Lots of folks have given up on cable news, including MSNBC,* and I don’t blame them. I’ve mostly kicked the habit myself. But Rachel Maddow is addressing the illegal war waged against our government by an aggressive right-wing kleptocracy with the required urgency, in my opinion.
Last night, Maddow interviewed Frank Kendall, the Biden-era USAF secretary who wrote the Times opinion piece called “America Has a Rogue President,” which was highlighted here yesterday. Fuck the Times, now and forever, but it was a good piece, and I’m glad Maddow amplified it.
Maddow also interviewed Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who talked about the fucked up budget situation in the House and the Repub caucus’s inability (so far) to get its own crazies on board. Anne Laurie covered that situation in the morning thread here.
The whole interview is worth watching. Jeffries talked about a caucus meeting on the Capitol steps planned for noon today in which “everyday Americans” will talk about what the proposed GOP budget cuts will mean to them.
But then, at the 5:34 mark, Maddow asked a question that is on the mind of a lot of Democrats, which is whether our elected leaders understand the scale of this moment. Do they understand that this isn’t only or even primarily about the budget spats and policy disagreements lawmakers are accustomed to flailing with and failing to fully hash out?
Do they get, as Maddow put it, that “we are in the middle of a ketamine-fueled, middle-of-the-night, autocratic power grab that is rendering Congress irrelevant, that’s rendering policy irrelevant, and that’s rendering the rule of law an afterthought if not a joke?”
Jeffries replied that of course House Democrats understand the scale of the threat, adding, “that can’t be doubted.” To which I thought, “Well, it can be and it is doubted, sir. Widely!” (There are polls, even.)
Anyhoo, I don’t think Jeffries’ answer was terrible. He reviewed the legislative and judicial actions Democrats are taking, as befits his role in this accursed circus, which rolled into town complete with chainsaw-juggling clowns this time. He talked about how the CBC understands the current struggle against oppressors in the context of their long experience of injustice in this country, basically implying “welcome to the underside of the jackboot, white people.”
And you know what? He’s not wrong! But to me, the response landed like a bromide-memo from HR after a series of workplace tragedies. Maybe that’s not fair, but that’s how it felt.
I’m rocking in the corner and telling myself that everyone has different roles to play. I do know that. People are stepping up in various ways.
My role is raising hell with my shitty Congressional Repubs, and I’m doing that. I have a routine. After drinking coffee and watching the waterfowl** renders me calm enough, I pore over the latest batch of outrages and pick out one or two that seem most urgent and relevant to the area so I can focus on that when I call/write. (Otherwise, I get overwhelmed with anger and might be reduced to, “FFfuuuuuck BLAAARGH!”)
Inspired by NukularBiskits, I have a field trip planned to visit the nearest local office of my corrupt, Trump-humping nepo baby Repub House rep, who doesn’t bother to answer his phones or acknowledge constituent emails.
I’ll be polite. I will try to avoid sounding like an unhinged kook, which is how I hear myself sound — to my horror! — when discussing the political situation with friends these days.
But I can’t escape the feeling that we’re well past all those bullshit niceties, past all the policy disagreements and polite conversations, and barreling towards something much darker. I hope I’m wrong.
Open thread.
*In last night’s program, Maddow also addressed the bloodbath at MSNBC, calling the decision to cancel Joy Reid’s show a “bad mistake” and pointing out the terrible look of a network axing multiple non-white anchors, saying it is “indefensible.” She’s right.
**Here are this morning’s most notable swamp waders:
When you’re on a first date and watching the other person eat to get clues on whether you could stand to spend a lot of time with them… #birds #WoodStorks
— Betty Cracker of Florida (@bettycrackerfl.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Baud
Yeah, I gave up on cable news. But unfortunately we need MSNBC, especially the prime time shows. We are hurting for media outlets.
TBone
I relented for Rachel last night and was glad. LOD was on point too.
On an unrelated, musical note, I learned some stuff today thanks to WVIA Public Radio. Black History Month entry:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porgy_and_Bess
I played violin as a 3rd to 6th grader. My poor parents’ ears!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uLIuO8T62lk
Baud
The background sounds on your video are amazing.
Butch
There’s a photo over at Eschaton of the six anchors who were let go from MSNBC – all people of color.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Baud:
My normie wife had CNN on last night and one segment had the usual panel of rolodex contacts. Ramesh Ponurru was one of the “guests”.
Which is why I gave up on cable news a long time ago.
Thing is, and I’ve said this before, CNN’s online reporting site is actually quite good. Their cable stuff? Should be nuked from orbit just to be sure.
And it’s not just CNN, nuke them all just to be sure.
Baud
@Butch:
Whoa. That’s terrible.
JML
Much as I still like Maddow, I haven’t done much on the cable news for a while. (I do frequently read Benen’s post to the Maddow blog, which remains good) Some of it is about time investment, but for as much as Maddow pokes at Jeffries about democrats needing to understand the scale about what’s going on, she and many of the MSNBC team have been guilty of losing the forest for the trees for years, as they get lost in the technocratic aspects of policy-making and execution.
Yes, I want the DC politicians in the democratic party to get tougher and stay in unison to oppose all of this insanity. but we also need media outlets that aren’t corrupted by the right wing fascist wannabes who are behind the destruction and takeover.
TBone
@Butch: grrrrrrrrrr my neck scruff is rising again
Baud
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
Agree. The best “news” right now is basic print reporting that isn’t “analysis” if being informed is your primary goals.
