On Saturday Chuck Schumer repeated Mitch McConnell's remarks following the death of Justice Anthony Scalia, word for word. Unfortunately most folks who do not immerse themselves into politics may have not noticed the intended sarcasm delivered by the minority leader. Certainly the press had no intention of making a blazing headline about it. The owners of the media would not at all approve. The Republican Party is unscrupulous. They will do whatever it takes to grab and hold on to power. Hopefully women, as if they need more incentive, will rally around the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and what she meant to women's reproductive rights and vote these criminals out of the White House and Congress.
I would really like to see some practical suggestions about what we can do besides supporting sites like this one. Most media outlets no longer have public ombudsmen or the equivalent if they ever did.
In the case of Ginsburg’s replacement I would bet Trump succeeds between now and January. If he does I think that gives Biden more than enough justification for expanding the court but I bet the media will go bonkers if he does. They would almost surely be more outraged by Biden trying to make the court more representative of the will of the majority of Americans than they were by the Republicans’ flip flop on their Merrick Garland “principle”.
The media would for sure go bonkers, but seriously, who cares. Chuck Schumer already said nothing is off the table next year. They’re already preparing the media for it. The media’s already lost this one.
The reason we need to care is that the mainstream media influences the attitudes of many Democrats and Independents. That is why so many Democrats are afraid to bring down their wrath.
The Hillary email flap was a bogus scandal that the media knowingly blew up into a huge and damaging mess for Hillary. That clearly had a significant negative impact on her support. Had this just been a right wing investigation pushed by Fox it would not have hurt her except among people that would never vote for a Democrat anyway. The mainstream media attacks on Al Gore’s honesty also cost him support. I saw that happen with people I know. That also happened with the Clinton healthcare plan. The mainstream media helped spread right wing dishonest propaganda and support for the plan died.
As Steve Bannon has said it is the mainstream media, not Fox or Breitbart, that does real damage to support for Democrats. If the media responds with outrage to any Democratic proposal you can bet Democrats will shy away because a lot of their constituents will buy the media claims.
Why does the DC press normalize Republican excesses while treating any Democratic moves as somehow radical? Is it that they are too chummy with Republicans?
I think the media has internalized the belief that Democrats are the female party — the “Mommy Party” as George Lakoff puts it. Republicans are the strong, patriarchal “Daddy Party”. Democrats represent traditional female values so Democrats, men included, are held to a higher standard than the members of the “manly men” party just as women are held to a higher standard than men are in the real world.
Al Gore was literally accused of being so “feminized....he was practically lactating” by Maureen Dowd because of his deep concern for the environment and no one in the media seemed to find that outrageously misogynist and stupid. Gore, a man who volunteered to serve in Vietnam, was given the “girly man treatment” by the same media that clearly admired those two chickenhawks Cheney and Bush as real men. Kerry got the same treatment. The media accused him of looking weak (not manly enough) for his response to the Swift Boat liars’ accusations. They gave Bush a pass for those unforgivable attacks by his people. Rough and tumble is just what guys do, amirite?
The media went bonkers over Clinton’s dalliance with Monica Lewinsky just like they would if a female president were to do such a thing. In contrast Trump’s extreme promiscuity and sexual assaults and harassment haven’t gotten nearly the same amount of outrage. After all “boys will be boys”.
I might be crazy but it does seem that the Mommy/Daddy theory explains this double standard.
Mitch McConnell is going to regret this. He’s emboldened people who didn’t even care about the courts to get active to elect Democrats, and driven Democratic fundraising to unprecedented levels. On top of that, he’s all but guaranteed Joe Biden and the Democratic majority in the House and Senate will add SCOTUS Justices to the court to make it more representative. Republicans have signed their own death warrant for at least a generation with every short-sighted move they’ve made in the last year.
The Avett Brothers are one of my favorites. Great song choice. “With victory, I accept defeat.” It should be Mitch McConnell’s theme song.
The DC press corps, and the establishment media somewhat (but insufficiently) less so, have been let’s say overly supportive of the GOP since at least Reagan’s election. The coverage of the firing of the air traffic controllers and destruction of their union is a great example. And things have only gotten worse since. If you doubt me, ask yourself when was the last time the mainstream has acted like they did with Watergate and Vietnam. You know the answer: mid-1970s.
At the moment, my gut is that Trump’s replacement for RBG will be confirmed in the blink of an eye with no more than a day or two of perfunctory hearings at most. And with that person on the bench before the election, the POTUS election will be fully rigged. Six judges who put party and special interests above nation and the rule of law. All Trump has to do is get a case to SCOTUS and it’ll be Gore v. Bush II. The good news is that that tactic will in all likelihood apply to the POTUS race. In every other race, we will be free to — and must — vote out every Republican. Seriously. That’s what’s needed.
