I can see that the transition from pollster to village hack has been a remarkably smooth transition for Chucky T:
Appearing at a Winthrop University panel Thursday, MSNBC host and NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd ripped into Stephen Colbert and his not-yet-official run, suggesting that Colbert might have some ulterior motives in the way he’s almost throwing his hat into the GOP primary ring:
“Is it fair to the process? Yes, the process is a mess, but he’s doing it in a way that it feels as if he’s trying to influence it with his own agenda, that may be anti-Republican. And we in the media are covering it as a schtick and a satire, but it’s like, ‘Well wait a minute here…’ he’s also trying to do his best to marginalize the candidates, and we’re participating in that marginalization.”
Todd said that the “mainstream media” (his quotes) has a responsibility to exercise some caution and question what Colbert’s agenda is. “Is it to educate the public about the dangers of money in politics and what’s going on?” He asked, “or is it simply to marginalize the Republican party? I think if I were a Republican candidate, I’d be concerned about that.”
Has Todd ever seen the Colbert report? If so, he would recognize that Colbert’s entire schtick is to be a faux-Conservative, so it would make no sense whatsoever for him to run as a Democrat. Additionally, as even Todd recognizes the system is a mess, Colbert’s only sin is to point out how screwed up the whole process is for a much larger audience, because ALLAH KNOWS Todd and his beltway buddies aren’t. They’re too busy in the day to day horse race, too terrified to point out the absurdities of both the system and the GOP candidates, and lately, have spent their time pathetically wondering out loud if they should even report facts.
And Todd won’t ever tell you this, but he and the rest of the bobbleheads and their corporations don’t want the system fixed. They like it as a mess. If we were to hold elections like other civilized nations, we’d have public funding of them and they would last for a finite period. That would mean that billions of fewer dollars spent on advertising on places like NBC, CBS, ABC, and all the other media outlets. That would mean that Todd and others like him, who really add no value to the system, would be looking for legitimate work. Let’s face it, if these guys are terrified of stating the truth out of the fear of being called biased, what purpose do they actually serve at all? None. Not one person in the nation would be less informed than they are right now if you fired the whole lot of political operatives and political analysts. In fact, the opposite is true- they’d probably be more informed.
Additionally, the corporations also like the mess our current system is, because it gives them massive influence they would not otherwise have. Dodd told you all that this morning when he lamented the fact that the SOPA bill took too long and that was its downfall. What he meant was “all the wheels were greased, everyone was bought and paid for with corporate cash, but we screwed up and allowed the little guys time to figure out what we were doing.”
So blow it out your ass, Chuck Todd. The problem in American politics and the sham way we run elections is not Stephen Colbert, and lies more in your studio than you’ll ever realize.
Also, too, this:
PRO-TIP: He’s talking about you, Chuck.
*** Update ***
I forgot about this Koppel interview of Colbert a couple nights ago where he talked about what he was doing and why:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
It is quite clear to anyone with an IQ over room temperature (which, sadly, excludes Chuck Todd), that Colbert is not doing this to marginalize Republicans, he is doing it because someone has got to point out that the system Todd merely calls a “mess” is actually ruining this country. And it is. The monied interests have us all by the short hairs, and their grip is tightening, and what upsets Todd is that Colbert is standing up and yelling “OUCH, WHAT THE HELL?” Todd should be asking himself why a humorist is doing this, and not a “journalist” such as himself.
slag
The candidate Colbert is trying to marginalize is obviously Herman Cain. So, it stands to reason that if you want to stick it to the liebrul comedian, Vote Herman Cain!
comrade scott's agenda of rage
A magnificent take down.
The recent NYT magazine article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/stephen-colbert.html?pagewanted=all
points out his speech in 06 was directed as much at the Villagers as it was as the Bushies. Of course they had their collective heads too far up their asses to realize that.
And Chuckles is too busy reporting on “real” news to watch the “fake news”.
