Trump said it himself: "No republican will ever win an election again...." to paraphrase, if fair, honest elections ever become the norm. And he's right, which explains why trump tried to steal this one and the republicans in the congress let him. Encouraged him. Egged him on with their 147-member strong votes to ignore process and urinate on the pillars of Democracy. Ignored months of lies, breathtakingly reported by a compliant press (with a few notable editorial dissenters trying their damndest to scream into the darkness), but alas, the cowards will have their way, protect their well moneyed and powerful careers, for themselves, themselves, ...Not the people they represent. Vilifying Democrats is their only path to the only thing that matters to them. If the press knows this, then This is the only story that should be on the front pages on the banners across tv screens, everywhere. Or else the fascists will have us by the throats, paying their freight, all the while laughing all the way to the bank.
Excellent piece. I’m with Charlie. After all, it was Ronald Reagan who proclaimed the dawning of the new anti-government GOP. Who thought he was kidding?
Seems there are two things at play. One the Beltway press lives in a bubble. They think they have some insight that no one else has. Not true. We can all note the actions of the GOP as they do. The difference is, we don't swallow the lie that they are special with access to a vast array of knowledge as to the working minds of the GOP. Those that do are not going to be persuaded by the press. The other is the inability to deal with authoritarians. They literally have no idea how to respond to them. They lack all human emotions, all reliability and only have one goal, to maintain white power and wealth. They don't care about laws and they haven't since Nixon. There were no grand old days of the GOP. They have systematically been engaged in destroying the legacy of FDR, they made a choice long ago to live in Reagan's America. No accountability for criminals on their side. But wear a tan suit and all bets are off.
Eric, it bothers me that you imply that the change in the Republican Party started with Trump. I know from your past writings that you are well aware that the Republicans have been sliding down the slope of viciousness, lies and insane beliefs for decades and that most of the political press normalized their extremism by either or helping spread their lies, by treating extremists with kid gloves, treating them with respect instead of outrage and horror.
I recently listened to Hillary Clinton’s podcast interview with Nancy Pelosi. Towards the end Pelosi asserts that Republicans under Newt crossed the threshold into the politics of personal destruction. I would add they also crossed into the politics of conspiracy theories, hypocrisy and blatant dishonesty. The media normalized that behavior. As I keep pointing out the media’s lack of outrage about the incredibly cruel Vince Foster “murder” slander is exhibit 1 that proves the culpability of our media in the Republicans’ destruction of our democratic norms. The media would have gone berserk had Democrats had dared accuse Trump of murder let alone spent millions on multiple investigations of that accusation — and rightly so.
And the Republican Party under the Bush and Cheney administration was already deeply sinister and dangerous. They were also no respecters of our democracy or of constitutional rights yet the media normalized their actions — firing US Attorneys for refusing to bring phony voter fraud cases, ignoring their own national security experts’ warnings of an impending terrorist attack on our country, using that attack to lie us into a war with a country that had nothing to do with that attack, secret warrantless surveillance of American citizens, violating the Geneva Convention with the authorization of torture, holding prisoners for years without a trial, openly admitting they deliberately create their own false reality.....
As the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Will Bunch put it in 2018 in his article “America pays steep price for ignoring crimes of George W. Bush era | Will Bunch” :
“It was the 20th century philosopher George Santayana who said that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," but even Santayana would likely be stunned at both the speed and the relish with which a 21st century United States is doing exactly that. At least this is one way in which America truly is exceptional.”
Here's what a mere foreigner thinks, simplistically, could be one way of answering your so-often-put question of 'why does the Beltway press refuse to write about the GOP truthfully ?' ..
You too have a two-party system: it's "always" been the Republicans and the Democrats. In the lead-up to the election, when I was following everything I could (including Twitter - ye gods !!) I very soon lost count of the number of people saying/writing things like "I've been Republican all my life; would never have thought, even for a second, of voting any other way" - deeply felt, without need of explanation. Republicans have been .. let us say 'half' of the American way of life for an awfully long time. People have grown up in households that vote for it without thinking; and have then done the same. (What is the GOP's *platform*, for heaven's sake ??)
If the press were to depict it in its true light they would be hacking the bipedal governmental animal and removing one of its legs. I get the impression they think "We can't tell everyone the GOP is rotten to the core: it's a fundamental part of our political system !" But, far more importantly, on the infrequent occasion on which a press attempt has been made to even hint at this awful fact, the comeback has been instant and almost overwhelming: to the powerful among Republicans, litigation is a way of life (and powerful Republicans probably include a lot of press barons).
