Don't forget that during Obama's 2 terms the Republicans lied relentlessly (and effectively to their supporters) about the economy being in shsmbles and I don't recall that they were ever challenged. I remember Graham & McCain being on tv criticizing what the described as a dangerous foreign policy decision as well as directly claiming that Obama ruined our economy, with no pushback from the press.
I am glad that you made it clear that this didn’t start with Trump. For decades the mainstream “liberal” media has refused to say that Republicans are lying to us. I believe it was Paul Krugman who said they started down the path to their alternate reality when Reagan started pushing that crackpot supply-side economic snake oil with its magical cost-free tax cuts. It was over 20 years before I saw anyone in the media debunk that costly fairytale and that WaPo article didn’t even mention Reagan. The media still holds him up as some kind of economic genius.
It was Karl Rove who is believed to have told Ron Suskind that Republicans create their own realities. It’s not like they have been subtle about this so why is the media so reluctant to say they are deliberately lying to us? Of course after all these years it appears that a lot of Republican leaders, especially the younger Tea Party types truly believe those lies.
This isn’t all the result of the media being cowed although that definitely is a factor. However a lot of the media are easily seduced by the faux macho boys on the right. A lot of them fawned over Bush as a regular guy who would be more fun to have a beer with and despised Gore because, among other things, he wasn’t manly enough. Maureen Dowd actually accused Gore of being so feminized he was practically lactating — apparently because of his concern for the environment.
And before Frank Bruni decided Bush was a disaster he was a major fan, going so far as to tell Bush “I love you man” when he was covering Bush’s campaign for the Times. Apparently the fact that Bush him given Bruni the nickname “Panchito” had won Bruni over. Bruni even accused Gore of neglecting those kinds of little things because he was too focused on serious policy issues.
What's so frightening about this careless reporting by the AP and others is what it does to the percentage of the population that doesn't consume political coverage 24/7. This "both sides do it" nonsense gives the uninformed permission to vote Republican, not considering the consequences if they truly believe that both sides are offering two versions of reality. Much of the press is attempting to normalize the absurd, making Trump just out to be different, not bat shit crazy. These are indeed scary times and the press, in this case the AP acting as Fox News Lite, is simply not doing its job. The more we move forward to Election Day, the more I feel the deck is being stacked against those who want Trump and the Republicans out. The constant lies and deception from Trump, the voter suppression, the dismantling of the Post Office, and of course the press not doing their homework is leaving the serious changes needed in DC up to us, the people. Hopefully folks are paying attention. We must vote for change in such huge numbers, the results simply can't be questioned.
Article like this one in yesterday’s Washington Post “ Biden’s flexibility on policy could mean fierce fights if he wins“ seem designed to weaken Biden. It is implying that we will have chaos if he does win. Apparently the “Democrats in Disarray” narrative will never die.
Just read this about how the media trying to make it sound like the “Squad” was in great danger from primary challengers. Even after handily winning their races some journalists made it sound like they barely survived.
Some Bush apparatchik state’s in the early 2000s that they take a fiction and say it’s reality. (This is referenced in a book by Ron Suskind (so.).)
Meanwhile, the establishment DC press corps has, as a rule, been all in supporting the GOP since Reagan. The big tell there is their theme that a Democrat can do nothing good, a Republican nothing wrong; this is the rule although, obviously, there is the rare exception. A lovely example is Clinton’s emails. She did nothing much different from what her Republican predecessors did. Indeed, what Clinton did was less bad than what Rice and Powell did. They used public services, Clinton used a private server which, being private, maybe would have been harder to find and hack than AOL.
Too, the media has believed for decades that being Trump’s echo chamber was good for the bottom line. You’d think (hope?) that his being POTUS would change that but you would be wrong. Donnie’s a documented killer of at least tens of thousands of Americans; call him a killer. He’s a racist fomenting violence. It’s documented; he should be called as that because, again, documented facts.
