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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / Burn Down the Whole Damned Town and Start With the Media

Burn Down the Whole Damned Town and Start With the Media

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This shit drives me absolutely insane:

During a stop at a pizza joint in New York on Wednesday, John Kasich drew the mock ire of locals and reporters on Twitter as he used a fork.

On Thursday, Kasich explained himself.

“Look, look, the pizza came scalding hot, OK? And so I use a little fork,” the governor of Ohio told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “You know what? My wife who is on spring break with my daughters said, ’I’m proud of you. You finally learned how to use a utensil properly.’ But I mean — not only did I eat the pizza, I had the hot sausage. It was fantastic.”

Kasich, apparently recognizing his error, finished up using his hands, although he did not fold over the slice, as is customary.

I personally don’t give a god damned how Kasich eats his fucking pizza. I don’t care if he even eats pizza. What I do care about is the fact that this election cycle the media has given almost as much attention (and in some outfits, far more) to Kasich’s pizza choices than they have his horrifying record in Ohio with unions, gay people, and abortion, as well as what he did to teachers.

Reader Interactions

84Comments

  2. 2.

    LAO

    I have said it 1000 times (and a couple times here) because Kasich’s tone is moderate, people — and the press — seem to believe he is a moderate. Makes me crazy.

  4. 4.

    Scamp Dog

    Look, if they talk about his record, (1) they have to know about his record, which takes some effort, (2) they’d have to care about things like that, and (3) that would harm the Republicans, and they have to keep this an even-steven horse race, because if it gets out that one party is really bad, that would be partisan, right?

  6. 6.

    schrodinger's cat

    I can has liberal media? PBS Snooze Hour is so awful, three weeks in a row they have given a platform to known bigots

    1. Trump Supporter with white power tattoos
    2. Charles Murray of the Bell Curve fame.
    3. This week they had Mark Krikorian who wants to get rid of most legal immigration

    ETA: Of all the 3, the tattoo lady was the least malign.

  10. 10.

    Misterpuff

    “What I do care about is the fact that this election cycle the media has given almost as much attention (and in some outfits, far more) to Kasich’s pizza choices than they have his horrifying record in Ohio with unions, gay people, and abortion, as well as what he did to teachers.”/Steve via his mouthpiece J. Cole

    Here! Here!

    From your lips to Tweety’s ears.

    And that goes for any GOPer and The Press, especially the Villagers.

  11. 11.

    WarMunchkin

    They did this to Bill DeBlasio, too. Especially Jon Stewart – he couldn’t resist piling onto the smear. It’s total bullshit, there are real decisions to be made in elections.

  12. 12.

    Keith P.

    Thank God that Jon Stewart is not on the air to do a 5 minute yelling segment about how awesome NY pizza is and HOW YOU GOTTA EATIT LIKE DIS!.

  14. 14.

    Kay

    John Kasich has a horrible record on education:

    Well, in Ohio, under John Kasich, Ohio has gone from the 5th best rated education system in 2010 to the 23th best this year — the only state rated in the top 5 in 2010 to have fallen more than 10 spots, and the only state in the top 5 to now rate outside the top 12.
    In 2010, Ohio could crow about its education policy achievements. The state had just passed a landmark education reform plan that won the Frank Newman Award from the Education Commission of the States, reserved for the country’s most “bold, courageous, non-partisan” education reform of the year. That package included a new school funding system that the folks who sued the state over its old funding system said put us on the path to constitutionality.
    Fast forward to this year.
    The state has ditched that award-winning finance system and reforms. In its place, the current governor tried to replace it with one that was so panned in 2013 that the legislature essentially dropped it and adopted a funding scheme from 2005. The state’s charter school system has become a national embarrassment. And now, Ohio’s education system ranks below Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, New York, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Rhode Island, Maine, North Dakota, Delaware, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, Washington, Alaska and Indiana.

  15. 15.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    In other words, yet another conservative who needs therapy but is instead using politics to act out his mommy/daddy issues. Great.

    For some reason, that reminds me of a story a high school friend told me about an argument she had with her parents. I will not attempt to reproduce the Indian accent since I’m sure you’ll be able to do it yourself, but it went like this:

    Friend: “What are you guys so pissed off about?”
    Dad: “We are not ‘pissed off,’ we are just very, very angry.”

  16. 16.

    cmorenc

    @John Cole:

    What I do care about is the fact that this election cycle the media has given almost as much attention (and in some outfits, far more) to Kasich’s pizza choices than they have his horrifying record in Ohio with unions, gay people, and abortion, as well as what he did to teachers.

    But…but…he did all those things with such genial, moderate temperament, just like Ozzie would have done while gently disciplining his teenage son Ricky Nelson for staying out an hour past curfew on the 50s-60s TV show “Ozzie and Harriet”. That makes him such a sensibly moderate role model in the eyes of the press, compared to Cruz and Trump.

  17. 17.

    Amaranthine RBG

    Using a knife and fork on pizza is an abomination. I, for one, thank my betters in the media for staying on top of this issue.