That could be the answer to half the question. The other half is, of course, why they have always been so willing to chop away at the *other* leg. I suggest it's because they can do so without the same kind of response: the Democrats have a theory that rational behaviour is the best way to handle anything - I ask you !!
From all the way down here, I can plainly see what Democrats stand for: there is a good deal less clarity regarding or even comprehension of the GOP.
And anyway: how come one party has a soubriquet and the other doesn't ?!
The GOP is acting this way because it's their platform: "Oppose Democrats and liberals at all cost." To thinking people, it seems irrational, so I guess the press is looking at these allegedly intelligent "leaders" and thinking maybe they have some spark of ration left that won't allow them to let Trump off the hook. I'm only assuming that some of the GOPs are basking in the glory of Trump worship that includes them, too (oh, but one misstep and the mob WILL turn on them, too), while the others are scared to go against their base.
It leaves me not only angry but terrified. We, the people who elected the new president, are left without a voice. My friends in DC can barely navigate their city anymore, and the rest of us, who might have come down to counter protest (if not for the other barrier, fear of Covid) are scared of being attacked by people with guns. I don't know specifically what the press could do differently, except maybe keep asking hard questions and showing interviews with these GOPs walking away and not answering questions.
Thanks for the Pierce reference and link. I read Idiot America 10 years ago, and it all came into focus over the last couple of years. But it clearly started 40 years ago.
The GOP will not change and neither will the press. I doubt for a second, even after the brilliant case laid out by the House Managers that they will flip the required number of votes from Republican Senators needed to convict Trump. Maybe they gain another vote or two but they will be well short of the 17 needed to reach the magical two thirds. These Republicans, many of who begged Trump to "do something" while they waited in terror inside the capital on January 6th are showing they are nothing more than goose stepping morons. They are willing to ignore the danger that Trump not only put them in but in many cases, their families too. What kind of people are these? How do they live with themselves?
The mainstream press wants us to believe all the things you so clearly point out. But we know the truth. McConnell is going to vote to acquit. And most will follow. They lack the decency to do otherwise. When will the press face the reality of just who the Republicans are? Most Republicans in Congress are no different than Trump. Are we to continue to believe what the DC press often reports, that behind closed doors, blah blah blah? Nope, time is up on that canard. The Republican Party are fascists. How else can you explain that after the insurrection they still voted to object to Pennsylvania's results. They still wanted to overturn an election, a lie that could have easily ended in their own bloodshed that very afternoon. Still there are many Republicans yet to confirm they believe Biden is the legitimate POTUS.
The mainstream press will not lead us away from the cliff we are headed for. Our struggle to continue our democracy did not end with President Biden's presidency. It only just began. We lost a lot of state legislatures in November. That means gerrymandering will play its ugly hand in helping the Republicans to suppress more votes, the only tactic they can use to win elections. Even in Georgia, a state that played such a role in ousting Trump, where state Republicans fought valiantly for our democratic free election will attempt to redistrict so maybe the result is much different in the next election.
The Senate trial is not for naught. It is a tremendous historical record packed with so much evidence that can be used in the courts. Our only shot left of getting rid of Trump for ever is for the courts to go after him with criminal investigations. The SDNY the AG of Georgia are already there. Perhaps the DC AG will follow. Certainly the press will want to move on and continue their "both sides do it", "Dems in disarray" narrative. That's really all we can expect from them.
DC is literally a one-industry town. The failed political press might think that they are independent, but they are not. They are part of the industry. This is all part and parcel of access journalism, it never leads to anything good.
Beltway Journalists continued employment requires that there always be a both sides framing, even when clearly one side slipped into madness at least 40 years ago. Even if the insurrectionists had gotten their hands on VP Pence and hung him on the lawn (as planned) the press would say “but the Democrats...”
I remember years ago listening to an interview with Bill Moyers, who said something like, 'report the facts and let the facts lead you to a conclusion.' I don’t think that the conclusion ever is "both sides."
Thanks Eric. Chuck Todd, Politico and the New York Times providing inaccurate descriptions of the GOP? Shocked I say, shocked.
I remember the many months before the media used the word, "liar," and the mental gymnastics used to explain. "We can't know what is in his head". And the same media nonsense around trump's mental illness, "we are not psychiatrists." Even though actual psychiatrists were writing that he was mentally ill. Now I hear, "he didn't know the mob would commit violence," or "it is very difficult to prove intent."
