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The Commentariat -- July 26, 2016
Democratic National Convention & Presidential Race
See also yesterday's Afternoon Update.
Dan Roberts & Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: "A stormy opening night of the Democratic convention battered the Philadelphia arena on Monday as defiant Bernie Sanders supporters resisted attempts to persuade them to embrace Hillary Clinton. Impassioned pleas for unity from a trio of Democratic women led by Michelle Obama raised hopes that the tumultuous first day of the convention may provide catharsis. But despite a direct plea for calm from Sanders, many of his 1,846 delegates in the arena repeatedly jeered at mentions of the party's presumptive nominee for the first hour or two of the evening." -- CW
Abby Phillip & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Bernie Sanders closed out the first day of the Democratic party's convention with a forceful plea for his supporters to get behind ... Hillary Clinton.... Sanders stood, taking in the adulation for several long minutes before launching into what would prove to be a challenging task: finally bringing his supporters into Clinton's fold. 'If you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country,' Sanders warned":
... Here's the text of Sanders' speech, as prepared, via Politico. -- CW ...
Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "... as she took the stage in prime time Monday night at the Democratic National Convention for perhaps the most anticipated speech of her career, [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren positioned herself to wield singular power over Democratic politics and the party's policy agenda from her perch in the Senate, no matter who wins the presidency":
Abby Phillip & Sean Sullivan: "First lady Michelle Obama delivered a powerful character witness on behalf of the Democratic Party's nominee, Hillary Clinton, and urged her party to not be complacent":
... CW: Copy that, Melania. ...
... Gail Collins: "O.K., Michelle Obama stole the show. It would be hard to beat an African-American first lady saying that she woke up every morning: 'in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.' But she went further than that -- further, really, in lambasting the opposition than is traditional for someone in the Official Wife position. And it worked very, very well." (CW: You may want to scroll on down the page; there are several other short takes on the convention, but there is no way to isolate them.) ...
... Rebecca Traister of New York: "... it was not an elected official, but one of the most brilliant and inspiring first ladies in American history, Michelle Obama, who lit up the room, silenced the booing throngs, and opened up a can of elegant whoop-ass on everyone who has been behaving poorly, all without mentioning any offenders by name." -- CW
Brian Beutler: "... by the end of the evening, the disarray story became impossible to credit.... The basic competence, and occasional brilliance, of the stagecraft left no room for anyone other than the most partisan operatives to pretend the two conventions and parties are equally broken.... Clinton's convention lineup wasn't designed to contrast with Trump's brigade of C-list celebrities and agitators, though it did do that. It was instead meant to serve as a demonstration that Clinton is widely respected in the Democratic Party, which is much less divided than a handful of Sanders delegates would have you believe. Where Trump insists to the public that Republicans are unified, Clinton and her supporters showed that they are." -- CW ...
... NEW. Greg Sargent: "What last night really showed is that there will be a profound, fundamental imbalance between the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump campaigns when it comes to the wattage of surrogates out there making the case this fall.The biggest speeches of the night, from New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, projected a tone that seemed designed to contrast sharply with the hate-and-rage-fest otherwise known as the GOP convention.... this is also another way in which there is simply no equivalence between the degree of disunity that is afflicting the two parties." -- CW
The New York Times' "live briefing" of the convention is here. ...
... 6 pm ET: "Hundreds of Bernie Sanders supporters drowned out the Vermont senator with boos Monday as he tried to make the case that his fans would need to vote for Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald J. Trump." CW: I'd say they're not Sanders "supporters" if they booed him. More like brats & malcontents.
... Sean Sullivan & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Debbie Wasserman Schultz excused herself from gaveling in the convention, bowing to heavy pressure from party activists. It was one of many dramatic developments during a day of discord that threatened to distract from high-profile speeches meant to convey Democratic unity on the first day of the convention.... The floor of the Democratic National Convention was awash with anti-Hillary Clinton sentiment and sporadic protests as it opened Monday afternoon. Every mention of her name drew boos from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders's supporters, who toted signs railing against trade pacts and distracting from the speakers on stage. Televisions news cameras and anchors swarmed each uprising, broadcasting it live and furiously tweeting the latest chants. The barrage of activity and Klieg lights only seemed to encourage the rabble rousing, which continued on for more than an hour." -- CW ...
