Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

All hail the time of the bunny!

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

The words do not have to be perfect.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

We are learning that “working class” means “white” for way too many people.

When we show up, we win.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

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Reader Interactions

192Comments

  1. 1.

    Omnes Omnibus

    The media is liberal so they need the GOP for balance. Obviously.

    ETA: Kristofferson FTW

  2. 2.

    BGinCHI

    First 4 lines of that KK song are lights out good:

    Well I woke up Sunday morning,
    With no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.
    And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad,
    So I had one more for dessert.

    Now, to answer the question, I think you need to start with what Josh Marshall meant when a few years ago he said that “Washington is wired for Republicans.”

    I’d suggest that those benefiting greatly from the status quo are likely to keep supporting the most likely supporter of it. Especially at the high end of the income bracket.

  5. 5.

    Fred

    If a douche bag like Tapper visits here maybe I shouldn’t. Tapper is part of the problem.

    When the prez announced his long form, instead of reporting it Tapper attacked him for claiming it was a distraction.

    Just one of MANY things I will never forgive Tapper for!

  6. 6.

    CatHairEverywhere

    @cleek: I used to, but no more. Too annoying for a Sunday morning. I am in my early 40s, and it skews too old and too conservative for me. Too much unchallenged grandstanding by our overlords.

  8. 8.

    Yutsano

    What? No Grandpa Walnuts? How am I supposed to get his wizened and learned point of view? Plus did you know he was a POW?

  9. 9.

    Fred

    @cleek: Old white guys over 50. Which is pretty much the ONLY demographic that is still sticking with Rethugs.

  11. 11.

    Violet

    @cleek:
    I watched them during the 2008 election season. Well, I watched MTP until Russet died. After that I occasionally watched Brokaw’s version. And have only seen that idiot David Gregory’s version by accident, if the TV happens to be on that station if I turn it on at the time the show is airing.

    I don’t watch the other Sunday shows. Especially that one with George Will. He always makes me shudder.

  13. 13.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Sunday morning shows are for people that don’t drink all night on Saturday.

    I’ll stick with the Saturday morning shows.

  15. 15.

    El Cid

    Since a Democrat is in the White House, you have to balance him out by filling the airwaves up with Republicans.

    It’s important to do the same when there’s a Republican President, b/c this allows these hard-hitting journalist-hosts to really nail those in power to the wall.

  18. 18.

    Jeffro

    They could make it 7 Rs and 2 Ds next Sunday, and all week right-wing talk radio would be full of how the number of Ds on the air had DOUBLED! during Obama’s administration.

    Or INCREASED BY 100%!

    Or…you get the picture…

  20. 20.

    Sly

    @cleek:

    who watches these shows?

    Not many. Total viewership of all Sunday Morning shows barely exceeds 10 million, which is a small fraction (7-8%) of the voting public. Viewership is also heavily skewed towards people 55 and over. If three million people are watching Meet the Press, then I can pretty much guarantee that only a million of them are under 55.

    No one watches Cable News, either, and yet both exert a heavily disproportionate influence on our political discourse. Because it’s not how many are watching, but who is watching that matters.

  21. 21.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @El Cid:

    Since a Democrat is in the White House, you have to balance him out by filling the airwaves up with Republicans.

    If there’s a Republican in the White House, it’s an indication that people want to see Republicans on teevee.

  26. 26.

    Chuck Butcher

    I’d like to try to get sometime Balloon-Juice visitor Jake Tapper to explain this to us,

    Um, thinking and hangover?

    I’m white, over 55 and don’t do Sun morn talking heads

    or drink

  27. 27.

    El Cid

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    If there’s a Republican in the White House, it’s an indication that people want to see Republicans on teevee.

    And when there’s not a Republican in the White House, people want to see them on TV to fight all those Democrat lies.

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    @Fred:

    If a douche bag like Tapper visits here maybe I shouldn’t.

    I, for one, would take that trade.

  30. 30.

    Fred

    @opal: Too many fuckheads around here to tell the difference between what is snark and what is not.

    I said “you people” and some acted like it was the end of the world because maybe, just maybe I mean’t it as some sort of racist comment. And some random anonymous commenter on some random blog is just so important.

  31. 31.

    Corner Stone

    Although, now that I reflect back on it. One sublimely interpretaive comment by our spoofster Fred cause an epic 3 day meltdown.
    So, I retract the former. I love you Fred.

  35. 35.

    Corner Stone

    @bkny:

    ugh. and the lone democrat was crybaby dick durbin.

    Durbin is a surrogate for the WH. He floats what they want.

  36. 36.

    pablo

    It’s not a mystery. The GOP has a well oiled machine, Koch and Scaife funded, that is relentless in everything politic. Not a day goes by without hundreds of phone calls going out to the networks offering them multitudes of talking heads.
    Democrats? Meh…herd of cats.

    Where the fuck are OUR rich fucks?

