There is no way Biden can satisfy these people. I read that we had stopped sending unaccompanied minors back starting last November but of course the sudden increase has happened because he has made it clear that he and his administrations won’t act like hateful monsters towards desperate migrants they way that Trump and Co. did so the scope of the problem really is.
Forget about the fact that we don’t have the facilities to handle all those people because the Trump administration refused to build enough and because Trump stopped allowing people to apply for asylum at American embassies in their own countries; journalists are stamping their feet and demanding that Mommy fix this problem RIGHT NOW!! Biden must wave his magic wand and make needed facilities appear. The only other choice Biden has would be to send them back to horrendous conditions just as Trump did. If BIden chooses that he will be portrayed as a heartless monster so he loses either way. This is the kind of double bind demands that our media likes to make — but when it comes to Democrats.
The Post has also been hyping vaccine hysteria by writing articles implying there is something wrong with Astra Zeneca. If you read the article you will discover — eventually — that there is no evidence that the number of blood clots experienced by people who have received that vaccine is higher than what normally occurs in a similar population. However you have to read other media outlets to discover that the EU’s shortages are not the result of anything Astra Zeneca has done, they are largely because their governments didn’t make early deals with vaccine makers the way that the US, UK and Chile did. The EU decided to rely on the market to deliver their needed vaccines and it hasn’t worked. But why miss an opportunity to spread fear to get clicks.... In fact my sister-in-law has been so freaked out by the blood clot story she is refusing to get her second Moderna shot.
And yesterday the Post editors were once again fear mongering about inflation from deficit spending but again not calling for a repeal of the budget-busting Trump tax cuts. As in the past four or five such articles their proof is the thinking of Larry Summers and unnamed others. The editors are choosing his judgement over the judgement of Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell who had long track records of dealing successfully with economic problems. But why let objectivity get in the way of a favorite storyline, amirite?
totally agree abt Biden not being able to satisfy press, which after 4 yrs of being attacked by Trump wants to prove its not part of the “liberal media”
Thank God for Biden's years of experience with MSM. I imagine him sitting across from Jill at dinner and shrugging his shoulders, 'what do you expect'? hahaha
Eric, I knew you’d be all over this one. When I saw that WAPO headline on Twitter yesterday morning I just about lost my mind. When is the so-called MSM going to stop their Joni Mitchell-style “We’ve looked at politics from both sides now” and stop being afraid of being labeled “liberal media?” Stories like this diminish all their great reporting and hurt their credibility. The Times does the same infuriating BS. Keep calling them out on this.
All I know is that I never ever again want to hear about the liberal mainstream media. The Republican's strategy, as soon as the highly popular Covid relief bill passed, was to pounce on border fear. What's old is new again. All the Republicans can do is to instill fear in people, mostly white people. Here come the brown folks from Mexico to take away everything you hold dear. It's such an old and monotonous play book yet the WPO and NYT and the rest of MSM continue to placate the right with this utter nonsense. There is so much evidence that Trump is the reason why we have so many problems at the border but the lazy mainstream media refuses to do the heavy lifting that needs to be done.
And the fact that they go to the GOP to get their comments on it, instead of actually talking to people on the border, or reporting on the actual truth of what's going on, says they're more interested in keeping the GOP from calling them liberals and writing process stories, rather than actually informing their readers about what's going on. I really wonder what goes on at their editorial meetings. "Hey, Biden is doing good stuff, so we have to find a way to tear him down a bit so the Republicans stop screaming that we're liberal. I know - let's assign a bullshit story about the kids coming over the border! And, we can save money by having the reporter write a story that's about DC inside baseball instead of one that requires actual reporting at the border. Win-win!" But of course the GOP will never stop calling them liberal, so what's the point?
Thanks Eric. Excellent piece. Sometimes is not just both-siderism, it's laziness.
When Senator Whitehouse wrote his letter to AG Garland I thought, whew, someone was taking notes about the prior administration. I also thought, "Beltway press, here's your roadmap! Get busy." How about the recent David Fahrenthold story? Maybe that will get you up and moving?
Or, how about talking to the ACLU and others on the ground about what happened at the border under Trump? Who doesn't believe we know about one-tenth of the story at the border under Trump and his goons? There is so much work to be done.
Immigration is hard and headlines are easy. Yes it's a crisis, and the system is broken. But it didn't break during the last 60 days, and we are in a tough spot. Maybe the Beltway press could pick up a shovel or a rake, and pitch in, rather than trying to pin blame on someone for the huge mess?
Why aren't they reporting on the people who served as translators in Iraq who are being denied citizenship? This is a horrendous failing on our parts. Then too, I lie in bed at night and worry about the Afghan women and what will happen to them when the Taliban take over after we leave. It's bad enough for them even now. I could go on and on and on. My take on mankind, period, is NOT a good one.
