Jake Tapper, And The Press Pool, Stand Together
By Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy on October 23, 2009 at 11:59 PM in ABC News, CNN, Censorship, Chicago politics, Current Affairs, David Axelrod, Fox News, Media, NBC, Obama's Thugs, President Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Constitution
(Bumped up Saturday a.m. from Friday afternoon.)
With Fox News against the White House attempt to censor the cable network. Check that, to shut DOWN the network. I am assuming that, by now, you have heard of the concentrated attacks on the Fox News Network by Administration officials, and the president himself. Larry Johnson had a great piece on this earlier in the week, “Fox Is Not A News Station?,” if you need to catch up.
Well, the strangest thing has started to happen as the White House has continued its unprecedented attack on a major network, not just freezing out a reporter here or there as other administrations have done, but a flat out drive to shut down this network. I can scarcely believe it myself, but what has happened recently is that reporters from other networks, even the Washington Bureau chiefs of the main news outlets, have started to stand WITH Fox News.
It all began with one of my favorite reporters, Jake Tapper of ABC News. He is one of the very few national reporters from a major network to consistently challenge the Obama campaign, and now the Obama Administration. And he did so again just the other day as his post entry indicates:
“Today’s Qs For O’s WH - 10/20/09”
From this morning’s gaggle in White House press secretary Robert Gibbs’ office:Tapper: It’s escaped none of our notice that the White House has decided in the last few weeks to declare one of our sister organizations “not a news organization” and to tell the rest of us not to treat them like a news organization. Can you explain why it’s appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one –
Let’s just stop right there. Jake Tapper referred to Fox News as a “sister organization.” That is HUGE, people. His use of that phrase speaks volumes, as he indicates a solidarity with Fox News (good post on that very topic at Commentary Magazine here). Perhaps it is even a bit of a warning shot across the bow that the White House needs to back the hell off from this attack on a major press outlet.
The Q&A continued:
(Crosstalk) Gibbs: Jake, we render, we render an opinion based on some of their coverage and the fairness that, the fairness of that coverage.Tapper: But that’s a pretty sweeping declaration that they are “not a news organization.” How are they any different from, say –
Gibbs: ABC -
Tapper: ABC. MSNBC. Univision. I mean how are they any different?
Gibbs: You and I should watch sometime around 9 o’clock tonight. Or 5 o’clock this afternoon.
Tapper: I’m not talking about their opinion programming or issues you have with certain reports. I’m talking about saying thousands of individuals who work for a media organization, do not work for a “news organization” — why is that appropriate for the White House to say?
Gibbs: That’s our opinion. -jpt
You know I can’t stand Gibbs anyway, that mealy mouthed worm. But Tapper demonstrates what a stand up guy he is by pursuing this line of questioning, and not letting Gibbs, or the White House, off the hook.
I mentioned above that the White House is doing its darndest to completely shut down Fox News. The following video is a good summation of what has happened thus far, the latest attack by the White House, and what the other networks did:
I know, right? They know, I gather, that this time around, it may be Fox News, but next time, it could be CNN, or MSNBC. I would love to think that the solidarity of the major networks was the result of it simply being the right thing to do.
The All Star Panel on Fox News takes this on, too, with a bonus clip of Obama’s discussing Fox News:
Uh huh. Sure, he’s not losing sleep over it. If he isn’t, why are he and his minions going out of their way to ATTACK Fox News? It most certainly IS “breath-taking in its pettiness” as Mr. Barnes put it.
Thomas Jefferson said it best:
“I am… for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents.”
And, when he said this:
“Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it.”
Finally, Thomas Jefferson said this about the importance of a free press and our responsibility to it:
“To preserve the freedom of the human mind… and freedom of the press, every spirit should be ready to devote itself to martyrdom; for as long as we may think as we will and speak as we think, the condition of man (sic) will proceed in improvement.”
Hopefully, that is exactly why the networks are standing shoulder to shoulder on this issue. They know, as we do, that our liberty is at risk when the press is under attack from its government.
Like Jefferson, like the Washington Bureau, like Jake Tapper, like many of you reading this, I stand on the side of a free press, and on the side of our liberty. It is our duty, it is our call, it is our very democracy.
(Release: November 13)
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[...] “Jake Tapper, And The Press Pool, Stand Together here at NoQuarter, by Reverend Amy [...]
Finally! What took them so long?
Because they’re smart enough to know that if they don’t…It makes it only easier for the next president and who knows if it will be a Republican to shut them completely out. This is a huge mistake by the White House it then leaves those on the fence about dear Obama wondering just what he’s trying to hide. Just what is his agenda?
This made me really happy, and really surprised me.