  19. 19.

    Percysowner

    Trump disgusts me and the thought of him being President is terrifying. Cruz may be worse. But Kasich is the real nightmare because even though he isn’t a moderate he plays one on television and he does it really, really well. The media would eat it up and make it a real horse race. Add that to reporting every bad thing Hillary Clinton ever did, or reporting whatever negatives they can find on Bernie Sanders, if he pulls out the nomnation and we might well end up with Kasich as President and then we would see the middle class go down in flames as he guts any protections left. AND he will find a way to make abortion illegal. Kasich is genuinely scary.

  22. 22.

    piratedan

    u want a change? make news a non-profit information service and suddenly there’s no fucking need for all of this horse race, clickbait media.

    also too, find out who the fucksticks are that decide what is news and shitcan them.

  26. 26.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    This is how sheltered I was in my little Illinois suburb: until I moved to California, I didn’t understand that there were different Spanish accents and couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t understand anyone with a Spanish accent in California when I had no problem in Illinois. Took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that a Puerto Rican accent (which is what I was used to) is very different from a Mexican accent, which is also different in different parts of Mexico, just like different parts of the US have different accents. Duh!

  27. 27.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well, I did live in there for two years, so I guess that counts.

    Let me guess, you think that the fact that pizza is often eaten with a knife and fork in Italy means something in this context? If you have been to Italy, you will know that pizzas in Italy are usually served unsliced, right? And that you cut them at the table? Unlike the pre-sliced wedge that Kasich was torturing with a knife and fork in that picture?

    Looking to Italy for pointers about how to eat a NY slice is about as silly as looking to how Germans historically ate Frankfurter Würstchen as a guide for what to put on a hot dog.

  29. 29.

    Kay

    @Percysowner:

    He is but you always have to remember that no one in that primary field got any scrutiny because Trump took up all the room. Kasich hasn’t really run yet. He’s not “moderate” and he’s also not nice. Chris Christie was also considered a threat and so were Walker and (especially) Rubio.

  30. 30.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Boiling these political “reporters” alive in a cauldron of hot oil is probably too humane a punishment for them.

  31. 31.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Omnes Omnibus: I can recognize when someone knows less than they think they do.

    So how much time have you spent in Italy, since you brought it up?

  38. 38.

    Kay

    So we should hope for a late surge by Ted Cruz in Pennsylvania. Kasich has to come in THIRD in Pennsylvania.

    You all should be rooting for Ted Cruz, as horrible as that may be for you :)

  40. 40.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @cmorenc: Even for the 50s Ozzie Nelson was unabashedly retrograde. He was a big band leader in the 30s-not one of the cool ones, but towards the Wayne King of Kay Kyser end of the spectrum.

  42. 42.

    Kropadope

    @redshirt: I love deep-dish pizza, just so much awesome stewed tomatoes and cheese, plus the thick flaky crust. So tasty. I, for one, am glad at the great diversity of pizzas. #allpizzasmatter

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    @Kropadope:

    Until I made one at home, I didn’t realize that a Chicago pizza is actually made upside-down — you line the crust with cheese, then the toppings, then the sauce, with a little Parmesan on top to hold it together when you cut into it.

  46. 46.

    dogwood

    People should listen to the President’s remarks to journalists at the Toner awards gathering. Its a respectful yet pointed critique of what!s happening in American journalism and its ramifications for American democracy.

    I’ve read this blog for13 years, and I think Cole has done a good job bringing in FPers who do yeoman work. My only wish is that he could have found someone interested in covering the the president and the administration with some frequency. This is true of most democratic blogs. That said, today the FCC approved internet subsidies for those in need. This is a good thing.

  47. 47.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Percysowner: Kasich is definitely the biggest general-election threat… but keep in mind, right now he’s basically the stand-in for Generic Republican, like Mitt Romney was early in 2012. Most voters hardly know anything about him; he’s just a Republican name who is not those other guys.

    Among other things, if his selection as the nominee precipitates or emerges from any chaos in Cleveland, remember that John Kasich is also the governor of Ohio. To some extent, bad things that happen there will reflect on him, though admittedly maybe more on the mayor.

  49. 49.

    Ruckus

    @LAO:
    You and me both.
    He only sounds moderate in comparison to the absolutely crazy fuckers he’s running against. If this was a more normal election season, rather than a months long observation that one half of those running are people who should be permanently housed in a padded room, everyone would see that Kasich is a right wing crazy.

  50. 50.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ruckus:

    It kind of reminds me of the last gubernatorial election here in CA where the least crazy Republican was the guy shooting off a high-powered rifle in one of his campaign commercials.

    That’s right, boys and girls, the other Republican candidates were even crazier than that guy. We have some doozies out here.

  52. 52.

    Feathers

    Jon Keller, the horrible, horrible [email protected] guy on the local CBS News is apparently doing a bit on this tonight. I caught the preview during the horrible TV version of Rush Hour that was on instead of Elementary tonight. The guy who plays the Hong Kong cop is apparently an English actor faking Chinese accented English. The black guy wasn’t very funny, but the script wasn’t helping.