TBone
Oh dear, my first restaurant date with hubby was at an Italian restaurant (then still sorta new and fabulous) called Spasso. Hubby was initially so nervous I wanted call him Spazzo! We were moved to an outdoor table hahahaha! I’m so glad he got calm enough to speak in his indoors voice outside. BREATHE!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mrojrDCI02k
YY_Sima Qian
I used to be a political junkie watching all of the news shows on cable TV back during the Obama Presidency. I reduced my intake after 2016, & stopped completely after 2020. Much better for my mental health.
A Ghost to Most
“But I can’t escape the feeling that we’re well past all those bullshit niceties, past all the policy disagreements and polite conversations, and barreling towards something much darker.”
It is what it. People who can’t admit it are not ready.
Steve LaBonne
If you want to keep up with the adventures of Elon and the Muskrats, Talking Points Memo right now is the place to go. Marshall has asked people on the front lines to communicate with him by encrypted emails, and as a result is beating every other news outlet to new developments.
TBone
Today’s rerun Waltons episode is “The Boy from the CCC.” My beloved Gramps was in the CCC, built roads in Yellowstone!
I’m a huge believer in Civilian Conservation.
John S.
@Butch:
Eesh. That’s not subtle at all. So much for the “Fox News of the left”.
J. Arthur Crank
I gave up on TV circa 2001. I used to be a news junkie in the 1990s, and from what I gather, the quality has plummeted from the 1990s levelz
John S.
@Steve LaBonne:
Yup. TPM is fantastic right now, and basically my first stop for news in the morning. Totally worth the membership.
TurnItOffAndOnAgain
It wouldn’t surprise me if a good amount or even a majority of the Democrats in congress realize how bad things are, but there are enough others that don’t or refuse to face it who turn public appearances into a balancing act of saying enough and not saying too much to keep the latter cooperative. To say nothing of the fact that the whole party, cognizant of the threat or not, are not in power right now. They can do things, but their courses of action are limited.
This is why calling our representatives is paramount; we can demonstrate to the unsure that something unusually bad is going on, and it’s acceptable, even desired, that they yell about it.
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud: I just notice that they, like Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show,” have whitened the place up a LOT.
Joy Reid is gone but Joe & Mika, having been to Mar A Lago to kiss the ring, keep bubbling along.
Hard not to notice these things.
Barbarai
@Steve LaBonne: Also Marisa Kabas: https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social
She has scooped most of the MSM, often with their stealing her work and not crediting her.
Baud
@Professor Bigfoot:
Hard for me to notice because I don’t watch them anymore.
Lynn Dee
Same response to Maddow’s show yesterday evening, both to the interview with Frank Kendall and the interview with Hakim Jeffries. Jeffries’s initial response to what are Dems doing wasn’t terrible (as Betty points out) but it felt like he didn’t quite get it, and he seemed annoyed — or like he was trying to rein in annoyance — when asked directly if Dems got it. His answer to that question wasn’t bad either and I appreciated the (very valid) point he was making … but more is required, imo, to meet this moment. I felt like, “Okay, good. Point taken. So what are Dems doing, then?” And yes, he did attempt to answer that with some specific actions planned, including for today. But one wants to hear, if not an overall plan, then some “sense of the caucus” that that’s what’s called for. Or the breadth of the view that’s called for. Didn’t quite hear it … hope it’s coming
P.S. Just heard Jeffries announce “Not one vote!” on the Capitol steps with the caucus behind him. Glad to hear it. He mentioned that in yesterday’s interview but didn’t sound 100% certain. Now he apparently is.
Belafon
And MSNBC is a display of where we are. Does the viewership drop off that much for those shows because white Democrats are uncomfortable of hearing from minority commentators?
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud: truth be told had I not seen it on BlueSky I wouldn’t have known either.
But with what we know has already happened to the Joint Chiefs, there seems to be a pattern, and some of those on “our side” seem to be falling into line.
Gretchen
I’m still watching Rachel and LOD, but the rest of them are dead to me. Firing Joy Reid, who I think was one of their very best anchors, the same week that Trump was firing all of his black and female generals, puts them in very bad company. Joy was not inclined to mince words when something needed to be said. That was the quality I loved most about her, and probably the quality that made Corporate most nervous. I’m glad Rachel came out and said it was a mistake. I hope someone is wise enough to rectify that mistake. But Soledad O’Brien is still consigned to relative obscurity, and she had similar qualities on the big stage.
rikyrah
@Butch:
All the while Katie Phucking Tur gets MORE airtime
And
Joe and Mika are still on😠
Baud
A while back someone here said that MSNBC’s average viewership was actually older than Fox’s. I was surprised.
TheOtherHank
I don’t write every day, but I’ve been regularly emailing my (Democratic) Senators and Representative to remind them that I really do want them to fight. Posts on bluesky describing the bad stuff that is happening is not enough; tell us what you’re doing to fight it.
I live in the SF Bay Area, there is no way they are going to be replaced by Republicans. I haven’t been reduced to reminding them that they still need to win their primaries, but I just might.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Mostly Carolina Wrens, I think. They like to nest on our downstairs porch (squeezing in under a shitty screen door). Bill calls the annual invasion Wren Fest.
scav
Would it help to think of watching “the news” as more of a sort of weather report on where (comparative) normies are (or at least what their mental diet might be) rather then as an actual source of news for yourself? A sort of wind sock / little keyhole thingy into either normie brains or even into the minds of the people trying to control them. Oh, “the news” will toss out the occasional fact or event one might need to know but one doesn’t accept it’s interpretation of the event or expect the coverage to be complete.
