Here’s the audio of the Jake Tapper segment on Laura Ingraham that I wrote about it earlier.
I’d like point out that that it is listed on Ingraham’s site as:
Isn’t it already problematic that Tapper and ABC allow their “work” with Ingraham to be described this way?
Update. It’s much worse than I remembered. From chuckling along with Laura Ingraham’s jokes to hardly disputing a single thing she says, it is a repulsive performance that demeans journalism.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
Laura Ingraham defines repulsive. I call her ‘Ann Coulter sans adam’s apple’. :)
OT: What happens when a black cat walks under a ladder? Does it get good luck?
JMY
I always thought he was a jerk anyway. I’m waiting for the day that Gibbs jumps from the podium just to knock the living shit out of him.
MikeJ
How could it demean journalism? Is there anybody left who think he’s attempting journalism? He’s a shill, and pretty transparently so. Why else would Shales suggest him over girly parts Christiane?
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
Tapper loves to focus on bullshit, it’s like he is trying to will a story into existence. Remember his focus on Obama sneaking a cigarette? Important stuff there, right?
Bullshit is as bullshit does.
Yutsano
I can’t do it. I can’t listen to the conservative poutrage. Plus hearing Jake Tapper defend the indefensible is beyond hilarious. Our media may just slowly be learning, although I’m not too hopeful just yet.
Mike Kay
What happened to you, Jake?
Does Washington corrupt every one?
Where did your sense of decency go?
JGabriel
Charming. It was just signed this week, except for the reconciliation fix which should be signed sometime tomorrow.
How can it be unravelling already? It isn’t even spooled up yet!
Douchebags.
.
MattR
Even as Jake finally says that racial epitaths and threats are bad he then compares that to those on the left who might be painting the entire Tea Party movement as racists based on the actions of a few. No false equivalence there at all. Other than finally making that one statement he refuses to take her on in any way or challenge any of her assertions (including letting her portray Perrello’s brother’s gas line being cut as possibly unrelated to HCR without pointing out that his address was posted online because it was believed to have been the Congressman’s)
Tattoosydney
Shamelessly OT:
Why does the fucking rotating header which fucking quotes fucking Joe Biden fucking well use the fucking term “f*****g”, for fuck’s sake?
MattR
@Tattoosydney: Would you prefer “*ucking”?
Yutsano
@MattR: Tucking?
Tattoosydney
@MattR:
No I fucking wouldn’t.
Fucker.
ETA: @Yutsano:
Hee.
Yutsano
@Tattoosydney: I think we need to have a conversation about the suppressed emotions you’re experiencing. Let it all out, dear, let it all out.
MattR
@Yutsano: Bucking.
To add to my earlier comments about the audio, while it is clear that Tapper does not push back hard against Ingraham it is also hard to place all the blame on him given the format of the show. Unless he is going to constantly interrupt the host of the show, there were usually at least three things that needed correcting after each of Ingraham’s rants so he had to pick one. And I found he was careful to correct her on things that were one hundred percent factual, like the fact that Hoyer called the press conference not the Congressmen, but let her ridiculous opinions pass, like the symbolism of the garbage being present along the Dalai Lama’s path compared to the way the leaders of our enemies are treated.
chuck
We are still the #1 google hit for “skull fuck a kitten”. You’d think we could have salty language in the tag line.
JGabriel
Tattoosydney:
I know, right? I fucking made the same goddamn complaint a motherfucking day or two ago, and never got any goddamn fucking answers from any of these fucking cocksuckers.
I mean, BJ is arguably still most famous for the phrase “skull-fuck a kitten” and these goddamn fucking assholes can’t bring themselves to fucking spell out the word “fucking” in the fucking header?
What the fuck is up with that fucking shit?
.
Tattoosydney
@JGabriel:
Fucking fuckers.
MattR
@Tattoosydney:
@JGabriel:
Enjoy
Yutsano
@Tattoosydney: There has to be a reason why it’s Barbra Streisand’s favorite word:
http://www.paxacidus.com/why-fuck-is-the-best-word-pax.php
JGabriel
@MattR: Or this: Al Swearingen Talks of Love and Sex
.
Tattoosydney
@Yutsano:
Fuck.
Katie5
At least he’s not going to This Week.
Send him up to Canada where we can protest his a$$.
DB
You might be exactly right.
Mark S.
That was painful, but I listened to most of it. I didn’t actually think Tapper was that bad, but Christ, Ingraham is a fucking cunt. If I followed her moronic logic correctly, there’s no difference between voicing your displeasure by voting and voicing your displeasure by making death threats.