  39. 39.

    eemom

    Fuckin Sunday morning TALK shows? That all ya got?

    meh. I haz a bored.

    Guess I’ve been spoiled the last couple of days, but this blog just ain’t no FUN without 73 different flame wars going on simultaneously on 10 different threads, a drunken Cole caterwauling about Tunch’s ass, and crazy people from all over the innertubz coming here to comment about comment closing.

    Shark’s gotta SWIM, dudez.

  40. 40.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @maus:

    I mean, we have to have balance in the media.

    Unless America indicates it wants to see Republicans on teevee by electing Republicans.

  42. 42.

    RossInDetroit

    There are Republicans on TV because people who watch TV want to see that. It has nothing to do with balance, fact or fairness, and everything to do with advertising.

  44. 44.

    gogol's wife

    @eastriver:

    OT, but I just have to say thank you for that amazing Serbian video you posted at the end of the Eurovision thread. That was incredible. Even better than Leonard Nimoy singing Bilbo Baggins (they both now pop up as “recommended for you” whenever I go to YouTube).

  46. 46.

    Corner Stone

    @BGinCHI: I’m still wondering what BethanyAnne meant by “it’s tired and I’m late”.
    Witch! WITCH!!

  47. 47.

    Baud

    @RossInDetroit:

    There are Republicans on TV because people who watch TV want to see that. It has nothing to do with balance, fact or fairness, and everything to do with advertising.

    That’s what I believe may be driving this. The networks are playing to the perceived desires of their demographics.

  49. 49.

    Corner Stone

    @BGinCHI: Speaking of which, I was recently in CHI and we ended up at a strip club that was completely mobbed up by, I think Russians. They were Eastern European in any event.
    That was some spooky shit being blistered drunk at 4am and having Beefy Boris ask me if he could help me find someone when I was walking around.

  51. 51.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @cleek:

    who watches these shows?

    I think it was Atrios, maybe Josh Marshall, who said that when visiting Congressional offices the TVs are always on, tuned to CNN, Fox and MSNBC. I think that’s the problem with these shows: Claire McCaskill, Bill Nelson, Mark Warner, etc, they watch these shows and that’s where they get their idea of what’s Reasonable, Centrist and non-Silly. Their fingers are on the pulse of America because they read the Washington Post and watch Meet The Press.

  52. 52.

    opal

    @Fred:

    I said “you people” and some acted like it was the end of the world because maybe, just maybe I mean’t it as some sort of racist comment

    That was you? I’ll be damned. I’m sure you “mean’t” well.

  54. 54.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Chuck Butcher: Yes. Stuck is uniting the entire site against hisself, one tortured soul at a time.

    eastriver was saying “touche”.

  56. 56.

    SFAW

    JSF re: “That’s what you people think.”

    You need to understand that Omnes is (allegedly) a lawyer, and therefore is not qualified to speak about science/engineering stuff such as dependent or independent variables.

    I, however, having once thought about playing an engineer on a TV show, am.

  61. 61.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Corner Stone: “The president is finally admitting what Republicans have known all along — that increasing the supply of American energy will help lower prices and create jobs,” Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a written statement.”

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    Either way I got the garlic at the ready.

    Yes. We know.

    Can you do those non-witch/non-vampire among us a favor and stand a little further away from the screen when you type?

  65. 65.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @opal:

    Does the Cracker Pack have a platform yet, or are you just winging it?

    We have a platform but since we’re all Democrats, we don’t pay it a lot of attention.

  66. 66.

    Corner Stone

    @Keith G: Poor Cassidy. Another Internet Tough Guy. I only hope when he’s feeding me my liver he brings a nice Chianti to go with the fava beans.

  69. 69.

    SFAW

    “The president is finally admitting what Republicans have known all along — that increasing the supply of American energy will help lower prices and create jobs,” Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a written statement.”

    Of course, it’ll take 10 years before gas prices see any effect, but that’s not important.

    But it’s interesting that Obama is doing more to create jobs – at least as evidenced by Hastings’s statement – than the “Jobs is JobOne” Rethugs in Congress.

  70. 70.

    Corner Stone

    “Said one official: “We’re drawing on the best ideas from the Democratic and Republican side of the aisle and the best ideas from industry.”

    Environmentalists were not mentioned as a source of ideas”

  71. 71.

    birthmarker

    DougJ, didn’t we cover this on May 8th under the heading, An Honest Question?. Some of the comments there were pretty good.

  72. 72.

    SFAW

    I can email Cole my credenza if that would help.

    Thanks for that one, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen it.

    To save you some trouble: instead of mailing it to Cole, how about you mail it/them to me, in a manner similar to mailing the answer to Car Talk’s “Puzzler”. (If you’ve never listened to Car Talk, that one’ll need to be ‘splained.)

  73. 73.

    boss bitch

    @Corner Stone:

    Durbin is a surrogate for the WH. He floats what they want.