Nukular Biskits
Thanks for the mention, BettyC.
But, as much as it pains my over-inflated ego to say this (just ask my coworkers and friends), I’m asking all y’all for help on this. Even with Biskit power, I can’t do it alone.
Not for calling/writing/visiting MS’s GOP congressional delegation (unless you’re unfortunate to live in this benighted third-world country masquerading as a US state) but for calling/writing/visiting your own congressional GOP delegation (and don’t forget your local and state GOP officials, as appropriate).
As I said on Bluesky:
THEY DON’T WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
and
YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE THE (rhetorical/political) FIGHT TO THEM!
Redshift
I agree. I like Jeffries, he’s a good legislative leader and a good speaker. It seems like the problem we’re facing is that we don’t have a “leader of the Democratic Party.” We have the DNC chair, and we have legislative leaders, who can’t seem to grasp that just doing their jobs well is not enough. It’s not going to matter if Congress is made irrelevant.
Betty Cracker
@Steve LaBonne: Agree on TPM. I’ve been a subscriber for years.
Baud
BTW
Good on you!
Unhinged kook is all the rage, though.
Nukular Biskits
@TBone:
I agree civilians should be conserved!
Tim C.
So here is my question since it’s an open thread. What do Republicans expect to happen? I ask this because the likely medicaid and other cuts will be devastating for a lot of people. Like real bad. Medicaid doesn’t have piles of money that ends up in the hands of poor people, it keeps poor people from dying. It keeps rural hospitals open. This policy will hurt blue states of course, but the map shows it’s going to be brutal in red areas too. So what happens next? The poor rurals just die quietly or drive another 4 hours to the nearest city? I know one response is that it’s all part of a masterminded plan to take things over and create a conservatopian hellscape, but honestly from the statements coming from the GOP they sound high on their own supply and are going to break a lot of things for their own voters without any thought about the next year or two.
https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CoveredByMedicaidCHIP-2021.png
Another Scott
Screechy big birds are screechy!!
Unfortunately, the majority (mostly) can do what they want in our system. Folks in the minority need to find a way to break the majority (peel off people), and that’s what they’re trying to do (I think).
Meanwhile, …
Thanks, BC.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Redshift
@Belafon:
You’d have to compare it to four and eight years ago to have some idea. There’s always a big drop-off after a presidential election.
TBone
@Betty Cracker: I love the moniker.
Baud
@Tim C.:
My guess is that they think the political fallout, if there is any at all, will be short lived, and people will get used to the new normal.
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: muah!
Keep ringing your bell and everyone elses’ too.
Winter Wren
I find the stork feeding technique of stirring the bottom with one foot and catching anything flushed with their bill fascinating. It’s neat how different wading birds use different strategies to catch their meals.
TBone
@Another Scott: Big Bird was one of my very best friends. I still miss him sometimes.
🎶😎
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SW6RtwNE1PQ
Betty Cracker
@Baud: I’ll wear my knitted Gator hat.
oldster
Thanks, Betty. For making the calls, for visiting the offices, and for putting up these posts.
Quiltingfool
@Professor Bigfoot: Earlier today you mentioned that when white folks (like me) start to examine their blind spots (about how we benefit from white privilege but don’t really realize it), that we start SEEING white privilege EVERYWHERE. You are so right!
Here’s an example for me: A friend gave me a bunch of fun cat appliqués; she had them for years (copyright was 2002) and knew I loved cats. Well, this design was called Kitty City and featured cats dressed as different professions – doctor, aviator, fireman, policeman, chef, carpenter. Now, the designer chose cat fur colors for the faces, so keep that in mind. The dark cat colors, black and brown, are the cats who cook or fix things or are *exotic*. The other professional cats have light colored fur.
As I’m making this quilt, I’m thinking, “Wow. I’m seeing white privilege in a CAT QUILT PATTERN.” Now, the fabrics were a part of the kit, but if I make this quilt again, I think the cat face colors may be a bit different.
TL;DR – Keep talking to us, and I mean white people. I can’t speak for others, but I need to hear you and think about what you say. I want to be better.
Oh, here’s a photo of the quilt…https://pin.it/1tyCHi3e9
Melancholy Jaques
@J. Arthur Crank:
I gave up around the same time. What they all did to Al Gore, what they did to fluff up that total fake cowboy Bush Jr just made me sick to my stomach.
PatD
@Redshift: good points. The moment requires good politicians, not so much good legislators. It’s going to be a work in progress for a lot of Democrats who simply aren’t used to or comfortable with politicking.
Baud
Via Reddit, whoa.
Lynn Dee
@Butch: For what it’s worth, Maddow spoke to that as well. She said it was indefensible and that she did not defend it.
Redshift
@Another Scott: That’s why we need to call our Dem reps today and tell them no votes for the budget or for a continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown unless the deal includes agreement that the lawless administration actions must end, and triggers to enforce that. (No point in getting into the weeds about how to do that, other than that a polite request isn’t enough.)
We here understand they have little power, but this is one of the few moments where they actually do have some. And from what I’m seeing, the broad swath of people who want them to “do something” and don’t understand how little power they have are not going to be forgiving if they don’t use this opportunity to stand firm against the coup.