Zuzu's Petals
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal):
There’s just something about her voice. As James Wolcott would say:
Read the whole thing. Spot on per usual. And the “behind the scenes” link is priceless.
Joey Maloney
@MattR:
How about placing blame on him for going on the show in the first place? Why would anyone who wants to be considered a serious pursuer of truth appear alongside someone like Ingraham, especially in a format where the ability to push back an egregious lies is so constrained?
Mr. Tapper, if you’re still following along at home, I’d love to hear your take on this.
Uriel
Tapper really needs to man up, face the facts of what the particular niche he fulfills in the public discourse is, and see if he can summon up the proper level of hat-in-hand-on-bended-knee obsequiousness required to entice Pantload to allow him to enter his natural niche in the public discourse as a part-time contributor to the corner online.
Sure, it would mean a pay cut, and a lot less face time on the tee-vee. But really, it’s about the best he *should* expect, in anything resembling a vague meritocracy. And that comes from someone who is willing to give a “jury’s out” to Luke Russert. Hell- I even give Frum and Megan McCain a pass most of the time. Which probably means that, objectively, anything above Red State contributor is a very lenient, benefit of the doubt kinda thing.
And I say that without having listened seriously to any thing he’s had to offer since last year, because he’s just that blatantly awful.
MattR
@Joey Maloney:
I agree with you. The only Devil’s Advocate argument I can think of is that it is better to go on and do minimal pushback and correction of facts than to let everything go unchallenged.
Uriel
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal):
That may well have been the moment I realized how completely worthless and craven he was. It’s hard to pin it down, since he’s had so many worthless and craven moments in the past two years. But that one does stand out.
But I think it was probably this: Tapper again referred to ‘Barack Hussein Obama.’.
Not even a pretense of professionalism, objectivity, or even a simple desire to be subtle in his offensive partisanship.
(And just to be clear: I was going to post-script that with some metaphorical obscenity or other- but I couldn’t think of one that wasn’t unfair to the subject of the metaphor. Or wasn’t an obvious Godwin. I mean, hell, it’s bad when you’re worried about unfairly burdening actual, completely non-sentient douche-bags with an unflattering comparison. But, in fairness, at least they are *useful* in some sense.)
Laura
Now that we’ve heard the audio, I hope he’s able to come back and respond because…wow.
Giggling when Laura says HHDL and Netanyahu had to walk through trash to get to the WH, but potus bows to King Abdullah? We know the dog whistle there.
The health care bill was drafted carelessly? 2000+ pages, one “ding” and that’s careless?
On the whole gas line incident, she was acting like it was a lie, or a freak accident. It’s widely known the Tea Party posted what they thought was a Congressman’s address on their website (it was his brother’s home), and instructed people to go to his house. Never challenged her or attempted to give the full story for perspective.
The press can’t keep letting RWNJs barf up these dishonest pontifications and then excuse themselves from any responsibility because they are “not paid to give an opinion”. Telling the truth is telling the truth, it’s not an opinion that can be debated. Why is it more important to report both sides of a story than to just report the truth?
The national press played such an important role in the Civil Rights movement, exposing hard truths, giving voice to the humiliation and struggle of Black southerners and their white supporters…where did that spirit go? I don’t think too many national reporters during the civil rights era fell for the false equivalency BS. Could you imagine?
And for the record, I thought the previous Ingraham/Tapper post was mean, and some of the characterizations about him were undeserved. I know that’s the general tone of this blog, but a sociopath? Damn.
A lot could be said about the talent (or lack there of ) in the first few rows of the WH briefing room, but Jake is hardly the bottom of the barrel. Now, Chip Reid? hel-lo…
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@chuck:
I’m lamenting the fact that the United Pastry Jihad is not significant enough to warrant adding it to the rotation. Hey, we survived the Rachel Ray jihadi scarf and the use of the word “change” in a donut commercial. That’s shit is significant!
That and the “Wetsuit optional” should read “Wetsuits optional” or maybe “Second wetsuit optional”.
Teh horror!
PTirebiter
I can no longer tolerate listening to Tapper no matter the medium. Especially after he hosted This Week and cited his father-in-law’s saying how brilliant Palin’s death panel post was. A real toady’s toady in my book.
Cacti
@MattR:
If the Tea Party movement didn’t attract bug-eyed racist lunatics to every gathering they put on, I might be disinclined to feel they were a racist movement.
Meanwhile, in the real world, I’ve yet to see any compelling evidence that they’re something other than a racist backlash to the election of the first black POTUS.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@Zuzu’s Petals:
He’s brutal(ly honest) about her eh? :)
I could only listen to a few minutes of her whining before ducking out. It’s just too painful to bear. I would say she sounds like nails on chalkboard but that would be an insult to the sweet melody they make compared to her audible emissions.
