This is the definitive description of Tim Russert:
Actually, the balls Russert favors may be hard, but the pitches he throws aren’t curveballs, which go someplace useful. They’re sillyballs, which go somewhere pointless. Russert has created a strike zone of his own where toughness meets irrelevance. John McCain entered the zone last May, when he went on the show and repeatedly asserted that the Bush tax cuts had increased the federal government’s revenue. Hearing this, a tough but conscientious journalist might have pointed out that this is demonstrably false. Russert, however, reached for a trusty hardball and sent it sailing. McCain, he pointed out, was now supporting extending the very same Bush tax cuts that he had once opposed.
Well, yes, but this was a bit like asking someone who says the world is flat why he used to say the earth was round. The contradiction Russert pointed out was real—but hardly central. In fact, if tax cuts actually had increased revenues, then McCain’s change of heart would have been perfectly logical. The real problem was that McCain’s theory of the relationship between tax rates and revenue wasn’t true. In Russertland, though, as long as you acknowledge the contradiction, the questioner is satisfied. “You say the world is flat, but just three years ago you said it was round.” “You know, Tim, yes, I used to say the world was round, but times change, and that’s why I support the Bush administration’s bill to construct a restraining wall to prevent ships from sailing over the edge of the sea.” And so on.
In a nutshell.
ThymeZone
Bingo. Russert seems bent on just pissing off his subjects, rather than digging for relevance.
This is the guy who sat there and let George Bush basically say that the WMDs must have been moved to Syria and that’s why we couldn’t find them, and couldn’t come up with a follow-up question such as “Are you fucking serious? How could you guys get this so wrong?”
Russert is an embarrassment to the practice of journalism.
myiq2xu
You’d think if he had any self-respect when it was revealed in the Scooter Libby trial that Timmeh was pwned by Cheney.
myiq2xu
Oops!
Add “he would have resigned” after “self respect.”
Fucking de-caf. I’m switching back to the real thing
Elvis Elvisberg
Yep. “Flip flop” is the absolute worstest thing that you can say about a candidate in Russert-world. Facts, context, and actual policy results don’t matter.
myiq2xu
This quote is from the linked article. I just wanted to point out some useless moonbat stuff-
Not allowing illegals to get driver’s licenses also means that they can’t get car insurance or (at least in California) get a car registered in their name.
This not only guarantees that all illegals driving cars are uninsured motorists, but it increases the chances that they won’t show up for court if they are arrested or cited.
I mean, what is the court gonna do, suspend their license?
jack fate
Ugh! I have the distinction of growing up on the same South Buffalo, NY street (Woodside Ave., between South Park Ave. and McKinley Pkwy.) as Pumpkin Head. Thankfully I’m of a later generation. Either way, in my opinion the guy lives to hear himself talk. Doesn’t matter if it’s an important topic or not, as long as he’s verbally “bobbing and weaving.” It’s somewhat noticable on TV, but in other situations where I’ve seen him, even met him a few times, the d00d will not shut-up if given something to talk about.
One time at a retirement party in South Buffalo, I swear he must have told me the story about his Dad (who’s a decent fella and nice guy, btw) and my grandfather running the Knights of Columbus in South Buffalo together. It was actually my great-uncle Chuck, but that didn’t stop him even after I corrected him. He still went on “your grandpa was such a good guy, with helping everyone out in their time of sorrow” (Great-Uncle Chuck owned a funeral home).
Sorry about my rant. Reading the Washington Monthly’s article brought that all back.
ThymeZone
Bingo. Uninsured, untraceable, unaccountable. Off the grid.
The morons ginning up the anti-immigrant fervor care nothing about the realities of this thing. They would gladly have 20 million unlicensed, uninsured motorists out there before they would do a sensible thing like issue them drivers licenses.
Is there a Republican out there who ever heard the term “unintended consequences?”
IanY77
Wow, Yglasias has to be the most underrated voice in the blogosphere. But Assrocket gets the repeated invites to be on Reliable Sources.
