And then there's the media. The NYT and the Washington Post have a motivation to ally with the Democratic Party in its last-ditch effort to Watergatize Trump after Trump's endless criticisms of them. And this anti-Trump approach may get them a spike in readership, even as it repels some readers like me.
I'm missing the sense that I'm getting the normal news. It seems unfair and shoddy not to cover the President the way you'd cover any President. What looks like an effort to stigmatize Trump as not normal has — to my eyes — made the media abnormal.
I know some journalists argued that the normal approach shouldn't apply to covering Trump, because Trump is not normal, but that's not my idea of professionalism. Even if they were to regard professionalism in those terms — if the object of the news goes low, journalism should go low — they'd still be on the hook to continually maintain the perception that their antagonist really is low, and if they use their pages to strain to portray him as low to justify their continual debased presentation of the news, they're self-dealing and double counting.
The more seemingly normal Trump becomes — as with his speech to Congress the other day — the more the anti-Trump approach of the news media feels like a hackish alliance with the Democratic Party in its sad, negative, backward-looking effort to disrupt the President the people elected.
I would prefer for the Democratic Party to find something strong and positive to offer us in the next election and for the national media to play it straight on solid journalistic principles. Maybe they could take Trump's "great again" slogan seriously and personally. Meanwhile, we elected a President, and we deserve to see him have the opportunity to do his job. We all deserve that, whether we are in the segment of America that voted for him or not.
These paragraphs were written after, looking in my usual way for bloggable things, I saw this dominating the front page of the NYT:
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225 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 225 of 225Michael K;
I'm starting to wonder if President Trump understands the game. Like today, calling for tit-for-tat investigations - like that will solve Obamacare. What he should have done yesterday was call Jeff Sessions and told him to hang tough. Instead of getting distracted - again - by another nothing-burger.
I always gave The Donald credit for street smarts, but in Washington politics is played in the sewer - which is a long way down from his gold-gilded penthouse.
The preference cascade is rolling. Heads are exploding all over facebook. Between Obama's flexibility and Democrat Ted Kennedy actually colluding with Russians the cognitive dissonance is too much.
62 seats in the senate in 2018 is the over/under at this point.
David Baker said...
Like today, calling for tit-for-tat investigations - like that will solve Obamacare.
I am all for tit-for-tat investigations. You can investigate the "russia connection" all you want if we get independent counsels on the IRS, EPA, the Iran deal, Fast and Furious, CGI, Clinton Foundation, and Obama's emails to Clinton's private server.
No one would pay the least attention to this McCarthyite scandal mongering if the MSM were not (as Glenn Reynolds calls them) Democratic operatives with by-lines.
Things are reaching a level of absurdity and hypocrisy that is beyond what I have experienced in my fairly long life. It reeks of dying desperation.
I reluctantly voted for Trump and did not contribute to his campaign. I will be all in for 2020. Thanks, Chuckie and Nancy!
Continued from 5:27 PM
Of course, Comey too recognized that Yates' arguments about THE LOGAN ACT and RUSSIAN BLACKMAIL were hysterical and deranged. Comey's objection on January 19 was a delaying tactic. Soon and inevitably, Yates would be replaced, and Comey intended to frustrate her antics subtly until she was removed from her office.
However, Yates slipped quickly out of Comey's control. The Administration's first press conference took place on January 23, and Yates arranged for a journalist there to ask about communications between Flynn and Russians.
Immediately after that press conference, Yates summoned Comey and argued that she and he now had a moral obligation to inform President Trump and Vice President Michael Pence about the wire-tapped conversations between Flynn and Ambassador Kislyak. Journalists obviously knew and were asking, and so Yates and Comey would be failing their President and Vice President if they kept them in the dark.
Exasperated, Comey stopped resisting Yates. He said that he no longer would object to her warning Trump and Pence that Flynn was subject to RUSSIAN BLACKMAIL. Perhaps Comey figured that Yate's derangement would be recognized and that she would be removed from office with extraordinary urgency.
... to be continued ...