It’s shit like this that simply reinforces why I don’t give money to NPR and will never pay for a major newspaper should it go behind a firewall. Any such funding all eventually goes toward paying people like Chuckle’s salary.
To quote Robin Williams: “Assholes dooo vex meeeeeeeeee!”
jayackroyd
Just adding that Colbert has also contributed to messing up Chuckie’s and his cheesy friends’ narrative–anointing the inevitable Romney early, so we can move on to the general. The Village desperately wants to get the clown car people–and anti-war, anti-Village Ron Paul–off the dog track.
And, no, I am not a Ron Paul supporter, although I do think it’s interesting that there is no Democrat in a leadership position who is anti-war, anti-village.
Breezeblock
I approve of this rant.
Culture of Truth
But you are not a Republican candidate, Chuckles, you are corporate stenographer. Now start typing, you whorish bastard.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Actually, and I base this on my years of yammering back and forth with the one WH reporter I know, it’s their bosses who are afraid of being called biased.
Reporter A actually does his job for Newspaper 1. 300 wingnuts call to shriek at the editor threatening to pull their oh-so-desirable subscriptions. Upper management, bean counters all, poop their pants, then scream at the editors to ‘reign in’ the reporters. Reporters are appropriately reigned in and we then get the kind of shit we’re used to seeing anymore.
As usual, Charlie Pierce said it best recently:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/new-york-times-public-editor-on-truth-6638107
Replace “newspapers” with “any corporate owned media outlet” and it’s still accurate.
geg6
This is absolutely true. I have given up completely on any television news, whether network or cable. And I have done the same with the national print media, too. I know more about the issues than I did when I relied on those idiots. It takes some time and effort, but I apparently know more about issues than Chuckie Todd does.
And OT, for all who may be wondering about my Henry…
Seems he took a turn for the better on Wednesday. I was out at a financial aid night, but John came home and found Henry eating and drinking and just being his usual, everyday self (except his rear legs still don’t work). Totally alert and letting everyone know about it. So he called the vet, who came right over. Checked him out and said that all his vital signs are good, his kidneys and colon are working fine, his breathing is good and, if it were her, she wouldn’t yet pull the plug.
So we cancelled the appointment we had for Thursday evening and we still have Henry with us. The vet says that it may not be much longer, but that we should make the most of what is left and be happy that he perked up.
Stubborn ol’ Henry. I think he’s just fucking with us now.
schrodinger's cat
Chuck Todd, another MSM concubine for the GOP, or the high church or Centrism and Bipartisanship it is known in respectable circles. Patron saint, Broder would approve.
Mark S.
marginalize : to relegate to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group
If anyone has succeeded in marginalizing these Republican candidates, it’s the candidates themselves with their insane proposals and general stupidity. Unfortunately, even the wingnuttiest among them will get 40% of the vote in a general election, so that’s hardly being relegated to an unimportant or powerless position within society.
CoastalMike
Hella.
pseudonymous in nc
Because it always bears repeating: Chuck Todd should change his name to “Peter Principle” and be done with it.
schrodinger's cat
@geg6: Aawww, skritch Henry’s chin for me and give him a treat on my behalf and good luck with everything…
kindness
Has anyone here seen Colbert on Morning Joe this AM?
Funny. Really funny. Chucky Todd just plain sucks. Just like Bobo’s column today. Charles Pierce kills it.
redshirt
O, for the early days of 2008 when Chucky Todd was a young and up and coming stats guy who somehow got himself in front of the camera – we called him the “Wizard” back then, and we loved him.
It had all changed by the end of 2008, but it was fun for a while.
SW
These people are indeed a waste of human flesh. Just who their target audience is, who listens to their bilge is a continuing source of wonder to me. Republicans hate them. Just listen to Gingrich going off on that doofus King. They can never kiss enough ass to get in right with that crowd. It is so clearly all about the Benjamins. I can’t believe that they swallow their own faux righteous bullshit. Its not about the truth. Its about not taking sides and what exactly? Why not just set up a bunch of cameras and web sites for every politician and interest out there and let them spew? Eliminate the middleman and the illusion that we are getting anything other than a pitch.