PJ
@Redshift:
The job of the Democratic House or Senate leader is to coordinate voting on Democratic policies. Both Jeffries and Schumer seem to do good jobs at that, but neither is a great speaker (something Pelosi was just bad at), and neither wants to lead the party as a whole. So if you want Democratic Leadership (and democratic Leadership), with a capital L, you are going to have to look elsewhere – other Reps, Senators, Governors, whomever.
I think the “whomever” is going to be more important, because it is us, and governmental institutions alone are not going to be enough to get us out of this mess.
TBone
@Betty Cracker: atta girl points!
Ohio Mom
@scav: That’s how I treat the editorial/letters page of my local newspaper, a window into what the average Cincinnati believes. It can be very depressing at times but there are surprises on on occasion.
Redshift
@PatD: I’m okay with legislators thinking they won’t be good at the job that needs to be done and not wanting to try to do it. But unless they can agree to officially designate some people who can be effective at it to take it up day in and day out, legislators are going to be perceived as the only leaders we have, and judged accordingly.
Gretchen
@Professor Bigfoot: Yes, somehow the ex-Republicans are still welcome there, but not the actual outspoken Democrats.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
Nice.
TBone
@TBone:
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is badass.
Jackie
@Butch: I didn’t know Ayman Mohyeldin‘s show was also on the chopping block!
Baud
@PJ:
State AGs do amazing work and are often overlooked.
Redshift
@PJ: I can’t understand why everyone who thinks they might run for president isn’t seizing this opportunity. Pete Buttigeig is doing great online, but I don’t see him anywhere else. Gavin Newsom seems to have disappeared (though I’d be happy to be proven wrong about that, considering how annoyed I get at other people for the attitude of “I’m not seeing it without any effort, so it must not be happening.”)
Obviously, we’re hampered by not having our own propaganda network, but we’ve gotta work with what we have.
Belafon
@PatD: I’ve seen people use AOC’s lack of legislative achievements as a reason (not the only reason, but save those for a different point) to keep her out of leadership positions, but she does the get in front of cameras and make good arguments part of politics well, which, as you said, is what is really needed.
As for legislative achievements, Democrats have had such thin majorities over the last 10 years that very few bills make it anywhere.
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
Unless you have one like I do, who (along with the AGs of TX and LA) are suing to prevent tougher rules on cleaning up abandoned or played-out oil wells in the Gulf:
MPB: A new rule could speed up unused oil well decommissioning. Gulf States are suing to stop it
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: ours in PA is named Dave Sunday. WTF.
Guv. Josh Shapiro has his work cut out for him!
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
Right. I think “Dem AGs” was implied by context.
Gretchen
@Tim C.: Red state’s refusal to expand Medicaid has already gutted rural hospitals. People are having to drive hours to find care. So I’m not sure that the people who didn’t blame Republicans for that sharp decline in their areas are going to blame them more when it gets even worse.
Mike E
The video you have cued up to “The case you are making…” is a fascinating and telling moment in which Rachel triggers something in Jeffries, where he shows actual fire in pushing back against the idea that he and Dems need steel in their spines, and his usual measured cadence and alliteration becomes something more contemporaneous and urgently passionate… I’m not at all a fan of the misery-soaking marinade* that is MSNBC’s official programming now and Rachel can sometimes ladle it on, too, but she’s at her best (and a necessary voice) when she can cut through the comfy well-worn narratives to engage the very people we’ll need to beat back fascism.
*This constant pouring on of repetitive shit, Tr_mp sound bites and “OMG isn’t this horrible?!”, coverage without real insight, IMO takes advantage of FOMO tendencies in a certain demographic cohort who tune in to MSNBC (and come here) to be miserable moreso than to be enlightened. People in my household are hooked on watching this and I’m trying to get them to cut the cable, to curate/cut back their news consumption or else they’re not going to have anything left in the tank to fight when they will be called on to act. Self-care, vitally important now.
oldgold
This morning political pundit Anand Giridharadas was on “Morning Joe.” He had almost the same take on Hakeem Jeffries appearance on the “Rachel Maddow Show’ as Betty Cracker’s.
In short: Our leadership is not meeting the moment.
TBone
@Mike E: amen, brotha. I wish you well in that endeavor!
Butch
@Lynn Dee: Unfortunately Maddow is on a little late for our 4 a.m. wakeup call. I like her but rarely have the chance to see her show.
Kelly
@J. Arthur Crank: I gave up on broadcast news during Iraq 2. The run up was clearly bullshit, coverage of the run up was credulous and cowardly.
TBone
@oldgold: well, TV can be opiating…or not. We can’t see beyond the screens…(behind the scenes.)
cmorenc
Congressional rep contact question: my permanent residence is Raleigh (solid blue district with D Deborah Ross as rep) I am out at daughter’s residence in Grand Junction, Colorado through first of April, in Co-3 represented by R Jeff Hurd. Both of NC’s Senators are R, faux-moderate-ish Tom Tillis and MAGA-extremist Ted Budd, and both of Colorado’s senators are D.
is it more effective to focus my contact efforts on Hurd or Ross? On Tillis & Budd or Bennett & Hickenlooper? My phone has an NC area code and my email address @bellsouth isn’t very colorado-ish.
Ok, so trivial answer is: all of ‘em Katie. But that might not be the most effective given other time demands, like taking care of 3 grandkids
Jackie
@Baud: Holeeey F’ing SHEEIT!
I applaud the Southwest pilot’s quick response! And, can’t wait to find who ok’ed the private jet…
ArchTeryx
A little reminder for everyone.