Gaaahh drudge made me link to Politico -- I need a bath.
A file photo from Nancy Pelosi's 2010 meeting with Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev shows Sergey Kislyak at the table across from Pelosi | Credit: Alamy
Personally, I think the belief in the competence of the Russian government isn't wholly supported by the history of Russia.
Obama Admin Funneled Billions Into Left-Wing Activist Groups
Democrats are corrupt corrupt corrupt
Personally, I think the belief in the competence of the Russian government isn't wholly supported by the history of Russia.
Bingo!
You can investigate the "russia connection" all you want if we get independent counsels on the IRS, EPA, the Iran deal, Fast and Furious, CGI, Clinton Foundation, and Obama's emails to Clinton's private server.
I'm for that. "Hit back twice as hard" someone once said.
It should not interfere with the Obamacare legislation and might buck up a few weak sisters.
The Democrats slow rolling of nominations is intended to delay legislation. Trump needs to fire all Obama appointees, even if it leaves empty offices. Bush made the mistake of leaving the Clinton operatives in place when the Democrats did the same thing in 2001. Obama has infiltrated lots of political appointees into the Civil Service and they need to be rooted out. Transfers to Detroit should do it.
This worries me.
it's the job of Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente to oversee any investigations related to the presidential campaigns by the FBI or Justice Department attorneys.
Boente — whom Obama promoted to U.S. attorney in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2015 — would give up that authority when and if a permanent deputy is confirmed. The White House has nominated the U.S. attorney in Baltimore, Rod Rosenstein, a Republican veteran of George W. Bush's administration, to the position. His confirmation hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
We'll see if the Democrats try to block that.
Continued from 5:47 PM
On February 13, the Washington Post published an article with the long title --
=======
Justice Department warned White House that Flynn could be vulnerable to RUSSIAN BLACKMAIL, officials say
=======
The articles' sources were anonymous, but it's obvious to me that the main source was Yates and the confirming sources were Clapper and Brennan.
About Clapper and Brennan the article reports:
[quote]
In the waning days of the Obama administration, James R. Clapper Jr., who was the director of national intelligence, and John Brennan, the CIA director at the time, shared Yates’s concerns and concurred with her recommendation to inform the Trump White House. They feared that “Flynn had put himself in a compromising position” and thought that Pence had a right to know that he had been misled ...
For Yates and other officials, concerns about the communications peaked in the days after the Obama administration on Dec. 29 announced measures to punish Russia for what it said was the Kremlin’s interference in the election in an attempt to help Trump.
After the sanctions were rolled out, the Obama administration braced itself for the Russian retaliation. To the surprise of many U.S. officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Dec. 30 that there would be no response. Trump praised the decision on Twitter.
Intelligence analysts began to search for clues that could help explain Putin’s move. The search turned up Kislyak’s communications, which the FBI routinely monitors, and the phone call in question with Flynn ....
[The fall of Michael Flynn: A timeline]
From that call and subsequent intercepts, FBI agents wrote a secret report summarizing Flynn’s discussions with Kislyak.
Yates and other intelligence officials [Clapper and Brennan] suspected that Flynn could be in violation of ... the Logan Act .... At the same time, Yates and other law enforcement officials [Justice Department legal experts] knew there was little chance of bringing against Flynn a case related to the Logan Act ...
Two officials [Comey and another FBI official?] said a main topic of the relevant call was the sanctions. Officials also said there was no evidence that Russia had attempted to exploit the discrepancy between public statements by Trump officials and what Flynn had discussed.
[end quote]
Comey objected that the FBI investigation required continued time and secrecy so that a proper assessment could be completed.
[quote]
The internal debate ... came to a head on Jan. 19, Obama’s last full day in office. Yates, Clapper and Brennan argued for briefing the incoming administration so the new president could decide how to deal with the matter. The officials discussed options, including telling Pence, the incoming White House counsel, the incoming chief of staff or Trump himself.
FBI Director James B. Comey initially opposed notification, citing concerns that it could complicate the agency’s investigation.