I thought the Whitehouse letter accusing the FBI of refusing to investigate serious accusations about Brett Kavanaugh might finally get the media to report on the very real problem we have with right wingers in powerful positions at the FBI. They dropped that story like a hot potato just like they did with the blatant evidence that the NY FBI office colluded with Rudy G and their former boss James Kallstrom to help elect Trump by leaking damaging propaganda about Hillary to the media. That fact was made clear in DOJ IG Michael Horowitz’s investigation of the FBI’s behavior during the 2016 election. It came up again in 12/19 when Horowitz told Senator Leahy during a hearing on another IG investigation that he was still investigating those agents and their unauthorized leaks to the media. I thought surely the media would finally shine a light on deeply disturbing story and give it at least as much attention as they gave to the Peter Strzok/Lisa Page story, but no. If I hadn’t heard that exchange myself I would have never heard about that investigation.
Since January 6 the media has been much less reticent about reporting on right wingers in our military and police but they won’t report on the truth about the FBI. The only explanation I can think of is that they would rather protect their sources than our democracy. They don’t even point out that Wray is a member of the right wing Federalist Society. No surprise that he just declared that the Atlanta shooting wasn’t a hate crime based on the word of the perpetrator.
Sheldon Whitehouse is doing his job...and well. That scares others in DC. I hope he can stay safe throughout his term. He's a valuable Senator. Not only for the smallest state in the union, but for the entire country. And he vows to keep pushing......
From his newsletter: "I expect to ruffle a few feathers when I call out the dark money infecting our politics. I expect a few squawks when I shine a light on the interests behind the secret political spending. After all, powerful interests have a lot of money invested, and a big stake in protecting their covert influence operations.
Now, with three years to go until I’m up for re-election, a dark-money group has launched TV ads against me because I’m exposing what they’re up to.
A squid squirts out black ink to create a distraction when it’s threatened. This TV ad is squid ink, squirted out from increasingly nervous dark-money groups. I go after dark money, and a dark-money-funded group puts out a dark-money-funded attack ad to accuse me of being involved in . . . dark money. Kind of funny, actually – in a weird, weird way.
Big special interests want to stop me from exposing what they’ve done to our government. They’re trying their best to distract from the truth. The truth is, these special interests are running a covert political operation against their own country, and they don’t want people to know about it. When I get a big, desperate reaction like this, I know I’m really on the right track. I’m not going to stop.
Media campaigns full of lies and fueled by secret donations are part of the special interest playbook. It’s their nature to resort to these sorts of smears. But if they think this nonsense will shut me up, they’re sorely mistaken.
Every day, I’m fighting the special interests who use dark money to poison and pollute our politics. I won’t stay silent, and today I’m asking for your support..."
It would help him do his job if the media wouldn’t ignore this important problem he is trying to address. Unfortunately the FBI seems to be one of those people deemed untouchable by our media.
Pitch perfect. Thanks for trying to keep the reporting honest, Eric and Ed. Maddening to say the least. The bigger story from Trump’s failed policy to the present is the better story. Alarmist reporting seems to have become the way to go. Laziness for sure.
The reason the situation at the border is being played up as a crisis is because it is a crisis. If the press is piling on, it is because the Biden Administration has not come up with an effective message to push back. (And because the press wants to be able to 'prove' they're not in the tank for Biden.) It's not fair, but no one said the job of being president would be fair.
Kevin Drum has looked at this and reached many of the same conclusions about why this is happening. But, Drum also has this to say:
"If you believe in more-or-less open borders, none of this will bother you. But if, like most people, you believe the border ought to be secured, this is a big problem and Biden isn't doing a good job of addressing it. Progressives shouldn't kid themselves about this."
IF I were in a position to offer advice, I'd suggest the following:
1) Reframe this as a humanitarian crisis that isn't so much about 'illegals' trying to invade America as they are fleeing death and disaster at home, much like people fleeing a burning house or a flood. Make the point that this is what everyone in the world will be dealing with because of climate change and rising political instability - and you can't keep it out with a wall.
2) Announce that troops are being sent to the border to deal with the crisis. They may not be the best tool, but doing so projects strength, intent, and recognition of how serious this is. They can set up emergency temporary housing, screening, and assist in processing while the systems the Former Guy destroyed are rebuilt. (More immigration judges for example.) This is what people think 'securing the border' looks like - but it can be more than just optics.
3) Announce a domestic and foreign blitz. Proclaim diplomatic efforts are underway across the region to try to tamp down the forces driving this. Emphasize that without immigration reform NOW, the problem will only get worse. We need a system that can allow people a reasonable expectation of making their case to come to America if we want them to stop flooding across the border, that we need them for critical jobs that Americans are not filling (rotting crops in the fields, etc.) and that by improving the legal means of entry and residence in America, we strike a blow against all the illegal activity that profits from undocumented entry - including sex trafficking, drug running, exploitation of undocumented workers, etc.