Normally, the party out of power in our system does not have a standard-bearer. It’s one of our many systemic flaws. When your party is totally out in the wilderness, there’s no clear leader or spokesman. The Republicans had plenty of problems of their own with that before TCFG showed up. That’s perhaps the biggest advantage the enemy had. They had a standard bearer that could keep right on coordinating the party and attacking.
And it still resulted in a close election and losses in the house. The gains in the Senate were not maximal, either; they lost close seats as well as won them.
motoran
@Lynn Dee: Also, if after one month of Musk and Trump’s antics he is talking about what the Democrats will do, it does not inspire too much confidence.
TBone
@Baud: when bored, we useta pile in a small car and go the fence at the Philly Airport off I-95 and let them land right over our heads. Trusting, naive, sweet summer teens in a different world. Shoulda had earplugs but nah.
ArchTeryx
@Baud: All too reminiscent of the USAir Flight 1493 collision at LAX in 1991. Same situation, someone in a Skywest plane fucked up and rolled onto an active runway just as a plane was landing. But this was at night, and 1493 never had a chance at spotting them. Overwork by controllers was a big factor in that crash, too. It killed a third of the people on the planes, but 2/3rds did survive.
Nukular Biskits
@Betty Cracker:
Something I didn’t detail too much in my Bluesky thread about my visit to Senator Hyde-Smith’s Gulfport office:
The two staffers I spoke with were quick to point out how a lot of Mississippians support Donald Trump (IIRC, Trump took 61% of the presidential vote, so technically, they’re not incorrect).
I immediately pointed out that didn’t excuse Sen Hyde-Smith from ignoring the concerns/questions of constituents who did NOT vote for or support Trump and those who have since changed their minds. If I’d thought of it at the time, I would have asked them if their mothers had ever asked them the “If all you friends jumped off a cliff …?” question.
Instead, I told them my mantra that I use on social media and how I approach a lot of MS politics as a native Mississippian:
In other words, it’s important to remind them (the staffers) their boss is supposed to represent ALL constituents, not just those who slobber over Trump at the thought of ownin’ the libs and hurting brown people.
Redshift
Also, Betty, love the birds! Thanks for that, as always!
Nukular Biskits
@cmorenc:
A lot of Senators and Reps will ask for your zip code.
If you are not one of their constituents, they’re gonna recommend you call your correct rep/senator and politely end the call.
TBone
Judgment at Nuremberg on TCM right now.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_at_Nuremberg
Richard Widmark killing it, plus …
Judy, Judy, Judy!
Spencer Tracy is giving me chills.
Redshift
@ArchTeryx:
I get it, and this is why I give them more slack than many people. But I do think they’ve been slow in understanding that normally we also don’t have a fascist takeover from within the government, and they need to think outside the box.
Quiltingfool
@Quiltingfool: Maybe this cat quilt photo link will work
https://pin.it/3ThN3j327
chemiclord
I’ve maintained for a while that among the more politically active the problem has been less the message and more who has been saying it.
robtrim
Lester Holt was history a while ago. ABC and their smiling hair piece have been winning the ratings for months. Nora O’Donnell (CBS) was booted just recently. The networks, fortunately or unfortunately, are slaves to the ratings. Trump has been going after Brian Roberts, head of Comcast which owns NBC Universal (parent of MSNBC). We should go back to the Fairness Doctrine which actually worked.
Tim C.
@Baud: I guess, I mean I can’t say I understand Rural Conservatives to the degree I should, but it feels like this is the kind of thing that will blow up hard in Republican’s faces. Particularly since with the upcoming giant tax cuts for the wealthy it will actually make the budget deficit so much worse.
I mean…. this won’t work. At all.
apocalipstick
@Professor Bigfoot:
Scarborough runs MSNBC according to Keith Olbermann.
apocalipstick
@robtrim:
Fairness Doctrine only applied to broadcast, not cable.
ArchTeryx
@Redshift: Honestly, I think at this point the only thing that’s going to dislodge the Muskrats is going in with the military and chasing them out at the point of a gun – or having them shot if they refuse to comply. The military have perfect authority to kill unauthorized people trying to illegally access classified information. Muskrats don’t have universal immunity from anything. The trouble is, when you’re as out of power as the Democrats are, that’s a difficult thing to convince the military or even the Capitol cops to do. And they got the FBI giving them armed escort whenever they go.
I’m not looking for stirring rhetoric or even a standard bearer. I’m looking for firepower. Because that’s the one way you stop an actual coup: Firepower. The only reason Jan 6th didn’t succeed was that they didn’t have guns. Now they do, and that takes this to a whole new level of scary.
lowtechcyclist
@Redshift:
Already called mine. I made four points that they ought to require as part of any deal. Which could be considered getting down into the weeds, but I yam what I yam:
The first three are self-enforcing in that the Dems can say: you get no votes from us until these are done. Other than the fact that everyone will be back to this table in six months, the fourth really doesn’t have an enforcement mechanism that I can see. But the point still needs to be made.
TheflipPsyd
@Redshift: Not sure of the reliability of the info, but on the Countdown podcast, Keith Olbermann said Reid’s ratings went up and down just like everyone else’s. And the thing about her show is she brought in people you didn’t see anywhere else.
I had stopped watching MSNBC after the Biden debate. After FFOTUS inauguration and the crazy stuff going on, I started watching Joy. I loved Joy’s weekend show and always appreciated her guests. I refuse to watch Rachel. Rachel is probably the biggest moneymaker for MSNBC. I won’t give them any money after what they did and are doing. I also loved Jonathan Capehart and he’s gone as well.
