We need to describe politics and politicians in measured terms from our perspective. If we are picking through a bin of rotten fruit then it is not delicious and we should recognize it as rotten.
When I see conservatives complaining about The Media, I assume that it's a relatively quiet day otherwise, and someone's just looking to fill column/newsletter space.
I'm more interested in "The Racket's Take on Joe Biden (et al.)" than "The Racket's Take on The Media's Take on Joe Biden (et al.)".
We recently got David's take on Biden - what's the rest of the Racket Crew's take on Biden? As a pre-Jan. 6 Trump supporters (some of you), are you pleasantly surprised (or appalled) with what Biden's keeping from the Trump years (Afghanistan withdrawal, "Buy American", disregard for deficits, etc.) or do you also see him as a puppet for the Woke mob as other Conservative Media is eager to paint him?
1. Trump really is a narcissist. That's not a strawman accusation.
2. I'm unclear about this whole "yardstick" analogy. I get that Trump is the current apex of MSM antipathy, so the media will have to come up with something new for the next GOP presidential candidate, but it will. Thanos and Pennywise are still available.
3. What do you mean when you say that the Republicans' yardstick is also broken? Is it an acknowledgment that every GOP candidate must pledge fealty to Trump in order to be accepted as viable (or even worthy of being called a Republican)?
Thank you for the questions/points. I'll address them by number.
1. Yes. Trump is many of the things he's been accused of being. But he's not Hitler or "the greatest threat to democracy in history" etc. etc. Those are straw man arguments that have been used by the self-described unbiased media against all the other Republicans, so how do we discern they are true for Trump but not for everyone else?
2. When Republicans pick candidates, and the media evaluates them, we need some way of measuring a candidate or sitting president's stature. Where I differ from your point is that the media will *not* come up with something new for the next GOP candidate. They'll stick with the same old tropes they've always used, or--worse--they'll call whoever it is "another Trump." I imagine that happening if Pence runs.
3. The GOP's yardstick is shattered. The fact that Trump still has the kind of sway and power he possesses over the party, at the grassroots and the national level, is proof that we have a lot of work to do. Until party officials, at all levels, stop publicly appeasing Trump and Trumpists, while privately choosing to support those who do reject both, we are going to have this broken yardstick. I am not hopeful that this is a survivable crisis for the GOP.
1. No argument about the other accusations. I still say "narcissist" applies to Trump, more so than to any other GOP president we've had.
2. Yeah, I can see that happening, too. Either "another Trump" or "worse than Trump" will be standard tropes.
3. Which party officials publicly appease Trump but privately support those who reject him? Do you mean House members who voted to keep Liz Cheney in her leadership position (because it was a secret vote)? I wish the constituents whose wrath they fear were genuine conservatives, rather than Trump groupies. If the GOP is doomed, it's a self-inflicted mortal wound.
I would never take that $20 bet Steve. My assessment of Biden is he is boring...and i am personally thrilled by it. I do need the president in my face 24/7. In fact, this is one of those cases where less is way better.
I could do the whole "whataboutism" with our friends on the right leaning media, but that solves nothing. So, here's my take. I like to keep it simple and here's how they fixed professional wrestling: They quit calling it "wrestling" and it became "sports entertainment." Way more appropriate.
We just need to start tagging news programs in a similar fashion. There's those, both on the left and the right, who wouldn't know news if it hit them in the face. And if they did, they'd rather promote it/shill it as news when it is really nothing more than shameless self-promotion to enhance ratings and build a bigger following.
The other option would be to sue them when they lie through their teeth and then watch them as they scurry about trying to cover their ass. Oh, wait, we've seen that game before haven't we. If memory serves me, it was more on the right than the left but i am old and perhaps senile and confused.
Finally, seems to me there's a whole bunch of folks on the right who have proclaimed trump as being a threat to our democracy; including Liz Chaney who gets a ton of respect for having brass balls.