4) Make the case that four years of brutality and reality show stunts like a fake wall did nothing. Point out that 2 years of total GOP control of government saw no real solutions - and that Democrats are just getting started cleaning up the mess, filibuster permitting.
5) Promote positive examples of legal immigrants and the Dreamers - show them in the military, show them filling vital jobs, show them creating businesses and jobs. Emphasize that all wealth in this country ultimately comes from people - and people motivated enough to come here against tough odds are the kind of people we need to share the challenges we all face. This is what has made America great in the past and will do so in the future. We can't deprive ourselves of what is a vital resource. The day no one wants to come here is the surest sign America has failed.
The trick is to establish momentum in the direction you want to go. That's what all this is in aid of.
But the media only thinks it is a crisis because it is happening on our side of the border. Our media didn’t seem to think it was a crisis when those kids are detained on Mexico’s side of the border.
As for messaging I seriously doubt there is any message that the media will accept. They are out to prove that they will be as hard on Biden as they were on Trump whether he deserves it or not. It is not about giving the public the information we need and deserve to have, it is about them polishing their own images as “balanced”.
Get a grip. After 4 years of outrageous behavior by the orange monster your criticism of Biden rings hollow. The situation has always been difficult but I trust that Biden will work toward a reasonable solution that won’t involve jailing children without proper resources.
Thanks for this information Eric. It's really opened my eyes to a lot of the "poor" or lazy work done by the some in the mainstream media. One thing I've become more aware of (and guess I should have been) are the headlines.
For example, I saw a headline "A year after Gov. Murphy shut everything down, NJ businesses are still reeling." Yet it wasn't really Gov. Murphy that shut everything down, it was COVID. Why not have the headline be "A year after COVID shut everything down, NJ business are still reeling." In my opinion, that would be more accurate and fair, but obvious would not get the same amount of clicks. Folks will now just share that headline now on FB, etc., doubt they read the actual article, and scream about how the Democrat Governor wrecked the NJ economy.
Well done. I’ve been especially paying attention to Politico’s ‘hair on fire’ headlines lately and shake my head in disappointment. I’m feeling my age as I remember the good ole bad days in journalism when the golden rules were ‘who, what, when, where, why and how?’ What might have been a headline and/or good gossip appeared in the tabloids in those days now appear on MSM. Now it’s the clicks that have become important. A new day for sure.
Also, as a former NJ resident I’ve paid special attention to the NJ guv and as far as I can tell he’s doing a good job tackling a pandemic in his state. Of course it was COVID.
According to a WP sidebar header this morning, Biden "faces criticism" because of a surge in migrants at the border, which a headline writer thought could be sold as if this is somehow the real story; that Pres. Biden can somehow control the number of people showing up at the border. Right below it, 08:21 carries the sub beginning with the phrase, "trump says..." as if coverage of whatever the former, fired guy has to say is still front page news. He's allegedly starting his own social media outlet. Will the major outlets continue to cover his every blathering with breathless front page attention? Will the headline editors continue to bait and switch like carnival barkers? Will print media resort to using blue or red tinted newsprint to offer comfort to their "followers"? God help us.
Dan-One thing I love about Press Secretary Jen Psaki is her consistent pushback to "people are saying." (As if in a country of 330 million reporting on .0000001% is news). As you say, sometimes it is the Dark Lord himself. But Ms. Psaki is polite, and professional, and allows the questioner to undue him/herself rather than dismiss the question out-of-hand.
I agree. Jen Psaki is a total pro. Today’s AP insists on knowing why WH won’t use the word ‘crisis’ to describe conditions at the border, a complaint press created and then fomented into another phony story. For sure, words matter, but c’mon. Made up horror tale just like the’ no scheduled Presidential press conference’ all over again.
The Post has been fear mongering about inflation with Larry Summers plus anonymous economists say. The one time they did name one of those economists it was the well know conservative Douglas Holtz Eakin.
As your fellow wise press critic Eric Alterman asked, What liberal media? The L word is still lazy. It's easier for The Post to attack on this than to get at the reality, because the reality is that its political reporters did the work of the enemies of this country--republicans--for years, and continue to do so, including the later years of the once reputable, then senile, David Broder.
Yes Eric, is WaPo now in stiff competition with the 'grey lady' (NYT)? It's truly horrifying...I'm beginning to wonder WHY I am a subscriber though I push back in their comments whenever possible.
I have been a subscriber for several years. Then in a pique I cancelled, then I cancelled the cancel because like you I could push back in comments. But this article pushed me over the edge and I cancelled again. I refuse to subsidize fascist enabling GQP propatainment. A pox on all of those sycophantic stenographers.