    ’cause what we need are more Democrats to contradict the WH.

  77. 77.

    fasteddie9318

    If Rachel Maddow is pushing this issue, why doesn’t she haul David Gregory’s idiot ass onto her show to explain himself?

  79. 79.

    Yutsano

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Ugh. Doc. My former congressman who will never lose a race because he sucks up to the Hanford contractors to make sure their welfare checks government funding keeps flowing. Granted that’s how my dad earns a living, but it’s still disgusting to watch. He’s a toadie that will do whatever the party wants.

  80. 80.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Corner Stone: eemom totally pwned you again in the “Can Someone Explain This” thread with the brilliant and incisive I am rubber you are glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you legal defense.

  84. 84.

    SFAW

    I am rubber you are glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you legal defense.

    Omnes –

    Is that one with which you are familiar?

  86. 86.

    fasteddie9318

    Cue Somerby to explain why we’re all failed moron liberal failures because this one time, the one Democrat who was on the Sunday shows got to be on liek four of them.

  87. 87.

    eemom

    @Corner Stone:

    I only hope when he’s feeding me my liver he brings a nice Chianti to go with the fava beans.

    I watched that movie last night with my son (12). Told him it scared the beejeezus out of me when I first saw it. He was like, totally not impressed.

  88. 88.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @SFAW: It works best in state courts. Federal courts have “no backsies” rules that make everything very complex.

  90. 90.

    Corner Stone

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Man, she totes did.
    She was all like, “I said those dead people weren’t innocent!”
    And I was like, “So what happened to them was their fault?”
    And she was like, “No, I didn’t say the “deserve” it! I just said no one can prove people on a boat filled with food and aid supplies and no weapons were on a mission to deliver food and aid supplies!”
    And I was like, “Oh. So they had no way to resist boarding and expected the Israelis to intervene? Yet they went anyway?”
    And she was all like, “Yeah! This fucking bitch bags are totes dead now, but there’s no way you can prove they REALLY meant to deliver that entire boat of food and aid supplies!”

    So, yeah. I agree. She totes pwned me on that one amigo.

  94. 94.

    eemom

    @Corner Stone:

    why don’t you link to the thread so that folks can draw their own conclusions, chickenshit?

    I’d do it, except that I’m sure you’ve got it on speed-dial. Or tattooed on your dick, whatevah.

    And WTF is up with the TOTES? Check your dick for where I’ve ever used that word to refer to anything other than an umbrella.

  96. 96.

    PurpleGirl

    I haven’t watched the Sunday morning talk shows since sometime in the 1990s. I do watch CBS’ Sunday Morning because I like the magazine format and the lighter stories. But this morning I changed to L&O when the Kissenger interview came on. (FYI, I’m in my late 50s and haven’t liked Republicans since we lost Jacob Javits and a few others.)

  98. 98.

    brad

    Totally and completely off-topic, if you want to laugh hard and long go look at what Althouse and Patterico have been posting about the blogger outage Googlelibrofascist plot to silence the world’s most important critic of whatever she’s congratulating herself for making up at the moment.
    I wish someone could get Anonymous to go after her, it could be the basis for a sitcom.

  99. 99.

    cbear

    @eemom: How would you know whats tattooed on CS’s dick? Is there something you two have been keeping from us?

    Are you carrying his eebaby?

    Ohmigod, it’s ALIVE!

  100. 100.

    SFAW

    Omnes –

    “Car Talk” is an NPR show where Tom and Ray Magliozzi (a/k/a “Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers”) try to diagnose and provide solutions for automotive problems described by their call-ins. The show is about half-auto, half-wisecrack.

    They have a weekly “Puzzler”, wherein they explain (or ‘splain) a puzzle – math, logic, automotive, language, you-name-it – for listeners to solve and send in their answer(s). They then ask that the entries – if sent by US mail, rather than e-mail – be written on a postcard, and attached to some expensive, fairly large item, and mailed to them.

    In the past, items have included a large-screen TV, a large power boat (if my memory is correct), and-I-can’t-remember-what-else-’cause-I’m-getting-senile.

    If you would care to mail me your credenza, attached to, let’s say, a Sea Ray 390, that’d be OK.

  102. 102.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Chuck Butcher:

    With all due respect to those who live there, Texas is one strange place and I can now say I’ve been around the South a bit.

    I used to live in Texas and it’s just like everywhere else, just hotter and with more messicans.

  103. 103.

    Josie

    Was anyone else reading Al Giordano’s blog some time back when he showed us how to organize a letter writing campaign to rein in the right leaning articles from AP? Things did seem to get a little better after that. He divied up the AP board members with their snail mail addresses among the participants and everyone wrote letters personally to one or two of them. Maybe, DougJ, if this is bugging you, you could plan an attack similar to that. I have faith in the ability of commenters here to write some fairly eye-catching letters.

  108. 108.