Chyron HR
@jayackroyd:
I think it’s interesting that for the purposes of this comparison, you’ve defined “random Congressperson who gets roundly rejected by the national GOP every four years” as a “leadership position”.
jl
On the other hand, if Colbert is stringing out the GOP primary contest, that would be good news for Bob Schieffer, who, seems to me, has used the GOP primaries as an excuse to turn his show into a weekly GOP wingnut cavalcade.
Schieffer is either so corrupt, or biased, or intellectually bigoted about what is news, or so unsound in his news judgment, the show features the GOP circus as the main news event for weeks at a time.
I remember listening to paired Dem and GOP political hacks yelling at each other about some dumb claim made about Iran in a GOP debate. It occured to me that if Schieffer could spare ten minutes to actually cover the news of the world, listeners would have enough info to decide for themselves, instead of listening to two insane and suspect political consultants talking over each other.
Well, what seems to be good for Schieffer in grinding out his newslike marketing product seems to be bad for Todd. Too bad. Life is unfair, and I’m not interested in Todd whining about his inability to step up to the challenges of his job.
cathyx
At first I was surprised how many republicans don’t realize that Colbert is making fun of them, then I remembered that republicans don’t have a sense of humor and it all made sense.
Heliopause
This post neatly summarizes the reason that, in my dictatorship, the first train to the gulag will not contain conservative politicians but centrist media pundits.
Note that Todd is worried about Colbert’s stealth POV infecting the minds of us poor rubes out in TVland. In addition to his cluelessness about his own role in this whole debased process and the nature of comedy you can add a heaping helping of hubris.
Mike in NC
So what the are odds that when Chuck Toad’s contract with NBC comes up for renewal, he’ll jump ship to FOX News?
geg6
@Chyron HR:
Yup. I’d have to say that both Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders would qualify as leaders and Dennis has even run for president several times. As for effectiveness, give me Sanders or even Kucinich over Paul, who is not much more than a cipher in the Congressional Record.
Amir Khalid
@geg6:
So it’s not Henry’s time just yet. He’s still got a bit more to go, and every day you get with him now will be all the sweeter for that. That’s a real blessing.
Danny
@jayackroyd:
Oh jesus, I like your subtle concern trolling even less than back when you were pitching Democrats-for-Romney.
@John Cole: Thank you, good stuff.
geg6
@jl:
There’s a reason that Bob Schieffer runs the GOP Insane Clown Posse from his Sunday morning network perch:
Schieffer is the older brother of Tom Schieffer, a friend and former business partner of President George W. Bush, who was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Australia 2001-2005 by President Bush and also served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan from April 2005 through January 2009. On March 2, 2009 Tom Schieffer announced he was forming an exploratory committee that will allow him to seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of Texas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Schieffer
Mike in NC
@jl:
Go with “All of the Above” on this particular question. Bob’s also been a regular golf partner with fellow Texan GWB. His show should have some kind of disclaimer at the bottom of the screen.
jl
@Mike in NC: Jesus told a parable about how it is OK, for certain kinds of servants, who cannot dig and are too proud to beg, to cut the best deal they can with the powers that be. Todd shouldn’t waste time feeling sorry for himself and do what he needs to do, if covering the news is too difficult for him.
Maybe he should have stayed as the statistics dude. That is a nice secure niche, since mat phobia is near universal in this country.
trollhattan
They’re jealous of Colbert’s vacuuming up the attention but what really gets them riled is
histhe until recently his superPAC.He’sIt’s not paying for the ads and broadcast slots with Girl Scout cookie proceeds–there’s some real money at play. And the effort is spotlighting the entire sham in a very disquieting way.WyldPirate
Awesome rant, Cole. You’ve been on fire of late between this one and your evisceration of Romney and his “go to Russia” BS.
geg6
@geg6:
Damn it. I don’t know where the edit function went, but that section about Tom Schieffer is from Wiki and I meant to put it in blockquotes but forgot.
jl
@24 and @25 thanks for the info. I think time for a CBS news ethics panel.