Now if we can get rid of Barack Nixon Obama in 2012.
From your keyboard to the universe…
Amen!
Hillary 2012!
I’ve preferred ABC ever since that debate when they asked Ozero some Really Hard Questions, which he couldn’t answer and ABC experienced a small dose of what Fox is getting now.Jake Tapper is very good.
Gibbs is involved in a distraction campaign. The real target is not Fox News, but dissenters, or stifling dissent, on his own side. If Obushbama was a right-winger, he would demonize MSNBC, when the right-wingers were getting upset.
Liberals are starting to ask questions about the veracity of public health insurance, global warming, and wall street regulation. Their ideals are being sabotaged by the greatest lying president ever. To shut them up Fox is being invoked. They do not want to be compared to Fox, or Palin.
Everything is about something else with the Chicago crew. They are masters of deception. And they understand liberal mindsets, they live and thrive off it.
Jack, that wouldn’t surprise me. That seems to be the MO of this Administration, distract, deflect, use smoke screens…And absolutely - the Chicago crew have been doing this for a long, long time. We tried to warn people that this was going to go national (Chicago-style politics, that is), didn’t we?
I remember thinking how Fleischer, then McClellan, and then Perino were all masters of the talk-all-the-way around a simple yes/no question, which irritated me no end. Then along comes Mr. Transparent and his skulking entourage. They make the Bush administration look like pikers in the let’s-pull-some-eye-teeth-instead press conferences.
How many different ways can one answer the question, “Can you explain why it’s appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one.”
I’d pay good money for someone to ask that little toadie Gibbs a question a la Yosemite Sam: “Look here, you lop-eared polecat, are you gonna answer the question or just waste my time?”
This is good news, Amy. Not simply for Fox News but for all of us. I could not understand why the press corp was sitting on its hands while this full frontal attack was going on. What the WH does to one organization, it can do to others, meaning anyone who writes a critical piece or questions the Administration’s line or positions would be vulnerable to being shunned.
I understand that the final blow was the WH trying to deny Fox an interview with the Pay Czar. They offered access to the rest of the WH pool but quite deliberately stated that Fox was not welcome. And I give the Washington pool credit. Finally, they said no access for Fox? Then none of us will do the interview.
Jake Tapper’s stand apparently tweaked the conscience of the other reporters, maybe reminded them of their role: not to roll over to power but to always question and push back.
Good News!
Never thought I’d see it happen, but good for the rest of the pool to decline the interview. Apparently That One is now ticking off the few friends he may have left by refusing to let Congress interview or have access to his czars:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/23/czar-war-escalates-between-congress-white-house/?source=newsletter_must-read-stories-today_headlines&
Yes, that was great news that the pool of Washington Bureau Chiefs showed a united front with their stand to not conduct the interviews with the 0bama Admin official if FN was not allowed to participate.
However, I agree with Bernie Goldberg who said on O’Reilly Fri night that had those same Bureau Chiefs been told individually of the initial decision to exclude Fox instead of the collective ‘pool’ of them, probably none would have taken such a stand on FN’s exclusion. Perhaps Jake Tapper would have been the exception since he had spoken out about the WH overstep to describe what is or is not a news organization.
Be that as it may, they are to be congratulated for taking this stand regardless of their differences in how they view this POTUS - in addition, a well-deserved smackdown for the 0bama regime.
Sean Hannity, who is not my cup of tea, got one thing right. Journalism died in 2008.
Perhaps Jake Tapper has brought it back to life.
maybe the press will finally wake up and realise just how close the bus is to them.
If journalists really start doing their job backtrack and bunch will be hopping around like jumping beans to put out the fires of truth.
This is long overdue. The press rolled over and played dead for at least nine years. Nothing would make me happier than a resurrection of a true fact finding and investigative press who put the interest of the country ahead of a dinner invitation or playing a basketball game.
WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE,MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS
PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE PEOPLE RULE
They created the monster. They better put him/them in their place before they get attacked. I think they realize there are stories out there that they want to cover, even MSNBC. to go on a cheerleading break for a couple of years was one thing, but the possibility of a forever hiatus is quite another. They know how biased it makes them look when fOX news is the only enemy of the White House. It is more of a reflection on CNN and MSNBC, ABC and NBC than it is on FOX to shun FOX.
We should truly send kudos to them for the expression of unity. I think I will email all of them my thanks, as a PUMA. I may tell CNN how they were my station of choice until 2008, when I had to turn to FOX because the cheerleading was so over the top. They might stand a chance to win me back if they stand up for America before standing up for one administration. They should be news organizations who report important news without favor. If they can get back to that, I may tune in on occasion. If they cannot, I’ll stick with FOX.