    Corner Stone

    Alright, brb, I need more cbear. Uh…I mean “beer”. The..uh..stout kind.

  109. 109.

    Chuck Butcher

    @Corner Stone:
    I will admit to disappointment to not be able to get down your way – I needed some relief. You know, in the north if you wanted to find a bar in some town you’d just go downtown. You probably also wouldn’t need to join the club on the edge of town. With iced tea as the beverage that charge seemed to be waived for me.

  110. 110.

    SFAW

    I could, perhaps, find a deer carcass. Would that work?

    No thanks, I already got tons of those in the back yard – well, could have, if I could get out the hunting bow without being spotted by Mrs. SFAW or my daughter.

    Look, if the Sea Ray is a little much, I could do with a non-kit, low-mileage, running nicely, AC Cobra. I’ll even come out to wherever-it-is-you-are and pick it up, you don’t have to mail it.

  112. 112.

    dogwood

    I used to watch the Sunday morning shows religiously. Drinking coffee and working the crossword puzzle. I remember when I stopped sometime in late 2005 or early 2006, I think. It was a MTP segment with Hagel, Lugar, and Obama. The subject was locking down loose nukes, and the conversation was good. At the end Russert closed by putting up a provocative statement by Harry Belafonte concerning Hugo Chavez and asked Senator Obama if he agreed with the sentiment. WTF? It was disgusting and embarrassing. Of course Lugar and Hagel weren’t required to respond.

    I stopped watching cable in 2004 during the Swift Boat fiasco. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I now only hear about what goes on via blogs like this or see an isolated segment of these shows if they are posted on the internet.

    Asking Jake Tapper or any of these media types to respond to their bias is a waste of time. These programs aren’t meant to inform the public or further a civil civic discussion. What they write or what they put on the tv is meant to impress their peers, and cater to the 55+ white demographic that still watches this stuff albeit in increasingly small numbers. But there’s little benefit in getting upset about this because guys like Tapper, Halperin, Gregory, Todd, and all the goofballs on Fox don’t have much influence. If Fox and talk radio were so influential, then McCain would never have been the 2008 Rep. nominee. And if people like Halperin and Cokie Roberts had any influence, Barack Obama wouldn’t be living in the White House.

  113. 113.

    Triassic Sands

    I just saw that Gingrich is opposed to the Ryan plan for Medicare. Apparently, he considers it too radical and calls it social engineering from the Right. Funny, I didn’t see any mention of Medicaid. Could that just be an omission by the media, or did Newt forget to include it in his rejection?

    Surely, Ryan’s plan for Medicaid is just as “radical” (Gingrich’s word) a change as the one for Medicare, but either Newt’s hatred of poor people allows for an exception or it’s just a minor oversight by the GOP’s “idea man.”

    Now, I’m just waiting for the media to ask Gingrich about his omission. I’ll give them twenty years and not a decade more.

    It’s no wonder poor people don’t think they matter in the US. They really don’t matter. If you want to know about the “soul” of a country, apparently in the US you determine how we treat the MOST fortunate among our citizens. And guess what? It turns out that Americans never let a rich person be victimized by fair [sic] tax rates or a sane estate tax. We’re way ahead of Europe in ensuring that American CEOs get paid an obscene multiple of average worker earnings. Jeebus would be proud.

  114. 114.

    cbear

    @Corner Stone: Enjoy it while you can, bro. Life won’t always be so carefree—what with your pending new responsibilities and all. If you thought she was insufferable before, I think you may be in for a shock after the blessed event.

  116. 116.

    Gregory

    You can’t convince me this stuff happens by accident week after week.

    Of course not! Liberal media! Oh, wait…

  117. 117.

    eemom

    @cbear:

    puh-leeeez.

    I only know what’s tattooed on his dick because he was kind enough to inform us all last night while trying to get into Allan’s pants. Try to keep up, willya?

  118. 118.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @eemom:

    I only know what’s tattooed on his dick because he was kind enough to inform us all last night while trying to get into Allan’s pants. Try to keep up, willya?

    lolz

    Although I’m a little shocked to find out Allan wears pants.

  119. 119.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @SFAW: If I had an AC Cobra (I would prefer the 289), I would accept that you did not have my credenza and I would NOT be commenting on this blog right now.

  120. 120.

    SFAW

    That is a pretty light car, but it would take a few stamps… Think about your tongue.

    Even out here in the boonies, we gots stamps that you don’t need to lick. And besides, it’s Omnes what would have to do the licking.

  121. 121.

    Chuck Butcher

    @SFAW:

    No thanks, I already got tons of those in the back yard

    Damned mulies were walking down the alley behind my house and Gus (Pyreneese who tolerates no wild animal – chipmunks count) blew through the back gate. He’s pretty easy for the doggie police to spot being all white and 150# so … well that one was free, copper brought him home.

    Out of the couple times he’s gotten loose two cost me pretty good dollars.

  123. 123.