... "Mayhem Breaks Out"! Nick Gass of Politico: "Democrats on Monday struggled to contain the chaos that threatened to take hold in Philadelphia, as Debbie Wasserman Schultz bowed out of plans to gavel in the Democratic National Convention and restless Bernie Sanders' supporters lashed out.... Clinton's campaign insisted Monday that Sanders would 'double down' on his endorsement of Clinton weeks ago in New Hampshire, 'in contrast to Ted Cruz,' who caused an uproar in Cleveland by telling Americans to 'vote your conscience' rather than explicitly endorsing Trump." -- CW ...
... Ruby Kramer of BuzzFeed: "Bernie Sanders' campaign manager repudiated a fledgling grassroots effort by progressive activists at the Democratic National Convention to challenge Sen. Tim Kaine as the party's vice presidential nominee. 'It's very divisive,' said Jeff Weaver, the top strategist.... 'She's the presidential nominee. If Bernie were the nominee, would you want the conservatives trying to nominate our vice president?'" -- CW ...
... Liz Goodwin of Yahoo! News: "Sen. Bernie Sanders sent a text message to the leaders of his delegation pleading with them not to protest on the Democratic convention floor Monday night. 'I ask you as a personal courtesy to me to not engage in any kind of protest on the floor,' he wrote in the text message to his delegate whips. 'Its of utmost importance you explain this to your delegations.'" -- CW ...
... Jonathan Swan of the Hill: "Bernie Sanders supporters should stop calling for Hillary Clinton to be put in prison, Jeff Weaver said Monday ahead of the start of the Democratic National Convention. 'I know emotions are running high right now, but I think people really have to consider the implications of what a [Donald] Trump presidency would mean for those of us who support the kind of agenda that Bernie Sanders has laid out for the country,' Weaver, who served as campaign manager for Sanders's presidential bid, told The Hill.... On Sunday, immediately preceding the opening of the Democratic convention, supporters of the Vermont senator reportedly marched through the streets of Philadelphia, chanting, 'Lock her up.'" -- CW ...
... "Fart-in, Smoke-in and Actual Crowds Come to Philly After Boring RNC Protests." Steven Nelson of US News: "After surprisingly few people took to the streets of Cleveland last week to protest Donald Trump's nomination at the Republican National Convention, this week's Democratic convention will prove activism isn't dead.... The number of participants opposing or seeking to influence Hillary Clinton on Sunday alone -- before the convention began -- easily exceeded the number of protesters targeting Trump in an entire week.... Along for the ride will be at least one -- maybe two -- enormous fan-operated inflatable joints, which cannabis activists led by the D.C. Cannabis Campaign will march south toward the convention center.... Some Sanders delegates will participate in the anti-Clinton 'fart in.'..." CW: Let's feed 'em beans. ...
... Those Protesters (Including Some Delegates) Aren't Democrats. Paul Waldman: "The Democratic Party isn't being torn apart from the inside; it's being attacked from the outside.... For a certain kind of activist on the left, the real enemy is never the right; it's always the liberals who are insufficiently committed to their brand of revolution.... For some of [Sanders'] most ardent followers, joining the Democratic Party was never part of the deal. Many of the ones now protesting are quite open about the fact that their goal is to destroy the party.... This is a real contrast with the conflicts we saw highlighted in Cleveland...." -- CW ...
... Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Pew asked ... consistent Sanders supporters whom they support in the general election. Ninety percent said they back Hillary Clinton.... Last week, as the Republican convention was going on, Pew offered similar research about the Republicans. Of the 44 percent of the party that never supported Donald Trump, 79 percent were planning on backing him in the general election -- lower than the percentage of Sanders supporters backing Clinton, but still nearly 8 in 10. So why so much outrage in Philadelphia? Delegates to party conventions are not normal members of political parties." -- CW ...