The mainstream media will not win me back until they start vetting Obama the way they should of BEFORE he was elected. I’d like to see Wolff start asking why the public has never seen the birth certificate, medical records, school records……etc……..
They are a long way off from that……
Amen!
The Great Constitutional Scholar(tm) Obama may be aware of what Jefferson said, but he believes that none of it applies to Him. Obama as an Agent of the People (working for them)? What a ludicrous idea (in his mind, anyway).
LOL abt the ™! You are so right - NONE of the Constitutional mandates apply to Obama. I have always said that his study of the Constitution (though I still don’t know why he is qualified as a “scholar”) was so he would know which parts he wanted to violate.
Remember the “prolonged detention” he wants to start? Holding someone indefinitely WITHOUT charges? I’m pretty darn sure THAT’S against the Constitution…
“so he would know which parts he wanted to violate”: you got that right.
AS for the “prolonged detention”, the ‘bots will say “Booosh did that too”. Correct … which in no way justifies Ozero doing it.
Yes, he did, but not with American CITIZENS. That’s a big, huge-o, distinction (not that what Bush did was right, either, I hasten to add).
Remember the Larry Sinclair story? Larry says he was held without charges in a Delaware jail, the state were Beau-son-of-Joe Biden is AG.
I think it’s pretty amazing that on a day when every other political blog I visit is completely obsessed with the ongoing negotiations in Washington DC over health care reform between the House, Senate and White House, I turn to NQ and find stories on, um, Fox News, Obama basketball and ACORN.
The folks who run this site need to decide whether NoQuarter is really engaged in the great issues of the day, or whether it’s just an Obama hate site. The latter would seem not to have nearly as long a shelf life.
This is where AMERICAN PATRIOTS gather, in case you
have not noticed, little boy obot.
Don’t interrupt the grown-ups, it’s bad manners.
Now, run along and go join your peers at the orange
trough or wherever else your ilk gather!!!
Prime DingBot:
Cadillac baby!!! Rev it up, say goodbye, mmm…mmm…mmm!
Stop the obsession with NQfest!
Dangit, Donna Brazile “Nut” I had just gotten that damn Praise Hymn out of my head from mentioning it in a post! ARGH!!!!!!
Yawn.
I already read about it in the newspaper today. It’s not that we haven’t followed the healthcare issue A LOT!
But where are you going to find out about these important issues if not on NQ? It all really does have to do with being an American and worrying about the erosion of the Constituional principles that we grew up counting on.
Prime Obot, you need to decide whether you have any brains or are just a lemming.
Of course you’d like a discussion of anything but this latest affront to Democracy by this piece of crap president. How uncomfortable it must be for you to see that others are finally seeing this truly villainous administration for what it is…destroyers of our freedoms and our Constitution.
Wouldn’t you be more comfortable over at Kos, where they are still drooling over how divine the big O is? You’re not under the impression that you will change a single mind here, are you? Silly boy.
These are stories on
1) freedom of speech
2) transparency and inclusion, and
3) corruption
Please explain WHY these topics are not important.
These are stories that nobody except the Washington/NYC government/media establishment cares about. Trust me, I come from that establishment, I know. Nobody out there in the actual country cares who Obama played basketball with or whether the White House let a Fox reporter in the door. They care about finding a job or having affordable, secure health care. period.
LMAO.
Even if you did come from that establishment, which isn’t a fact in evidence, that is all the more reason NOT to trust you.
So they better find a new POTUS because this one doesn’t care about their problems–he’s got his own problems keeping a full supply of Kool-Aide for his drool-bucket-toting minions and getting his required daily dose of adoration.
Oh, Ferd, you do have a way with words!
All of which add up to what, Rev. Amy? “You voted for Obama, so you’re automatically an idiot and nothing you say counts.”
You strike me as a bit wiser than that, Amy. Like for instance, anyone with even a modicum of political knowledge understands that Obama isn’t exactly focusing on doling out Koolaid to his minions; in the worst interpretation of the past few days, he’s focusing on keeping health insurance lobbyists happy.
I’m kind of startled that you would sink to the level of praising the Ferds of this site who do nothing but spew invective. That is not wisdom. It isn’t discussion. It isn’t really even thought. You demean yourself by approving it.
Listen bot, stop the attention-diverting behavior and answer the charges.
Still up to the same old tired bot bs, as always. I say you POTUS doesn’t care and you call me names. Great comeback, twit.
We are all on to your irrelevant arguments and faulty logic.
Perch and rotate, automaton.