Paul W.
Great stuff Betty, thanks for giving this an open minded look. Even if we still land in a frustrated, screaming disappointment at Jeffries and some of the other feckless leaders who can’t seem to find a mic!
RaflW
My role is partly raising hell with my shitty Senate Democrat Amy Klobuchar. I wrote an excoriating (but cuss-free) email about her vote for JD Vance buddy Daniel Driscoll for Army Sec. while having my morning coffee.
Then called and left a voice mail at Amy’s D.C. office politely but very firmly asking for an actual call back (they say they’ll call us back in the outgoing voicemal, but so far they never do!). I said “Has the Senator issued a statement explaining her vote for businessman Driscoll’s appointment to Army Secretary? Because I know that many constituents including me have called and contacted the senator repeatedly, and said that rubber-stamping Trump’s appointments as he erodes our nation and security is unacceptable. We back home deserve explanations for these mystifying votes for Trump’s people.”
I’m more than willing to fight against Trump & Republicans.
It’s g.d. exhausting to fight against our own Democrats!
Thank god Tina Smith has taken the gloves off and is smacking Elon around (and Fox news! She caught Fox using a pic of WI’s Tammy Baldwin in a story about her and she was savagely hilarious.)
Lynn Dee
@Butch: Got it. I live on the west coast so it’s definitely easier to catch.
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: bravo!
Jackie
@Nukular Biskits:
It only takes a minute to google a zip code that’s in a congressperson’s district. I do that as needed if I want to complain OR compliment a congressperson or senator outside of my district or state.
Redshift
@lowtechcyclist:
I think those are really good. The only thing I think isn’t worth getting into the weeds on is enforcement mechanisms — they’re not going to take our input on that, and they should actually know better than us how to do it (maybe language making TCFG’s funding wishes contingent, I dunno.)
Lynn Dee
@motoran: No, it doesn’t. And even if I might be inclined to say, Okay, you’re late, but at least now you’re on it, I sure don’t want to hear any of the mealy-mouthed stuff some Dems can’t seem to stay away from. Anything that begins with “oh absolutely there’s waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government and I support efforts to excise that …” is just not the way to go. Save any such acknowledgments for after the defense against the Trump/Musk lawless rampages.
tobie
I stopped watching all cable news last year. I don’t think this is the a savvy or moral position. I did it for my mental health.
In the days of Sarah Palin on the national stage, we made fun of someone who claimed that the President could balance the budget by cutting “waste, fraud and abuse.” Here’s what the very conservative David French had to say about the matter in 2016:
How is it that media has just accepted this empty phrase?
robtrim
@apocalipstick: That’s true, but just change the friggin law. And regulate (make them libel for their content) social media and the internet as well. This nonsense about preserving “free speech” is suicide. We’ve turned the internet over to commercial and monied interests. Our computers and phones are sewers of data scraping, privacy invasion and mind-fucking. (teenagers are suffering from the excesses of our mindless addiction to consumerism and mindless gossip.)
Tim C.
@Gretchen: Missed this before. But yeah, that all tracks.
Hoodie
I’m not sure what the point of this question is other that to make viewers feel better, and I’m not even sure what answer would do that. Of course Jeffries understands the scale of the issue. It’s kind of strange to think of asking someone who has no national constituency, enforcement power or even legislative power to set the strategy for resisting Trump, and he could lose what leverage he has by being too out in front. He has limited leverage points, the biggest upcoming one is the government shutdown on March 15. A government shutdown might actually be a way of impeding Trump by starving him of funds. However, if he wants to go that direction, Jeffries has to come up with a strategy that can keep Dem defections down and not cause the GOP reps to unite. A lot of Dems will be skittish about shutting down the government because of the effects on constituents and Johnson may not need many to get a CR. It’s also possible that the GOP can pass a CR on their own, without any help from Dems. Jeffries doesn’t want to preemptively give in on that fight by scaring off his own caucus and giving the GOP reasons to unite their caucus. I don’t think anyone should expect Jeffries to be the standard bearer for a general movement to fight Trumpism (and Muskism), that probably needs to come from elsewhere. Jeffries role as minority leader is more tactical resistance because he has no ability to control the House’s docket. He’s the rearguard holding on at Dunkirk until the ships arrive.
It’s a bit early to have a national leader of the Dem resistance emerge right now given that we’re only a month into the Trump admin. A leader like that probably will come from outside of DC and/or from the non-leadership ranks in Congress, not from the minority leaders in the House and Senate. Given the way our system works, it most likely come from a possible candidate for 2028, like one of the governors, but it’s too early for that.
oldgold
@Hoodie: “He’s the rearguard holding on at Dunkirk until the ships arrive.”
Hopefully this is not a Dunkirk situation. I would prefer a Battle of the Bulge analogy.
We need to be like Battling Bastards of Bastogne and fight through the enemies onslaught and then ruthlessly take the offensive.
TBone
@Jackie: real estate listings are good for that too.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@tobie:
Because “that media” is a) lazy, and b) right wing circumstances are different now so what they believed back then has no bearing on what they believe now. New marching orders and all that.
chemiclord
@Redshift:
A big part of the problem is that Dem voters aren’t just going to line up behind whoever shouts the loudest.