** Why Are Sanders Delegates Such Jerks? Blame the Clinton Establishment. Matt Yglesias of Vox: "Sanders had little control over his delegates.... This was in part a matter of sloppiness on the part of Sanders's team in selecting delegates. But as one operative told me, there was another reason Sanders's delegation was so unruly: Everyone was so afraid to cross Clinton by serving as a Sanders delegate that he couldn't convince the kind of party loyalists who normally take the job to do it.... Many Sanders delegates come from the world of left-wing protest culture rather than party politics." -- CW
Lose the Air Quotes, Donald Donaldovich. Katherine Krueger of TPM: "Donald Trump on Monday attributed the Democratic National Committee hack that led to the ouster of its chair to 'one of our many, many "friends"' in Russia or China.... 'Little did [Wasserman Schultz] know, Russia, China, one of our many, many "friends"' -- Trump emphasized with air quotes -- 'came in and hacked the hell out of us.'" -- CW ...
... ** Thomas Rid in Vice: "The forensic evidence linking the DNC breach to known Russian operations is very strong. On June 20, two competing cybersecurity companies, Mandiant (part of FireEye) and Fidelis, confirmed CrowdStrike's initial findings that Russian intelligence indeed hacked Clinton's campaign.... The larger operation, with its manipulative traits, fits well into the wider framework of Russia's evolving military doctrine, known as New Generation Warfare or the 'Gerasimov Doctrine,' named after Valery Gerasimov, the current Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.... The operation is not over." -- CW ...
... Shane Harris & Nancy Youssef of the Daily Beast: "The theory that Moscow orchestrated the leaks to help Trump, who has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and practically called for the end of NATO, is fast gaining currency within the Obama administration because of the timing of the leaks and Trump's own connections to the Russian government.... Two U.S. officials told The Daily Beast that while hacking is a crime, and therefore falls under the FBI's jurisdiction, trying to manipulate an election is not. That may limit what the FBI can investigate...." -- CW ...
Dana Houle in the New Republic: "The main problem with the notion that the DNC rigged the results for Clinton is that it requires one to assume the improbable. The DNC had no role or authority in primary contests, which are run by state governments. Clinton dominated the primaries. The DNC, through state parties, had a bit more influence over caucuses ... where Sanders dominated Clinton.... Furthermore, if it is true that last fall Clinton campaign chair John Podesta tried but failed to have DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz sacked, the underlying premise of the entire WikiLeaks dump -- that Wasserman Schultz machinated to deliver Clinton the nomination -- is hard to believe." ...
... Houle identifies the real threat to the party that the Russian DNC hacks signalled: just as "Republican operatives jammed the phone lines of Democratic phone banks in New Hampshire, possibly costing them a seat in the U.S. Senate," so could Drumpovich-leaning hackers mess up "the digital and data infrastructure of the Democratic Party and its allies in organized labor and liberal interest groups." -- CW ...
... CW: Echoing what I wrote yesterday, Paul Waldman writes: "... the fact that Russia is trying to swing the outcome of an American presidential election is about a million times more important than the fact that some DNC staffers talked trash about Bernie Sanders in emails to one another."
Prognostications on the Trumpinproletariat: "How Rousseau Predicted Trump." Pankaj Mishra in the New Yorker: "No Enlightenment thinker observing our current predicament from the afterlife would be able to say 'I told you so' as confidently as Jean-Jacques Rousseau..., who was memorably described by Isaiah Berlin as the 'greatest militant lowbrow in history.' In his major writings, beginning in the seventeen-fifties, Rousseau thrived on his loathing of metropolitan vanity, his distrust of technocrats and of international trade, and his advocacy of traditional mores.... Against today's backdrop of political rage, however, Rousseau seems to have grasped, and embodied, better than anyone the incendiary appeal of victimhood in societies built around the pursuit of wealth and power." -- CW
Annals of "Journalism" & Journalism, Ctd. New York invites media luminaries to critique the media. -- CW
Beyond the Beltway
Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (July 22): "Gov. Scott Walker on Friday named a little-known Waukesha lawyer with no judicial experience to the state Supreme Court, putting Daniel Kelly on the bench and keeping in place the high court's 5-2 conservative majority. Kelly -- who in his application called affirmative action and slavery the same morally -- will replace retiring Justice David Prosser on Aug. 1, the start of the court's new term. Kelly, 52, initially applied for the appointment in secret, but his name became public in June.... Kelly took just one question from reporters after Walker announced the appointment in the state Capitol, but he declined to discuss his writings opposing affirmative action and gay marriage." -- CW ...
