Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Republicans do not trust women.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

All hail the time of the bunny!

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Consistently wrong since 2002

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

He really is that stupid.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

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

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2012 / When you lose Ron Fournier…

When you lose Ron Fournier…

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During the Bush years Ron Fournier was an editor at AP. He was a classic example of a reporter in the GOP tank. There were many examples (like here, here, and here for starters). From 2004 to 2009, I helped quite a number of AP reporters working on the Abramoff scandal. After the initial media scandal news burst, these reporters  had lots of problems getting stories about deeper Republican involvement in the scandal published. Some stories made it in, but after spring of 2006 many, many more stories were spiked by AP editors–like Ron. Some of these stories where later published by other outlets. It was then I started paying attention to Fournier and it did not take much observation to see that he was a GOP stenographer–especially for John McCain. In 2006 he almost went to work for McCain and during the 2008 campaign he used his position as an AP editor to place a pretty heavy pro-McCain thumb on the coverage. Fournier’s and the AP’s actions at their 2008 annual luncheon for newspaper editors was especially shameful.

These days Fournier is an Editor at the National Journal and today he did something surprising: he called out the Romney campaign on their Welfare Ad Lie. I was looking at some news this evening and I read this story. Good thing I was turned away from computer otherwise my spit take would have sprayed it with a recent sip of Brew Free or Die IPA.

As part of National Journal and Atlantic Magazine coverage of the conventions, Fournier was on a panel today with senior Romney campaign adviser spin master Ron Kaufman. It was a typicle wank fest until Fournier challenged Kaufman on the Welfare Ad Lie:

Though the first few minutes were spent on niceties, Fournier soon brought the conversation around to a hot-button topic: the Romney campaign’s new series of welfare ads. [snip]

Fact checkers have largely debunked the premise of the ad, pointing out that the work requirements in fact have not been ended.

But Fournier did not just tell Kaufman the ad was wrong, he also accused the Romney campaign of “playing the race card.” Fournier, who is from Detroit, Mich., said that welfare is a hot button issue in his hometown, and that this ad was “pushing that button … playing to that racial prejudice. And I’m wondering: are you guys doing that on purpose?”

The full 40 minute event can be seen on C-Span here and the National Journal has put up a shorter version of the Welfare Lie Ad back and forth. It can be viewed here. [I would embed these video links, but because of some longstanding  FYWP interface problems. I’m not able to do that–so you’ll just have to click on through].

This is a pretty stunning turn of events.  When Ron Fournier is straight out asking Team Romney if they’re running the Welfare Lie Ad because President Obama is black and then pushes back on their denials–well, something odd is in the air. Perhaps the Romney campaign’s message that the press can go fuck themselves is opening the eyes of even the most dedicated GOP stenographers. Or perhaps like his pal McCain, Fournier just hates Mitt. Or perhaps he was visited by the ghost of Lincoln Steffens and remembered that journalism was supposed to be about the truth or something.

Whatever the reason, I never thought that I would live to see Fournier ask any Republican a hard question, let alone push back on their nonanswer.

I need to get a drink.

Cheers.

Reader Interactions

105Comments

  2. 2.

    dr. bloor

    “He hates Mitt” is the prohibitive favorite among the possibilities you mention. None of these guys have changed their political loyalties, been hit by lightning that imbues them with integrity or anything like that. Even Republicans hate being shit on.

  4. 4.

    Steeplejack

    I wonder if the back-room powers that be in the GOP have started to give up on Romney* and the rats are starting to leave the soon-to-be-sinking ship. Sort of like animals getting nervous before an earthquake, etc., just to throw one more image in there.

    * I agree with Mnemosyne that there could be something awful showing up in the GOP’s internal polling.

  5. 5.

    beltane

    First Brooks, now Ron Fournier…

    Perhaps the few Republicans with functioning brain cells are deathly afraid of the potential for a very nasty backlash against the GOP base on account of their embrace of white supremacism?

  9. 9.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    Jee-sus, FYWP! Now when you put an asterisk at the start of a paragraph, instead of making what follows bold, as it used to do some of the time, it now indents the paragraph. Still screwing with you, but in a different way. Good to know, but not what I wanted. I just wanted a mother-lovin’ asterisk to show up. And now it won’t let me back in to edit with the HTML and the ASCII and the thing. FYWP.

    ETA: And now it tried to screw me with a strike-through, but I was too smart for it. Heh.

  11. 11.

    Dennis G.

    And now Rick Smelly Frothy Substance is talking God and all the White hands he remembers shaking. Oh and he fluffed the Welfare Lie as ordered as well. Trained weasel in a sweater vest…

  14. 14.

    ant

    proudly proclaiming that the fact checkers have “jumped the shark” wasn’t such a great idea me thinks.

  15. 15.

