Our Mainstream Media Middle Schoolers

Watching Nobel Prize economist Paul Krugman yesterday on ABC's "This Week" was refreshing, particularly when he interrrupted a silly, "inside Washington" discussion about the departure of White House social secretary Desiree Rogers. While the other panelists gossiped about Rogers, Krugman noted:

"Can I say that 20 million Americans unemployed, the fact that we’re worrying about the status of the White House social secretary. . ."

Krugman was cut off by the moderator and by Sam "Hair Club" Donaldson, who sarcastically said, "Paul, welcome to Washington." After all, one of Washington's main industries, aside from the Federal Government, is gossip, which leads us to a related story.

One of Washington's most infamous gossips is Sally "Party Girl" Quinn, wife and former mistress of the WaPo's former Executive Editor Ben Bradlee. It was inevitable that Party Girl, the enforcer of Washington's cocktail circuit's rules, would be the first cheerleader for Desiree Rogers' removal. Time Magazine's Michael Shearer explains why:

"The Washington Post's Sally Quinn, who has long exemplified the worst of the city's sick aristocratic tribal culture, led the charge by calling for Rogers resignation. The rationale? 'From the start, Rogers was an unlikely choice for social secretary,' Quinn wrote. 'She was not of Washington, considered by many too high-powered for the job and more interested in being a public figure (and thus upstaging the first lady) than in doing the gritty, behind-the-scenes work inherent in that position.' In other words, Rogers had committed two crimes: Not only was she not part of Quinn's tea party set, but she had also--gasp!--introduced herself to D.C. as her own person, on her own terms, not as just another member of the hired help."

Now Party Girl herself has lost her WaPo column (which she called -- seriously -- "The Party") after writing a trivial but nasty piece about conflicting wedding dates in her family. But that won't keep the mainstream media from gabbing endlessly about who's up and who's down, who's in and who's out on their Washington social scene while middle class Americans struggle to make it.

Delete Tweet of the Day

22 million emails deleted by the Bush/Cheney White House. Now please forget you read this and be outraged at Hillary Clinton. - your media.

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) August 23, 2015

Beltway media resentment at Bill Clinton and now Hillary Clinton will be a fact of life through the election, and likely beyond.  They snubbed the major media's Georgetown cocktail circuit in the '90s, ably represented by Sally Quinn, Cokie Roberts and Maureen Dowd, and that clique has a very long memory.

BONUS:  Case in point - pearl clutcher emeritus Ruth Marcus.

BONUS II:  Here's Joe Conason (please read his entire post):

Obscured by sensational and often stupid media coverage, the fundamental facts are simple. There is no evidence that Hillary Clinton violated any law in her use of a private email server, however badly advised. There is no evidence that she knowingly sent any previously classified information to anyone at any time. There is no evidence that any national security breach occurred in her email system. And there is no statute under which she can be held liable for sending information that was retroactively classified, many months after she sent it, when the State Department was reviewing her emails for public release.

The true scandal is the Republican attempt to invent a scandal that will derail the Democratic presidential candidate they fear most, by misusing the oversight powers of Congress—and the eagerness of major media outlets, including the nation’s most important newspaper, to collude in that scheme.

MoDo's Unhealthy Obsession

When the New York Times' waspish op-ed hack Maureen "MoDo" Dowd spits out an opinion piece, it's mostly a study in tortured, suppressed rage and what psychologists call "projection," and it's most often about the Clintons.  (Not that she spares President Obama, typically referring to him in condescending, "feminized" terms and engaging in amateur pop psychology.  Small wonder the President has "contempt" for her.)

MoDo's latest foray on the subject of Hillary Clinton is a classic in obsessive, mean girl projection, as Media Matters explains.  She, along with other members of the Beltway village, have never forgiven the Clintons for not kissing up to them during the Clinton Presidency, attending Sally Quinn's cocktail parties and salons where juicy gossip was shared.  President Obama is apparently guilty of the same failure to stroke their egos.

As Clinton's good poll numbers hold (see below), expect much more of the bitter, petty slights thrown at Clinton from MoDo.  It's all about MoDo's envy, resentment and grievance, and it's not pretty.

BONUS:  The Onion gives us a mid-90s era ranter that is every bit MoDo's equal. (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian)

Taking It To The Milbank

There are a lot of postings on the topic of the Huffington Post's Nico Pitney giving a verbal smackdown to the WaPo's smarmy columnist Dana Milbank. In brief, Pitney responded to Milbank's misleading and snarky column suggesting that Pitney was "planted" by the Obama Administration to ask a question at last week's press conference. Pitney pointed out the errors in Milbank's account, and went on to remind viewers of Milbank's fawning over Preznit Chimpy during the first weeks of the Iraq War. You have to see the exchange.

The mainstream media Villagers are resentful of the access that non-traditional media have in the Obama Administration. It's reminiscent of the last years of the Clinton Administration, when Village elders such as David "Broderella" Broder and Sally "I Slept With The Boss" Quinn finally boiled over after years of having the Clintons decline to attend their Georgetown soirees, and engage in gossipy chit chat with them. Obama and his staff are wise to them, and he's signaling that they're not the royality of Washington any more.