... OR, as Charles Pierce put it, Walker "is hard at work still putting the bananas in his banana republic...." -- CW
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Reader Comments (26)
I have to agree with Marie on Bernie "supporters".
With friends like these........
The convention mess is a gift from Bernie, intended or not. If he had pulled out when the race was over his particular type of wing nuts would not be nearly as fierce by now.
Bernie has poor judgment or bad intentions. His minions may elect a monster.
Michelle for President!
Diane had the best line yesterday and it needs repeating.
"The media acts like a bunch of severely developmentally delayed raccoons running from one worthless shiny object to the next."
Wonderful image.
@Marvin,
Ditto that. I was wowed by her speech. You go girl!
Cakers
I saw some of this behavior at the OWS march in Kansas City. More than a few would seek out anyone with a raised camera and then move in with a ready pose. A wanna be 'Wavy Gravy" if you will. It takes more than a tie dyed shirt to be a revolutionary.
And please everyone, don't paint with too broad a brush. Remember our own youthful exuberance.
Still feelin the Berne, but saving democracy still comes first.
Definitely not thrilled with Hill and Bill. But the other choice is Don and Mel. No way, never, not ever--ever, ever, ever! They are rich white trash and beyond fucked up! Still cannot believe that Mel cribbed her RNC speech from Michelle's 2008 speech--and that the Trumpets deny this. Yikes!
Not worries about Trump's poll "bounce." That is par for the course--especially on one of his clumsy, flawed golf "casinos!"
Ah, the human mind. The Bernie supporters who won't give in are of the same mental state as the majority of Trump supporters. This isn't about politics. They picked a position. It is all about being part of the crowd and winning. They can never accept losing or admitting they got it wrong. America has nothing to do with their brains.
SNAP! SHOTS FROM DAY ONE AT THE DNC CONVENTION
Luis Gutierrez opened up the evening with a rousing speech denouncing Trump on discrimination, immigration––and then proceeded to list the contributions that immigrants have made in this country, followed by spelling out the Democratic platform and ended with much praise for Hillary. It was done well.
Listened to an interview with Marsha Fudge who was most impressive––fluid speaker and seemed very sure of herself.
Al Franken–-here's where the humor came into play; unfortunately Bernie's buds or as CW calls them, brats and malcontents, spoiled it somewhat by booing and shouting out. Sarah Silverman joined Al–-she says, "Bernie speaks to my heart; Hillary speaks to my head." Here was someone who had been a Sander's supporter and was telling the Bernie or bust people--"You are being ridiculous."
But music soothes the wild beasts. Paul Simon and his "Bridge Over Troubled Water" had people holding hands and swaying to the music––lovely to see.
Cory Booker is looking ahead: with a speech like that he's booking a place in the future that has a presidential feeling all over it.
And then we got our Me-shell, our belle, who was magnificent. People love her––much adulation from the crowd. How perfect to design your speech around parental messages. "Who will shape our children for the rest of their lives?" This is a strong woman who is urging the vote for another strong woman.
So even though Elizabeth Warren gave us her very best (she, too, had the boos and some jerk who was shouting something over and over) it seemed a little pale after Michelle's. But strong messages here.
And then there was Bernie: Good grief, I thought, how many thank you's is he going to give before his fans settle down. I liked the "This election is about the needs of the American future." I find it interesting that the Bernie or Busters who say they trust him do not trust him when he tells them to vote for Hillary. I listened to a few interviews with some of them and concluded they aren't that savvy and they aren't that trustful; they seem to be caught up in a love fest, a powerful tug to be part of a movement even though they are ignorant of what's in the platform and what's in the platform is much of what Bernie wanted.
and we have miles to go before...
and the Russians, who I understand have also hacked into Germany's secret stuff, will be sending their choice for the U.S. President an invitation to join Putin on a bare chested horse ride through the hills and dales of Moscow splendor. Wouldn't that be a picture!