The Grand Panjandrum
I had this analysis of Timmy’s not-so-clever attempt to trap HRC into saying something nasty about Bill Clinton at last September’s Debate. Timmy took a Bill Clinton quote (about torture) out of context. Bill employed the Socratic method to offer up the “ticking time bomb” scenario only to refute it. The entire MTP interview is filled with examples of Bill Clinton rejecting torture.
– – –
Timmy took the quote out of context to make it look like Bill was endorsing torture when he was doing the opposite. Matt is right about the silly factor in this case, but generally, Russert is at best a self-important prick. He loves being one of the in-crowd. But why not? That is really what inside the beltway journalism is about: access.
What ever happened to, “No guts, no glory” journalism? Apparently, its now, “No blowjobs for the powerful, no story.”
Goddammit, Russert! Put the fucking sandwich down and go do some real investigation and reporting.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
Aside from the issues of ZOMG MECKSIKANS!, any national ID plan really creeps the hell out of me. Maybe government bureaucracy is inefficient, but databases are VERY efficient.and I don’t want politicians anticipating my life. They already do that too much.
I’d like to hope that the drive against this is motivated by something sensible like keeping the government from tracing civilians, but who the fuck am I kidding?
Zifnab
Besides, if they’ve got 20 million said motorists out there, doesn’t this just heightens the danger of illegal immigrants? I mean, would you feel safe driving in down town Houston knowing that millions of brown-skinned people surrounding you could just T-bone your car and drive off, without consequence?
Ergo, we need to build a wall. And immigrant concentration camps. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to come up with a more final solution.
ThymeZone
Next to Karl Rove, I honestly think Russert is the most destructive force in retail national politics today.
Not only does he take the oxygen out of journalism, but he sets an example to other and younger journalists that this foolishness is good enough to pass for journalism.
I don’t generally think that a fecal media are really that big a destructive influence, but I make an exception in Russert’s case. I think he helped give us the George Bush trainwreck and would do it again if given the chance, if only because it would help the ratings of his crummy MTP show. Obviously, he gets more viewers if the country is in the shitter.
Caidence (fmr. Chris)
omgomgomg ur rite! Once i herd my friend got in2 a acksident with this 1 guy, rite? like he waz a taco-guy or sumthin and and wen he woke up in da haspital he found out dat his daughter waz 2 months pregnint!!1
this iz rally gonna b a problem no? we should show dem were serious!
;)
Ninerdave
Explain Mitt’s popularity then.
gypsy howell
I’ve never understood why people think of Russert as a journalist at all. I’ve always thought of him (and Tweety, and all the rest) as talk show hosts.
That’s really what they are, aren’t they? When did we all accept the idea that ‘talk show host’ = ‘journalist?’
Dennis - SGMM
Collectively, the Republican front-runners have done more flip-flops than the International House of Pancakes. For Russert, history begins when he opens his mouth.
Zifnab
Mitt Romney is popular? I think you need to double check the polls.
SenderC
Timmy, when you were 17 and your dad wouldn’t let you borrow the car, you yelled “I hate you” and stormed out of the room. Now you can’t go two seconds without saying how great your father is. Which is it? Love or hate?
myiq2xu
But who will we get to build them?
Dennis - SGMM
They’ll be prefabricated in China. Congress will pass a bill authorizing Halliburton to import Guest Workers from Latin America to “do the jobs Americans don’t want to do.”
myiq2xu
Maybe they will give it a catchy name, like the “Bracero Program.”
Dennis - SGMM
Maybe, but my money is on something like “Los Amigos de Aquila” (Brothers of the Eagle).
Dennis - SGMM
Make that “Friends of the Eagle.”
Cyrus
I’m no expert, but I think you’ve got this backwards here. It’s not that an uninsured driver in an accident faces no consequences; they face much more consequences than someone else, at least in the short term. An insured driver might see their insurance premiums go up, but at least they won’t get stuck with being legally liable for hundreds if not thousands of dollars in hospital and car repair bills later that week. Therefore, if they T-bone someone’s car, an uninsured driver has much greater incentive to drive off. And even if they don’t drive off, it would be harder to get money of out them than out of an insurance company. (But an illegal immigrant has more incentive to avoid the attention of police whether insured or not, so I don’t think that would matter.)