Villago Delenda Est
There is only one word needed to describe the offal that is Chuck Toad:
Fucktard.
Odie Hugh Manatee
Awww, Chucky iz concurned about someone pointing out what he and his kind have failed to.
I remember when Chucky was on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal in the AM. I think he was with Hot Air and he would do his little morning report, stuttering, stammering and hesitating the whole way. He eventually got good enough to attract the one of the Big Boys and it’s off to the big times to be a pro!
We should call him Two-Buck Chuck because that’s all his bullshit is worth.
geg6
@schrodinger’s cat:
@Amir Khalid:
Thanks! Believe me, we are grateful and Henry is getting more attention than he bargained for. And loving every minute of it.
Villago Delenda Est
@Heliopause:
This.
Never, ever put me in power. The first thing I’ll do is call the 82nd Airborne in on the Village on a search and destroy operation. Take no prisoners.
kdaug
@geg6:
Good boy.
General Stuck
PRAISE BE!
Preech it, brother Cole!!
terraformer
I’m not really seeing this as an either-or proposition.
becca
Qbviously, Colbert’s intent is to educate the American people about the dangers of money in politics AND marginalizing marginal GOP candidates.
Duh, Todd.
geg6
@Villago Delenda Est:
I’m with you and Heliopause. It particularly gets my goat as I grew up the daughter of a journalist. I am honestly glad that my mom is not alive to see what a cesspool her life’s work has become.
gene108
@Mike in NC:
The two aren’t mutually exclusive. Without the flood of secret money sloshing around elections, Republicans wouldn’t do as well.
The issues wouldn’t get as distorted.
Lame as candidates, like my Congressman, former Philadelphia Eagle right tackle, Jon Runyan, wouldn’t have eked out a win.
Runyan ran very few adds, mostly self-funded his campaign, and even in a wave election in a long-time Republican district was not able to poll ahead of Adler.
Come September every ad was an attack ad on Adler, funded by some SuperPAC or the other.
Anyway, the less money in politics and the worse it’ll be for Republicans.
The two aren’t mutually exclusive.
gogol's wife
@geg6:
I’m so glad you have some more time with Henry. It’s all precious.
schrodinger's cat
@geg6: I blame Tunch.
smintheus
This slate of candidates brings shame on the Republican Party. Chuck Todd and his media buddies aren’t saying that in public. The influence on this campaign of big, secretive slush funds is obscene. Chuck Todd and his media buddies aren’t saying that in public.
dedc79
Colbert’s roast will go down as one of the great moments of American political comedy. I love the way he went after everyone in the room.
geg6
@schrodinger’s cat:
Well, they are about the same size.
Yutsano
@geg6: Puppeh sez: “I i not done yet hoomanz.” Odds are the back legs are gone to age, but I bet he still has a spirit and a good tongue. Good boy. :)
dedc79
At some point I hope that Americans come to realize that what goes for political coverage in america is the equivalent of a slow motion camera pointed at the Wrigley field scoreboard as it flips to a new score.
handsmile
The first link in John Cole’s above post really is a MUST-SEE video. It is a signal lesson in demonstrating “Our failed media experiment,” a definitive answer to “Why oh why can’t we have a better press corps. And after watching it realize bitterly that it’s not from the Onion News Network.
For four minutes, Chuck Todd babbles pious inanities about the “institutions [he] idolizes”, whimpers that satirical comedians may “trivialize our institutions and make people more cynical.” “Offended” by how Colbert and Stewart practice their arts, he bleats:
“You are mocking what we’re doing, and you want a place in this, then you are also going to be held accountable for how you cover and how you do your job.”