    Anyway. I find that even if I’m up, I don’t catch Colbert, because it would mean having the local news on waiting for it to start. The [email protected] guy previews make me almost not watch Elementary.

  53. 53.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    They are not crazier than anyone else’s. Right wingers are crazy everywhere. We just don’t elect them except in more rural areas. And Orange County.

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ruckus:

    Ours is a remnant population, so the crazy is more concentrated. You can still run into some halfway normal Republicans in other states, but not here.

  55. 55.

    Ruckus

    @Kay:
    Yeah, he’s a moderate all right.

    /no, he’s NOT.
    Hopefully we won’t have to keep yelling this from the rooftops. Someone with a worse personality and, well you can’t say tRump’s record is worse, he doesn’t have one, seems to be getting more than enough votes, while Kasich is basically getting bupkis.

  61. 61.

    benw

    @Kropadope: oldie but goodie: pizza is like sex, because when it’s good, it’s REALLY GOOD; and when it’s bad… it’s still pretty good.

  63. 63.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @amk: Why do you assume it was pearl clutching at all? Dude might take pleasure in VDE’s violent pastiches. Who are we to judge?

  70. 70.

    mclaren

    Only on fucking Balloon Juice would you find commenters who agree that the way some pol eats his New York pizza justifies ignoring the serious issues.

  71. 71.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Ivan X: Someone needs to do it, and the vermin of the Village deserve every bit of it. Lazy, shallow, kneejerk partisan, obviously pandering for ratings. There was a time when televised news was a loss leader, something the networks did to give them some prestige for what they lost in the quiz show scandals of the 50’s. That’s all forgotten now, and Jerry Springer is their god…along with Mammon.

  72. 72.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @mclaren: Dumber than a stump you are. Everyone agreed that it was dumber than a bag of hammers. Then we riffed on it. How can you not see that the majority of B-J comment threads work that way? Is your degree engineering related?

    ETA: Accounting?

  73. 73.

    Kropadope

    @mclaren: Right, at least here they know there are serious issues worth ignoring. That’s a step above the TV news crowd.

  74. 74.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Mnemosyne: There are a few of them left in Oregon, but they are being crowded out by…you guessed it, immigrants from California, mostly fundigelical types fleeing the “sin” of the Golden State.

  75. 75.

    Steeplejack

    @Feathers:

    Elementary has moved to Sunday. Just so you know.

    ETA: Not being snarky. It is just about my favorite “network” show these days.

  76. 76.

    sherparick

    @Scamp Dog: Agree with all of the above. But it also simply that these folks have never left prep school/high school and whether you are “kulz” or not. I blame it all on Maureen Dowd who invented the “high school” chique coverage that emphasizes candidates faux pas because as she famously said she could not give a damn about policy.

  77. 77.

    Stratplayer

    @Prescott Cactus:

    ‘Using a knife and fork on pizza is an abomination. . . ‘
    as is folding a slice of pizza in half.

    You’re not from New York, are you?

  81. 81.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @ThresherK (GPad):

    Even for the 50s Ozzie Nelson was unabashedly retrograde.

    I fondly recall from ca.1970 a spoof edition of Time courtesy of the Harvard Lampoon in which one of the Milestones entries read something like*

    DIVORCED: Ozzie Nelson, 63, by Harriet Nelson, 60, both stars of the long-running Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet TV series, on grounds of “frequent & unusual infidelity,” including pedophilia, hydrophilia, necrophilia, coprophilia, and “the keeping of several large lizards in the basement for immoral & unnatural purposes.”

    One of those little tidbits that nearly caused me to lose sphincter control whilst perusing a copy at the JHU Book Center.

    (* FWIW this is from memory so don’t scold if I don’t get it zackly right.)

  82. 82.

    Jado

    if the media focuses in on Kasich eating pizza with a fork, everyone will either scorn him as a rube or ignore the fluff outrage. Either way, it is sound and fury signifying nothing, and therefore is not dangerous.

    If the media focused on his RECORD IN OHIO, someone might notice. Someone from the right wing might object that the media is torturing poor John Kasich by citing his public record. Someone might accuse the media of being partisan. SOMEONE MIGHT CARE about what the media is doing.

    This way, the media still gets to sell advertising. Sure the ratings might only be three quarters of a controversy rating, but there is no possibility of a boycott or bad PR from the lunatic right wing, so a 3/4 rating is better than a PR headache.

    They will compromise their “journalistic integrity” every time for advertising dollars. It’s so SOP, no one ever references journalistic integrity anymore.

    It’s expected. It’s de rigeuer. It is Standard Operating Procedure, and no one expects anything else. Because NEWS is a business, and has to drive a profit or else the stockholders will revolt.

    MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!!

  84. 84.

    Mike G

    Why can’t we cram our election campaigns into a couple of months like the Aussies and Canadians?
    So we can hear endless trivia about pizza eating methods and whether Candidate X ordered the “correct” kind of cheese with their Philly Steak?

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