    Steeplejack

    To recap: I think this is all hatred of Romney, not some sort of “road to Damascus” conversion moment on the part of Republicans. Give ’em someone they like–Chris Christie?–and Fournier will be back toeing the party line. I mean, c’mon, what’s the alternative–support a Democrat? That’s crazy talk!

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    Retch-A-Sketch’s likability polling well on the way to below that of terrorist pedophiles who sell used cars contaminated with Ebola virus.

  19. 19.

    Dennis G.

    @Steeplejack: I think this is old grampy pants stickin’ Mitt with his Fournier shive. The idea that Ron has developed journalistic principals this late in his career is hard to believe…

  20. 20.

    ChrisNYC

    I think they’re rightfully worried about their legacies. They have such huge opinions of themselves. It’s been more than 5 years of quiet complicity by the media on the race baiting and I think they realize that it’s not going to look well in five, ten years to keep turning a blind eye now that Romney’s making this lie about the non issue of welfare the centerpiece of his wretched limping campaign.

  22. 22.

    the Conster

    I think the Romney/Adelson/Trump axis has blown some press corps gaskets. Remember, they have to follow Romney around who doesn’t smoke, swear, drink, drink coffee or share any information, and the information he does share is a lie that he apparently has told them he’s going to shove up their asses without a promise of a happy ending – they’re getting zip, zippo, nada from Romney, and they’re not getting anything from anyone else. There is no good will for Romney to draw on. He’s going down.

  23. 23.

    RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist

    Whatever the reason, I never thought that I would live to see Fournier ask any Republican a hard question, let alone push back on their nonanswer.

    Romney’s no John McCain. Anyone can see that. And if they have any integrity left they might be unwilling to swallow bullshit from him. Not a few of the remaining old school GOP supporters just can’t stand the guy.

  25. 25.

    General Stuck

    So far the crowd at this convention is reminding me of last call at the shit kicker cafe, commencing to sling empty tall boys at the strippers cage, then line dance out the front door to puke their guts out.

    BTW, wonder how they paid Artur Davis to sell his soul to the devil?

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    O/T can somebody remind me why the DOJ was imprudent with its 2009 warning about RW militias recruiting from the military? I recall the teabaggers taking umbrage at the very suggestion.

    A Chelan County soldier, suspected of murder in Georgia and accused of being the founder of a militia group that was plotting to kill President Obama and overthrow the U.S. government, purchased 15 firearms, including several semiautomatic rifles, at a Wenatchee gun store in September 2011.
    __
    It was that purchase, along with a suspicious relative, that first brought Army Pvt. Isaac Aguigui of Cashmere to the attention of local law enforcement, Wenatchee Police Sgt. John Kruse said Tuesday.

    And yes, hippies, he was l’homme-skewhled. Moar couchers=moar Patriots(tm).

    seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2019010940_soldierplot29m.html

  27. 27.

    The Dangerman

    @the Conster:

    He’s going down.

    Everyone wants to be the first to piss on the corpse.

    I heard rumblings that Romney’s people had to change Chris Christie’s speech as it appeared to be a springboard to his candidacy in 2016. Shit, the body’s still warm (or as warm as a Romney will ever be) and the knives are coming out.

  29. 29.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @ChrisNYC:

    It’s been more than 5 years of quiet complicity by the media on the race baiting and I think they realize that it’s not going to look well in five, ten years to keep turning a blind eye now that Romney’s making this lie about the non issue of welfare the centerpiece of his wretched limping campaign.

    I think you might be right on that one. Even the Village journos who love the horserace and both-sides-do-it narrative have qualms about being narrators for an election that’s fought on the basis of the sheriff’s proximity.

  31. 31.

    Dennis G.

    @General Stuck: He’s moved to Virginia and is on Wingnut Welfare for the rest of his life. He can have a show on FOX or talk radio. A consultant gig at a think tank or a no-show gig at a lobbyist firm. They may even back a future run for Congress in one of those Black Congressional Districts on the VA side of DC.

    He is cashing in. Plain and simple.

  38. 38.

    mai naem

    WTF is Nikki wearing? I see the chains, where’s the ball? I just figured out who Nikki’s trying to imitate – The Northern Snowbilly Grifter from Wasilla.

  41. 41.

    Leo

    On the same theme, Politifact’s ruling on Santorum’s speech ends with this:

    “Santorum falsely claims that Obama has waived welfare’s work requirement entirely. The remark is inaccurate and it inflames old resentments about able-bodied adults sitting around collecting public assistance.”

    The “inflames old resentments” sentence is as close to a flat out allegation of playing on racial feelings as you can get without saying it.

  45. 45.

    General Stuck

    @Dennis G.:

    Then maybe Artur should check out some recent polling, with Obama and dems getting 94%, with Mitt and the nutters getting a big fat 0 of the black vote.