That’s right. Chuck Todd, the political director of NBC News, is lecturing two comedians on accountability. His entire diatribe is replete with unintentional indictments of his “profession”, what Charles Pierce memorably called “a whorehouse with 400 player pianos.” Watch it and laugh or weep. You’re listening to the death rattle of American journalism.
I eagerly await what Stephen Colbert, fresh from a fourth or fifth place finish in the South Carolina primary under the name of Herman Cain, will do on his Monday night show to eviscerate this pathetic stenographer.
Quaker in a Basement
I blame Pat Paulson.
shortstop
Good news about Henry, geg6.
Bob Schieffer is wallowing in conflicts of interest and is an extreme tool (of the right), but he didn’t get his job because of Dubya. He’s been in TV news for several centuries and is treated as a demigod by other reporters due to his lengthy tenure, in the way that goony reporters worship longevity over competence, judgment or fairness. Recently saw some old coverage of Oswald getting shot and there was old Bob on the spot.
LanceThruster
A-effin-men! to every observation John Cole made.
Good on you, mate!
geg6
@Yutsano:
I think he has enjoyed John and I weeping over him and scritching his ears continually and decided he’d like to keep that up.
Too cute, that ol’ boy is.
Violet
Stephen Colbert is my hero. Keep it up, Colbert!
@geg6: Wow, that’s amazing news! So glad to hear it. Henry is one tough guy!
BGinCHI
The key to Chuck Todd is to say his name really fast so that it’s one syllable. This works with Chris Dodd as well.
Great post, Cole. No matter how much hand-wringing we engage in by “analyzing” the media in this country, the corporate media are fucking worthless. Even with exceptions, we’d be better off without them, or just starting over with 9-year-olds like Newt wants to do with custodial services.
You could employ a lot of 9-year-old muckrakers with ChuckTodd’s salary.
Villago Delenda Est
@dedc79:
Furthermore the hurt fee fees reaction of such centrist crap as the loathsome Richard Cohen caused my Schadenfreude meter to peg, hard.
geg6
@shortstop:
No, he didn’t get his job at CBS because of the Bushes, but he certainly has turned “Face the Nation” into “GOP Sunday Morning Talking Points.” Disgusting.
I watch Food Network after CBS Sunday Morning. Even Paula Deen has more integrity than the Villagers.
pragmatism
chuckles asks the tough questions, like would it be better if OBL were in custody instead of dead. he’s totally influential you guys. we’re just envious of his superior journoskillz. or as the kids say, we are haters/jelly.
bemused
@handsmile:
Babbling is an understatement. Then the Morning Joe crew slap him on the back and say, great job, interesting insight, what would we do without your brilliant analysis, blah, blah.
beltane
This is somewhat OT but it’s being reported that Mitt Romeny has backed out of Monday night’s debate on NBC http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/20/1056740/-Report:-With-Mitt-Romney-refusing-to-commit,-NBC-yanks-Monday-debate-from-national-schedule?via=blog_1
Is this fear or overconfidence?
David Koch
I think Todd is pissed over the “Mitt the Ripper” ad.
jl
@handsmile: Thanks for pointing out that Todd is not only whining, but is very confused about what his job is supposed to be.
David Koch
@beltane: you can run, but you can’t hide, Mittens.
it’s obviously fear. he tanked badly in the last two debates, fumbling more than a Green Bay Packer on the tax return questions.
shortstop
@geg6: He’s a piece of crap, no argument.
I actually think these professionally avuncular older guys — the ones who weren’t particularly partisan way back when — are worse than the hissing and spitting younger Fox anchors. It’s easy to see what you’re getting with the latter. The former are trading on established reputations and doing mucho damage without getting questioned about it because they’re accorded icon status.
Special Patrol Group
Still awesome.
I think if Chuck Todd were a Republican candidate, I’d have trouble noticing any difference.
Martin
@dedc79: Agreed, though I have trouble watching it. I struggle with the loss of power – where Colbert can stand in front of the President and all of the others, and systematically twist the knife into each one, but because the cameras are on, not only do they lack the power to resist, they have to pretend to enjoy it. I find that visible loss of power to be difficult to watch, even though each and every one deserved it.