Calling me a “drool-bucket-toting minion” and incessantly referring to me as a “bot” and an “automaton” when I quite clearly have my own overly active voice and opinions does not qualify as discussion, Ferd, it qualifies as incessant, depersonalized invective. Similarly, your penchant for referring to me as “it” (a speech pattern best known from being used by the psychopathic serial killer Tooth Fairy in “Silence of the Lambs” toward his victims) constitutes a particularly disturbing window into your state of mind. Saying that the POTUS “doesn’t care,” I suppose, does marginally count as discussion; but in general, the tone of your posts is one of profound vitriol, hostility and, yes, hatred, all directed at someone you don’t know and don’t wish to know. You’ll claim that it is my “drivel,” “irrelevant arguments,” “stupidity,” “ignorance,” etc, that make you uninterested in doing anything but insulting me personally, but I think all of us regular readers of this site know better. It’s blindingly obvious, really kind of depressing, I’m noticing that many people on this site tend to ignore your flames (as I would if they weren’t directed straight at me), and I was really rather surprised that Reverend Amy praised you. For a person of the cloth to praise speech such as yours is…well, I’m not sure how to characterize it, other than to say it is surprising.
If ferd bothers you so much that you feel the need for such a long response, perhaps you’re the one with the psychopathy.
And it wasn’t the “Tooth Fairy” in “Silence”, it was “Buffalo Bill”. But at least you’re consistantly inaccurate.
Thanks for the serial killer correction, Onofre. The question is, does Ferd’s tone bother *you*? And if not, why not? Do you think it’s appropriate?
Prime, just ignore the Moron.
Berfle sees himself as an ‘obot slayer’ a role he invented and appointed himself to.
He thinks that attacking any different idea lobbing insults, will turn the discussion into a food fight, and then it’s safe -that doesn’t involve any higher thinking.
Others stand silently by and turn a blind eye to his ad-hominem attacks. They know it’s wrong, but hey, it’s comfortable, Berfle is ‘dealing with the trash’.
Then he lavishly licks the ass of anyone critical of Obama, the more outlandish the criticism the better the ass-licking.
So, as somebody said, I can’t remember who:
‘perch and rotate, bot!!’
Ledon–I never made that statement but you wouldn’t know that because your type rarely comes up for air. That others might have used it is their business and none of yours or of mine, for that matter.
But speaking of obot, how much are you getting paid to come here and demonstrate exactly why many of us here at NQ despise your goose-stepping kind so much?
Oh and by the way, you don’t need to perch and rotate, troll, as you merely sit and spin (and spin and spin, ad nauseam).
So tell us, led on ledon, what makes you worship at the feet of That One besides a free ride on the public’s tab? Hmm?
It’s on! Food fight!!
Dear Prime Obot,
I agree that many people are so busy trying to scrape by that all they have time to think about is can they keep the roof over their head, put food in their family’s belly and if they or their children get sick will they be able to see a doctor and get the medicine they need.
But an insider like you claim to be should know that the concerns and articles you so deride here on NQ are incredibly important - they get behind and to the heart of all these issues.
Who has access to and influence over the executive branch can affect all the bread and butter, kitchen table issues.
It seems to me that there is plenty of coverage of the bread and butter issues - what was lacking during the Bush administration and the Obama administration so far has been the wider and deeper investigation into what is happening behind the curtain in the Land of Oz.
Perhaps you and your compatriots should be concerned with this as well….
BTW Prime Bot who the hell are you to march in here and state what NQ should cover. You’re a visitor here just remember that and visitors do not get to dictate the posts here or on any other blog. I guess your hanging out hoping you may get a call one day to get a writing job in the Whitehouse? Your no different than what is going on from the WH to Fox only difference is your coming to a personal blog dictating what it should do.
Don’t like it take a hike.
Psst: Prime Obot–YOU call YOURSELF a bot!
God are you for real? You come here and parade around your silliness and fundamental ignorance about everything you post on, trying in a
lamebot-arse way of disguising the excrement as rational discourse, call us every name in the book, use normative statements on us (look it up) and then have the temerity to complain when your get it back five-fold.Rule One for posting here, tweedle-dee: Look to correcting your own s t u p i d i t y before calling anyone else on their alleged s t u p i d i t y.
By your comments and childish writing, you are a drool-bucket-carrying minion and I say that with all pity on those around you. Hopefully your friends all wear bags on their heads when out in public with you to protect their identity and in the off-chance that yours somehow breaks.
Wow, you’re even d u l l by obamabot standards amd that is saying quite a lot. Can we get back UKforDems–at least he was entertaining and didn’t whine like this pitiful creature, Primey.