We need to describe politics and politicians in measured terms from our perspective. If we are picking through a bin of rotten fruit then it is not delicious and we should recognize it as rotten.
100% Yes.
When I see conservatives complaining about The Media, I assume that it's a relatively quiet day otherwise, and someone's just looking to fill column/newsletter space.
I'm more interested in "The Racket's Take on Joe Biden (et al.)" than "The Racket's Take on The Media's Take on Joe Biden (et al.)".
We recently got David's take on Biden - what's the rest of the Racket Crew's take on Biden? As a pre-Jan. 6 Trump supporters (some of you), are you pleasantly surprised (or appalled) with what Biden's keeping from the Trump years (Afghanistan withdrawal, "Buy American", disregard for deficits, etc.) or do you also see him as a puppet for the Woke mob as other Conservative Media is eager to paint him?
Biden is exactly what he appears to be, if you strip away all the pretentious media coverage.
1. Trump really is a narcissist. That's not a strawman accusation.
2. I'm unclear about this whole "yardstick" analogy. I get that Trump is the current apex of MSM antipathy, so the media will have to come up with something new for the next GOP presidential candidate, but it will. Thanos and Pennywise are still available.
3. What do you mean when you say that the Republicans' yardstick is also broken? Is it an acknowledgment that every GOP candidate must pledge fealty to Trump in order to be accepted as viable (or even worthy of being called a Republican)?
Thank you for the questions/points. I'll address them by number.
1. Yes. Trump is many of the things he's been accused of being. But he's not Hitler or "the greatest threat to democracy in history" etc. etc. Those are straw man arguments that have been used by the self-described unbiased media against all the other Republicans, so how do we discern they are true for Trump but not for everyone else?
2. When Republicans pick candidates, and the media evaluates them, we need some way of measuring a candidate or sitting president's stature. Where I differ from your point is that the media will *not* come up with something new for the next GOP candidate. They'll stick with the same old tropes they've always used, or--worse--they'll call whoever it is "another Trump." I imagine that happening if Pence runs.
3. The GOP's yardstick is shattered. The fact that Trump still has the kind of sway and power he possesses over the party, at the grassroots and the national level, is proof that we have a lot of work to do. Until party officials, at all levels, stop publicly appeasing Trump and Trumpists, while privately choosing to support those who do reject both, we are going to have this broken yardstick. I am not hopeful that this is a survivable crisis for the GOP.
1. No argument about the other accusations. I still say "narcissist" applies to Trump, more so than to any other GOP president we've had.
2. Yeah, I can see that happening, too. Either "another Trump" or "worse than Trump" will be standard tropes.
3. Which party officials publicly appease Trump but privately support those who reject him? Do you mean House members who voted to keep Liz Cheney in her leadership position (because it was a secret vote)? I wish the constituents whose wrath they fear were genuine conservatives, rather than Trump groupies. If the GOP is doomed, it's a self-inflicted mortal wound.
I would never take that $20 bet Steve. My assessment of Biden is he is boring...and i am personally thrilled by it. I do need the president in my face 24/7. In fact, this is one of those cases where less is way better.
I could do the whole "whataboutism" with our friends on the right leaning media, but that solves nothing. So, here's my take. I like to keep it simple and here's how they fixed professional wrestling: They quit calling it "wrestling" and it became "sports entertainment." Way more appropriate.
We just need to start tagging news programs in a similar fashion. There's those, both on the left and the right, who wouldn't know news if it hit them in the face. And if they did, they'd rather promote it/shill it as news when it is really nothing more than shameless self-promotion to enhance ratings and build a bigger following.
The other option would be to sue them when they lie through their teeth and then watch them as they scurry about trying to cover their ass. Oh, wait, we've seen that game before haven't we. If memory serves me, it was more on the right than the left but i am old and perhaps senile and confused.
Finally, seems to me there's a whole bunch of folks on the right who have proclaimed trump as being a threat to our democracy; including Liz Chaney who gets a ton of respect for having brass balls.