EXTRA: Digby has more on the morons like Milbank and his WaPo co-Villager Ceci "No!No!" Connolly.

(photo: Dana Milbank, serious journalist)

MoDo's Obsession

New York Times op-ed columnist and Washington cave-dweller Miss Maureen "MoDo" Dowd apparently can't think of anything without thinking -- badly, of course -- of one of the Clintons (Hillary, Bill, and even Chelsea).  Her latest column (no link), ostensibly about the death of Robin Williams, manages to weave in a negative reference to Hillary Clinton.  When the Clintons were in the White House, they weren't forgiven by the self-selected "elites" (specifically, mutual friends Sally "Party Girl" Quinn, Maureen Orth and Miss MoDo herself) for snubbing their insider parties and soirees where gossip and more gossip are the currency.  Amazing that the Clintons had better things to do!

Miss MoDo hasn't forgiven the slights -- real and imaginary.  From her perch at the New York Times, she expects deference, dammit!  And if she doesn't get it, she's like the middle school mean girl backstabbing the new girl who's becoming more popular than she is.

BONUS:  Check out Wonkette's take on this and other examples of MoDo's Hillary obsession.

BONUS II:  driftglass sums up the situation: "Maureen Dowd is by-God gonna get up there and tell people about Hillary again and doesn't give a damn who's in the casket."

Party of One

Just for laughs, and for an insight into the incestuous culture of the Washington Village elites, please read blogger tBogg's takedown of Village doyenne Sally "Party Girl" Quinn's latest musings on the passing of the Washington social scene as she knew it. It's been a while since we've noted Party Girl's extravagant cluelessness, but the wife and ex-mistress of former WaPo editor Ben "Out Of It" Bradlee has uncorked a doozy in the Washington Post Magazine. Sample howlers (our parentheticals):

"The Obamas have been roundly criticized for not being part of the Washington social scene. (Oh? Who besides you?) The question is, does it matter? Could Obama win or lose the presidency because he has dissed the Washington community? I suspect the answer is no.(You suspect right) It doesn’t matter anymore."(Yes, dammit, he should have spent more time at your parties and less time...presidenting)

"Washington has become a community of small groups of people, mostly staying within their circles, occasionally making a foray out into the bigger world to large events, only to be turned off by the endless corporate 'fundraiserness' of it all. How special can you feel when you know you have to pay to go to an event and then get a bad seat on top of that?" (Ben Out Of It and Party Girl liked the free food and booze, good seats and abundant nasty gossip in the old days -- made them feel "special")

Party Girl went after the Clintons after they declined her social invitations, and she's not too pleased with the Obamas for similar slights. After all, it's all about Party Girl and Ben Out Of It and their lost influence.

(photo: "Ben" partying hard, have we?)

The Party Girl

We noted just yesterday that the Washington party scene is of utmost importance to the Beltway media elite. It's their way of getting access to top political figures and notables. One of that scene's most aggressive doyennes is Sally "Party Girl" Quinn, wife of former WaPo editor Ben "Bad" Bradlee, and who -- coincidentally enough -- writes a column for the WaPo. Nepotism aside though, Party Girl's column today focuses on how things have gotten so divisive in her Washington. Why, in years gone by, Party Girl used to sit at a table with the likes of Barry Goldwater, John Warner, and some liberals whom she can't recall, and everybody just got along famously! She laments the tension in today's political Washington, caused by people saying mean things about each other.

Party Girl, however, is no stranger to mean talk. She was in the Beltway media's forefront in dissing the Clintons (especially Hillary), mostly because they rebuffed invitations to her parties. Her snippy self-righteousness about President Clinton's sexual misbehavior was a case of throwing stones from a glass house: she and future hubby Bad Bradlee had an affair while he was separated, but still married, to his wife. And what's Party Girl's remedy to perk up those dinner parties? She writes:

"There's an old saying that you should never discuss politics or religion at dinner parties. I disagree. I think you can talk about money and sex as well. It's all about how you bring up these things, which are after all on everyone's minds. . .Of course when all else fails, there's nobody who won't lean in when the topic turns to sex."

Especially Party Girl.

(photo: Party Girl after one too many parties)

The Party Girl's Warning

For a glimpse into what motivates Beltway media villagers, Digby picks up on a quote from Village dowager Sally "Party Girl" Quinn in the London Times on Line about First Lady Michelle Obama:

"I'm not sure if I had been her advisor I would have said for her to do the Glamour cover because it might begin to trivialize her and what her role is."

For those who might think this is a sympathetic shout out to Ms. Obama, think again. Party Girl is firing a warning shot at the Obamas that they need to bring her into their circle. After all, when First Lady Hillary Clinton turned down an invitation from Party Girl to a Villager elite luncheon in 1993, Party Girl -- with her column in the Kaplan Daily -- was furious and made sure she slimed the Clintons for the remainder of his term in office. Fair warning is fair warning!

Party Girl is part of the club of "journalist" elites that truly believe that they run the Nation's capital, and shall not be ignored. After all, Party Girl got her position the hard way -- she slept with her married boss, former Kaplan Daily editor Ben Bradlee, whom she later married. Success, villager style.

(photo: Party Girl after partying)