Egg Berry
@geg6: Sanders is not a Democrat.
shortstop
@Martin: See, and that forced helplessness was what I enjoyed most about it. Which doesn’t make you a better person than I; nooooooo, don’t think that for a moment there, Martin.
David Koch
Video of Colbert’s Charleston rally, held earlier today.
Video of Colbert on Morning Blow
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc_tv-morning_joe/
dedc79
@Martin: I hear you, there was a moment of kind of horrified guilt when I first saw it too. Then I thought about all the crap the administration had pulled, all the ways in which the press had dropped the ball (not just during his presidency, but leading up to it), and I sat back and had a good laugh.
geg6
@shortstop:
I completely agree. I think I basically said the same thing about CNN in a thread yesterday. I have less of a beef with FOXNews than I do with CNN because you know what you’re getting from FOX. They don’t bother to hide it. But CNN is somehow the “middle” or the “most trusted” or whatever hyperbole they are using to tout themselves this week. Meanwhile, they feature Dana Loesch and Erick Erickson commenting on Obama and/or the GOBP race, never pointing out that they are two of the most disgusting creatures on the planet. And don’t get me started on Candy Crowley and Wolf Blitzer and John King.
geg6
@Egg Berry:
He caucuses with the Democrats and is often called on in the media to represent the Dem caucus. I think he’d be fine with the idea that I consider him more of a leader of the left than Paul is of the right.
Hill Dweller
In the Morning Joe clip linked @13, notice how Halperin is pouting throughout Colbert’s interview. Just like Todd, that sanctimonious asshole can’t deal with his profession being mocked. I’m surprised Halperin didn’t ask Colbert about the Chinese military.
Egg Berry
@geg6: I don’t disagree with the “leader” part, but the original statement above was about Democrats. Whether he caucuses with them or not, he’s an “I” because he doesn’t belong to a party.
As to Kucinich, has he written and passed any legislation? My understanding was that he’s all hat and no cattle.
geg6
@Egg Berry:
As is Ron Paul. I defy you to find any laws with his name on them.
Martin
@Hill Dweller: What’s most impressive about Colbert is how unbelievably quick he is on his feet. It’s really damn hard just to competently interview a variety of people because you have to work at their level to do it well, but to do that in character is just phenomenally difficult.
Guys like Halperin have to realize that Colbert can run circles around their hackery. Their best bet is simply to hand the ball away and back off.
Jon Stewart doesn’t have that gift, and it shows from time to time, which is why I think people here get frustrated with him. But Colbert is genius.
Kathy in St. Louis
@geg6: And more butter.
smintheus
@jl: In 2002 I heard Schieffer give a commencement address that was so awful I had to get up from the faculty seating and walk away. He droned on and on about where he was when the news of the 9/11 attacks reached him, and how difficult it was to get across town. That was the entire point of his talk. Yes, he’s that much of an ass.
Fwiw, students at our college had relatives die in those attacks.
Special Patrol Group
@Hill Dweller:
Yeah, and Halperin knows that he can’t compete intellectually with Colbert, so he had to sit there and watch Colbert be incisively funny.
anna
Best rant I’ve read by John all year…oh wait.
Kathy in St. Louis
@Special Patrol Group: Thanks. hadn’t laughed out loud all day.
Chuck and friends spend hours covering the nothing that is these primaries and debates, and they treat this as news that will help us to chose a leader. They know damn well that these guys aren’t going to do much of what they claim, nor can they in these divisive times. Yet, they pretend we’re learning something from all this wasted time and money. If Chuck ever attended J School, he must have missed the class where irony was discussed.
That Colbert, Jon Stewart, and some of the late night guys have and convey more insight than reporters on the ground would certainly qualify as irony.
smintheus
@Martin: His quip “I don’t speak French” was clever, as was the bit about Paul having to teach you how to spin straw into gold.
cbear
Fixt.
Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937
Chuckles is brain dead and yet still gets paid.
Kola Noscopy
@jayackroyd:
You cannot say that here.
pseudonymous in nc
@Martin:
Stewart’s grounding is in standup, which brings a certain set of talents; Colbert comes out of Second City and improv, and that’s the perfect grounding for the “Stephen Colbert” persona: he’s just treating the cablenews muppets as less talented improvisers and answering every question with a “yes, and…”
Kola Noscopy
@Danny:
Which of course, doesn’t negate the point made, just expresses the usual Dembot hypersensitivity to criticism.
Kola Noscopy
@geg6:
hahahhahahahahaha…do you really believe this shit you say?
Kola Noscopy
@dedc79:
Wow. Awesomely spot on.
pragmatism
@Kola Noscopy: you’re projecting again Culo. you’re the sensitive one. see: all of your posts.
WaterGirl
@geg6: @geg6: So glad to hear that Henry is still with us! Every day is a gift.
Kola Noscopy
@pragmatism:
Another Dembot swarms in defense of the pack…
pragmatism
@Kola Noscopy: just pointing out a tactic you overuse, culero. it’s rather transparent.
Kola Noscopy
@pragmatism:
Could you describe the “tactic” to which you refer in detail? I’m not clear on this and, of course, wish to learn.
pragmatism
@Kola Noscopy: i refer you to my original post. projection.
Kola Noscopy
@pragmatism:
Ah.
I think you mean to say that Dembots are rubber and I’m glue.
Well then, that settles it, vollarsch. Your rhetorical skills are too awesome.
Maus
@Kola Noscopy: Pathetic rhetoric in place of a proper response.
See “Another Dembot swarms in defense of the pack…” regurgitated over and over again. You offer very little but noise.
pragmatism
@Kola Noscopy: no, if i meant to say that i would say that. your rhetorical skillz are nonexistent.
Alan
@redshirt:
Back then our host was also a fan of Chris Dodd.
Hell, I once voted for Phil Gramm in a primary thinking he would make a great conservative President.
Kola Noscopy
Dembots ignore points non-personal political point made by nonbots, answering with personal insults and names, then when nonbots point out the insults, Dembots point out that nonbots are projecting something, then swarm…or something.
and of course the entire time, dembots have failed to reply to the point that no democrat in a position of national leadership is antiwar or anti-village, merely asserting that it is verboten to mention such a thing.
Spackos.
pragmatism
@Kola Noscopy: do you really feel swarmed upon? i’m just one person who is pointing out that you frequently project. its a standard winger tactic, as is playing the victim. such a delicate flower.
Maus
@Kola Noscopy:
“dembots have failed to reply to the point that no democrat in a position of national leadership is antiwar or anti-village”
No Democrat *in a position of National Leadership* are antiwar and antivillage. Seeing as there are no Republicans in a position of National leadership who hold those views, I don’t understand the point.
Ron Paul will not be elected president. The village will never allow that to occur.
Chuck Butcher
Yoday I was treated to the spectacle of a (forget who) responsible journalist make a statement that perhaps Colbert was unintentionally criticizing (something obvious-to me) and I started laughing at the idea that anything Colbert does in front of cameras is in the least unintentional. The guy is a master at mixing broad comedy with subtle dark irony and staying in character.
Kola Noscopy
@pragmatism:
jayackroyd:
jayackroyd made this point early in the thread:
Which was immediately answered by this (the exchange I was commenting on before you decided to insert yourself, calling me an asshole in the first or second comment of course):
THAT is the hypersensitivity of Dembots to which I referred, as you of course know. Then you slither in and divert and obscure as per usual.