I understand your pain and I'm at the in-between point. I used to think the NYT was the worst but now???? I hated the NYT too, because they wanted to charge me extra for looking at RECIPES???? Recipes? So I quit for 6months....when I came back, they offered it for 6/month, for a year. I don't think WaPo will go below the 10/mo I am paying now, but willing to call their bluff.
Sigh. I did it. I pulled the plug. And yes, NYT is a hot mess and WaPo is now neck and pain in the neck with them. Grrr. If you cancel a cheaper option will immediately pop up to entice you to stay. I think they hype it as $100/year or something.
Thanks, Eric. The facts are the facts. Immigration has been an issue for every administration, especially when it involves POC. Yes, there is a problem with immigration in every country. It is down in the past 50 years and the crisis at the border was created by the Trump administration, Jeff Session Rod R. Full stop. Shame on WAPO. Those children deserve better.
I recently read that the bill Bush signed to protect kids from being trafficked led to a surge in child immigrants although that bill was signed at the end of his administration so the increase came after he was out of office. This was one time Bush was actually a compassionate conservative.
I didn't know it was the largest surge, I knew it was quite a large amount, definitely larger than the Obama years. Also, Morning Joe this AM decided to reiterate this talking point and blame everything on the Biden administration.
I'm listening (gag) to today's presser with Jen Psaki...it's subtitle is "how can we get her to say 'crisis?' ". I admire this woman more and more for her ability to withstand these fools.
I think a large part of the problem is that Biden has chosen to be as non-confrontational as possible. IMO, every member of the administration should be pushing back, and pushing back hard, on the inhumanity of Trump's approach, AND the media's framing of the challenges at the border as a GOP defined "crisis".
The GOP isn't good at much, but they are good at working the refs -- and the Democrats aren't.
I've been a WaPo reader for years but I'm ready to abandon ship because in the last year or so, their coverage has been literally some of the laziest and most manipulative excuses for journalism I've ever read. In one day, the online edition can typically respond to a big news story by posting 7 or 8 articles on the subject, crowding out other news and delivering a lot of useless infotainment. While world news is shamefully under-reported, we were treated recently to two weeks of pieces covering Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the rate of at least 3 articles per day. Since Trump left office, the Post seems to be struggling to figure out just what kind of newspaper it wants to be, and with the two diametrically opposite pieces they've published recently on the immigration issue, they seem to want to go in two directions at the same time. Washington DC deserves a better newspaper, that's certain.
Totally off topic, but a story I would like to read about, is where is the My Pillow Guy getting his money from, who is funding this guy. I find it hard to believe that selling pillows would give you what seems like unlimited funds to overturn an election. He's constantly in the news regarding his efforts to overturn an election, such as now in Arizona. How could be be that wealthy.
A couple of million and a tacky mansion down in FL for selling pillows, sure, can see that. Not able to fly all around the country, pay for the so called "experts," developing a social media site (and yes, sure it is awful, but still need to fund it), and I doubt the company is generating that much income.
Yet again: That Dems always and can only screw up is a storyline of the mainstream’s DC press corp that goes back to Jimmy Carter.
The claim that there’s any significant bias against the GOP in the establishment media is a complete joke. The WaPo piece is completely shameful, inexcusable and indefensible. The closest thing to a defense is that it’s part of editorial pressure to get access to the facilities, opportunity to interview the Border Patrol, etc., which would still result on shitting on Biden for no good reason other than the old storyline the press loves to push. Meanwhile, they keep on avoiding or allowing to be drowned out why all these people (and kids) are struggling to get in. Of course, honest reporting on that can’t look good for us. Too, the core of the problem is decades of lousy immigration policy forced by the GOP. That, too, is off limits to the press because of the longtime storyline that the GOP is awesome and nigh perfect.
As Eric noted, Will Bunch did chapter and verse on the bullshit behind the WaPo story which is to the overwhelmingly shitty reporting on the subject.
All this is just more of my repetitious rant that the mainstream media are doing real harm to the nation.
I hope they're getting seriously dragged for this story. I've been too busy at work today to read it myself, but also don't know if I have the stomach for it.
There is no way Biden can satisfy these people. I read that we had stopped sending unaccompanied minors back starting last November but of course the sudden increase has happened because he has made it clear that he and his administrations won’t act like hateful monsters towards desperate migrants they way that Trump and Co. did so the scope of the problem really is.
Forget about the fact that we don’t have the facilities to handle all those people because the Trump administration refused to build enough and because Trump stopped allowing people to apply for asylum at American embassies in their own countries; journalists are stamping their feet and demanding that Mommy fix this problem RIGHT NOW!! Biden must wave his magic wand and make needed facilities appear. The only other choice Biden has would be to send them back to horrendous conditions just as Trump did. If BIden chooses that he will be portrayed as a heartless monster so he loses either way. This is the kind of double bind demands that our media likes to make — but when it comes to Democrats.
