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The coverage of Republicans is like free advertising for Republicans while coverage of Democrats is like free advertising for Republicans.

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This article from Bloomberg is what all the media should be telling Americans:

“ Biden's Economic Performance Has Proved Unbeatable:

No first-year president going back to Carter comes close to matching the current White House occupant’s No. 1 or No. 2 ranking in each of 10 key measures.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-20/president-biden-s-economic-performance-has-proved-unbeatable

If headlines like that were true norm in the mainstream media you can bet that Biden’s poll numbers would be over 50%.

Or imagine if the emphasis in the discussion of Manchin’s obstructing the BBB was on Manchin’s real reasons, not his pretense of worrying about debt and inflation. He is angry that the media has been told that he privately said he opposes extending the child tax credits because parents will use the money to buy drugs and opposes paid leave because people will use the time to go hunting. He is so arrogant he thinks he can string Democrats along for months, constantly moving the goal posts but they should still grant him confidentiality!

Instead of headlines about Biden failing to get BBB passed, they should be more along these lines:

“Manchin’s comments show deep disdain for the citizens of WVA”.

Even though media organizations like NBC have confirmed that Manchin privately told people his real reasons for opposing those provisions, he is still being treated with respect by the same media that is always lecturing Democrats to be respectful of working class Trump supporters, the people Manchin views with such contempt.

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This is perhaps THE most important topic facing our society today.

It's not a stretch to see our main problem is that the press's business model is no longer centered on informing the public but manipulating it.

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What continually amazes me about the lopsided media coverage is the arrogance and absense of self-preservation. Trumpism is infecting county after county (demanding changes to school curricula to eliminate discussions of slavery, banning books, attacking teachers, 1800 deaths/day of COVID via the unvaccinated, increasing acceptance of vigilantism), and yet the Beltway press continues to believe that they will be untouched if authoritarianism prevails. Not only will they be targets for violence, but SCOTUS has been rumbling for 5 years about the need to 'revisit' libel laws. Even if they don't care about democracy, unnecessary deaths of 10K/day, political violence, and near-unstoppable income inequality, are they so arrogant that they fail to see the dangers to journalists manifested in every authoritarian regime across the world? If so, they're the only ones who think 'it' can't happen here.

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And this Manchin stuff...isn't it theater at this point? Joey will win the day and make a deal in January, "saving his agenda;" Manchin will have enhanced his hillbilly bonafides with constituents and RWNJ's and win re-election. (He won re-election in 2018 with less than 50% of the vote.) So, after Christmas, when everyone is fat, happy and infected, the Dems will announce a deal and everyone will look good. Politics is a dirty business - I'm glad the President knows how to play the game.

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The only thing worse than the lockstep Republican obstruction is the perpetual bad faith they use to water down legislation. Chuck Grassley put dent after dent into the ACA and then voted against his own changes. Manchin has done the same thing with BBB. When will the Dems learn to stop changing bills at the behest of people who won't vote for the final product under any circumstances? An objective journalist would find that a compelling story - as will future historians.

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The DC Press is the media arm of the Republicans. How can it not be? We've never seen such a dysfunctional party in American history. They can only vote yes for bills that help the wealthiest one percent. Somehow the press favors that. Eric's take is spot on. The real story is not Manchin who yes, is a complete waste of time. It's the fact that there are Republican Senators who would vote for this bill because they know it would help their constituents but they won't because they feel the wrath of the GOP leadership and being primaried. It's not a party, it's a cult. We live in dire times when the majority of Americans, 60 percent or better, want a more progressive agenda and yet, the minority controls what happens. Democracy is dying? News flash, it's already dead. How is it a democracy when the population of DC is half of both Dakotas who have four senators combined while DC has no representation at all. California has 40 million people and two senators. Redistricting, voter suppression laws, the Electoral Collage, on and on. The US is DINO, democracy in name only. And the press, the Fourth Estate our Founders thought would be so essential in protecting a system governed by the people, is complicit with that.

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Exactly what I was thinking yesterday, Eric. Sure, Manchin is a first-class asshat, but obviously we're all used to the stonewalling the Republicans have done against literally all legislation that would give the Democrats a win. The GOP doesn't even care that BBB would greatly help lower and middle class Americans, including children. And the press sees to it that these heartless extremists are rewarded with the gift of non-accountability. No way does Manchin get off scot-free for misleading Biden and 'fessing up to his colleagues that he didn't want poor people getting any money for their kids, or time off work when they're sick. Ugh, what a horrible human being he is. So why do WV voters like him?

