The media have no idea how to cover increasingly deranged GOP

[dutch508]

Star Member babylonsister (167,272 posts)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215429304

Eric Boehlert: The media have no idea how to cover increasingly deranged GOP


snip//

In normal times, if the public sacking of Cheney for lack of fealty and the public support for insurrection had happened in the same calendar year it would be been considered a shocking turn of events for a mainstream political party in this country. The fact that both events happened within hours of each other this week only highlighted how radical, dangerous, and anti-democratic the GOP has become, as it hurtles far beyond the mainstream and into the abyss.

Unfortunately, the Beltway press has no idea how to cover this story. It still refuses to use the proper tools and language to put the troubling actions of the GOP in context via its straight news coverage. Hiding behind Both Sides journalism, timid language, and purposeful naïveté, news outlets still aren't being honest about the dire threat Trump Republicans now pose to the country.

Watching the party maneuver itself to be able to invalidate future elections — by passing voter suppression laws, installing local election boards that refuse to certify wins, empowering state legislatures to refuse to certify their state tallies, and electing a Republican majority in the House of Representatives that deny the Electoral College count — means the United States faces the most entrenched, internal political threat since the Civil War. That's no exaggeration, considering the defining loyalty test for the GOP today is backing Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen, which in turns positions the party to question all future election results.

The GOP and its followers have become consumed in deliberate lies, yet the press still views the party as a serious entity whose views deserve to be treated respectfully.

"It's time the media stop covering the GOP as a political party - it's not," tweeted SiriusXM radio show host Dean Obeidallah. "Today's Republican party is a white nationalist, fascist movement and those exact words need to be used by the media so everyone gets the threat the GOP poses to our nation."

 

bucolic_frolic (24,253 posts)

2. Fascist? That's kind. It's an insurrectionist rabble looking for opportunity. /nt

Star Member Wounded Bear (44,352 posts)

23. But there is an institutionalized unifying force behind the "rabble"...

If it was just the Proudies and the Boogaloo Boyz running around flashing their weaponry, I would agree...they are not really well organized. The fact is, though, that the Repub Party has provided real political power to their chaotic militia war games. And it runs all the way to the top of the party.

So yeah, fascist works well for me.

Star Member erronis (9,532 posts)

50. Oh, I was sure you were going to call out the oligarchs and plutocrats of the US/USSR

The repug party is just a big lobbying arm of the real powers. The Kochs/Mercers/Murdochs/etc. As well as the foreign interests seeing the USofA crumble.

Star Member wnylib (6,472 posts)

54. You mean like the nationalist military brass and wealthy industrialists who backed German fascism in the 1920s and '30s in order to benefit?

Star Member essaynnc (344 posts)

3. npr the other morning had a guest on...fuzzy details... but I was shocked how many times the words lies, liar, insurrection and other "harsh" words were used.

Keep it up !!

Star Member I_UndergroundPanther (5,627 posts)

6. Can't have a free press When it's owned.

luvtheGWN (1,144 posts)

33. "Can't have a free press if it's owned"

Well then, the US alternative might be a state owned and managed press. So, depending upon which party is in power, that's the information you will get. From the earliest broadsheets and yellow journalism, somebody has financed them.

Even PBS and NPR have been caught catering to their major donors.

It's the "standards of journalism" that are suspect in US media. Here in Canada, we do have strict standards whereby licences can be revoked if lies are told. And we do have laws governing hate speech. You once had something called the Fairness Doctrine. Maybe it's time to ask your congress critters to bring it back. Might help.

acg (49 posts)

8. American Taliban - The New Republican Party

AMERICAN TALIBAN
By Al Garcia

First, let me begin by attempting to explain as succinctly as I can, the Taliban.

The Taliban is an ultra-conservative militant organization, attempting to spread and enforce its religious and political views on those around them. They have been known to “excommunicate” or kill those who do not follow their radical views. In other words, it is a dictatorship. Its followers are not free to practice or live by their own views or beliefs, nor can they criticize the Taliban’s policies or practices. The Taliban is 10% about ideas and ideology, and 90% about power and money.

Now, let me try to explain the new Republican Party.