  47. 47.

    El Cid

    I have been very grateful that Romney’s inherent alien, sociopathic, awkward, sneering unlikeability was affecting not just ordinary mortals but peers and courtiers as well.

  48. 48.

    Comrade Mary

    I have never, ever been so glad that I don’t have cable. I am not even tempted to watch this shit on YT later.

    I’ll take “Fournier hates Mitt” for $400, Alex — err, Dennis.

  49. 49.

    mai naem

    @muddy: Is she getting married to Mark Sanford? I mean, hell, I know she’s trying to get in good with Mitt, but she’s not going as far as polygamy is she?

  52. 52.

    mai naem

    Tbogg’s got a list of stuff for a drinking game. I am glad I am not playing. Ann’s a fucking idjit. The dumb bitch thinks there’s a possibility that there’s not going to be property damage? Seriously, is there anything in that brain of hers. BTW, she’s pulling in a bit of a southern accent.

  53. 53.

    Rey

    @Dennis G.: makes sense. I would have to be high on something living in South Carolina. No disrespect to all the South Carolina BJers, of course! You guys are cool…

  54. 54.

    General Stuck

    Now we have the next First Stepford Wife. Gonna tell us how Mitt cuts himself to feel something.

  55. 55.

    Valdivia

    I refuse to watch and also too: I have been drinking with an ex who is a good friend now since 5 pm

    So who is going to tell me how Anne does?

    +too many to count

  57. 57.

    The Dangerman

    @mai naem:

    The dumb bitch thinks there’s a possibility that there’s not going to be property damage?

    I think she meant no property damage at places that count (i.e., rich white people’s places).

  61. 61.

    Xantar

    Ron Kaufmann in that video sounded really weak and feeble. I almost felt sorry for him getting beaten up by journalists. Almost. If the Republican party is going to fetishize strength and masculinity so much, it needs to get more spokespeople who aren’t cranky old white men.

  62. 62.

    General Stuck

    @Valdivia:

    It really isn’t healthy to watch this crime syndicate plot to steal America, but the opportunity for jokes is making me watch.

  64. 64.

    mai naem

    I didn’t watch the artur davis speech but I am truly sorry the Dems lost him to the Repubs. I know he’s been a WATB, I know he was turning into a blue dawg to win the Alabama governorship but I saw him go after some of the witnesses in the US Attorney scandal under Bush and he was just freaking amazing. A pitbull. He was so so so much better than John Conyers, I was pissed off at Conyers for not just giving the whole thing to Davis instead of the stupid preening of each freaking Dem. congresscritter on the panel. I just wish somebody had sat him down and told him that there was no freaking way he was going to win the governorship and I wish Obama had offered him some good somewhat high profile job in the admin.

  69. 69.

    Elizabelle

    What is this with being coalminers’ grandchildren?

    At least she’s spared us a description of the guy’s dead hands.

  74. 74.

    Tickraw

    @Valdivia:

    Sully: “And she is so well-spoken, with a Julie Andrews style and a Sarah Palin wink.”

    I just threw up in my own stomach…

  76. 76.

    The Dangerman

    I’m rather the wrong sex to say whether or not her speech is influencing women…

    …but, really, so far, so fake. This is their secret weapon?

    I want to hear her talk about the tax returns.

  77. 77.

    mai naem

    The camera angle during the speeches have been really odd. It’s supposed to make it look like the person is talking directly to you but it looks fake instead of natural.

  78. 78.

    Dennis G.

    He makes her laugh with all those birther and nigger jokes. It must be fuckin’ hell-larious…

  79. 79.

    Elizabelle

    She just diss Massachusetts, after doing a shout-out to Michigan?

    Starting to wonder if Palin is there. As a speech coach. Haley and Ann Romney. Winkin’ and …

    ah, the attack on Mitt Romney’s success.

    Finally.

    Mitt Romney was not handed success. He BUILT it.

    Yowza.

  81. 81.

    NotMax

    Ann R. speech too reminiscent of Liddy Dole – overly rehearsed.

    Over five minutes boils down to ‘Vote for Mitt. He knocked me up.’

    And a swipe at same-sex marriage: “what Mitt & I have is a real marriage.”

    And, of course, she’s decked out in Nancy Reagan red.

    The earrings look like dangling Krugerrands.

  82. 82.

    mai naem

    Mitt ain’t built anything. He’s just good at destroying. I wonder why Annie doesn’t talk about the partial sale of stock of Mitt’s that his daddy had given him, when they were in SLC. Mitt ain’t helped nobody. Mitt is a selfish prick who wouldn’t piss on somebody who was on fire unless he was going to get something out of it.

  83. 83.

    mai naem

    @NotMax: The earrings look like Chanel symbol earrings. Soooo french. Sooo old Europe. Guess American made earrings are so 9/11.

