Quotes Of The Day -- Trump, Russians And The Media

Last night's Real Time With Bill Maher contained some insightful zingers on neo- fascist Giant Toddler* Donald "Rump" Trump and his relationships with Russia and the media.  Here are a few of our favorites:

"[Trumpers] met with the Russians more than the Olympic doping committee." -- Bill Maher.

"I can't believe Putin paid full price for this guy." -- Maher on Rump's typically ignorant comment that "Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated" (same link as above).

"Daddy didn’t come home drunk and beat us last night so he’s the best father ever!” -- conservative commentator Charlie Sykes on the media's "battered pundit syndrome" displayed in praise for Rump's big boy speech to Congress Tuesday.

"There's a desperate thirst for normal." -- MSNBC's Joy Reid on the media's willingness to constantly lower the bar for Rump and grant him "reset" moments over and over again (same link as above).

BONUS:  Steve Benen and Jeet Heer have good takes on media fawning over Rump's big boy speech.
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* h/t Quinn Cummings.

A Dishonest, Harmful Media Narrative Continues

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(Jim Morin, Miami Herald - from 2013!)

Steve Benen does a good job of once again identifying and deconstructing the corporate media narrative that if only President Obama had schmoozed more with Congressional Republicans over the past 7 years, gosh, he would've accomplished so much!  The latest purveyor of this tripe is Norah O'Donnell, who repeatedly pressed the thesis on Presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett on "60 Minutes" this past Sunday:

“Valerie, this is probably one of the last big fights of the president’s term in office. And he can’t even get Senate Republicans to give him a hearing. Most Republicans won’t even meet with Judge Garland. Does that say something about President Obama’s inability to reach across the aisle? To have friends on the other side?” (our emphasis)

This was followed by eight other questions in a row in the same vein.  (Does O'Donnell have a fishing license?)  It's not exactly a new narrative for the lazy and/ or agenda- driven corporate media. Even some in the media have noticed. But, as Benen notes, it's most harmful for the media to continue to be wedded to this narrative:

... The schmoozing thesis creates a misguided set of priorities: members of Congress who refuse to consider compromise, and who reject the very idea of cooperative policymaking, can act with impunity, knowing that the media won’t hold them responsible, preferring instead to blame the president for not making the White House the Friendliest Place on Earth.

As regular readers know, the notion that schmoozing will lead to progress rests upon the assumption that congressional Republicans are responsible officials, willing to negotiate and work in good faith, fully prepared to find common ground with Obama. All they need is some face-time and presidential hand-holding. Once they can get along on a personal level, a constructive process will follow.

Any observant, sentient person has seen that Republicans have been dedicated, not only with this Administration but with every Democratic Administration since Jimmy Carter's, to undercutting and de-legitimatizing Democratic governance.  It doesn't take a particular level of sophistication or insight to see this, simply some clear- eyed honesty and a little courage.  Ah, there's the problem!

Meanwhile, a cancer metastasizes under media noses.  Sic transit gloria, America.

ConservaDems Playing Into Media Narrative, Because

Here's Ed O'Keefe in today's once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle, writing approvingly of "moderate" Senate Democrats holding sway in the new Republican-majority Senate:

Some of the most influential senators in the new Congress are neither in the majority nor among the longest-serving. They don’t show up on the Sunday-morning talk shows, and they aren’t talking about running for president in 2016. 

Instead, they’re a pack of Democrats from mostly smaller, rural states who are inclined to work with Republicans on legislation President Obama doesn’t support. They may even be willing to help the GOP override his vetoes. 

Some of them support building the Keystone XL oil pipeline and are expected to be active as the Senate begins to debate the issue this week. Others want Congress to pass tougher sanctions against Iran, and all are open to making changes to Obama’s health-care law. All three issues have drawn veto threats from the White House in recent days. 

One of the biggest unanswered questions about the week-old Congress is whether the new Republican majority will be able to overcome Capitol Hill’s culture of stifling partisanship and cultivate enough Democratic support to challenge Obama. 

These moderate Democrats say they will cooperate if Republicans don’t use the Senate floor to score political points — as Democrats have done over the past several years. They have big expectations for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who will need to keep his larger conference unified while sustaining his promise to allow a more open and nonpartisan debate process.  (our emphasis)

Of course, the usual conservaDem suspects are included:  Sens. Heidi "Ho" Heitkamp, Joe "I Don't Know If I'll Vote for Obama" Manchin, Joe Donnelly, Jon Tester, blah blah blah ad nauseam.  (Again, more reasons why progressive Democrats should never contribute the the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.  Never.)  Each and every one of these spineless career politicians, having no core convictions to speak of, would rather sell out their party and their president in order to continue their time in office.  To hell with them.  And with their counterparts in the House.

They also provide useful props to the Ed O'Keefes of the media world who are desperate to forge the narrative of the newly-responsible Republican Party straining to find reasonable Democrats on the other side of the aisle to do the plutocrats' people's business.  It's as if O'Keefe and his crass menagerie of neutered conservaDems believe politics is all about self-preserving deal-making and not about standing for something you believe in, you know,  as a Democrat.  "Big expectations" for Mitch "Missy" McConnell, indeed;  we suspect if you check these conservaDems pockets, they'll be full of wooden nickels.

 Damn, we're so tired of these too- clever- by- half hacks with all their "inside politics" game- playing and the media that love this kind of narrative.  Maybe that's part of the reason why people of all political stripes admire Sen. Elizabeth Warren;  she's true to herself and true to the bedrock convictions of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.