The House managers' presentation was extraordinary, and there was some excellent coverage. Yesterday I heard a major cable outlet use the word, "psychopath," in connection to the timeline of Pence's flight for his life and trump's tweets to the mob pursuing him.
I hope the managers call witnesses, and stop worrying about distraction or delay. With a lying psychopath waiting in South Florida for 2024 what, precisely, is the rush?
I saw the Cassidy stories and thought, well, he must be a source. Because making a hero out of an obvious traitor is typical of how the DC political media brothel (the chief chucktodd of them all, madam) operates. But let's see how they treat, oh, Senator Warren when she does something questionable? Oh, that's right, she did, and they ate her alive. Because they don't like her personally. Is it that simple? Yes. Is that why the solution to a lot of what is wrong with American journalism would be firing everyone in DC who claims to be a political reporter? Yes.
And this: That explains exactly why Cruz, Graham and Lee, Jurors in the impeachment trial, met with the defense attorneys, yes indeed, yesterday, to rig the outcome, and for no other reason.
Spot on as usual. I personally think McConnell is more of a villain than Trump. We know who Trump is. Guys like Mitch and Romney have used Trump’s in your face insanity, to try to camouflage their poisonous impact on this country.
How can you write a whole article on the current state of Republican politics, and pretend the puppet master doesn't matter. These senators are not concerned about Trump. They are concerned about Trump's boss. Vladimir Putin is the world's richest person by far. And he likes to give people poison underpants. And most of the GOP senators went on all male all GOP trips to Moscow where they have the world's best prostitutes in the world's best Kompromat factories.
We know that Trump's lawyers were paid for by Russian oligarchs. We know that the national rifle association was paid for by Russian oligarchs. And there are no Russian oligarchs aside from guys that work for Vladimir Putin. There is no Russian government. There is no Russian mafia. There is only the Russian mafia government. It's not surprising the GOP senators act like puppets.
Trump said it himself: "No republican will ever win an election again...." to paraphrase, if fair, honest elections ever become the norm. And he's right, which explains why trump tried to steal this one and the republicans in the congress let him. Encouraged him. Egged him on with their 147-member strong votes to ignore process and urinate on the pillars of Democracy. Ignored months of lies, breathtakingly reported by a compliant press (with a few notable editorial dissenters trying their damndest to scream into the darkness), but alas, the cowards will have their way, protect their well moneyed and powerful careers, for themselves, themselves, ...Not the people they represent. Vilifying Democrats is their only path to the only thing that matters to them. If the press knows this, then This is the only story that should be on the front pages on the banners across tv screens, everywhere. Or else the fascists will have us by the throats, paying their freight, all the while laughing all the way to the bank.
Excellent piece. I’m with Charlie. After all, it was Ronald Reagan who proclaimed the dawning of the new anti-government GOP. Who thought he was kidding?
Seems there are two things at play. One the Beltway press lives in a bubble. They think they have some insight that no one else has. Not true. We can all note the actions of the GOP as they do. The difference is, we don't swallow the lie that they are special with access to a vast array of knowledge as to the working minds of the GOP. Those that do are not going to be persuaded by the press. The other is the inability to deal with authoritarians. They literally have no idea how to respond to them. They lack all human emotions, all reliability and only have one goal, to maintain white power and wealth. They don't care about laws and they haven't since Nixon. There were no grand old days of the GOP. They have systematically been engaged in destroying the legacy of FDR, they made a choice long ago to live in Reagan's America. No accountability for criminals on their side. But wear a tan suit and all bets are off.
Eric, it bothers me that you imply that the change in the Republican Party started with Trump. I know from your past writings that you are well aware that the Republicans have been sliding down the slope of viciousness, lies and insane beliefs for decades and that most of the political press normalized their extremism by either or helping spread their lies, by treating extremists with kid gloves, treating them with respect instead of outrage and horror.
I recently listened to Hillary Clinton’s podcast interview with Nancy Pelosi. Towards the end Pelosi asserts that Republicans under Newt crossed the threshold into the politics of personal destruction. I would add they also crossed into the politics of conspiracy theories, hypocrisy and blatant dishonesty. The media normalized that behavior. As I keep pointing out the media’s lack of outrage about the incredibly cruel Vince Foster “murder” slander is exhibit 1 that proves the culpability of our media in the Republicans’ destruction of our democratic norms. The media would have gone berserk had Democrats had dared accuse Trump of murder let alone spent millions on multiple investigations of that accusation — and rightly so.