@Uriel:
Yeah, the emphasis on his middle name during the primary and general irritated the fuck out of me too. How many times did we hear Dumbya’s or Clinton’s middle names during their runs? Every time they said his full name a mental flag would pop up telling me ‘the fucking worthless media is trying to stir shit to pump up ratings. Again’.
Since the election I can’t remember the last time I heard his name, maybe it was until you mentioned it. Shame! ;)
Mum
@DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal):
I am the proud owner of (actually, in their estimation, servant to) two black cats, and their answer would be: “It gets anything it wants, ladder or no ladder!”
Admiral_Komack
Jake Tapper is a dick.
Period.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@Mum:
Double bad luck at your end? ;)
Our daughter came out to the garage earlier to tell me that she had the step ladder out in the pantry and our black cat, Sammy, was repeatedly walking under it. She went and grabbed her camera to snap a short clip of it to show me. I know he wasn’t doing it to give her bad luck since Sammy worships the ground our daughter walks on, she spoils him rotten.
I thought it was hilarious though.
You got the servant part right, our cats have me running at their beck and call. I think they do it for amusement.
Jake Tapper
Joey Maloney —
The tone of this post and this thread is such that I really don’t see much point in engaging.
Obviously I had nothing to do with how Ingraham’s producer labeled the appearance and I didn’t see it until just now — though I will register an objection later today.
The only comment I made about the bill’s “unraveling promises,” as it’s described, is that the White House said that HHS Secretary Sebelius is issuing guidelines to clarify the language on children with pre-existing conditions being denied coverage.
It’s no less inaccurate for anyone to assume that I condone or agree with the producer’s description as it is for the producer to describe it that way.
Again, as I said yesterday, appearing on the radio show of an opinion-monger puts a reporter at a disadvantage because I’m not there to offer opinions, or push back at his or hers, but to discuss facts. The fact that the vacuum has led some of you to see me as endorsing utterances I never said or thoughts I never held gives me something to think about.
Hope you all have a nice day
Jake
kay
The funniest part of this whole thing is that conservatives and Jake Tapper and the rest of the political media are relentlessly and doggedly conventional.
They, and they alone, set the terms for what is “acceptable” to what they imagine is mainstream America and yet, in this case, they’re trying to convince the country that wacko tea bagger threats of violence are just the one in any number of expected responses to losing an election, or a vote on the House floor.
There’s sure and swift punishment for any deviation from a rigid norm from the Conformity Enforcers on the Right and in the media, except here, in this one case.
geg6
I am glad I pushed back at him and didn’t back down in the other thread. He pissed me off so bad with his bullshit there, the whatever are you talking about crap he pulled when the practices he put on display in that audio were criticized. There’s almost no pushback there, very little fact checking of Ingraham’s lying shit. I’m pissed all over again. Fuck Jake Tapper. Fuck him sideways with a rusty chainsaw.
Gregory
@Laura:
Why not? They’ve been doing it since at least the ’90s.
Waldo
“Laura Ingraham defines repulsive. I call her ‘Ann Coulter sans adam’s apple’. :)”
hahahahahaaha …
No doubt, there’s an Ingraham trapped in Ann Coulter’s manly form, shrieking like a harpy to get out.
debit
@Laura: I don’t think it’s possible to be too hard on Tapper and his ilk. He’s forgotten that the press isn’t supposed to be buddies and giggle pals with the people they interview; the press is supposed to be our watchdog and they have failed us. They have failed us and sold us out for some cocktail weenies and quail wings.
And Tapper just to be clear (because I know your ego won’t allow you to stay away); you failed us. Your reporting is slanted at best, stenography at worst. Instead of coming here to try and convince us (and yourself) otherwise, why don’t you just stop pretending and go full metal wingnut? I’m sure you don’t spray as much spittle as Beck, but surely there’s still a spot at Fox for you. Sure, you’d have to give up any semblance of pride and self respect, but honestly, aren’t you almost already there?
ETA: Called it.
ExtremismInTheDefenseOfLiberty
It’s like listening to a baby cry. Just coo at them, and they will be quiet.
Mike E
Fix’t.
Ann B. Nonymous
I think it’s hilarious that Tapper knows he’s low enough in the ecosystem of political journalism that he feels it necessary to respond on Balloon Juice.
Or maybe he doesn’t. In which case, it’s even funnier.
Stroszek
@Jake Tapper: Diane Sawyer has actually been doing a pretty good job with World News, so at least you’ve got that association going for you. But until actual information is given more attention than Sarah Palin’s Facebook shit-talking, even if this is more the fault of your producers than yourself, you will be subject to our unending fury.