Clapper and Brennan left their positions when Trump was sworn in, but Yates stayed on as acting attorney general ....
A turning point came after Jan. 23, when Spicer, in his first official media briefing, again was asked about Flynn’s communications with Kislyak. ...
Yates again raised the issue with Comey, who now backed away from his opposition to informing the White House. Yates and the senior career national security official [Clapper or Brennan] spoke to McGahn, the White House counsel ....
[end quote]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-department-warned-white-house-that-flynn-could-be-vulnerable-to-russian-blackmail-officials-say/2017/02/13/fc5dab88-f228-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html?utm_term=.c6bc879e79a0
Lost in all the noise is this important fact: The DNC and their media tools were the ones caught trying to "hack the election" in favor of Hillary.
And, in what is becoming a pathological tell for leftists, they accuse their opposition of exactly what they themselves are guilty of. This "Russian hacking" smoke bomb was started as an attempt to obscure what was revealed in the hacked emails. The media want people to forget just how in bed they were with Hillary and the DNC during the campaign. The contents of the hacked emails could, and rightly should, destroy the credibility and careers of all the journalists involved in shilling for Hillary. No wonder they are putting out such a smoke screen every day. Anything to divert the focus away from what dishonest, biased hacks they really are. It would be delightful justice if this fake-news shit bomb and calls for "special investigations" blows up in the media's faces, and ends up taking down the NYT and WAPO.
And if some Clinton and Obama operatives also go down, that would be some delicious irony. Maybe someone gets curious about why Obama had so many White House meetings with that Creamer guy -- you know, the one who has been recorded discussing illegal campaign activities, such as inciting riots at Trump rallies. That's just the tip of the iceberg of the unexplored things that can be investigated by the truly curious. So many little fires that can be started by an "unhinged" President with a twitter feed that the media will have to dash around putting out.
The Democratic Party is plotting the first American Coup. I don't understand this unless they want Pence or Ryan or McConnel to be Pres. I don't think the Army would assist with the coup, so they probably can't just declare Hillary! to be president for life under armed force, which involves depriving adverse citizens of their lives. I hope the Demos get a stroke of realization of what they are playing with. At that point the Supreme Court, Senate , And House will be irrelevant and the nation will be ruled by local war lords.
Another commenter above said:
"I reluctantly voted for Trump and did not contribute to his campaign. I will be all in for 2020. Thanks, Chuckie and Nancy! "
Similarly:
I know a man who did not vote for Trump, who early on believed those who said Trump was a potential Hitler, and tried his hardest to convince me of this. Today he said that if Trump called for a purge of all Obama appointees he would support Trump all the way. I had to admit, that at this point, so would I --(we're talking a non-violent purge, of course-- just fire them all). We were both being honest about how we felt, and the revelation disturbed us somewhat.
We both agreed that the lunatics that hate Trump are only making him stronger with their fake-news witch-hunts. If they keep it up, they may ironically create the strong-man they fear. I heard a saying years ago: "Demonize your enemies and you end up fighting demons." The left needs to reconsider where they think they are going with their irrational hatred of Republicans and conservatives.
I've heard some argue, including my friend above, that the leftists in control are not crazy; their actions can be explained as simply a power play. I counter that this lust for power has gotten so out of control it has made them crazy. They need to get normal again, or else the shit will hit the fan, and we will all end up covered in it.
The Dems are trying for a soft coup. They have nothing left. They are desperate to maintain some control. They've called out their CNTRL-Left: first BLM (fail!), then Black-bloc (Fail!), then the Pussy-Hat Brigade (Fail!) along with the corporatist media ("Democratic operatives with bylines," as Glenn Reynolds says).
Now I hear Obama is housing VaJay-Jay in his D.C. HQ to plan that coup.
They should be investigated up one side and down the other: Fast and Furious, Organizing for America, Muslim Brotherhood, IRS, EPA, Benghazi, CLinton Foundation, Bernie Franks, Al Sharpton, ABCCBSNBCNYTLATDisney, etc.