Dem voters have the idea reinforced many, many times that THEY decide who the party “leader” is through the presidential primary process. Anybody shouting now is getting an equal number of eye rolls as they are fist pumps.
Juju
Jeffries says the right things but he seems to lack the sense of urgency this situation needs, and the disgust of the people who support these actions. Senators Warren and Murphy, and Governor Pritzker seem to be the ones who really seem to understand the urgency of this national disaster. His smooth and measured delivery of information may be the better way to handle things, I don’t know, but jeeze I want some somewhere in government to scream “ don’t you billionaires have enough money? Do you really need more? You are cushioned from all the financial issues that the rest of us worry about. Is that not enough for you? What’s wrong with you?,”
The fact that inflation is rising and there are going to be more food shortage issues and higher prices, and unemployment is bound to rise with all the firings, the things that people supposedly cared about when they voted, will hurt Trump, I hope. Maybe they will figure out he is a toe sucking Musk sycophant with mush for brains and no actual grasp of how government works.
Marc
BREAKING: Elon’s Epic Email Rake-Stomp Finally Explained! [TPM Josh Marshall]
Also: The Gilded Rage Mood Board [Jacob Silverman]
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Butch: Jesus. I hate this. They didn’t deserve that.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@rikyrah: come sit by me. Joy is the best. I remember what fun she and Alex Wagner had at the Dem convention.
Hoodie
@oldgold: Ok, maybe the Battle of Britain or Tripoli. The Battle of the Bulge was ultimately a failed counteroffensive after the Allies took the initiative and were spread a bit thin. Trump/Musk has the initiative right now but is making a lot of mistakes, kind of like Rommel overextending his supply lines in N. Africa. We need an El Alamein to slow them down. The Medicaid cuts could be a place for a strategic victory because it’s an overreach that really effects a lot of red districts. The GOP just can’t seem to avoid SS, Medicare and Medicaid because that’s where the money is to finance their tax cuts, but it is also where the maximum danger for them lies. You’ll see rural hospitals closing down right and left if the proposed cuts to Medicaid go through.
catclub
GOP governors had no problem with this when they turned down Medicaid expansion. Why would they now?
Elizabelle
@Baud: OMG.
Reminds us how especially sad the DCA crash was. At night, with less visibility.
Hoodie
@catclub: One reason many of those red state governors and legislatures finally accepted Medicaid expansion is because they were getting heavy pressure from hospitals.
Marc
All the folks who exited NBC today [bsky via Eschaton]
Hildebrand
For me, the biggest problem I have with cable news is that its not news, it’s punditry, it’s talk radio. That can be fun for a bit, but it wears out its welcome really fast.
I haven’t watched MSNBC or CNN since the election, and that has been a really good decision. Essentially, the only ‘news’ program that I watch is ‘Have I Got News For You’. I keep up via here, TPM, the BBC, and BlueSky.
When I want opinion, I read the comments here. You all, even the cantankerous ones, are far more thoughtful than anyone on the idiot box.
Betty Cracker
@Hoodie:
I think it was a great question because many if not most Democrats believe there is a leadership vacuum (see polls linked in OP), and it gave Jeffries a chance to explain what they’re doing in the House. Which he did, though not in a particularly reassuring way, IMO.
That’s okay. I understand we’re out of power and everyone has different roles to play. But I don’t think it’s helpful to get defensive or act like it’s not a legitimate question. It 100% is, for the sake of practicing sound politics if nothing else.
People are angry and scared. Leadership requires channeling that in a constructive direction. It doesn’t have to be leaders in the chambers like Jeffries or Schumer, though as the highest ranking Dems in DC, it’s not surprising people are looking to them.
I’m pleased to see other elected Dems stepping up on specific issues like the DOGE wilding spree, including Maxwell Frost, AOC, Liz Warren, Chris Murphy, assorted state attorneys general, etc. Even Bernie Sanders since god knows denouncing the oligarchy is in that old coot’s wheelhouse. Gov. Pritzker has been great too, IMO. Pete Buttigieg as well.
I understand that and agree, but it’s starting to feel a bit late too, given the ferocity of the kleptocratic onslaught. I just hope there’s enough of a country left to fight for when one finally emerges.
Professor Bigfoot
@Quiltingfool: It’s like the patriarchy was for me.
I can remember decades ago listening to women talk about the patriarchy and I was like “oh yeah, sure, whatever.” For all MANkind, y’know?
But like I said, once you SEE it, you see that nasty shit everywhere.
As the father of daughters and grandfather of granddaughters, it really pisses me off.
Heh, I remember when “whitesplaining” hipped me to “mansplaining.” Like I’d been whitesplained so damn much I never wanted to be that guy.
I’ll screw up, to be sure, I ‘m a man in a patriarchal society; but I hope there will always be women who like and respect me enough to straighten my ass out.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
Called my new Democratic Rep (Bell). Check!
WereBear
@Baud: AG James of NY is part of 22 blue state AGs trying to do something.
RI just joined recently.
Chief Oshkosh
Recent activities:
Sent my electeds messages cadged from TPM’s missive about “now it the time!” Sent same to a dozen friends/family. Three have similarly written their electeds (covering parts of KS, TX, CA, PA, and GA). SiL also made appointment with local office of her congressperson.
Another Scott
@Lynn Dee:
Good, good.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Ruckus
But I can’t escape the feeling that we’re well past all those bullshit niceties, past all the policy disagreements and polite conversations, and barreling towards something much darker. I hope I’m wrong.
I don’t think you are. Unfortunately.