Since Obama is demonstrating that his administration is more concerned with spinning events rather than effectively guiding them, his snotty and antagonistic attitude toward the most influential television news source really IS an important story.
Ones:
Don’t forget, That One seems more concerned with his social agenda and fund raising than actually working.
Stop the That One cares about the little people fest!
Yeah, Donna, that or
speechifyingoff-gassing at every available opportunity.If I may,
“Stop the Hogwashfest”
Fascinating that your complaint about this blog’s coverage of stories occurs on a post about the administration’s complaint about coverage of stories. Nice echo.
I’ll say one thing for you, Obot. You’ve absorbed the catechism well. Now, go back to your masters, get a list of “acceptable” stories to cover and then bring it here. We’ll treat it with the respect it deserves.
1. LJ doesn’t have to do anything, dufus. It’s his site.
2. Freedom of the Press is a real issue, except for automatons like you who find freedom oppressive because you like being told what to do, think, and feel. You need someone to take care of you. Grow up and take care of yourself.
3. Hate is another subjective word you bots use to divert attention away from the real issues. I don’t hate That One–I merely think he’s unfit, unqualified, and dangerous. Argue those points, Goob, and stay away from your subjective claptrap.
Good job running point on this goofball, Ferd.
Thanks, Buzz. Have you noticed, however, that our squatter-bot, Botulinum Primus Fustercluckineus, failed to respond. Perhaps he’s taken ill.
Well then, Prime Obot, you’ve missed the articles we’ve had on healthcare reform, the lack of physicians, Afghanistan dithering, the financial debacle, the NASA spy who was picked up by the FBI and . . .
The WH’s decision to brand Fox News. And how about Jake Tapper earlier this week? Gave the Gibbster a what for.
Which only proves that NQ can walk and chew gum at the same time. But please, keep those blinders on. It’s what Obamatrons are good at.
PS: Underscore #2 in Ferd’s list. Unless, of course, you think censorship and/or Freedom of the Press [a robust and diverse Fourth Estate] is a minor issue.
“Gibbster”, or Gibbering idiot?
Well, if the negotiations about health care between the House, Senate, and White House were taking place in the open, on C-span maybe, like candidate Obama repeatedly lied about, then we might have something to talk about with an informed perspective. As it is though, we can only speculate about the horrors that will emerge from the super top secret, completely partisan star chamber, composed of some of the greatest political criminals ever to float to the top of the liberal/progessive/Marxist cesspool.
Obot Manual tactic 3A: when you don’t have an answer to the topic under discussion, try to change the subject.
If you don’t like what you read, stay the hell away. We certainly won’t miss you!!!
Freedom of the press in this country is a crucial issue — one actually taking precedence over spitballing on the health care debate for one simple reason — if we cannot get the true information about what is in this bill, what Congress is looking to pass, who is doing back door negotiations, who stands to benefit, what it is really going to cost, etc., then the rest is moot. Clearly the WH has engaged in a lot of creative math and we are not getting the truth from them.
We were promised transparency by this Administration and have gotten the opposite. This WH attempt to bully the sole news organization that is not serving the kool-aid is a very important issue. Just because you have decided it has no merit does not make that a true statement. We, as American citizens get to decide what is important.
As far as I am concerned, the right to have a free press, an objective press, not a propaganda arm is crucial no matter which party is in power. I did not like it when the NY Times et al carried President Bush’s water either. This has nothing to do with hate. It has everything to do with justice and the principles this country was founded on.
As far as stories on ACORN are concerned, this is a crooked organization that has very close associations to this WH and this President. They have also received taxpayer funding for many years and after all their crooked dealings, well may be back on the books in a couple of months. That is likewise important to discuss.
The health care debate in congress at this point is kabuki theatre. Anything Nancy Pelosi has her hands on is not something I trust. And I have good reason for my feelings in this regard.
STFU
excellent post.
Everybody join in to wish Hillary a Happy Birthday on Monday! (posted from PUMAPAC)
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s birthday is Monday, Oct 26th (per stoney42)
Feel free to call and leave a Happy Birthday message for her at the State Department:
1-800-647-4000 (Main switchboard)
(Federal Relay Service 1-800-877-8339)
And/or email her at the State Departments site:
http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?p_sid=VkRoKgzj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0xMTYsMTE2JnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**
Thank you, Jake Tapper. I would hope all of the sister organizations will have each other’s back from this point on. No matter who the prez is.
What a shame women haven’t learned how to show the same kind of solidarity with each other that the media has shown for their own. Tapper even called Fox news “our sister organization.”
Obama’s love affair with the media could turn into a fatal attraction real fast. I’m sure he believes the media serves him, in which case he may be in for a rude awakening.