Jen
Aguila, accent on the first “a”. Aquila, I think, is the Latin.
/end nitpick
Can I completely threadjack here, would y’all mind? Query. Exactly how many times does RoPaul have to beat Thompson for that man to drop out, or fall over, or whatever it is he’s going to do next ’cause it ain’t going to “be president”.
myiq2xu
Hence the term “run for the border.”
D. Mason
I couldn’t disagree any more. I think this kind of “journalism” is largely effective at choking out the national dialog. Evidence for this is of course subjective.
I think the popularity of blogs argues my point. So does the tendency for them to paint any alternative news outlet as fringe, radical or irrelevant. People seek out alternative commentary because it is filtered from the popular media, everything there is hand picked and polished for maximum effect. The contrast between what gets the most play on political news shows and what gets talked about on open forums like this one seems to reveal a destructive practice.
Consider how public perception of bush might have been different without blogs – with only the mainstream media to spread facts and opinions. If your imagination conjures up images even remotely close to what mine does you can easily see why I think such a spoon fed media is dangerous.
mark
The Repugs are taking a Principled Stand, dammit! You want pragmatism, let’s talk habeus corpus and torture.
Dennis - SGMM
Those who advocate bringing illegals into the system via driver’s licenses are assuming that said illegals have the money or the inclination to buy auto insurance, vehicle registration, etc. Illegals are phobic about getting anywhere near the system and inasmuch as they are in low-end jobs I doubt that they have much money left over at month end. Here in Southern California, the theft of current vehicle license tags (Or the entire plate, I’ve had both happen) is common. Also common is driving away or jumping and running after an accident.
Zifnab
I don’t think anyone drives around town looking to get into car accidents. However, the fear that you could be hit by an uninsured Mexican illegal immigrant Taco Truck Driving Lawn Car Specialist Other Mexican Immigrant Stereotype could prod enough people into at least pretending to car by voting Republican.
Regardless, the point is that “being undocumented” isn’t a bad thing because of Reconquista or “taken ar jobs!” or whatever bullshit excuse is getting pitched. It’s bad because an undocumented individual is a damned inconvenience to society. We document people for a reason. Denying people the ability to be documented makes their lives a little more difficult and your life a LOT more difficult, especially if you are a public servant.
But leave it to the Republicans to turn all that “Government doesn’t work” crap from rhetoric into reality.
Zifnab
Fixed, because that’s who you are really talking about. When did license plate theft and wreck-and-run become a problem strictly of illegals? I had a friend get in a wreck-and-run. He got the guy’s license-plate, and it was just another fully-documented university student. I know parts of town where you can get your plates stolen, and as often as not they’re just the crummier sides of town irregardless of racial content.
Dennis - SGMM
Zifnab, point taken. I didn’t mean to imply that only illegals are doing these things, I meant that issuing them Driver’s Licenses won’t, by itself, solve the problem.
ThymeZone
I don’t totally disagree with your view but I do disagree about the “national dialogue.” I just don’t think there is one. Rather than choking it out, I think the journalists have just neglected to do their job of helping us have one. They’re just lazy, content to do their schtick and get their 250k viewers in cable prime time and go home.
Fox news doesn’t spread toxic ideas, they just cater to viewers who already have them, and who wouldn’t watch if they were challenged. But the good news is, nobody really watches Fox News. Their numbers are pathetic. I figured once that something like three percent of the population was ever watching their crap on a regular basis. And we all know who they are, they are the tv watchers in Bush’s 30 percent approval bloc.
I think there could be a dialogue, and somebody like Russert could start it, but he is not up to the task. He’s just a clown who gets to sit in the luxury box at the Redskins games with his high-powered friends.
TR
That Ygliesas piece is phenomenal. I don’t understand why one of the candidates doesn’t just smack Timmy down and insist he ask questions about the issues instead of the process. The crowds at the debates would give that a standing ovation.
Tax Analyst
Snark. I wonder how many on the site are old enough or familiar enough with Farm Labor history to remember the old Bracero Program? A lot of folks probably think you’re talking about some kind of dance step.
Didn’t Xavier Cugat introduce that?