You are part of an organization that wasted absurd amounts of time chattering about the “political” significance of nonexistent death panels while giving close to zero attention to the economic impact and actual mechanics of things like the exchange, the new powers of HHS to certify qualified health plans, the OPM plans, the co-op program, the Medicare commission, the individual and employer mandates, the new Medicare Advantage reimbursement rates… core stuff that will affect the lives of actual people in both positive and negative ways that they need to know about. Do you really not realize how bad this E! Politics mentality is for our democracy?
If you want us to respect your commitment to facts, why not show more deference to the facts instead of the he said/she said? Report on the actual legislative language instead of the talking points, resist the urge to fish for a Drudge link, and add some nonpartisan academics to your contact list… trust me, they throw better cocktail parties anyway.
georgia pig
@Jake Tapper: Don’t hurt yourself trying. ABC’s “policy” is stupid because every one and his brother knows that talk radio is dominated by right wing screamers and hucksters and deliberately sending your reporters into that wasteland belies a lack of any sense of journalistic ethics. ABC’s policy doesn’t absolve you to be more active in not being used, and that would be true whether it was Bill Press or Laura Ingraham (a bit of false equivalence?) . It’s nice you plan to “register an objection”, but that’s kind of like putting the retraction on page A31 next to the story on new studies of male pattern baldness. It’s a dodge for the fact that you and your managers are scared shitless to ruffle any feathers for calling someone like Ingraham out on her fact-free bullshit. So don’t go. You guys are constantly used by the right wing Wurlitzer, we just wonder if your professed naivete is real or feigned.
Stroszek
Also, does ABC have a policy of sending its employees onto right-wing radio programs? I know Stephanopolous used to go on Hannity all the time.
Are there any plans to start regularly chatting with left-wing extremists? I know Amy Goodman isn’t as purty as Ingraham, but if you guys are going to be unwaveringly committed to the universal left/right equivalence… why not give the actual left an equal platform to spout equally crazy bullshit?
kay
I felt as if health care was a big test for the media, because it’s the biggest piece of domestic legislation passed in years.
They could have really done it right. Followed the actual issues, rather than the death panels stuff and over-simplifying of everything.
Medicare Advantage alone is a huge subject. Should we be privatizing that program? Because that’s what we did, we privatized 1/5 of Medicare. Who benefited when we did that? Did it work out as planned?
They just didn’t come through. They failed the big test.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@georgia pig:
This is it. Ingraham, Rush and those types are not journalists in any way, shape or form. They are entertainers and pretty poor ones at that since they focus ‘humoring’ a very narrow slice of America. Any legit reporter going on those shows knows exactly what they will be facing and that the host will be ‘bending’ the interview to their slant. There is no purpose to participating in these shows except that the hosts use them to lend an air of respectability that they would never earn on their own.
You will be used for their own goals and that is the end of it, that is why you are there. Jake can get back to me when he is ready to state the facts, call them on their bullshit and stop ‘pumping’ stories like ‘Obama smelled of smoke!’.
So what if he smelled of smoke? Your stories smell far worse.
AhabTRuler
Tapper never came here to engage honestly, he came to tell us that we didn’t understand him. He’s just an average guy trying to get by in this crazy world that he didn’t choose.
He only shills for ABC PR because, hey he’s gotta eat too.
Like every other careerist hack, he just lays back and thinks of England.
Ed in NJ
Well, I’m not sure what time Tapper is on the Bill Press show today, but it will be interesting to see if he exhibits similar behavior on that show. My experience with him is that he’s always more willing to challenge what he considers liberal talking points.
Either way, I’ve enjoyed the exchange here with him. Although I don’t think he’d admit it, when Tapper says his appearance is “something to think about” that is as close to an admission that it was a mistake as you are going to get.
Steaming Pile
Well, this is yet another example of why I rarely watch anything on ABC. The Mouse is yet another “whatever works” Republican.
And while I’m talking about “whatever works,” What do they do when Fear, Greed, Racism, and Stupidity no longer work? Move on to Insanity, naturally.
AxelFoley
@Tattoosydney:
And the fucking fuckers they fuck.
Violet
I’m only halfway through, but she’s right about this – speaking of Jake Tapper, “You’re one of the most important figures in American media today, as a White House correspondent for ABC News.”
So yeah, Jake Tapper, that gives you an even larger responsibility. You’re not working for the local Home Owner’s Association free newsletter. You’re with one of the largest news organizations out there in one of the most important roles. Why not do some real journalism?