OOH! OOH! OOH! Maybe they’ll tell him to get back in the tub where he belongs the way (Who was the Creep?) told Hillary during the primary.
Rep. Steve Cohen of TN, for whom Bill Clinton campaigned, and really pushed for the position. How’s THAT for some nice little payback for all the Clintons did?
He’s getting his comeuppance, though - apparently, the Memphis Mayor, an AA man, is going to challenge Cohen for his seat.
And yes, I do not know why women are so bad abt truly supporting other women. Disturbing…
Breeze - great comment!! Thank you!
Thanks!
RRRA, not only will we not be silenced, we will not forget.
As a ‘long-ago’ journalist, I have been holding my
breath the last few days.
It didn’t seem that the lone voice of Jake Tapper was
enough….
All of you have no idea how yesterday’s unexpected
events warmed the ‘printer’s ink’ in my old
veins!!!
Still, it is my strong suspicion that the majority
of these reporters were explicitly told what and how
to cover the ‘news’ since the 08 primaries, their jobs being on the line. The only possible exception
were probably Matthews and Olberman, who didn’t have
to be coaxed…
Will the powers-that-be ‘keep on keeping on or are
they going to allow their employees to do their jobs
as REAL journalists from now on?
Very nice comment breeze!
It is good to hear an opinion from inside the industry.
I have wondered how much my bias was affecting my view of BO’s coverage.
Remember during the elections Obama would have reporters kicked off the plane is they dare write something against him and he rarely took questions or spoke to the reporters. It is a shame the MSM didn’t take a stand then, but it was more important to them to get Obama elected than worry about the slippery slope.
Good point.
i,m so proud of Trapper
The Propaganda Bureau of the republican party:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDR47EKTrCQ
The Bushies actually controlled the media. Remember Jeff Gannon? Remember kicking Helen Thomas to the back row? Remember Cheney going on Meet the Press because there ‘they could control the message’? Remember the retired military ‘analysts’ planted in every network selling the war in Iraq?
Media types like Tapper think this will score some long-term points, that the righties down the road will remember this the next time they report something damaging to conservatives, and cut them some slack. Or perhaps they will need to apply for a job at Faux.
Tappy, it doesn’t work that way. This will not prove you’re not a liberal; the accusation of liberal bias is a political tactic designed to cow you into submission. And it’s working quite nicely.
bluex,
every “example” from the Bush admin. is ridiculous. who cares where helen thomas sat? she was still allowed in the room to ask questions. Cheney actually went on Meet the Press to get out the admin. message and sat there taking questions from unsympathetic journalists. that’s his job. the obie admin wont sit down with journalists that dont cow tow. And even when he gets mildly challenged by a former Democrat staffer (Stephanapolus) he gets defensive.
I am going to guess every network hires there own retired analysts because they think it helps to inform their audience. they arent plants. take off the tin foil cap my friend
There is NO example from the Bushies that you can compare to what the Obies are doing. But if you are looking for a comparison the guys name was NIXON.
I agree. There’s no comparison–and I did not like Bush. Little did I know who was going to replace him.
And your guess is wrong. David Barstow actually won the most prestigious prize in journalism in 2008 for uncovering something the cable networks suppresed because of their complicity.
Here is how the PULITZER Prize Committee described Barstow’s exposés:
“Awarded to David Barstow of The New York Times for his tenacious reporting that revealed how retired generals, working as radio and television analysts, had been co-opted by the Pentagon to make its case for the war in Iraq, and how many of them also had undisclosed ties to companies that benefited from policies they defended.”
Since you are unaware of what went down, here you can read the articles:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/washington/30general.html?_r=1&hp
The Bushies did far worse to media outlets than merely criticize them. They explicitly threatened to prosecute New York Times journalists - to criminally prosecute them, for reporting on Bush’s spying program aimed at American citizens.
Kicked all the NY Times reporters off of their planes.
Used reporters to out a CIA agent, then sat by and watched reporters go to jail to protect their sources.
Ari Fleischer told everyone (but directed at journalists) they needed to “watch what they say and what they do.”
And the list goes on…
everything you are saying is ridiculous. I dont have time to point out the silliness of it. there is no comparison and even if there were your defending Obie’s actions based on what you perceive as being the equivalent just shows you lack any principled integrity
What this admin is doing is ridiculous and offensive.
Right. Ignorance is bliss. Carry on.
Sorry, 77. BlueX has a point. Bush&Co were absolutely offensive in their treatment of the press, controlling the message and cracking heads when the press had the audacity to report info not to their liking. Blue’s examples are accurate.