The Republican Party is an ultra-conservative Right-wing organization that is becoming militant in nature, with no direction or focus other than to obstruct and to divide, and even overtake or overthrow. It is attempting to spread and enforce non-existent political views with inflammatory rhetoric to rouse long-simmering racial, ethnic and religious fervor. They have been known to “excommunicate” members of its party for nonsensical, irrational and ludicrous reasons – like telling the truth, and wanting to practice long-standing Republican ideals that propelled them into national power and prestige generations ago. In other words, the new and rapidly expanding Republican Party is losing its coat of conservatism, nationalism and patriotism, and exposing its true nature and complexion -- an autocracy in the making. Its followers are not free to practice or live by their own views or beliefs of the party they once belonged to or believed in, nor can they criticize the Republican policies and practices of outright falsification, obstruction, or manipulation of truth and reality. The Republican Party is now 10% about abandoned ideas and ideology, and 90% about power, greed and money, at whatever cost, even democracy.

There is no difference between the Taliban and the Republican Party, other than head coverings and location. One is attempting to take over the Middle East, the other, attempting to take over and end our American Dream.

Our American Taliban, in coats and ties, out to destroy our heritage and our legacy, and to make Americans crawl and grovel before the golden statue they have already created.

acg (49 posts)

22. It's My Article

This is one of many of my articles which I post daily on my Facebook Page: facebook.com/algarcia.pv

They are all original writings, and I post two to three such writings a day. I had thought about deleting my Facebook page because only a few friends were viewing and reading it. However, I have decided to continue writing in the hope that it catches on.

Hope you'll take a moment to visit my Facebook page.

Thank you. Appreciate your interest.

 

certainot (7,569 posts)

39. dittohead taliban. it was the party of limbaugh for better part 30 years and that's why boloert and

msm can't figure it out. that's why it's such a mess now - limbaugh croaked and the media that lives in cities and has ignored rw radio for 30 years has no clue how important that was - they can't replace him - they're doing reruns!

the russians have been using him/rw radio since at least 2008 (manafort- limbaugh -palin). they increasingly used talk radio to radicalize the formerly establishment GOP until they used trump, who basically took limbaugh mainstream, to take it over completely

with limbaugh gone the 600 stations they used to centralize messaging from the 1500 is now all over the place and the dumb****s don't know what to think or what's too radical or too moderate. the biggest political correctness and cancel culture cop in the country is now gone

trumpism is starting to rot, like the master rationalizer is now. unless they embalmed him and are hoping he'll rise again

all democrats and liberals have to do is use artificial intelligence and the MIT model to automatically record, transcribe, and analyze huge samples of rw radio, do some boycotts, and protest the 87+ universities that are broadcasting sports on it, and the radio ad industry will have to break up the monopoly or lose most of their advertisers.

then liberals and media will stop ignoring what's been kicking their ass/confusing them for 30 years, the american taliban will be shamed back into its cave, democracy can work again, an we can finally get serious about global warming

RVN VET71 (2,054 posts)

18. Thank you for this.

I picked up on the excruciating threat to our society posed by the fascist-wannabes in the old GOP by reading Heather Cox Richardson and watching MSNBC. I have Rachel Maddow on DVR and check her out when I can in the mornings. I read Prof. Richardson daily emails, which are always superb and extraordinarily well sourced. And I find Ari Melber to be excellent, as well as Chris Hayes. I also like Joy Reid but just don’t get more than an infrequent chance to watch her.

But the general media at large don’t seem to get it -- or don’t want to tell it. What the current GOP is doing is plotting in broad daylight to disenfranchise the majority of American voters and seize governmental power for itself in perpetuity. Trump, whom I refer to as Flubbo, is not its future though. Even if he is alive and upright in 2024, the GOP is going to be looking for the next authoritarian dictator to put in his place, and so America’s republic will devolve into a corporate empire.

(And what a humiliation for America that will be! Rome lost its Republic to Julius Caesar. America will have lost its Republic to Flubbo.)

bonniebgood (875 posts)

20. You mean they (the Media) refuse, can't and won't tell the truth in plain English language about white privilege racism, fascism and all the isms? Number the media and journalists NEVER uses the word Anti-facist, they use the word ANTIFA. Shame on them all.

Star Member gab13by13 (3,315 posts)

29. Exactly,

What happened to the 2 members of the FEC who abstained from voting to pursue charging MF45 for his role in the Stormy Daniels hush money? I thought there was going to be an investigation as to why 2 of the members failed to vote? That lasted 1 day and was buried.

It isn't about money, it is as you so rightly stated, it is about shaping public opinion, it is about pushing the far right narrative.