Sometimes it seems that headlines write themselves, but ahhh! there's always a real life, clever writer who comes up with such an enviable perfect one as (see HuffPost) FLOTUS LIKE A BUTTERFLY STING LIKE A BEE
Oh, and did Michelle ever!
What a difference in the opening days of the two conventions. Contention and the more annoying outbursts aside (there are always the malcontents who lack mature pragmatism and understanding of what is makes the right argument, what is factual; it seems they simply want to disturb/disrupt more for the hell of it or their own uninformed egos). Valid protests are good, gratuitous noisemakers, not so much.
The staging worked, the speeches were well delivered, the speakers stayed on message. As I watched various speakers come on stage, I was reminded of a recent criticism from a U.K. friend who had watched the Cleveland nonsense "...why do they all look like Barbies?" (as in, vying for third runner-up at one of Trump's old pageants). In Philadelphia, there were real people who delivered heartfelt, on point messages.
First time I ever heard Cory Booker, what a fireball! Went long, but impressive. (Snarky, but funny—one of the NYTimes live bloggers wrote in effect: "...if this was the Oscars, the orchestra would have started the playover music...")
Warren is Warren, sooooooo smart, sooooo sharp! whadda dame!
A fine opening night line-up!
Mrs. O.
The. Best.
Nuff said.
Our First Lady was the star of the evening-- great speech, great delivery, so poised and together. Supreme Court, anyone?
Loved Al's humor, which is rare since he was elected, and Corey had every point and every cliche and too long, but has promise... Sorry the Senator Professor had to follow FLOTUS, but she is like a little terrier, nipping at the heels and taking bites out of trumpsterfire-- she's a precious asset. Hope the Bernie shouters all oversleep... Bernie himself was fine.
Now-- the Russians-- holy crap-- we're back in the 50s and 60s!
Trump Tower penthouse. Monday evening. Melania Trump lounges in front of a big screen TV. It's Yuuuuuuge.
She's wearing a diaphanous nightgown her husband tells her was hand sewn personally by Vera Wang out of fabric from silk worms descended from ten thousand year old Chinese species that provided silk for the emperors (actually a $39 knock-off from Marshalls).
She holds in her hand a diamond encrusted pen given by her husband on her last birthday (really a $1.29 Bic with cubic zirconium chips pasted on) and she's taking notes on a pad of sheer vellum (another gift from the Donald) made, he tells her, by monks living in the Loire valley using a special formula handed down from the middle ages (tracing paper from Walmart).
Melania: "Meredith, come queek. The Democrats are letting someone's maid speak at their convention. Leesen...
Oh, that was good one. Write thees down: "I wake up in house built by slaves." I can use that one for next convention."
Donald and Melania Trump: The Art of Authenticity.
@Akhilleus: Ha ha. "The Art of Authenticity": Perfect for the Trumps' next bestseller. This time, Trump had better send his ghostwriter to Siberia. With his connections, that should be easy.
Marie
Loved Michelle’s speech as much as Bernie’s.
It was an inspiring speech delivered with great conviction. I do question her claim of growing up on a goat farm in southern Slovenia though.
I didn't get to see much of the convention. I did hear that Paul Simon sang his song but heard it from wingers who laughed at how funny they thought it was because the Democrats were supposedly very much in need of a bridge over troubled waters, as if Confederates are all sailing to fucking Byzantium over waters perfumed with rosebuds and stilled by the heavens.
After the train wreck of the Trumpotheosis, I suppose they have to find something bad to point to about the Democrats. I noticed that that imbecile Ron Fournier scribbled in the Atlantic (no link; fuck that), that "All hell broke loose at the Democratic Convention!!"
A few people booed. It wasn't like they had to send in security details to make sure one side didn't inflict bodily harm on the other like they did in Cleveland.
I also noticed that the star power of the Democratic party's first night crushed the Z list "stars" of the entire Trump sad sack review. A foul-mouthed Chachi from Happy Days no one's heard from in decades and some fight promoter vs. Paul Simon and Sarah Silverman. And speakers? Testicle slicer Joni Ernst vs. the stately, sublime Michelle Obama. As Rockygirl suggests, 'nuff said.