However, the argument falls apart because few if any Obamatrons are willing to be as clear sighted when they look at the present Administration [still in its first year] and already whining in public, blasting critics and taking Fox News to task for airing reports and opinions they don’t like.
The Washington press pool did the right thing [for all of us]. The WH overreached and in this case, the press shot back. Good for them! They may have a beating heart afterall.
We had enough lapdog journalism in the first half of the Bush years. We don’t need to go there again.
this sounds like something my children used to do…when i caught one of them misbehaving, he would point to his brother and say, ‘well, he did something worse.’
control of the media by the president is wrong…from either party. i acknowledge that bush did try to suck up to the media and cheney did force a guy from the times off his plane.
however, i don’t remember bush et al going after the news with such relish…daily attacks on specific outlets. the last guy to do that was nixon, although even he did it more surreptitiously.
this guy has a huge ego and a thin skin…rather than invite debate, he despises it. “I won” means no one else gets a chance to voice an opposing opinion. and that does involve all those topics that are important…health care, national security, the economy.
It’s called the “tu quoque” argument, a major logical fallacy. Don’t tell Blue X because all the obots feel their “logic” is true logic.
Ah, the two-wrongs-make-a-right fallacy.
It also smacks of the common practice fallacy, one which the bots use daily to justify their own brand of bad behavior.
Well, Bush….
The Helen Thomas demotion was a big thing. For decades she sat in the front row, and was able to get lots of questions in, right in their faces. To be forced to go to the back row, where she couldn’t have much opportunity to be heard, was her punishment for standing up to power. It totally fits in with the other examples of real journalists (asking tough questions) being somehow silenced.
so there were no other “real journalists” in the room. you think abc, cnn, cbs, msnbc, new york times, et al was giving the bush administration a free pass?
great she sat there for decades. so? it is amazing the short memories people have. the visceral hatred and press attacks on the bush administration for the last 6 years was palatable and the admin NEVER stooped to the crap that bambi is pulling.
No, 77. It’s because people “do” have memories and remember when the press beat the drum for the Iraq invasion and occupation, the whole WMD spin, the nuclear bombs on our doorstep nonsense, the Patriot Act, wire tapping and data mining that the Bush years do not come up smelling like roses.
That doesn’t mean Obama gets a pass. Far from it.
Goodbye old boss, welcome to the new boss. All that executive expansion? Obama owns it now.
Welcome to the brave new world.
I am sooo Tired of BUUT Bush did it , before that was But but but Hillary did it. IF Bush didn’t locked out every news reporter BUT Fox, and tried to convince the country that the channels that criticized him were NOT news Agnecies, then BUSH did it TOOO, but funny I don’t remeber pressers, with Just Fox in and the rest of the chair empty.
I nominate Jake Tapper for JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR if not MAN OF THE YEAR.
Now if Tapper would only apologize to Mrs Clinton for comparing her with Tanya Harding during the primaries….
And thank the net for a little levity from time to time when the news just makes you sick, with
http://baracksteleprompter.blogspot.com
http://micheleobamasmirror.blogspot.com
and one I just discovered (maybe others already were on to it) http://thelotuslaptopoftheunitedstates.blogspot.com/ (Go Sarah!)
Thanks, MWC. I looked at the last one–you’re right. It’s funny!
Painful to watch Mara Liason try to defend an indefensible position. She has no concept of the big picture here. Too blindly partisan to see it.
I would not get too carried away here with Tapper. He sucker punches Gibbs with gusto, but is pretty timid when it comes to Obama. Also, he is the one who compared Hillary to Tania Harding in the primaries.
Gibbs reminds me of Curly on the three stooges. Every time he gets backed into a corner his unfailing defense it well that is our opinion. Very weak–but he does not have much material to work with either.
I resemble that remark!
I’ve loved Tapper, ever since he went after Gibbs on transparency. Gibbs is a real putz, by the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-4qEz1vea0
Kim,
Thanks for the links. I went ahead and watched a few others of Tapper questioning Gibbs.
The opposite of transparency is opagueness, or opacity. The problem with Gibbs, however, is that he is obtuse, so can’t really understand Tapper’s points.
I learn so much by taking everyone’s links. Thanks!
Oh yes, one other thing. If it is merely a belief then it is an opinion. But if hold a belief and then take action upon it, then it no longer just an opinion, it is an overt act. And when you are the Administration and you take an overt act consistent pursuant to an opinion which is derogation of freedom of the press, then it is no longer an opinion, and no longer merely an over act, it is policy.
EXCELLENT point - well said!
And, thanks, Sonic, ImaLindatoo, and anyone else I’ve missed - I appreciate it!
Great comments, folks!
Great post, RRRA! Good for Jake.