We have a segment of the population that seemingly has decided that they want the country as it was, long before most – or all of the living were here. They (at least seemingly) want racism, slavery, control of everything and everyone in their hands and ideas of who and what they are. It is plain and simple – BULLSHIT. They are the humans that want to go back 100 – 200 years ago because then the only people that counted – looked like them. They want a world – not where everyone is equal, but on their terms.
Captain C
@catclub: They don’t (for reasons of sadism), but I suspect at some point some of their voters might get pissed enough to at least sit things out. Or, given that we’re talking closing hospitals in red areas, dead enough.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
The other side in this bullshit is desperate. They see the world they never had in their lifetimes slipping/running away. They want hate and superiority. It is our job as citizens to insure that they don’t get either.
NightSky
I’m guessing Newsom is sort of keeping his head down a little bc CA BADLY needs billions from FEMA and Congress in massive fire recovery that Trump holds over our heads. And we don’t need Trump micromanaging our water or our coastal commission (guarding against oil spills and massive overdevelopment) to name a few.
KRK
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
We are in a very sensitive time. Part of the country as I said above wants to go backwards over a century to when there really was no equality, you know that thing we were all supposed to have. And I believe they see the country, not slipping away but them and their controlling bullshit being thrown out like the trash that it is.
How do we deal with this? Well the last time it was really bad we had a civil war. We do not want that again. IOW I don’t really have an answer. But they elected shitforbrains again because they really want to go back in time, to when their skin color gave them the ultimate power. Not brains (they have so little…) Not money (money can not buy humanity – it can buy humans…) So they are left with yelling and likely violence. But also shitforbrains has reached the level of a brain running out of service time, and the abuse that his has had – just being his brain… and the position he’s been elected to fill without enough of a properly operating brain left (not that he ever had one in the first place) means that the shit is going to hit the fan, and that’s going to get it all over everyone. IOW who the hell knows how this is going to go, but I’d bet there are a lot more of us than them, the people that want to destroy an actual democracy and the ability of ALL Citizens to have a WORKING, ACTUAL DEMOCRACY for all of us, ALL races, colors, genders, ages.
Pittsburgh Mike
I have to agree — I want to hear someone like Jeffries say that no bill will pass until Elmo is gone and these cuts have been reversed. Especially no budget bill or continuing resolution, or even a debt limit increase.
Trump and Elmo are breaking the law. They’re ignoring Congress and already some court orders. This is not the time to debate whether Medicaid, Medicare, Defense, or Social Security should be cut. This is the time for something more like “We’re shutting things down until the President obeys the law.” And since Trump is a born liar, the duration of anything passed, assuming they promise to restore funding, should be no longer than 3 months, so that we can do this again if he goes back on his already worthless word.
And to do that, you need to be making the case right now that things are serious, and this is why we’re not compromising. The departments like the CFPB were funded by Congress and the Executive Branch, and Trump’s not allowed to just delete it. Period.
Geminid
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: I’m curious: what do you think of Wesley Bell, your new Representative?
Lynn Dee
@Another Scott: I agree: This is good.
Betty Cracker
@Pittsburgh Mike: Concur that Dems should demand that Mump & Trusk cease the lawbreaking as a condition of any Democratic votes whatsoever. Don’t know if there’s enough unity in the caucus to make that stick though.
I can see why Dems would be leery of saying anything like, “we’re shutting it down” because they don’t want to be blamed for a shutdown, especially since Repubs are the majority, and any shutdown should automatically be pinned on them (and I believe it would be). But hell yeah, make a stop to the ongoing lawbreaking a condition for votes.
That said, I acknowledge there may be factors in play I don’t know about as a casual observer, e.g., a possibility that all the Freedom Caucus nuts would agree to vote with Johnson to extend the DOGE-bag wilding spree. Maybe Jeffries thinks he can triangulate and get something out of Johnson, if he’s easier to work with than those pissants? Who knows.
I’m more disappointed in the Senate Dems than the House people. It’s a disgrace that Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously. It’s a disgrace that any Dem voted for Trump’s Treasury secretary, who then promptly handed the keys to Musk. It’s a shame they didn’t use every procedural tool at their disposal to delay every fucking nominee, IMO. The Senate is clubby, so I’m not surprised, but it does give credence to the cynical old “it’s a club, and you’re not in it” saying.
Betty Cracker
LOL!
NotMax
DOGE in disarray?
Gin & Tonic
@Betty Cracker:
Senate “collegiality” über alles!
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker: An “oh my” among oh mys. :-)
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Geminid: He’s voted the right way so far. I don’t expect him to come out of the gate swinging as he just got there and is still figuring things out.
Geminid
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Thanks. Wesley Bell strikes me as a capable politician.
I also have a freshman Representative, Eugene Vindman. He’s newer to the game than Bell.
If you ever find yourself missing Cori Bush, I saw she and Jamaal Bowman are doing a show together for Mehdi Hasan’s new internet poltical network.
dww44
@John S.: much like the corporate takeover at CNN a couple of years ago, Comcast is spinning off MSNBC, CNBC ,USA NETWORK, into a new company, SpinCo . It will be headed up by Mark Lazarus who has been on record ihe wants a more Republican tone at the liberal network. He programmed these moves that we are witnessing.
We cannot afford to lose any spaces where our views get aired. We need more.
WTFGhost
Hey, BC. Anyone tell you you’re amazingly amazing today?
Well, if not, people ain’t mentioning it often enough.