What Democrats CAN do after McConnell scorches the earth is take the White House & Senate and, with the House, bum rush that "red line" of finances and follow ALL the $, everywhere it leads. McConnell may be willing to go all in on SCOTUS but let's make sure Mrs. McConnell is collateral damage when the swamp is really and truly drained (and prosecuted and sentenced; THIS is why Kamala...)
In agreement with so many of the astute comments here, I would add that, under the horse race rubric, cable news outlets especially are motivated to amplify any sense of helplessness, outrage or anxiety in their viewers. They want you to think the GOP are this Borg-like menace, because it's great sci-fi drama, ultimately ratings gold. *["Resistance is futile" is the Borg motto, for non-StarTrek enthusiasts.]
I see that the big papers are front-paging the profiles of Trump's potential nominees, as if all is normal and it is time for everyone to be choosing which one they favor. Somehow, I do not feel at all normal.
A conservative friend pointed out that Mitch McConnell made several statements during interviews in 2016, 17, etc. I checked since this was news to me and it seems to be true.
Their rational for this rush to replace RBG is since the 1880's (historical precedent McConnell & Romey call it) any SC nomination made in an election year while both the Senate & POTUS were of opposing parties resulted is no confirmation.
Honest question. Is there anything to this or is it just a convenient way to explain away the press & public questions?
Thank you, Eric, for this brilliant take down. I called both my Senators today (Portman and Brown) about the nomination and the forced sterilizations in Georgia. I was so upset I was sputtering.
On Saturday Chuck Schumer repeated Mitch McConnell's remarks following the death of Justice Anthony Scalia, word for word. Unfortunately most folks who do not immerse themselves into politics may have not noticed the intended sarcasm delivered by the minority leader. Certainly the press had no intention of making a blazing headline about it. The owners of the media would not at all approve. The Republican Party is unscrupulous. They will do whatever it takes to grab and hold on to power. Hopefully women, as if they need more incentive, will rally around the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and what she meant to women's reproductive rights and vote these criminals out of the White House and Congress.
this is the central problem: the GOP has become a truly radical entity and the DC press wants to portray it as a mainstream, center-right operation.
You make an interesting point about RBG and reproductive rights especially in light of the horrors in the Georgia detention facility.
There don't seem to be any consequences for them. What can we do?
I would really like to see some practical suggestions about what we can do besides supporting sites like this one. Most media outlets no longer have public ombudsmen or the equivalent if they ever did.
In the case of Ginsburg’s replacement I would bet Trump succeeds between now and January. If he does I think that gives Biden more than enough justification for expanding the court but I bet the media will go bonkers if he does. They would almost surely be more outraged by Biden trying to make the court more representative of the will of the majority of Americans than they were by the Republicans’ flip flop on their Merrick Garland “principle”.
The media would for sure go bonkers, but seriously, who cares. Chuck Schumer already said nothing is off the table next year. They’re already preparing the media for it. The media’s already lost this one.
The reason we need to care is that the mainstream media influences the attitudes of many Democrats and Independents. That is why so many Democrats are afraid to bring down their wrath.
The Hillary email flap was a bogus scandal that the media knowingly blew up into a huge and damaging mess for Hillary. That clearly had a significant negative impact on her support. Had this just been a right wing investigation pushed by Fox it would not have hurt her except among people that would never vote for a Democrat anyway. The mainstream media attacks on Al Gore’s honesty also cost him support. I saw that happen with people I know. That also happened with the Clinton healthcare plan. The mainstream media helped spread right wing dishonest propaganda and support for the plan died.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1995/01/a-triumph-of-misinformation/306231/
As Steve Bannon has said it is the mainstream media, not Fox or Breitbart, that does real damage to support for Democrats. If the media responds with outrage to any Democratic proposal you can bet Democrats will shy away because a lot of their constituents will buy the media claims.
For once I agree with Steve Bannon. Only once. I now need an exorcism for my fingers and keyboard.
Why does the DC press normalize Republican excesses while treating any Democratic moves as somehow radical? Is it that they are too chummy with Republicans?
DC press idolizes GOP hardball, always has. so this is perfect example of press automatically assuming whatever GOP does, it's super savvy
I think the media has internalized the belief that Democrats are the female party — the “Mommy Party” as George Lakoff puts it. Republicans are the strong, patriarchal “Daddy Party”. Democrats represent traditional female values so Democrats, men included, are held to a higher standard than the members of the “manly men” party just as women are held to a higher standard than men are in the real world.