The Post has also been hyping vaccine hysteria by writing articles implying there is something wrong with Astra Zeneca. If you read the article you will discover — eventually — that there is no evidence that the number of blood clots experienced by people who have received that vaccine is higher than what normally occurs in a similar population. However you have to read other media outlets to discover that the EU’s shortages are not the result of anything Astra Zeneca has done, they are largely because their governments didn’t make early deals with vaccine makers the way that the US, UK and Chile did. The EU decided to rely on the market to deliver their needed vaccines and it hasn’t worked. But why miss an opportunity to spread fear to get clicks.... In fact my sister-in-law has been so freaked out by the blood clot story she is refusing to get her second Moderna shot.
And yesterday the Post editors were once again fear mongering about inflation from deficit spending but again not calling for a repeal of the budget-busting Trump tax cuts. As in the past four or five such articles their proof is the thinking of Larry Summers and unnamed others. The editors are choosing his judgement over the judgement of Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell who had long track records of dealing successfully with economic problems. But why let objectivity get in the way of a favorite storyline, amirite?
totally agree abt Biden not being able to satisfy press, which after 4 yrs of being attacked by Trump wants to prove its not part of the “liberal media”
Thank God for Biden's years of experience with MSM. I imagine him sitting across from Jill at dinner and shrugging his shoulders, 'what do you expect'? hahaha
Absolutely agree with you!
Eric, I knew you’d be all over this one. When I saw that WAPO headline on Twitter yesterday morning I just about lost my mind. When is the so-called MSM going to stop their Joni Mitchell-style “We’ve looked at politics from both sides now” and stop being afraid of being labeled “liberal media?” Stories like this diminish all their great reporting and hurt their credibility. The Times does the same infuriating BS. Keep calling them out on this.
Yeah, this WP piece was really unforgivable
Me too. It was either going to be this or the Gary Tuchman bit of malpractice in an Oklahoma diner. WaPo wins the morning.
Well stated Stephen.
All I know is that I never ever again want to hear about the liberal mainstream media. The Republican's strategy, as soon as the highly popular Covid relief bill passed, was to pounce on border fear. What's old is new again. All the Republicans can do is to instill fear in people, mostly white people. Here come the brown folks from Mexico to take away everything you hold dear. It's such an old and monotonous play book yet the WPO and NYT and the rest of MSM continue to placate the right with this utter nonsense. There is so much evidence that Trump is the reason why we have so many problems at the border but the lazy mainstream media refuses to do the heavy lifting that needs to be done.
And the fact that they go to the GOP to get their comments on it, instead of actually talking to people on the border, or reporting on the actual truth of what's going on, says they're more interested in keeping the GOP from calling them liberals and writing process stories, rather than actually informing their readers about what's going on. I really wonder what goes on at their editorial meetings. "Hey, Biden is doing good stuff, so we have to find a way to tear him down a bit so the Republicans stop screaming that we're liberal. I know - let's assign a bullshit story about the kids coming over the border! And, we can save money by having the reporter write a story that's about DC inside baseball instead of one that requires actual reporting at the border. Win-win!" But of course the GOP will never stop calling them liberal, so what's the point?
Exactly, it's lazy journalism and it only benefits Republicans.
This times 10.
Thanks Eric. Excellent piece. Sometimes is not just both-siderism, it's laziness.
When Senator Whitehouse wrote his letter to AG Garland I thought, whew, someone was taking notes about the prior administration. I also thought, "Beltway press, here's your roadmap! Get busy." How about the recent David Fahrenthold story? Maybe that will get you up and moving?
Or, how about talking to the ACLU and others on the ground about what happened at the border under Trump? Who doesn't believe we know about one-tenth of the story at the border under Trump and his goons? There is so much work to be done.
Immigration is hard and headlines are easy. Yes it's a crisis, and the system is broken. But it didn't break during the last 60 days, and we are in a tough spot. Maybe the Beltway press could pick up a shovel or a rake, and pitch in, rather than trying to pin blame on someone for the huge mess?
I def agree w/ immigration is hard/headlines are easy. esp when press reads GOP playbook
Why aren't they reporting on the people who served as translators in Iraq who are being denied citizenship? This is a horrendous failing on our parts. Then too, I lie in bed at night and worry about the Afghan women and what will happen to them when the Taliban take over after we leave. It's bad enough for them even now. I could go on and on and on. My take on mankind, period, is NOT a good one.
I thought the Whitehouse letter accusing the FBI of refusing to investigate serious accusations about Brett Kavanaugh might finally get the media to report on the very real problem we have with right wingers in powerful positions at the FBI. They dropped that story like a hot potato just like they did with the blatant evidence that the NY FBI office colluded with Rudy G and their former boss James Kallstrom to help elect Trump by leaking damaging propaganda about Hillary to the media. That fact was made clear in DOJ IG Michael Horowitz’s investigation of the FBI’s behavior during the 2016 election. It came up again in 12/19 when Horowitz told Senator Leahy during a hearing on another IG investigation that he was still investigating those agents and their unauthorized leaks to the media. I thought surely the media would finally shine a light on deeply disturbing story and give it at least as much attention as they gave to the Peter Strzok/Lisa Page story, but no. If I hadn’t heard that exchange myself I would have never heard about that investigation.