And the Republican Party under the Bush and Cheney administration was already deeply sinister and dangerous. They were also no respecters of our democracy or of constitutional rights yet the media normalized their actions — firing US Attorneys for refusing to bring phony voter fraud cases, ignoring their own national security experts’ warnings of an impending terrorist attack on our country, using that attack to lie us into a war with a country that had nothing to do with that attack, secret warrantless surveillance of American citizens, violating the Geneva Convention with the authorization of torture, holding prisoners for years without a trial, openly admitting they deliberately create their own false reality.....
As the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Will Bunch put it in 2018 in his article “America pays steep price for ignoring crimes of George W. Bush era | Will Bunch” :
“It was the 20th century philosopher George Santayana who said that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," but even Santayana would likely be stunned at both the speed and the relish with which a 21st century United States is doing exactly that. At least this is one way in which America truly is exceptional.”
https://www.inquirer.com/philly/columnists/will_bunch/george-w-bush-iraq-war-john-bolton-no-one-held-accountable-20180327.html
We can’t fix our democracy if we don’t understand how we got to this point.
Here's what a mere foreigner thinks, simplistically, could be one way of answering your so-often-put question of 'why does the Beltway press refuse to write about the GOP truthfully ?' ..
You too have a two-party system: it's "always" been the Republicans and the Democrats. In the lead-up to the election, when I was following everything I could (including Twitter - ye gods !!) I very soon lost count of the number of people saying/writing things like "I've been Republican all my life; would never have thought, even for a second, of voting any other way" - deeply felt, without need of explanation. Republicans have been .. let us say 'half' of the American way of life for an awfully long time. People have grown up in households that vote for it without thinking; and have then done the same. (What is the GOP's *platform*, for heaven's sake ??)
If the press were to depict it in its true light they would be hacking the bipedal governmental animal and removing one of its legs. I get the impression they think "We can't tell everyone the GOP is rotten to the core: it's a fundamental part of our political system !" But, far more importantly, on the infrequent occasion on which a press attempt has been made to even hint at this awful fact, the comeback has been instant and almost overwhelming: to the powerful among Republicans, litigation is a way of life (and powerful Republicans probably include a lot of press barons).
That could be the answer to half the question. The other half is, of course, why they have always been so willing to chop away at the *other* leg. I suggest it's because they can do so without the same kind of response: the Democrats have a theory that rational behaviour is the best way to handle anything - I ask you !!
From all the way down here, I can plainly see what Democrats stand for: there is a good deal less clarity regarding or even comprehension of the GOP.
And anyway: how come one party has a soubriquet and the other doesn't ?!
I don’t hear too much discussion either on the consequences of the GOP acquitting Trump.
We could see more political violence in the near future and beyond.
The GOP is acting this way because it's their platform: "Oppose Democrats and liberals at all cost." To thinking people, it seems irrational, so I guess the press is looking at these allegedly intelligent "leaders" and thinking maybe they have some spark of ration left that won't allow them to let Trump off the hook. I'm only assuming that some of the GOPs are basking in the glory of Trump worship that includes them, too (oh, but one misstep and the mob WILL turn on them, too), while the others are scared to go against their base.
It leaves me not only angry but terrified. We, the people who elected the new president, are left without a voice. My friends in DC can barely navigate their city anymore, and the rest of us, who might have come down to counter protest (if not for the other barrier, fear of Covid) are scared of being attacked by people with guns. I don't know specifically what the press could do differently, except maybe keep asking hard questions and showing interviews with these GOPs walking away and not answering questions.
Thanks for the Pierce reference and link. I read Idiot America 10 years ago, and it all came into focus over the last couple of years. But it clearly started 40 years ago.
The GOP will not change and neither will the press. I doubt for a second, even after the brilliant case laid out by the House Managers that they will flip the required number of votes from Republican Senators needed to convict Trump. Maybe they gain another vote or two but they will be well short of the 17 needed to reach the magical two thirds. These Republicans, many of who begged Trump to "do something" while they waited in terror inside the capital on January 6th are showing they are nothing more than goose stepping morons. They are willing to ignore the danger that Trump not only put them in but in many cases, their families too. What kind of people are these? How do they live with themselves?