Al Gore was literally accused of being so “feminized....he was practically lactating” by Maureen Dowd because of his deep concern for the environment and no one in the media seemed to find that outrageously misogynist and stupid. Gore, a man who volunteered to serve in Vietnam, was given the “girly man treatment” by the same media that clearly admired those two chickenhawks Cheney and Bush as real men. Kerry got the same treatment. The media accused him of looking weak (not manly enough) for his response to the Swift Boat liars’ accusations. They gave Bush a pass for those unforgivable attacks by his people. Rough and tumble is just what guys do, amirite?
The media went bonkers over Clinton’s dalliance with Monica Lewinsky just like they would if a female president were to do such a thing. In contrast Trump’s extreme promiscuity and sexual assaults and harassment haven’t gotten nearly the same amount of outrage. After all “boys will be boys”.
I might be crazy but it does seem that the Mommy/Daddy theory explains this double standard.
That is as good an explanation of the thinking as I've heard.
Mitch McConnell is going to regret this. He’s emboldened people who didn’t even care about the courts to get active to elect Democrats, and driven Democratic fundraising to unprecedented levels. On top of that, he’s all but guaranteed Joe Biden and the Democratic majority in the House and Senate will add SCOTUS Justices to the court to make it more representative. Republicans have signed their own death warrant for at least a generation with every short-sighted move they’ve made in the last year.
The Avett Brothers are one of my favorites. Great song choice. “With victory, I accept defeat.” It should be Mitch McConnell’s theme song.
I like that idea of McConnell theme song!
There are so many great songs that would fit. 😂
McConnell is amoral.
The DC press corps, and the establishment media somewhat (but insufficiently) less so, have been let’s say overly supportive of the GOP since at least Reagan’s election. The coverage of the firing of the air traffic controllers and destruction of their union is a great example. And things have only gotten worse since. If you doubt me, ask yourself when was the last time the mainstream has acted like they did with Watergate and Vietnam. You know the answer: mid-1970s.
At the moment, my gut is that Trump’s replacement for RBG will be confirmed in the blink of an eye with no more than a day or two of perfunctory hearings at most. And with that person on the bench before the election, the POTUS election will be fully rigged. Six judges who put party and special interests above nation and the rule of law. All Trump has to do is get a case to SCOTUS and it’ll be Gore v. Bush II. The good news is that that tactic will in all likelihood apply to the POTUS race. In every other race, we will be free to — and must — vote out every Republican. Seriously. That’s what’s needed.
What Democrats CAN do after McConnell scorches the earth is take the White House & Senate and, with the House, bum rush that "red line" of finances and follow ALL the $, everywhere it leads. McConnell may be willing to go all in on SCOTUS but let's make sure Mrs. McConnell is collateral damage when the swamp is really and truly drained (and prosecuted and sentenced; THIS is why Kamala...)
In agreement with so many of the astute comments here, I would add that, under the horse race rubric, cable news outlets especially are motivated to amplify any sense of helplessness, outrage or anxiety in their viewers. They want you to think the GOP are this Borg-like menace, because it's great sci-fi drama, ultimately ratings gold. *["Resistance is futile" is the Borg motto, for non-StarTrek enthusiasts.]
I see that the big papers are front-paging the profiles of Trump's potential nominees, as if all is normal and it is time for everyone to be choosing which one they favor. Somehow, I do not feel at all normal.
ps. I love me some Charlie Pierce.
Mr. Boehlert,
President Obama was “picking a fight” in that he was asking the Republican Senate to do part of their job they found distasteful.
Trump is not picking a fight because he’s only asking the Republican Senate to roll over the Democrats. Again.
As I recall, some 250 Republican Judges have been confirmed already. Scarce half-a-dozen of the least qualified have been rejected.
Trump’s & McConnell’s actions are completely consistent with prior actions.
This “fight” was picked a long time ago.
agreed, it was absurd to paint Obama as "picking a fight" when his nomination came 8 months before the election.
Mr Boehlert,
A conservative friend pointed out that Mitch McConnell made several statements during interviews in 2016, 17, etc. I checked since this was news to me and it seems to be true.
Their rational for this rush to replace RBG is since the 1880's (historical precedent McConnell & Romey call it) any SC nomination made in an election year while both the Senate & POTUS were of opposing parties resulted is no confirmation.
Honest question. Is there anything to this or is it just a convenient way to explain away the press & public questions?
Thank you, Eric, for this brilliant take down. I called both my Senators today (Portman and Brown) about the nomination and the forced sterilizations in Georgia. I was so upset I was sputtering.
Hall of mirrors is a good way of putting it!