    Chuck Butcher

    @SFAW:

    Even out here in the boonies, we gots stamps that you don’t need to lick. And besides, it’s Omnes what would have to do the licking

    I had no idea ‘civilization’ was now so widespread…

  124. 124.

    Chuck Butcher

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    If I had an AC Cobra (I would prefer the 289),

    C’mon there’s nothing like a big block boat anchor over the front of a short light car to make life interesting.

    (I say that with a 425HP 350 in the front of a 62 ChevyII)

  126. 126.

    Allan

    I would start by calling the offices of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and asking them if they sit by the phone waiting for the producers of the Sunday morning news shows to call them, or if they call them daily offering up lists of members of Congress who will be in DC and/or NY and available to appear this Sunday, and on what topics.

    I would then call Debbie Wasserman-Schultz at the DNC and ask the same question.

    Then I would suggest that each of them draft a memo each week with the same information in it, send it to the producers of each of these shows by Wednesday morning, and also release them as press releases to the general public.

    That way, when we see that Paul Ryan is going to be on CNN to talk about his budget, we can say, Candy Crowley, Nancy Pelosi offered up persons X, Y, and Z to speak about the budget, where are they?

    This would be an example of how I approach vexing matters that annoy me.

  128. 128.

    WaterGirl

    @RossInDetroit:

    There are Republicans on TV because people who watch TV want to see that. It has nothing to do with balance, fact or fairness, and everything to do with advertising.

    I have to disagree with you on that one. I used to watch the sunday morning shows. Like Violet, I stopped watching when Tim Russert died. Don’t get me started on Tom Brokaw, and then they gave the show to Fluffy. Then John McCain started being on every show, and I can’t stand him either.

    But maybe you’re right, because probably the only people left watching are Republicans. Which came first – the chicken or the egg?

  129. 129.

    SFAW

    If I had an AC Cobra (I would prefer the 289), I would accept that you did not have my credenza and I would NOT be commenting on this blog right now.

    I’m OK with that. Moi aussi, as the frogs say.

  130. 130.

    RossInDetroit

    @WaterGirl:
    TV is a business. Business does what maximizes profit unless someone is paying it to lose money. Eyeballs = dollars, and people aren’t going to sit there and watch what they don’t like. So the shows put on whoever will keep the viewers’ attention until the next commercial.

  131. 131.

    WaterGirl

    @Josie: Yep, I was there, and I think it could work here if someone was willing to supply the info.

  132. 132.

    WaterGirl

    @RossInDetroit: Agreed. But they lost my eyeballs, and presumably a lot of others, when they stopped having even the pretense of representation from both sides. So why do you think they were so willing to give up the Democratic eyeballs?

  135. 135.

    Lolis

    I want Jake Tapper to explain what he did to win a journalism award at the WHCD. Cause I have no clue. He is one of the worst journalists out there.

  136. 136.

    cathyx

    @RossInDetroit: No, I don’t agree with this. I’ll make a bet they don’t make money on those morning shows. Those shows are an avenue for the corporate media to help push their agenda to the American people in order to sway opinion in their favor so that the politicians make laws that enrich them.

  137. 137.

    ppcli

    “There were eight Republicans and one Democrat on the Sunday morning shows today. You can’t convince me this stuff happens by accident week after week.”

    Well, it was an accident that they had a Democrat on. Was it Heath Shuler or Ben Nelson?

  138. 138.

    Corner Stone

    @BGinCHI: “Admiral’s”, “Captains” ? Something like that.
    And no, trust me. Coming from TX the strip clubs in CHI are a sha-hoooge disappointment.
    You get the itch let me know. We can scratch it proper down here in H-Town.

  140. 140.

    Jewish Steel

    Jake Tapper sounds like he solves crimes on Sunday night after Murder She Wrote. Or a plumbing tool. Totally made up name.

    How is it that we know he comes here?

    ETA: Hmm. According to wiki his name checks out. I expected to see he was really Schlomo Tapelinkawitcz

  144. 144.

    Josie

    @Jewish Steel: After one long discussion with the vicious BJ jackals, he instituted fact checking on the Sunday show he was temporarily hosting. That was sort of a bright victory.

  145. 145.

    BGinCHI

    @Corner Stone: Let me ask Mrs. BG and I’ll get back to you.

    She’s pretty good about letting me get my dick out of the freezer and taking it out of the house.

  147. 147.

    eemom

    @Jewish Steel:

    he showed up a month or so ago in response to some post of Cole’s and got a rather, um, lukewarm reception. Which prompted Cole to rant at us all about what a fucking embarrassment we are, a major media figure shows up on his blog and do his commenters ask intelligent questions and try to LEARN something?? Oh noooooo, we act like our usual assholic selves…….and he can’t fucking take us ANYWHERE and if we don’t all die in a fire he is gonna put up a picture of Tunch’s ass and close comments forever.

    You know, the usual stuff.