Since January 6 the media has been much less reticent about reporting on right wingers in our military and police but they won’t report on the truth about the FBI. The only explanation I can think of is that they would rather protect their sources than our democracy. They don’t even point out that Wray is a member of the right wing Federalist Society. No surprise that he just declared that the Atlanta shooting wasn’t a hate crime based on the word of the perpetrator.
Yes, didn't they ever drop that? Pure laziness on their part.
Sheldon Whitehouse is doing his job...and well. That scares others in DC. I hope he can stay safe throughout his term. He's a valuable Senator. Not only for the smallest state in the union, but for the entire country. And he vows to keep pushing......
From his newsletter: "I expect to ruffle a few feathers when I call out the dark money infecting our politics. I expect a few squawks when I shine a light on the interests behind the secret political spending. After all, powerful interests have a lot of money invested, and a big stake in protecting their covert influence operations.
Now, with three years to go until I’m up for re-election, a dark-money group has launched TV ads against me because I’m exposing what they’re up to.
A squid squirts out black ink to create a distraction when it’s threatened. This TV ad is squid ink, squirted out from increasingly nervous dark-money groups. I go after dark money, and a dark-money-funded group puts out a dark-money-funded attack ad to accuse me of being involved in . . . dark money. Kind of funny, actually – in a weird, weird way.
Big special interests want to stop me from exposing what they’ve done to our government. They’re trying their best to distract from the truth. The truth is, these special interests are running a covert political operation against their own country, and they don’t want people to know about it. When I get a big, desperate reaction like this, I know I’m really on the right track. I’m not going to stop.
Media campaigns full of lies and fueled by secret donations are part of the special interest playbook. It’s their nature to resort to these sorts of smears. But if they think this nonsense will shut me up, they’re sorely mistaken.
Every day, I’m fighting the special interests who use dark money to poison and pollute our politics. I won’t stay silent, and today I’m asking for your support..."
Very powerful. Thank you for sharing that.
It would help him do his job if the media wouldn’t ignore this important problem he is trying to address. Unfortunately the FBI seems to be one of those people deemed untouchable by our media.
Pitch perfect. Thanks for trying to keep the reporting honest, Eric and Ed. Maddening to say the least. The bigger story from Trump’s failed policy to the present is the better story. Alarmist reporting seems to have become the way to go. Laziness for sure.
The reason the situation at the border is being played up as a crisis is because it is a crisis. If the press is piling on, it is because the Biden Administration has not come up with an effective message to push back. (And because the press wants to be able to 'prove' they're not in the tank for Biden.) It's not fair, but no one said the job of being president would be fair.
Kevin Drum has looked at this and reached many of the same conclusions about why this is happening. But, Drum also has this to say:
"If you believe in more-or-less open borders, none of this will bother you. But if, like most people, you believe the border ought to be secured, this is a big problem and Biden isn't doing a good job of addressing it. Progressives shouldn't kid themselves about this."
https://jabberwocking.com/there-really-is-a-biden-surge-at-the-border/
IF I were in a position to offer advice, I'd suggest the following:
1) Reframe this as a humanitarian crisis that isn't so much about 'illegals' trying to invade America as they are fleeing death and disaster at home, much like people fleeing a burning house or a flood. Make the point that this is what everyone in the world will be dealing with because of climate change and rising political instability - and you can't keep it out with a wall.
2) Announce that troops are being sent to the border to deal with the crisis. They may not be the best tool, but doing so projects strength, intent, and recognition of how serious this is. They can set up emergency temporary housing, screening, and assist in processing while the systems the Former Guy destroyed are rebuilt. (More immigration judges for example.) This is what people think 'securing the border' looks like - but it can be more than just optics.
3) Announce a domestic and foreign blitz. Proclaim diplomatic efforts are underway across the region to try to tamp down the forces driving this. Emphasize that without immigration reform NOW, the problem will only get worse. We need a system that can allow people a reasonable expectation of making their case to come to America if we want them to stop flooding across the border, that we need them for critical jobs that Americans are not filling (rotting crops in the fields, etc.) and that by improving the legal means of entry and residence in America, we strike a blow against all the illegal activity that profits from undocumented entry - including sex trafficking, drug running, exploitation of undocumented workers, etc.
4) Make the case that four years of brutality and reality show stunts like a fake wall did nothing. Point out that 2 years of total GOP control of government saw no real solutions - and that Democrats are just getting started cleaning up the mess, filibuster permitting.