The mainstream press wants us to believe all the things you so clearly point out. But we know the truth. McConnell is going to vote to acquit. And most will follow. They lack the decency to do otherwise. When will the press face the reality of just who the Republicans are? Most Republicans in Congress are no different than Trump. Are we to continue to believe what the DC press often reports, that behind closed doors, blah blah blah? Nope, time is up on that canard. The Republican Party are fascists. How else can you explain that after the insurrection they still voted to object to Pennsylvania's results. They still wanted to overturn an election, a lie that could have easily ended in their own bloodshed that very afternoon. Still there are many Republicans yet to confirm they believe Biden is the legitimate POTUS.
The mainstream press will not lead us away from the cliff we are headed for. Our struggle to continue our democracy did not end with President Biden's presidency. It only just began. We lost a lot of state legislatures in November. That means gerrymandering will play its ugly hand in helping the Republicans to suppress more votes, the only tactic they can use to win elections. Even in Georgia, a state that played such a role in ousting Trump, where state Republicans fought valiantly for our democratic free election will attempt to redistrict so maybe the result is much different in the next election.
The Senate trial is not for naught. It is a tremendous historical record packed with so much evidence that can be used in the courts. Our only shot left of getting rid of Trump for ever is for the courts to go after him with criminal investigations. The SDNY the AG of Georgia are already there. Perhaps the DC AG will follow. Certainly the press will want to move on and continue their "both sides do it", "Dems in disarray" narrative. That's really all we can expect from them.
DC is literally a one-industry town. The failed political press might think that they are independent, but they are not. They are part of the industry. This is all part and parcel of access journalism, it never leads to anything good.
Beltway Journalists continued employment requires that there always be a both sides framing, even when clearly one side slipped into madness at least 40 years ago. Even if the insurrectionists had gotten their hands on VP Pence and hung him on the lawn (as planned) the press would say “but the Democrats...”
I remember years ago listening to an interview with Bill Moyers, who said something like, 'report the facts and let the facts lead you to a conclusion.' I don’t think that the conclusion ever is "both sides."
Thanks Eric. Chuck Todd, Politico and the New York Times providing inaccurate descriptions of the GOP? Shocked I say, shocked.
I remember the many months before the media used the word, "liar," and the mental gymnastics used to explain. "We can't know what is in his head". And the same media nonsense around trump's mental illness, "we are not psychiatrists." Even though actual psychiatrists were writing that he was mentally ill. Now I hear, "he didn't know the mob would commit violence," or "it is very difficult to prove intent."
The House managers' presentation was extraordinary, and there was some excellent coverage. Yesterday I heard a major cable outlet use the word, "psychopath," in connection to the timeline of Pence's flight for his life and trump's tweets to the mob pursuing him.
I hope the managers call witnesses, and stop worrying about distraction or delay. With a lying psychopath waiting in South Florida for 2024 what, precisely, is the rush?
I saw the Cassidy stories and thought, well, he must be a source. Because making a hero out of an obvious traitor is typical of how the DC political media brothel (the chief chucktodd of them all, madam) operates. But let's see how they treat, oh, Senator Warren when she does something questionable? Oh, that's right, she did, and they ate her alive. Because they don't like her personally. Is it that simple? Yes. Is that why the solution to a lot of what is wrong with American journalism would be firing everyone in DC who claims to be a political reporter? Yes.
And this: That explains exactly why Cruz, Graham and Lee, Jurors in the impeachment trial, met with the defense attorneys, yes indeed, yesterday, to rig the outcome, and for no other reason.
The GOP puts self-interest - not party - over country.
Spot on as usual. I personally think McConnell is more of a villain than Trump. We know who Trump is. Guys like Mitch and Romney have used Trump’s in your face insanity, to try to camouflage their poisonous impact on this country.
You're just as much in denial as the press.
Follow the money!
How can you write a whole article on the current state of Republican politics, and pretend the puppet master doesn't matter. These senators are not concerned about Trump. They are concerned about Trump's boss. Vladimir Putin is the world's richest person by far. And he likes to give people poison underpants. And most of the GOP senators went on all male all GOP trips to Moscow where they have the world's best prostitutes in the world's best Kompromat factories.
We know that Trump's lawyers were paid for by Russian oligarchs. We know that the national rifle association was paid for by Russian oligarchs. And there are no Russian oligarchs aside from guys that work for Vladimir Putin. There is no Russian government. There is no Russian mafia. There is only the Russian mafia government. It's not surprising the GOP senators act like puppets.