  84. 84.

    Rey

    I think she is doing fine- she has been married to Mitt for 42 yrs, God Bless her! But is this speech endearing me to Mitt? making me see him in a different light? um, No not in the least bit.

  90. 90.

    tam

    I thought she’d tell more specific anecdotes about Mitt in an effort to humanize him, but she mostly spoke in generalities. The Guardian liveblog thinks she did a good job but I don’t think she accomplished what she was supposed to do.

    Also, too: Josh Romney has a serious case of crazy face.

  92. 92.

    ChrisNYC

    I think Christie is going to tell us that the party’s over and it’s time for sacrifice. Because Americans have been at a party, have not sacrificed and the GOP needs to make them.

  95. 95.

    Dennis G.

    Well, Sully did capture the night:

    As Christie proudly declares that he’s a momma’s boy, have you noticed how many moms there have been mentioned tonight? This is an entire evening geared toward narrowing the gender gap a little. And perpetuating lies.

  97. 97.

    MattW

    Why does Sullivan live-blog upside-down? You have to start at the bottom and scroll up to read it in chronological order. Sully, Ctrl-End is your friend.

  98. 98.

    e.a.f.

    why did he do it? who knows maybe he finally reached a point in his life where it suddenly struck him that there is a problem with the Mittie camp & their view of the world. He is from Detroit & it has suffered from the down turn of the economy. Applying for welfare is necessary because there are NO jobs. Doesn’t matter if you are white, black, or some where in between, there are no jobs. Maybe he has finally seen that.

    Some of these jobs are simply a form of slavery. The government signs contracts with large firms to supply the labour. People have to ride a bus to the job which can take an hr or more, leaving their children alone at home. The jobs don’t even pay enough to meet the bills.

    What “jobs for welfare” plan does is take jobs away from other people who had them, & then pay less to those on welfare. Its a nice corporate game. Who knows maybe the guy finally gets it. Of course I am not familiar with the guy but living here in canada, a lot of american policies regarding social services are very odd.

  99. 99.

    Richard

    When press whores like Fournier loyally sucked Bush’s dick, Karl Rove was always there to pay them off in return for their services, with White House access and career boosting scoops.

    In contrast, Mitt expects his royal highness to be serviced by the peasants in the press corps with no rewards offered in return. Ultimately, this disrespect for those who would otherwise gratefully suck his dick is why Mitt might end up losing the election.

  100. 100.

    kay

    I’d like to give them credit, Matthews and Chuck Todd and the New York Times, but they’re too slow off the mark.

    The welfare lie will stick because they waited so long to challenge Romney.

    Why does it take them several weeks?
    That’s just a terrible performance by news people.

    There are just times where you have to take a risk and say something immediately ( how all of the GOP candidates and political media allowed the GOP audience to boo the gay soldier w/out repercussion or comment, for example) or you
    don’t get credit.

    To me, speaking out a week after the lie sticks is just ass-covering. We have such low standards for “brave” a pack of peer-cowed 7th graders could meet them.

    They’re “news” people which one would think implies some urgency and a sense of timing and most importantly paying attention. Listening.

    It’s like standing up and yelling “objection!” after the judge has left the bench. Too fucking LATE. They blew it.

    We seem to spend whole days and weeks correcting lies that could have been shut down immediately. It is going to take individuals YEARS to correct the health care law lies they left unchallenged. It’s such a waste of time.

  101. 101.

    kay

    Bill Clinton found time to immediately rebut these lies. What were these guys doing for the last 2 weeks while Romney and Ryan and the billionaire donors were spreading this lie across the country?
    Distributing bottled water in Haiti? Rescuing people from burning buildings?
    This is their full-time JOB. Maybe they could find the spine to drop the potted plant routine and
    ACT in a (somewhat) timely manner?
    I hope Romney doesn’t lie about an epidemic or something. We’ll all be dead by the time they get around to reporting it.

  102. 102.

    Lee

    Reading back through this thread this morning and I swear to the FSM that this has to be the drunkest BJ thread I have ever come across.

    Yes I know you were all trying to use the FYWP excuse, but we all know the real reason :)

  104. 104.

    Lex

    Unfortunately, Fournier goes on to say:

    With all due respect, to say ‘It’s a lot less wrong that you think it is’ is a lot like saying, ‘She’s a lot less pregnant than you think she is.’ Wrong is wrong, and the ad is distorted. But to John’s point, both sides are making up lies, both sides are distorting …. Both sides are demeaning the process, both sides are making the public mad as hell about the process — including the media institution …. That’s why we all have to take a good look at how we’re conducting ourselves.

    In other words, “Both sides do it,” which, while technically true, ignores the essential context that one side lies much more often, deeply and systematically than the other.

    Fournier is as much in the tank as ever.

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