No wonder Fournier needs to make shit up.
Oh, and PD, about Michelle Obama, I caught that Beatles reference. Nice one. Thanks. "Sont les mots qui vont très bien ensemble", c'est vrai.
So in summary from the DNC speakers:
Trump is a fraud
Trump is a thief
Trump is an expert in bankruptcy
Trump was happy to see millions lose their homes
Trump is a racist
Trump is a supporter of a women's right to choose
Trump wants to put women who choose in prison
Trump wants to spend more billions
Trump wants a tax break for himself
Trump will fix the deficit
Trump will create more jobs by buying more Trump products from China
Trump has financial ties to Russia
Trump has declared US NATO allies enemies
And of course:
Trump wants to make America White Again
Our biggest problem is the fact that our allies are having a hard time believing that this scam artist is a candidate for POTUS.
In the wee hours, when the place was nearly empty four of the women, who were covering the floor for MSNBC, managed to hold Al Franken hostage for a bit. Mostly a lot of yada yada yada with the goal of making the Bernie diehards seem significant in the election results and to foment ongoing "chaos". Those followers were much in the throws of idealism and passion as well as being in the moment, when they were interviewed. Their comments were not surprising.
The interesting part was when Franken tried to say something about the media - that perhaps they should point out lies and stick to the facts. Yikes, that went over like a lead balloon. Second time I've seen those type of comments vehemently shut down. Tamara ? , another MSNBC talking head, did the same on Sunday during a plein air session outside the convention.
There needs to be constant harping on Trump to release his tax returns. I suspect Senator Warren could needle Trump into doing so. More folks need to vigorously confront the TMZ reporting that has become the standard.
Well, well. Those leaked DNC e-mails, you know, the ones Putin and his hackers hoped would help Putin's BFF, Tovarisch Donaldovich Trumpskeyev, had nothing to do with the Rooskies at all, at least not according to one of the featured speakers at the Trumpotheosis, aka the Cluster in Cleveland. Retired US Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a Trumpskeyev advisor and one-time VP candidate has found the real culprit, and boy will you be surprised (not): JEWS! But of course. The Jews. Because.....er.....because.....well, Jews!
Yup. In keeping with the spirit of the Cleveland Bund rally, kangaroo court, and reality show 'rasslin' match, this guy has retweeted the identity of the real crooks here:
"'The corrupt Democratic machine will do and say anything to get #NeverHillary into power. This is a new low,' he tweeted, sharing a link to a tweet from a user named Saint Bibiana (@30PiecesofAG_) who wrote '>Cnn implicated. ‘The USSR is to blame!’ … Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore.'"
Of course soon after he deleted his tweet and called his blaming of the Jews "a mistake". Now, it was a mistake that he blamed Jews for something done by Russians to help Trump, or it was a mistake that he said it out loud and got caught?
Either way, there are just a fuckload of "mistakes" coming out of this campaign, aren't there?
Jews are to blame. Blacks are to blame. Immigrants are to blame. Women are to blame. Muslims are to blame. Hillary's to blame. Holy shit. Will this crap never end?
More in headline disconnect: " Not even a nyet "
Well, the MSNBC headline read: Russia's Lavrov Gives 'Four-Letter' Response to DNC Hack Claim, so I scrolled down to learn what pejorative the Russian used ...when a reporter shouted a question to Lavrov asking what he thought about the allegation that Russia was responsible for the hack.
"I don't want to use four-letter words," Lavrov replied.
And, he didn't!
Must be related to this:
In Derek Thompson's piece in The Atlantic he points out the need for man-bites-dog sensationalism to make a story newsworthy: "Why " News Junkies " Are So Glum About Politics, Economics, and Everything Else." Unfortunately, hyped up news stories only serve to ...lead many people, including experts, to feel like extreme events are more common than they actually are.
Akhilleus, as I said once before-Antisemitism definition:
I am a total worthless piece of human crap, but it's not my fault it's the Jews.
Same game for blacks, Muslims etc.