Of course, if he was a Democrat, he would be. But no, being a Republican and an attraction for the audience prevents that.
So we get the DC press corps’ fake reality. If we’re lucky, we get facts with woefully insufficient follow through. But we tend to get White House cowards anonymously leaking to Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan et al. We get a huge amount of shit.
Somewhere, I suspect that Frank Bruni is telling Ron Fournier that he did nothing wrong ....
I understand that the AP, serving such a variety of publications and readers, may need to be even more concerned about that infamous bitch goddess, objectivity, than other outlets. But I'm reminded of Edward R. Murrow suggesting that some of his bosses would have given equal time to Judas if he had been reporting on Jesus.
I can’t even read the AP piece, I’m so sick of all that stuff from hacks like that. Why they do it, what the motivation is, I don’t even give a shit. But, I do hope if there is a big election sweep, these people aren’t forgotten ! As for Gillian Welch, I have always found her voice really interesting and singularly identifiable. Though completely different in style, I’ve always thought of her like I think of Lucinda Williams, Roseanne Cash and Emmylou Harris
By definition there cannot be two realities; there is one reality and one misperception. As you note, the AP was once the vanguard of semantic purity but its Trump coverage torpedoed this once-vaunted principle. Hope our democracy survives; as always, these lapses needed to be repeatedly highlighted.
Don't forget that during Obama's 2 terms the Republicans lied relentlessly (and effectively to their supporters) about the economy being in shsmbles and I don't recall that they were ever challenged. I remember Graham & McCain being on tv criticizing what the described as a dangerous foreign policy decision as well as directly claiming that Obama ruined our economy, with no pushback from the press.
I am glad that you made it clear that this didn’t start with Trump. For decades the mainstream “liberal” media has refused to say that Republicans are lying to us. I believe it was Paul Krugman who said they started down the path to their alternate reality when Reagan started pushing that crackpot supply-side economic snake oil with its magical cost-free tax cuts. It was over 20 years before I saw anyone in the media debunk that costly fairytale and that WaPo article didn’t even mention Reagan. The media still holds him up as some kind of economic genius.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113002190.html
It was Karl Rove who is believed to have told Ron Suskind that Republicans create their own realities. It’s not like they have been subtle about this so why is the media so reluctant to say they are deliberately lying to us? Of course after all these years it appears that a lot of Republican leaders, especially the younger Tea Party types truly believe those lies.
This isn’t all the result of the media being cowed although that definitely is a factor. However a lot of the media are easily seduced by the faux macho boys on the right. A lot of them fawned over Bush as a regular guy who would be more fun to have a beer with and despised Gore because, among other things, he wasn’t manly enough. Maureen Dowd actually accused Gore of being so feminized he was practically lactating — apparently because of his concern for the environment.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/10/gore200710
And before Frank Bruni decided Bush was a disaster he was a major fan, going so far as to tell Bush “I love you man” when he was covering Bush’s campaign for the Times. Apparently the fact that Bush him given Bruni the nickname “Panchito” had won Bruni over. Bruni even accused Gore of neglecting those kinds of little things because he was too focused on serious policy issues.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/general/news/2011/05/26/9654/think-again-the-times-frank-bruni-or-how-to-succeed-in-journalism-without-really-caring-about-issues/
Ugh. Sounds like they never grew out of the hs locker room dick-comparing stage.
What's so frightening about this careless reporting by the AP and others is what it does to the percentage of the population that doesn't consume political coverage 24/7. This "both sides do it" nonsense gives the uninformed permission to vote Republican, not considering the consequences if they truly believe that both sides are offering two versions of reality. Much of the press is attempting to normalize the absurd, making Trump just out to be different, not bat shit crazy. These are indeed scary times and the press, in this case the AP acting as Fox News Lite, is simply not doing its job. The more we move forward to Election Day, the more I feel the deck is being stacked against those who want Trump and the Republicans out. The constant lies and deception from Trump, the voter suppression, the dismantling of the Post Office, and of course the press not doing their homework is leaving the serious changes needed in DC up to us, the people. Hopefully folks are paying attention. We must vote for change in such huge numbers, the results simply can't be questioned.
not to exaggerate but the next 8 wks might be most important in US history, we desperately need accurate coverage
No question. The America we know while not perfect will never be the same if Trump is reelected.