5) Promote positive examples of legal immigrants and the Dreamers - show them in the military, show them filling vital jobs, show them creating businesses and jobs. Emphasize that all wealth in this country ultimately comes from people - and people motivated enough to come here against tough odds are the kind of people we need to share the challenges we all face. This is what has made America great in the past and will do so in the future. We can't deprive ourselves of what is a vital resource. The day no one wants to come here is the surest sign America has failed.
The trick is to establish momentum in the direction you want to go. That's what all this is in aid of.
Biden has a plan. It’s a very good plan and it will take time to implement bc this is a very old, sprawling problem.
Agreed. Of course he does, like ever other mess he inherited.
But the media only thinks it is a crisis because it is happening on our side of the border. Our media didn’t seem to think it was a crisis when those kids are detained on Mexico’s side of the border.
As for messaging I seriously doubt there is any message that the media will accept. They are out to prove that they will be as hard on Biden as they were on Trump whether he deserves it or not. It is not about giving the public the information we need and deserve to have, it is about them polishing their own images as “balanced”.
When were they hard on trump?
Never. The press reacted to trump like scared children. They failed miserably in their jobs for four solid years.
Word.
Good suggestions and I would like to see Sec Mayorkas repeat his 'do not come here' IN SPANISH. That would get loads of press, trust me.
Get a grip. After 4 years of outrageous behavior by the orange monster your criticism of Biden rings hollow. The situation has always been difficult but I trust that Biden will work toward a reasonable solution that won’t involve jailing children without proper resources.
Thanks for this information Eric. It's really opened my eyes to a lot of the "poor" or lazy work done by the some in the mainstream media. One thing I've become more aware of (and guess I should have been) are the headlines.
For example, I saw a headline "A year after Gov. Murphy shut everything down, NJ businesses are still reeling." Yet it wasn't really Gov. Murphy that shut everything down, it was COVID. Why not have the headline be "A year after COVID shut everything down, NJ business are still reeling." In my opinion, that would be more accurate and fair, but obvious would not get the same amount of clicks. Folks will now just share that headline now on FB, etc., doubt they read the actual article, and scream about how the Democrat Governor wrecked the NJ economy.
Oh good ex w/ NJ headline...so frustrating
Well done. I’ve been especially paying attention to Politico’s ‘hair on fire’ headlines lately and shake my head in disappointment. I’m feeling my age as I remember the good ole bad days in journalism when the golden rules were ‘who, what, when, where, why and how?’ What might have been a headline and/or good gossip appeared in the tabloids in those days now appear on MSM. Now it’s the clicks that have become important. A new day for sure.
Also, as a former NJ resident I’ve paid special attention to the NJ guv and as far as I can tell he’s doing a good job tackling a pandemic in his state. Of course it was COVID.
I agree completely. Politico used to be worth reading but now they’re just a cheap bunch of hacks going for clickbait.
According to a WP sidebar header this morning, Biden "faces criticism" because of a surge in migrants at the border, which a headline writer thought could be sold as if this is somehow the real story; that Pres. Biden can somehow control the number of people showing up at the border. Right below it, 08:21 carries the sub beginning with the phrase, "trump says..." as if coverage of whatever the former, fired guy has to say is still front page news. He's allegedly starting his own social media outlet. Will the major outlets continue to cover his every blathering with breathless front page attention? Will the headline editors continue to bait and switch like carnival barkers? Will print media resort to using blue or red tinted newsprint to offer comfort to their "followers"? God help us.
Dan-One thing I love about Press Secretary Jen Psaki is her consistent pushback to "people are saying." (As if in a country of 330 million reporting on .0000001% is news). As you say, sometimes it is the Dark Lord himself. But Ms. Psaki is polite, and professional, and allows the questioner to undue him/herself rather than dismiss the question out-of-hand.
I love her, but watching the stupid (and same) questions over and over and over, is very tedious.
I agree. Jen Psaki is a total pro. Today’s AP insists on knowing why WH won’t use the word ‘crisis’ to describe conditions at the border, a complaint press created and then fomented into another phony story. For sure, words matter, but c’mon. Made up horror tale just like the’ no scheduled Presidential press conference’ all over again.
The Post has been fear mongering about inflation with Larry Summers plus anonymous economists say. The one time they did name one of those economists it was the well know conservative Douglas Holtz Eakin.
Larry just mad because no one wanted him this time around. Bye Larry.
As your fellow wise press critic Eric Alterman asked, What liberal media? The L word is still lazy. It's easier for The Post to attack on this than to get at the reality, because the reality is that its political reporters did the work of the enemies of this country--republicans--for years, and continue to do so, including the later years of the once reputable, then senile, David Broder.
Yes Eric, is WaPo now in stiff competition with the 'grey lady' (NYT)? It's truly horrifying...I'm beginning to wonder WHY I am a subscriber though I push back in their comments whenever possible.