  148. 148.

    Jewish Steel

    @Corner Stone: Unless he comments under “THE REAL Jake Tapper” I have no more faith in his lack of dogness than I do in any one else.

    For the record, I don’t think you are Corner Stone by Bob Marley and the Wailers either. The real Corner Stone would never be so uptight.

  149. 149.

    RossInDetroit

    @WaterGirl:

    But they lost my eyeballs, and presumably a lot of others, when they stopped having even the pretense of representation from both sides. So why do you think they were so willing to give up the Democratic eyeballs?

    Probably they gained more eyeballs, or more valuable eyeballs.

    cathyx:

    I’ll make a bet they don’t make money on those morning shows. Those shows are an avenue for the corporate media to help push their agenda to the American people in order to sway opinion in their favor so that the politicians make laws that enrich them.

    Well maybe, but I prefer the simpler explanation that the makeup of the shows fits their business model of selling advertising. I doubt that giving up market share to push an agenda that might result in friendlier government could compete with just more ad revenue right now.

  150. 150.

    Uriel

    @RossInDetroit:

    TV is a business. Business does what maximizes profit unless someone is paying it to lose money. Eyeballs = dollars,

    Well, no- in television, advertising=dollars.

    And that advertising comes from large, powerful corporations who, while they may not want to dump their marketing budgets down a black hole like ‘red eye,’ have proven themselves extremely reluctant to subsidize ploitical speech that runs counter to their long term interests. Or short term ones, for that matter. Or even passing fancies.

    Why do you think there are so few shows that even make a half hearted attempt at presenting consumer advocacy?

  152. 152.

    SFAW

    On the topic of boats, a motor yacht? How about something nice and elegant like this?

    Yeah, I guess that would do.

    Of course, since sailing hasn’t been my thing for a number of years, how about an Empacher X15, a Van Dusen Advantage, or maybe something by Graeme King (pre-WinTech)?

  154. 154.

    RossInDetroit

    Hey gourmands: It quit raining for 10 minutes and I rounded up another batch of morel mushrooms from the yard. I usually wash them and cook them in whatever. My wife says the internets soak them in salt water. Any opinions?

  155. 155.

    Corner Stone

    @opal: Nothing will help me get over the pain, loss and regrets. Nothing.
    How could he fucking leave me like this?!

    Oh well. Alcohol.

  156. 156.

    RossInDetroit

    @cathyx:

    Favorable legislation is way more profitable than ad revenue.

    Okay, I’ll bite. Example, and how it benefited the bottom line of commercial media? I’m willing to be convinced.

  157. 157.

    Cat Lady

    The networks are practicing classic rent-seeking. Republicans are against regulation, media companies (like every other company) are against regulation, ergo more Republicans. These shows have nothing to do with informing the viewers, it’s about making Republicans look serious and reasonable. These morning shows are David Brooks writ large.

  159. 159.

    RossInDetroit

    @Uriel:

    Why do you think there are so few shows that even make a half hearted attempt at presenting consumer advocacy?

    As a first pass I’d say because that’s boring and there’s no money in putting people to sleep unless you’re Serta.

  162. 162.

    SFAW

    and how it benefited the bottom line of commercial media? I’m willing to be convinced.

    Well, the GE no-taxes-on-$14B-in-profits comes to mind.

  163. 163.

    RossInDetroit

    @SFAW:
    And was that more likely to happen if they filled their shows with Republicans rather than Democrats? If there’s a relationship there it’s a rather indirect one.

  164. 164.

    cathyx

    @RossInDetroit: Lower taxes, control over the internet, more money to the defense department(think nbc=GE), so many ways. Those mentioned are enough to give them lots o’ money.

  165. 165.

    Jewish Steel

    @Corner Stone: Can I confess here that even though I find ol’ Bob to be an irritating, contrarian puke at times, he kinda cracks me up? FPers gonna ban who they wanna ban. I’ve got no problem with that. But I thought that Bob made good points in a entertaining way and his presence in a thread upped the interest level for me. I can’t be the only one who thinks this, no?

    @Omnes Omnibus: Absolutely. All kinds of workarounds.

  166. 166.

    RossInDetroit

    @cathyx:

    And again, what’s the causal link between filling shows with republicans and those things being more likely to happen? I don’t disagree that they did happen, I just don’t see the talk show panel composition on Sunday morning having a lot of leverage.

  167. 167.

    Kane

    In 1994, Time magazine celebrated the Republican victory in the midterm elections by putting a herd of charging elephants on its cover. But its response to the Democratic victory of 2006 — a victory in which House Democrats achieved a larger majority in both in seats and in the popular vote than the Republican­s ever did in their 12-year reign—was a pair of overlappin­g red and blue circles, with the headline “The center is the place to be.”

    This was also an historic election, with Nancy Pelosi becoming the first ever Speaker of the House and the highest-ra­nking female politician in American history. The guests on Meet the Press the Sunday after this historic Democratic sweep were Joe Lieberman and John McCain.

