaining member of my local station). Audie Cornish of A-1 is also guilty of this behavior. She tends to toss volatile fuel on tiny embers, looking to generate a fire where none exists and it makes me crazy. Anyhow, a big THANK YOU for what you do - don't let up!
oops - make that Jen White of 1-A. Apologies to Audie. Still the same issue, though
This!!!!!!
I've given up on NPR for some time. Used to be a frequent listener and supporter. No more. I wonder how they will do in the coming fascist America that this kind of one-sided, hypocritical reporting will enable. Maybe they will dive in and become what one comment here noted: Fox News with tote bags. The MSM has apparently joined in some kind of "both-sides-do-it" suicide pact, and they are going to take all of us down with them.
I hear over and over from people how frustrated they are by NPR and its institutional lack of backbone
they’ve be intimidated, for sure
Because they get major funding from Congress right?
What about CSPAN??! Covering the rally of a person who is not even an official candidate? WT….?
Whose rally was that?
https://www.thewrap.com/c-span-trump-iowa-rally-sparks-criticism/
Ah. Him again. Thanks for clarifying.
I gave up on NPR a number of years ago as well. The shift to a more main stream style of reporting and commenting was quite obvious. I also quit donating to them and no longer have a membership.
How is it they continue to receive funding?
Thanks Eric. You struck a nerve this morning. An NPR nerve.
I discovered NPR in college, working with a construction crew to pay tuition, when the crew foreman tuned out truck radio to All Things Considered at the end of our workday. Around the same time I had my driveway moments on Saturday Nights with A Prairie Home Companion.
But in the last 4-5 years NPR shows like Morning Edition, etc., have practiced both-siderism to an alarming degree. The Muslim ban, child separation, et al we all know the list of things that started in 2017. And last month my favorite local program here in Philadelphia aired an economist espousing trickle-down economics. And by "aired" I mean gave him the same amount of time as the economist trying to explain how important Build Back Better is to the recovery.
I'm astounded that they gave airtime to the topic of "trickle down economics." It is quite proven that it hasn't worked historically.
I was also. Republican Senators from Red States is one thing—but trickle down??
The first stone to be shaken off the Pillar of Democracy is the Free Press. In our country today the Pillar seems intent on suicide.
And Trump's recent attack on the media is in the news today.
(Noting: Was it also 3 months in a row that monthly jobs reports were drastically revised upwards?… Historically had never been ‘that off’? So much happening so quickly, would have to research that one… but a lack of ‘noise’ over those huge corrections also feels like another miss - ?)
I've noticed a lot of media reporting bad opinions of Biden's achievements and proposed policies. First of all, he HAS policies! Isn't that amazing after 4 years of no policy? Second, you presented the facts well, and for the average American, unless NPR and other media spell out WHY they are bashing Biden and cheered Drump's similar achievements, we cannot not know their thinking. The fact that jobs have increased and the economy is booming after the chaotic and destructive pandemic is amazing. And, it's noted that the Biden administration has been trying to rebuild what Drump and his administration destroyed in addition to reaching out to help the average American citizen. Are there mistakes? Yes, but at least we have a president that doesn't spend press conferences lying incessantly and boasting his self-perceived great qualities. And, I have yet to hear or see Biden bully someone for taking an opposite view from his. I really think that media is stuck on creating drama and trauma to "sell" their headlines.
Joe was recently in my state touting BBB… and afterwards the radio newscasters spent most of their recap discussing ‘BUT he only got 13 R House votes’ for the bill… not a very impressive BIPARTISAN achievement…. Srsly - THAT was the takeaway! ( Not a robust enough win, I guess :/ ?! ) Sad.
Has the media not paid attention to the Republican strategy in Congress????? Bipartisan is a word that they cannot utter.
You can blame Newt Gingrich for convincing his fellow Republicans to view the Democrats as the enemy which was the beginning of the end for bipartisanship as we knew it.
The bigger disappointment is the late Bob Dole's complicity for allowing that adulterous piece of sh*t to get away with destroying the bipartisanship the former claimed to support.
As a non-American, I used to believe that your country's politicians were able to put country ahead over political, ideological & personal differences.
However, that's no longer true and the Capitol is probably one step closer to installing a UFC Octagon or a wrestling ring inside the Congressional & Senatorial floors.
Totally agree on Gringrich. Ugh. And, thank you for the observation. It's become a very scary situation here.
I gave up on NPR when they endlessly slandered Anita Hill.
It's now just endless Republican Propaganda. Time to pull the plug and stop using taxpayer money to finance this cog in the 24/7 GOP BS Machine!
I'll tell you what...Associated Press the only thing I read now...just straight news, thank you very much. NPR has gone way way off track and I'm so glad you got Steve Inskeep's attention, though doubt they will change their 'both-side-ism' ways.