So tell me, slithering one, why is it that no democrat in a position of national leadership, especially obama, is antiwar or anti-village?
pragmatism
well, first i called you ass, then asshole. however, your name does come from the same root as those words. its not too much of a leap. you can call me whatever you like.
what you call hypersensitivity the person who called out your concern trolling calls an observation of your tactics and posting history.
my answer to your query is the same that i have given you in the past: your expectations are way misplaced. you seem to demand instant changes that you believe would stem from a “leader” being stridently anti-war or anti-village (who isn’t anti-village? even the village plays that they are anti-village).
Kola Noscopy
@pragmatism:
nope. never demanded “instant” anything, never used the word “strident,” which you inserted here.
I would appreciate firm and constant and aggressive pressure from the progressive side of things, given the militancy and aggressiveness from the right.
that’s what I’d like to see, consistently. And that’s really all a lot of us who push from the left are after…I prefer Obama to anyone from the R party, but if we don’t push obama and his supporters hard from the left then he’ll just be even more noodle-spined about things and any change in a good direction will come even MORE slowly.
and yeah, bitching on blogs IS a way of pushing. Otherwise, why are all of you here?
Horrendo Slapp (formerly Jimperson Zibb, Duncan Dönitz, Otto Graf von Pfmidtnöchtler-Pízsmőgy, Mumphrey, et al.)
So this asshole thinks that maybe the press ought to “question what Colbert’s agenda is”. Well, goody for him. I wonder what he’d say, though, if somebody asked him whether he has a responsibility to “question” what, say, Newt Gingrich’s “agenda” is or what Romney’s “agenda” is? Bit, ohhh, no, I’m sure that would be impertinent. Better to just write whatever they tell him so he can be “neutral” and “unbiased” and “fair”. Dick.
ThresherK
@pseudonymous in nc: Watching Floyd Robertson and Earl Camembert for much of my youth has prepared me very nicely for the likes of Todd, Halperin and Schieffer.
Phoenix Woman
Chuck Todd: Sirius Cybernetics Corporation.
Stephen Colbert: Genius, Hero, Patriot.
That is all.
maus
@Horrendo Slapp (formerly Jimperson Zibb, Duncan Dönitz, Otto Graf von Pfmidtnöchtler-Pízsmőgy, Mumphrey, et al.): One must question anyone who IS sincere, but anyone in the beltway Kool Kids’ Klub deserves respect.
lovable liberal
Koppel is another faux-balancer. Even here, he feels obliged to predict that the Democrats will have just as much money and will be just as nasty as the Republicans.
He can’t possibly know this. He’s talking out of his ass with his touching journo faith that no one is any better than anyone else – except mealy-mouthed bipartisan bullshitters, who are god’s gift.
First rule of journalism ought to be: Don’t say shit you don’t know. But it’s not.
Pat In Massachusetts
When Chuckie Todd is having a bad day, it automatically makes my day so much better.
I wonder if he is aware of this unique gift that he alone possesses?!?
Zak
For me, this is the money shot:
“Not one person in the nation would be less informed than they are right now if you fired the whole lot of political operatives and political analysts.”
Irrefutable.
Frank
@slag: This make sense!!1!
A Humble Lurker
@Kola Noscopy:
Why was Mnemosyne’s analogy in this thread not applicable? You never got back to me on that.
Kane
Todd doesn’t idolize the institutions of Washington, he idolizes the status quo. If he truly idolized these institutions as he claims, then wouldn’t he seek to highlight and inform the public about the happenings of these institutions? Wouldn’t he focus on the substance and details of legislation that matter in people’s lives rather than overwhelmingly focus on the conflict, sensationalism and the neverending horserace?
As the Chief White House Correspondent for NBC, how does Todd explain that the majority of the public is unaware that The Recovery Act provided the single largest middle class tax cut in history? How does he explain that so many Americans are unaware of the many accomplishments of this administration? With all of the serious challenges this country faces, why was Todd and others in the media so easily distracted from the real issues while chasing down Donald Trump for weeks on end?
And then he points his index finger at Colbert and Stewart and accuses them of making a mockery of the system for their simply pointing out the obvious absurdity that we are all witnessing.