Here’s what I find astounding: if Rahm “Dead Fish” Emmanuel and David “The Penguin” Axelrod think Fox has content that is “not news”, what the blazing heck do they think Olbermann, Maddow, and Matthews are?!?!? And did they REALLY think this would go over with the public, news organizations, and other people in DC? What alternate reality are they living in? Seriously!
It’s systemic. Axelrod and Emmanuel think that Obama is a leader! Which goes to show that they don’t know a leader from their own poopershutes.
How could they even be expected to know what a news network looks like.
Nah, this is all about damage control as the air slowly hisses out of Obama’s left ear and he goes spiraling downward in popularity and in the polls.
The ranks of the disenchanted swells each week. Socialism has never been perpetrated on Americans before. Axelrod and Co have no idea what the blowback is going to look like or for how long it will go.
At least Obama has made a decision on one war…the war on free speech.
“damage control as the air slowly hisses out of Obama’s left ear and he goes spiraling downward in popularity”
Yes, I see the Fox attack as a warning to the other networks.
Rahm said he worries other outlets will follow Fox’s lead for ratings — which they will. As his polls skid, it won’t pay to blow the President anymore. Until now, the press ’servicing’ has been consensual. Obama is warning CNN, etc. — don’t get any bright ideas about getting up off their kneepads.
“At least Obama has made a decision on one war…the war on free speech.”
I pity him for his ignorance, John - especially
in history….
—————————————————–
“In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called “new order” of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.”
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
excerpted from the
Annual Message to the Congress,
January 6, 1941
Writing on the role and responsibility of the press, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, in 1971, said:
This is a quote from Justice Black’s concurring opinion in the famous Pentagon Papers case: New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
I guess our Constitutional “scholar” president (Obama) does not agree — or worse, hasn’t thought about it.
Well Pastor Manning is no longer a fan of Fox News! LOL this guy is a hoot and he’s mad at Beck!
http://atlah.org/atlahworldwide/?p=554
Ladydawnelle,
That video IS a hoot. I was talking with a friend the other day about all the conspiracy theories we could think of. The conclusion we came to was that the problem with all of them is that when one of them really is TRUE, how are we going to be able to tell?
Perhaps Pastor Manning’s theory will be the one. Who knows in this upside down world?
Thanks for the link.
I agree! Who to trust? Well, being an Indie again was one of the best things I could have done for myself! I can BREATHE again!
TRUST but VERIFY! both sides and all in between (imo)
Personally, I think Sarah has found the KEY to building something successful w/OUT the lemming MSN from either side! I’m loving it. And so far she’s not aligned herself with anyone too heinous for my taste. Unlike BARRY and his entourage! (wright,pfleger,moss, meeks,alinsky,axelrove,rahmbull,NannyPelosiousaur, etc,etc,lemmingMOONbat caucuses!! I could go on, RESKO, DODD, RICHARDSON,EDWARDS,,,,,,,,,,,
http://www.newsweek.com/id/219359?from=rss
This is a very interesting article. Where do we go from here. I do not remember this country being so divided.
WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE, MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS
PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE PEOPLE RULE
We’ve never had a POTUS who pointed out early on that he wasn’t white. He was DIFFERENT than those depicted on our money
That’s when the division started, make no mistake about it. Oblahblah played the guilt-ridden whites, none of whom were responsible for long-past mistakes, like a cheap fiddle. And his minions, not having the intellectual curiosity to research any further, went right along with the whole stupid charade.
That One is a con man who fooled 69,000,000. He should be arrested for cause.
Is Rev. Wright speaking the truth for once??? Is he in actuality calling Obama a dishonest hypocrite?
dailypress.com
EXCLUSIVE TO THE DAILY PRESS
Rev. Jeremiah Wright says “Jews” are keeping him from President Obama
By DAVID SQUIRES
757-247-4639
6:19 PM EDT, June 10, 2009
HAMPTON
Same brashness. Same spontaneity. Same lightning-rod remarks.
If you were thinking the Rev. Jeremiah Wright had been tempered by a national backlash that nearly derailed Barack Obama’s trip to the White House, guess again.
In an exclusive interview at the 95th annual Hampton University Ministers’ Conference, Wright told the Daily Press that he has not spoken to his former church member since Obama became president, and he implied that the White House won’t allow Obama to talk to him.
“Them Jews ain’t going to let him talk to me,” Wright said. “I told my baby daughter that he’ll talk to me in five years when he’s a lame duck, or in eight years when he’s out of office. …
“They will not let him to talk to somebody who calls a spade what it is. … I said from the beginning: He’s a politician; I’m a pastor. He’s got to do what politicians do.”