Holy cow – she accuses him of not doing enough reporting on the bill, and he says, “I will agree with the premise that there is a lot of substance in this bill that could stand to be covered more.” Ya think? Go do your job! Research, report!
rs
@Ed in NJ: I think that’s because there’s an implicit recognition that one can engage in a more sophisticated dialogue with people who are somewhat attached to reality. It could probably be construed as a compliment.
A Guest
Jake,
The tone may be unfortunate, and the substance may rankle, but the fact that you are reading at all is interesting and kind of impressive.
I have to say that previous commenters–both here and elsewhere–have nailed something important: “covering the coverage” isn’t journalism, unless you’re willing to say: “This [whatever from whomever] appears to be wrong from my research. Moreover, it appears to be willfully wrong, which makes it a lie.” There aren’t equally valid facts in equal number or of equal importance on either side of every issue.
“Covering the coverage” doesn’t buy you the protection from “OMG LIBERAL MEDIA BIAS” that you seem to think it does–so buck up, show some spine, and recognize that not everything is opinion.
A Guest
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Jake Tapper:
Jake,
Then why go on the show? What was your purpose in doing that? The old saying don’t go looking for trouble, or trouble will find you seems very apropos here. Can you understand why those of us who have serious and substantive concerns about contemporary standards of journalism would find this interview inane and pointless at best, and deeply troubling at worst? Your response seems to boil down to levity in defense of extremism is no vice. Really? Is this a proud moment for you in your professional career, something that you would be willing to point back to later in life and say, “yes, that was me”?
I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt yesterday, in the midst of an otherwise very hostile reception. I’m deeply disappointed in the content of this audio clip, compared with what I was expecting based on the civil tone of your comments in the previous thread. To paraphrase another commentor’s quip yesterday, our press should make us proud. This was not a moment to be proud of. IMHO we here wouldn’t be ragging on you about this if we thought you were a hopeless case. Please try harder to do better than this.
fasteddie9318
Jake Tapper,
Plenty of others have echoed the “why go on the show at all” criticism, so I won’t belabor it. But once you’re there, my God, man, you’re on the audio giggling at her dishonest, hateful, and really not funny attempts at humor. You don’t see how some might take that as agreement with the ideas she’s expressing?
patroclus
So, now, after actually listening to the show, I can only conclude that Jake Tapper is a baldfaced liar. He said yesterday that the interview itself would reveal that he condemned all forms of political violence; I’ve listened to the interview and he didn’t do what he said.
Instead, I listened to him giggle to Ms. Ingraham’s non-factual “jokes;” I listened as he remained silent while Ms. Ingraham was minimizing the cutting of the gas lines; I listened as he made up out of wholecloth alleged death threats about Ms. Ingraham, thus attempting to create a false equivalency and then I listened when he said that nobody should be on the receiving end of death threats or racial epithets (which is not the same as condemning those who make them). Nowhere did he condemn rocks and stones through windows, homophobic epithets, spitting on Congressmen or incitement.
So, when he lied yesterday and said he did ALL of that in the interviews and when he said that the actual audio would vindicate him, he didn’t and it didn’t. He’s a liar.
binzinerator
@kay:
No, kay, they failed the big test with Iraq.
And they’ve been failing ever since, as the ACORN smear they uncritically propagated shows.
They’ve learned nothing. It’s been a long almost unbroken chain of stenography and amplified PR and propaganda.
When we see congressmen spit on and called nigger and fag and bricks thrown through congresspersons’ windows, and the most hard-hitting reporting effort these big media journos can do is tacitly agree with odious people like Ingraham who are providing cover for such behavior, we are watching the end of any sort of credibility of journalism in this country.
And why should we grant such journalists any credibility?
Every person who sees the shit that just went on knows what it means, knows exactly what that means as surely as everyone did when the nation saw attack dogs and fire hoses sicced on civil rights marchers. The racist teabaggers know it, and everyone who opposes and is horrified by those actions know it.
And Tapper, if you’re still lurking, when you sit there and chuckle along with Laura Ingraham and don’t call her on her bullshit, people also know what that means. It means journalists have no credibility. It means they have no balls.
It was right in front of your face and it was your job to call it and you didn’t. In fact you actually gave it some legitimacy by not calling her on it.
Do you really agree with her that that teabagger fit of political violence was ‘the will of the people’? Or that is was an acceptable means of political expression for anyone? And how the hell did you come to accept Laura Ingraham as a legitimate voice for ‘the will of the people’? Did you miss the landslide historic elections we just had in this country? Did you not know that in democracies our elections, not bricks and threats, are how ‘the people’ make their will known?