Two take-aways from watching the opening night of the Democratic convention:
————
Our little precinct caucus, out here in the boonies of Colorado’s high country, passed several resolutions and went 100% for Bernie (well, except that we good-naturedly persuaded one Bernie backer to go stand with the Hillary supporters so that our precinct would send at least one Hillary delegate to the County Assembly).
It was, quite gratifying, then, to watch as Bernie listed the progressive planks that his candidacy helped encourage onto the Democratic Platform…planks that mirrored the list of resolutions our little caucus sent to the County, and that were then passed on to Colorado’s State Democratic Convention. The system worked quite well for our little caucus.
————
My second take-away is about the three TV interviews broadcast immediately after Bernie’s speech. Microphones were stuck into the faces of three women…one Hispanic, one Black and one White (in that order). Each one expressed doubts that they could support Hillary, even if she were the Democratic nominee. And this was on MSNBC fer cryin’ out loud! I wondered what was behind MSNBC’s SPECIFIC selection of these three women, instead of, say, at least one Bernie backer who might credit Bernie’s campaign for its success in getting those progressive planks onto the platform. What the hell is going on?
————
And Diane, YES, YES! The Franken interview was a glaring indictment of something, I still don’t understand, that is going on with the freekin’ media, that has now, seemingly, been joined by the Russians. BOY! If I were a conspiracy theorist………
The New York article linked today "Case against the Media by the Media" takes awhile to slog through. I read the whole article, including the quotes, but not the full transcripts of interviews. Frank Rich and Dalia Lithwick are thoughtful and self aware, not surprisingly. Greenwald is strident as always, so you have to grit your teeth to get his often true messages. I guess he's more comfortable at being the superior pissed off victim than anything else.
There is an excruciating dilemma between the demand for 24/7 content and accuracy, substance and nuance on the issues. Its driven by making money, so its clear which side prevails.
Many of the contributing writers, came down to "the overlords are in control, I don't like it, but what can I do and besides, I kinda want to be famous too." I read a lot of deflection of responsibility, some wrenching of elbows patting themselves on the back and very little about the important consequences of acquiescing to the current style of news reporting.
Tucker Carlson was noteworthy with his incoherence. I guess the meds are no longer working.
Anyway, it was worth the time to read it through.
George Will on Facebook:
Columnist Says Trump Won't Release Tax Returns Over Connection With 'Russian Oligarchs'
Will told a Fox News panel Monday that Trump may be "deeply involved" with Russian oligarchs. "Whether that's good, bad or indifferent, it's probably the reasonable surmise,"
Diane,
Clicks are cash.
It used to be Nielsen ratings (which still matter for broadcasters), but the absolute need for quick content, often obviously unedited content, content presented with a muddling sort of specious asperity, a hipness and coolness that elide, or even worse, assiduously avoid editorial oversight and critical thought (this applies to virtually every online and on-air Fox story for the last 25 years) have changed the media landscape, much as Agent Orange can change an actual landscape.
The rise of sites operated by the Drudges and the Becks, who collect clicks like smirking, sighted bullies at an Easter egg hunt for blind kids, makes thoughtfulness and perspicacity, discrimination and prudent consideration unnecessary and uncool burdens to the "new right-wing journalism" which encourages the idea that any moron's opinion is as valid as someone who has been studying a certain topic for decades, one reason Trumpskeyev's opinion on, say, black holes, is considered equal to that of Stephen Hawking, likewise his fetid opinions on foreign affairs and the economy.
Thus, Tucker Carlson's narcissistic notions coming across as a concatenation of corrosive calumnies. They come across that way because they are that way. Hellacious hornswoggle sold as simple truths. The essence of venomous right-wing reportage.
But the more outrageous the claims, (Hillary is a murderer!!), the more clicks they get, so.....
In the end, it has nothing to do with truth, or America, or patriotism, or accuracy, or history, or authenticity, or seriousness. It's about money. And power. Full stop.
Which is just fine with Trumpskeyev. Oh, and his comrade Putin too.
@ AK: Just a quick note to you expressing my laughs reading your clever "Trump Penthouse" scenario. You should send it to SNL for consideration. I especially liked the silk worm linkage––although I doubt D.J.T. would have the wherewith-all (I'm being kind here) to come up with anything that colorful.