Anyway, thank you for Darlene today. I needed it. It's hard to feel Christmasy.

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The media has long ignored GOP radicalism and hypocrisy. It is remarkable the free pass they give them. Beltway’s view is “well that’s what they do—oppose Dems in lockstep—so that isn’t ‘news’.” Even though GOP behavior is nihilistic and the opposite of governing—running contrary to how our democracy is supposed to function. From blocking massively popular legislation and chiding Nancy for kicking Jordan off the 1/6 committee to blaming Biden for not convincing GOP supporters to get vaxxed and the shenanigans over raising the debt ceiling, the press not only refuse to call out the GOP but act outraged on their behalf and amplify that “outrage”, dutifully reporting on their every utterance and taking each at face value while mocking and deriding Dems. For beltway reporters it’s always the fault of Nancy, Chuck, and Joe. They don’t do enough or do too much and do it wrong. There was even media criticism of the WH statement about Manchin after his disgraceful performance on Sunday. If only Biden would be nicer!

It’s all a game to political journalists and their editors—heads GOP wins, tails Dems lose. The impact on the country, on everyday lives, is rarely to never considered. And as we’ve seen, the media rejects any criticism and doubles down when called out. I despair.

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Commenting on and supporting Press Run with our subscriptions makes each of us feel like better Americans because we know Eric is right. We wonder why more people and more outlets aren't publishing his columns. But I want to know HOW we can achieve that. The misguided, brain-damaged right is certainly getting their drivel published in social media as well as the ms press. What can we do to get Eric's column out there! If more people were reading it and talking about it, maybe the press would become more accountable for their lies. Right now no one is holding them to the fire for their backward slant on everything Democratic. We simply cannot remain a timid, side-lined group if we want to stay in control of Congress (thanks to pseudo-Republican Joe Manchin, Democrats will never be truly in control) in the midterm elections. Surely someone who reads this column has marketing and/or public relations experience that could get this train moving faster!

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100% spot on. Why isn’t there coverage of the failure of so-called Republican moderates like Romney, Murkowski, and Collins? Not a word about them or their abandonment of their purported principles, not to mention the real, unFoxified interests of their own constituencies.

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I have said that if I were independently wealthy--say I had a yacht called Almost Heaven and drove a Maserati--I would devote myself to organizing boycotts. For example, I'd do a national campaign to get people to leave their cable companies because that's what funds Fux Noise.

So here's the best I can do at the moment. I have started emailing "reporters" who do those stories and asking them why they don't mention this. They don't usually answer--but maybe if everybody who subscribes to Mr. Boehlert did this, and encouraged others to do so, it might help? I doubt that Dean Baquet and Sally Buzbee enjoy being inundated, either.

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Manchin may be in more trouble than he realizes….

“Kentucky Witches Called to Curse Sen. Joe Manchin Over His Refusal to Support Biden’s Spending Bill”

https://www.citybeat.com/news/kentucky-witches-called-to-curse-sen-joe-manchin-over-his-refusal-to-support-bidens-spending-bill-12378391

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Noticed today there are many reports of how store shelves are fully stocked and deliveries are arriving in time for Christmas. But 60 minutes a few weeks ago featured a gloomy report on how supply chain delays were crippling the economy, and it's been one more addition to Chuck Todd's doom and gloom on Meet the Press. Will Americans recognize the reality of a dynamic economy that's working for everyone, or will they continue to believe that Democrats can run an effective economy? This is where the news media is failing our democracy: they are creating a perception that runs contrary to reality, and the authoritarian GOP is eager to harness that perception to gain power.

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Thanks for this Eric, I cannot agree more.

Our Failed Political Press ™ has so totally normalized Republican obstruction that they now talk about ALL legislation in terms of whether or not it has the required 60 votes to pass, as if that is some sort of rule or law.

I can console myself that the BBB was democratically (small dee) stopped by 48 yeahs and 52 nays, so it failed, but I do not see it presented that way in the media. Instead it is presented as a total failure of the Democrats (big Dee).

I’d like some enterprising news outlet to get individual Republicans —by name— on record about which aspect of it failed to get their support. Was it taking care of kids/seniors, was it climate change, what was it that lost their support.

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Bad enough the DC Press Corpse is in the tank for the GOP.

Seeing how the stenographers slobbered all over Kyle Rittenhouse getting a standing ovation at the Young Nazis, er, "Turning Pointless" Klanbake made me sick to my stomach.

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