  169. 169.

    Kane

    Last month I saw Eric Alterman speaking at a book signing on C-SPAN. During the discussion, he pointed out that in the year 2009, the guest who appeared on Meet the Press most often was former Speaker Newt Gingrich. In the same year, according to Alterman, Speaker Nancy Pelosi never made an appearance on MTP.

  170. 170.

    Commish

    I’d guess even the corporate media isn’t so enamored with the GOP agenda that they’d lose money while pushing it on Sunday mornings. I’m sure they make some profit on those shows. Think of how much they cost to make: a few old white guys sitting around a desk. All but one appearing for free.

    Count me in for any letter writing campaign.

  171. 171.

    cathyx

    @RossInDetroit: The republican panel pushes the “we need to combat the deficit by lowering taxes” meme, “we need to increase our spending on defense to fight terrorism” meme, and ” we need to control the internets because of child pornography” meme.

  173. 173.

    Corner Stone

    @Jewish Steel: Lil Bobby irritated me with his “holier” stance and “pox to both” BS.
    But honestly he didn’t do anything more or less than he had been doing for months. He just did it in a situation with a hair trigger fragile ego lording it over him.

  175. 175.

    RossInDetroit

    @cathyx:
    I agree, but I don’t see that they would put unpopular guests on the air for whatever small advantage could be gained by moving public opinion the small distance from the Dem to the GOP positions on those issues.

    It’s been nice chatting, and I’ll come back to read responses but bellies are rumbling and I have to cook now…

  176. 176.

    Kane

    A 2008 study by the League of Conservati­on Voters found that the five major Sunday morning political shows asked the presidenti­al candidates well over 2,000 questions in 2007. Just three of the questions mentioned global warming. There were actually more questions about baseball and UFO’s than there were global warming!

    It’s not just the imbalance in the guest list that is so appalling, it’s the imbalance in the content in ensuring that some issues are never addressed.

  177. 177.

    Uriel

    @RossInDetroit:

    As a first pass I’d say because that’s boring

    Well, if you feel that a segment featuring Orrin Hatch and Tweety blathering on about the funding of oversea abortions for the twelve hundredth time in a week is riveting tv, but a story about the myriad ways credit card companies work the system to keep you a perpetual victim of usury, or on the gas companies colluding to throw elections is just to dull for words- that’s your call. I disagree.

  178. 178.

    SFAW

    And again, what’s the causal link between filling shows with republicans and those things being more likely to happen? I don’t disagree that they did happen, I just don’t see the talk show panel composition on Sunday morning having a lot of leverage.

    “You do for me, I do for you”.

    Maybe I’m misinterpreting you, but the term “causal link” usually implies direct – or almost-direct – causation. It can also include the idea that there is a single-driver causality, although not always. I don’t think anyone has said that getting favorable media attention is the sole driver behind legislation favoring media companies.

    But there are very few sole-driver situations anymore. Actions of a tax-break nature are generally the result of a long lobbying process, both in the form of using lobbyists and by doing things that the powers-that-be will appreciate. Letting the Rethugs regurgitate their talking points every Sunday AM fall into that latter category. Since the Rethugs are the ones that keep pushing tax breaks for the wealthy, they’re the ones you want to be nice to. Pissing them off does not help you get a tax break, I would imagine.

  179. 179.

    Uriel

    @cathyx: Who will you write the letters to- neilson families? If it’s all just a simple issue of eyeballs, than the only thing that will change the dynamic is rating shares.

    We simply must agitate for more and better democratic viewers between the ages of 18-35.

  180. 180.

    Jewish Steel

    @cbear:
    @Corner Stone:

    I think he was asking to be banned by pushing ABL’s buttons, taunting her over and over again. Not a lot of trolls get banned @ B-J so that’s a plaque on his wall. But I’d hardly call it disturbing. Cassidy. That’s what I’d call distubing.

    eta: also funny, but in a different way.

  181. 181.

    Kane

    If you had a Sunday morning news talk show and your sponsors were Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Insurance and Big Banks, who would you invite on to discuss issues?

  182. 182.

    Uriel

    @RossInDetroit: So, in your opinion, would corporations battle all the way to the supreme court in order to secure the right to anonymously dump boatloads of cash on political advertising that doesn’t even provide the limited benefit of prominent product placement? ‘Cause I heard somewhere that they might have just done something like that. Sounds suspiciously like a willingness to write off all kinds of money in an attempt to move policy that small distance between D and R.

    Or do you think they’ve extracted promises that President Romney will attend all his future pressers prominently drinking Coca Cola while wearing a Domninos windbreaker?

  183. 183.

    cathyx

    @RossInDetroit: That’s what you are not understanding. It’s not a small advantage that they gain from having them on week after week. Just like a leaky faucet that only drips every couple of seconds. If you put a container under it you would realize that your faucet is leaking a gallon per hour and over time, that’s a lot of water you are losing. Week after week, we hear the same story, the American people will eventually start believing it and even repeating it at the water cooler.