I have been a subscriber for several years. Then in a pique I cancelled, then I cancelled the cancel because like you I could push back in comments. But this article pushed me over the edge and I cancelled again. I refuse to subsidize fascist enabling GQP propatainment. A pox on all of those sycophantic stenographers.
I understand your pain and I'm at the in-between point. I used to think the NYT was the worst but now???? I hated the NYT too, because they wanted to charge me extra for looking at RECIPES???? Recipes? So I quit for 6months....when I came back, they offered it for 6/month, for a year. I don't think WaPo will go below the 10/mo I am paying now, but willing to call their bluff.
Sigh. I did it. I pulled the plug. And yes, NYT is a hot mess and WaPo is now neck and pain in the neck with them. Grrr. If you cancel a cheaper option will immediately pop up to entice you to stay. I think they hype it as $100/year or something.
Thanks, Eric. The facts are the facts. Immigration has been an issue for every administration, especially when it involves POC. Yes, there is a problem with immigration in every country. It is down in the past 50 years and the crisis at the border was created by the Trump administration, Jeff Session Rod R. Full stop. Shame on WAPO. Those children deserve better.
I didn’t have time/space but *by far* the largest surges in US history came during W. Bush presidency
I recently read that the bill Bush signed to protect kids from being trafficked led to a surge in child immigrants although that bill was signed at the end of his administration so the increase came after he was out of office. This was one time Bush was actually a compassionate conservative.
He actually wanted a guest worker program and he was shot down by his own party.
I didn't know it was the largest surge, I knew it was quite a large amount, definitely larger than the Obama years. Also, Morning Joe this AM decided to reiterate this talking point and blame everything on the Biden administration.
I'm listening (gag) to today's presser with Jen Psaki...it's subtitle is "how can we get her to say 'crisis?' ". I admire this woman more and more for her ability to withstand these fools.
I think a large part of the problem is that Biden has chosen to be as non-confrontational as possible. IMO, every member of the administration should be pushing back, and pushing back hard, on the inhumanity of Trump's approach, AND the media's framing of the challenges at the border as a GOP defined "crisis".
The GOP isn't good at much, but they are good at working the refs -- and the Democrats aren't.
ABC This Week staged its entire Sunday program from the border, in order to focus on the "emerging crisis for the Biden administration."
Poor babies. After being fed a steady diet of Trump for four years, they are afraid they are going to starve unless they make up lies about Biden.
I've been a WaPo reader for years but I'm ready to abandon ship because in the last year or so, their coverage has been literally some of the laziest and most manipulative excuses for journalism I've ever read. In one day, the online edition can typically respond to a big news story by posting 7 or 8 articles on the subject, crowding out other news and delivering a lot of useless infotainment. While world news is shamefully under-reported, we were treated recently to two weeks of pieces covering Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the rate of at least 3 articles per day. Since Trump left office, the Post seems to be struggling to figure out just what kind of newspaper it wants to be, and with the two diametrically opposite pieces they've published recently on the immigration issue, they seem to want to go in two directions at the same time. Washington DC deserves a better newspaper, that's certain.
Totally off topic, but a story I would like to read about, is where is the My Pillow Guy getting his money from, who is funding this guy. I find it hard to believe that selling pillows would give you what seems like unlimited funds to overturn an election. He's constantly in the news regarding his efforts to overturn an election, such as now in Arizona. How could be be that wealthy.
A couple of million and a tacky mansion down in FL for selling pillows, sure, can see that. Not able to fly all around the country, pay for the so called "experts," developing a social media site (and yes, sure it is awful, but still need to fund it), and I doubt the company is generating that much income.
Yet again: That Dems always and can only screw up is a storyline of the mainstream’s DC press corp that goes back to Jimmy Carter.
The claim that there’s any significant bias against the GOP in the establishment media is a complete joke. The WaPo piece is completely shameful, inexcusable and indefensible. The closest thing to a defense is that it’s part of editorial pressure to get access to the facilities, opportunity to interview the Border Patrol, etc., which would still result on shitting on Biden for no good reason other than the old storyline the press loves to push. Meanwhile, they keep on avoiding or allowing to be drowned out why all these people (and kids) are struggling to get in. Of course, honest reporting on that can’t look good for us. Too, the core of the problem is decades of lousy immigration policy forced by the GOP. That, too, is off limits to the press because of the longtime storyline that the GOP is awesome and nigh perfect.
As Eric noted, Will Bunch did chapter and verse on the bullshit behind the WaPo story which is to the overwhelmingly shitty reporting on the subject.
All this is just more of my repetitious rant that the mainstream media are doing real harm to the nation.
I hope they're getting seriously dragged for this story. I've been too busy at work today to read it myself, but also don't know if I have the stomach for it.