If they bring a gun to the fight, let Trump bring a Howitzer. The Dems are out of power, deservedly so, as their regime could not be trusted by the American people holding the reigns of power. Hillary was a conniving, corrupt, crappy, small-minded but vicious politco who would have sealed our fate as a banana republic elevating people over law.
Trying them for treason should not be out of the question. And if they really are involved in Pizzagate as the circumstantial evidence seems to suggest, they should be strung up from lampposts in the prison yards.
The question is: is all the blather distracting Trump from working on his agenda?
I think he is getting a lot done but he has to give speeches such as the Press Conference, the Florida rally and the Appearance before the joint houses in order to get out the story on what he is doing. The press isn't really covering Trump so much as covering their attempts to bring Trump down. And I agree that the press and the Demo-Hacks are seeming crazier with each passing day.
That's because they are actually moving away from the rest of the country which is becoming more inclined to support Trump. The rest of the country sees good Cabinet picks which are confirmed, a good speech before Congress explaining his positions and intentions (a speech watched by more people than watched the Academy Awards), and hears a list of actions taken which seem reasonable. So the country begins to relax. But not the Dems. But the Dem press antics aren't playing in Peoria in the way they are playing in the Dem Dream: "Watchmen, What Of The Night?" "I stand on Guard For Democracy." The country has lost interest and consequently lost track of what it is supposed to believe today as opposed to two weeks ago. All the country really sees is the Dems waving their arms about and shouting. It's like watching from a screened porch people down by the lake in the summer twilight who have stirred up a cloud of mosquitoes. It's sort of funny. You swallow some more beer and wonder why they don't come in or put on mosquito repellent; you laugh a bit before you forget about the idiots and go back to the cards.
The way I see it:
There wouldn't be talk of running Oprah unless Trump was being massively successful
Colin Kaepernicke would not be standing for the national Anthem next year unless Trump voters were seen as important to NFL ratings whatever they say.
No one believes the Russian thing. But meanwhile the Dems haven't done thing to win back the workers. People heard Trump saying that he cared about Harley Davidson's competitiveness. They haven't heard a thing from any Democrat except Senator Manchin. So now people are laying low and waiting to get the Dems with another little election night surprise. Can you hear us now? If not, just wait till 2018.
AprilApple said...
Obama Admin Funneled Billions Into Left-Wing Activist Groups
Democrats are corrupt corrupt corrupt
3/3/17, 6:11 PM
Should be investigated on RICO laws, and for treason.
Photos from earlier this week show Russia’s US ambassador Sergey Kislyak preparing to sit among democrats at the president’s first address to Congress.
Blogger Ron said...
"We'll see if the Democrats try to block that
."
Remember Merrick Garland? Payback is a bitch.
Another lefty who does not remember the Biden Rule.
Biden in his 1992 speech addressed that issue, saying that some people "may fret that this approach would leave the Court with only eight members for some time. But as I see it, Mr. President, the cost of such a result, the need to reargue three or four cases that will divide the justices four to four are quite minor compared to the cost that a nominee, the president, the senate, and the nation would have to pay for what would assuredly be a bitter fight, no matter how good a person is nominated by the President, if that nomination were to take place in the next several weeks."
The present attempted coup d'etat by Democrats shows how right McConnell was.
Senator Coons (D- corrupt) is a f*g liar. He's trying to be the new Harry Reid.
Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jeff Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone.
Trump didn't start a "little fire" with his twitter feed; he just started an inferno. Obama bugged his office?!
Ann--
Sometimes I very much like what you write, sometimes I find it a bit idiosyncratic or eccentric, e.g., your obsession about men in shorts, (which is fine, but means I tend to agree with it less).
But what you wrote here so closely and articulately states my own responses to the present moment in politics and journalism that I experienced reading it as a great relief, like hearing finally the diagnosis of a troubling physical ailment. Whether a cure is possible is another issue.
If making unfounded accusations of criminality against a former president and undermining the reputation of the office isn't grounds for impeachment, I don't know what is.
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