  184. 184.

    RossInDetroit

    @Uriel:

    That’s a bit indirect for me to follow, and yes I did try. Could you state it more plainly? I promise to pay attention.

    @cathyx:
    I don’t dispute that there’s some benefit to big business from putting republicans on the air. I think that benefit is indirect compared to following their actual business model of showing what viewers want to see. The most valuable eyeballs available on Sunday morning probably just skews old and conservative.
    I agree that there’s a strong conservative bias in much of the media. Of the three possible causes of this:
    1) media consumers want to see this.
    2) conservatives are better prepared to spoon feed their material to lazy media
    3) media businesses serve their long term interests at the expense of market share.

    I like #1 & #2 a lot more than #3.

  185. 185.

    Ken

    Doug, you might have to try to pass B-J off as a Sunday morning msm event to get Jake’s attention.

  186. 186.

    SFAW

    I think that benefit is indirect compared to following their actual business model of showing what viewers want to see.

    More indirect than a business model where revenue comes from advertisers, who in turn pay because they’re anticipating their own revenue stream from the viewers, based on the idea that a certain percentage of the viewers will actually buy products made by Advertiser X?

    Yeah, I can see that the current model is so much more direct than lobbying for tax breaks from people who have shown their willingness to take kickbacks contributions in exchange for regulatory relief.

  187. 187.

    RossInDetroit

    @SFAW:

    More indirect than a business model where revenue comes from advertisers, who in turn pay because they’re anticipating their own revenue stream from the viewers, based on the idea that a certain percentage of the viewers will actually buy products made by Advertiser X?

    Yes. That is the well proven model for commercial media that has worked for nearly a century and had built basically the entire broadcast industry. I have confidence in that explanation.

  188. 188.

    NoFun

    The only reason Tapper is where he is today is because he went on a date with Monica Lewinsky and saw fit to cash in by spewing the details once her tete-a-tete with Clinton was revealed. That’s really all you need to know about the man.

  189. 189.

    SFAW

    Yes. That is the well proven model for commercial media that has worked for nearly a century and had built basically the entire broadcast industry. I have confidence in that explanation.

    Right. Same thing (more or less) applies to the newspaper industry – how’s that working out for them these days? (And please spare me the “but they got subscriptions!” red herring.)

  190. 190.

    Uriel

    Sorry- that was probably a bit more oblique than it should have been- I was trying to be clever. And failing, most likely.

    The point I was trying to make is that while you seem to think that our galtian overlords wouldn’t sacrifice the money (and attendant leverage) attempting to influence and subsidize a narrative more favorable to republicans if it didn’t also maximize thier markets as well.Tthat getting more eyeballs on a coke can is more important than influencing who the next head of the FCC, say, might be.

    I would counter that Citizens United pretty much show us the opposite is true. That they are not only willing, but eager to spend enourmous amounts of money on, among other things, advertising that will not feature their products *at all.* That will not increase their market share one bit. Advertising who’s only purpose is move the political discourse away from Dem messaging and towards a more republican narrative.

    And in some ways they get much more for their money going the sunday morning show route In pressuring the execs on meet the press to air the views of John McCain while omitting a rebuttal by Debbie Wasserman, you get your messaging out in a way that lends it much more legitimacy and credibility than a 60 second spot on ‘King of Queens’ will. ‘Cause that’s just an ad- ‘Meet the Press” is f’ng NEWS!

    And if you’re a network exec, and you know that your big advertisers are completely willing to bail on a show that is fairly popular amonst a target demographic- for instance, Bill Mahr’s old show- for no other reason than unpopular speech… And you know that those same advertizers will be opening the big money coffers during the run up to any election to run “issue” ads… Well when someone offhandedly says “I’m not sure that the image of Target is compatable with the rantings of that Alan Grayson fellow you have on so much. I think we may have to take a pass on your little sunday morning’ tee vee round up. Now, if I could see a litle more of that smexy Paul Ryan…” you’re going to listen.

  191. 191.

    Corner Stone

    @Jewish Steel: I just disagree, Lil Bobby got the hook out of sheer “cuz I can”, and nothing else.
    He wasn’t bringing anything out of bounds.
    I don’t hold a brief for the guy but he didn’t do anything to deserve it. An abject lesson in the imbalance of power.

  192. 192.

    Xenos

    @RossInDetroit:

    TV is a business. Business does what maximizes profit unless someone is paying it to lose money. Eyeballs = dollars, and people aren’t going to sit there and watch what they don’t like. So the shows put on whoever will keep the viewers’ attention until the next commercial.

    There was this ancient broadcasting license rule that used to compensate for this sort of thing. I can’t quite recall it now, but it rhymed with ‘bearness schmoktrine’ or something like that.

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