If it were about ratings and money, wouldn't calling the GQP un-American insurrectionists be front page sensationalism?

Jon King (755 posts)

38. Media bosses need to look at their kids and grand kids.

If the Repugs realize their plan then America is done. Autocracy, destroyed climate, a country with no future.

So sure they make money now, but their kids and grand kids would live in a waste land. To me it makes more sense for the media bosses and the corporate titans to destroy the GOP. Their kids and grand kids will have great lives if the Dems are in charge or if the Repugs are forced to re-emerge as a moderate party.

No one, even the rich, wins if the Repug plan works.

BobTheSubgenius (9,384 posts)

45. I am astounded that the ouster of Drumpf from the WH has not diminished the crazy AT ALL.

In fact, it's grown worse, in some ways. When it was one person center stage, ranting on Twitter, at rallies, or occasionally directly to the press, it took the lion's share of the attention and perceptions. In those days, ridiculous assertions from underlings was somehow diminished...written off as self-protection from the madman.

I think one could be forgiven for assuming the circus monkeys would calm down, once the hysteria of the election had passed. Who could have expected what did happen...that the lunatic ravings and savage behaviour would actually get WORSE???

New Breed Leader (326 posts)

48. The horse is out of the barn now.

IMO, the only way to calm these lunatics down is to ARREST TRUMP. They cling to him because he's popular, but also because he's untouchable. If you indict that MF finally, they'll run for the hills.

Nah... we'd be marching on Rome.

[ADsOutburst]

For the billionth time, the media do everything in their power to promote the democrats' message and depict republicans into something they aren't, and leftists still accuse the media of "both sides-ism". No amount of favoritism is ever enough for them.

The fact is, the republican party has not moved to the far-right; the dems have moved to the far-left.

[USA4ME]

Liberals keep forgetting that in order for the media to be effective, the media must first be believable and trustworthy, which they aren’t. The media have only themselves to blame.

.

[ADsOutburst]

bonniebgood (875 posts)

20. You mean they (the Media) refuse, can't and won't tell the truth in plain English language about white privilege racism, fascism and all the isms? Number the media and journalists NEVER uses the word Anti-facist, they use the word ANTIFA. Shame on them all.

Maybe even the media recognizes that ANTIFA/anti-fascist action is just a self-applied, self-serving name. It puts the user on a pedestal and makes their opponents the bad guys by default, in much the same way that calling oneself a 'liberal' or a 'progressive' does. Call yourself one of the latter two names, and you can advocate for all manner of backwards policies with impunity.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Star Member babylonsister (167,272 posts)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215429304

Eric Boehlert: The media have no idea how to cover increasingly deranged DEMOCRAT PARTY

Fixed for accuracy.   The lib media will not fully explain or even touch any issue that reveals the insanity that is the Democrat Party.  If they did, the Dems would be as popular as the Green Party.

[SVPete]

Telling the truth instead of editorializing is foreign to US MSM. So they don't know how to do it.

[ExGeeEye]

I am FOR ALL GOOD.

Disagree with me on any point, to any degree, and you are AGAINST ALL GOOD and FOR ALL BAD, and to be SHUNNED.

See how easy that is?  I don't even have to think about it.

[Texacon]

Here’s an idea, let’s play the DUmmie game;

The Boogaloo Boys don’t exist. They’rea figment of the left’s imagination.

KC

[ADsOutburst]

Here’s an idea, let’s play the DUmmie game;

The Boogaloo Boys don’t exist. They’rea figment of the left’s imagination.

KC

White supremacy isn't an organization, it's an idea.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

It's weird how even though we consider the media to be our bitter enemies, we aren't calling for government censorship.

[ExGeeEye]

It's weird how even though we consider the media to be our bitter enemies, we aren't calling for government censorship.

Stealing that.

[ADsOutburst]

I don't support censorship, but I do say that if we are to censor in order to combat 'disinformation', let us begin with the biggest, most damaging purveyors of disinformation: the corporate media.

[thundley4]

I don't support censorship, but I do say that if we are to censor in order to combat 'disinformation', let us begin with the biggest, most damaging purveyors of disinformation: the corporate media.

OTOH, DUmmies want a return of the "fairness doctrine". The fairness doctrine applied to broadcast media. That leaves out Fox News, but means that ABC, CBS and NBC would all be forced to give equal coverage.