Article like this one in yesterday’s Washington Post “ Biden’s flexibility on policy could mean fierce fights if he wins“ seem designed to weaken Biden. It is implying that we will have chaos if he does win. Apparently the “Democrats in Disarray” narrative will never die.
ah, the media’s beloved Dems In Disarray narrative
Just read this about how the media trying to make it sound like the “Squad” was in great danger from primary challengers. Even after handily winning their races some journalists made it sound like they barely survived.
https://www.mediamatters.org/politico/media-coverage-high-profile-progressive-incumbents-primary-races-has-often-favored-drama
Talk about exaggerating division among Democrats!
I'll take Dems in disarray over a party whose credo is Greed Over Patriotism, any day!
I know, Republicons would rather die with one measly dollar in their hand, than be thought of as remotely librul.
Some Bush apparatchik state’s in the early 2000s that they take a fiction and say it’s reality. (This is referenced in a book by Ron Suskind (so.).)
Meanwhile, the establishment DC press corps has, as a rule, been all in supporting the GOP since Reagan. The big tell there is their theme that a Democrat can do nothing good, a Republican nothing wrong; this is the rule although, obviously, there is the rare exception. A lovely example is Clinton’s emails. She did nothing much different from what her Republican predecessors did. Indeed, what Clinton did was less bad than what Rice and Powell did. They used public services, Clinton used a private server which, being private, maybe would have been harder to find and hack than AOL.
Too, the media has believed for decades that being Trump’s echo chamber was good for the bottom line. You’d think (hope?) that his being POTUS would change that but you would be wrong. Donnie’s a documented killer of at least tens of thousands of Americans; call him a killer. He’s a racist fomenting violence. It’s documented; he should be called as that because, again, documented facts.
Of course, if he was a Democrat, he would be. But no, being a Republican and an attraction for the audience prevents that.
So we get the DC press corps’ fake reality. If we’re lucky, we get facts with woefully insufficient follow through. But we tend to get White House cowards anonymously leaking to Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan et al. We get a huge amount of shit.
Somewhere, I suspect that Frank Bruni is telling Ron Fournier that he did nothing wrong ....
I understand that the AP, serving such a variety of publications and readers, may need to be even more concerned about that infamous bitch goddess, objectivity, than other outlets. But I'm reminded of Edward R. Murrow suggesting that some of his bosses would have given equal time to Judas if he had been reporting on Jesus.
it's espeically disappointing to see the AP fail like this, since its stories are picked up across the country
I can’t even read the AP piece, I’m so sick of all that stuff from hacks like that. Why they do it, what the motivation is, I don’t even give a shit. But, I do hope if there is a big election sweep, these people aren’t forgotten ! As for Gillian Welch, I have always found her voice really interesting and singularly identifiable. Though completely different in style, I’ve always thought of her like I think of Lucinda Williams, Roseanne Cash and Emmylou Harris
nobody sings quite like Gillian;)
By definition there cannot be two realities; there is one reality and one misperception. As you note, the AP was once the vanguard of semantic purity but its Trump coverage torpedoed this once-vaunted principle. Hope our democracy survives; as always, these lapses needed to be repeatedly highlighted.
You’d be a great guest on my radio show. Check out this interview with Joseph O’Neill, political writer for the New York Review of Books. https://soundcloud.com/user-615655720/left-of-center-radio-podcast-guest-joseph-oneill?ref=clipboard
hi Mara drop me line, boehlertetic@gmail