Letters to the Editor
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Going too far
The Russert video nicely demonstrates (again) how a Republican talking point -- that the public doesn't want Democrats to take things "too far" -- has become a truism the media repeats like a mantra (you can almost hear it buzzing quietly just behind Russert's eyeballs.) It's an odd bit of conventional wisdom, unsupported by any pesky facts, as Glenn has pointed out previously. What's also interesting is how infrequently (like never) we hear the converse bit of wisdom, that perhaps the public doesn't want Republicans taking things "too far" in their refusals to deal with the Congressional Democrats. When has a pundit said that perhaps Bush (and the "unified" congressional Repubs) has "gone too far" in promising to veto the supplemental spending bill he has not yet seen, or in refusing to allow aides to testify publicly before congress? He seems always to be "sticking to his guns" or "digging in." Might this intransigence not irritate a public (allegedly) clammering for moderation and compromise? No, in the wonderful wisdom of punditry the public is oddly silent when BushCo. heads out onto a lonely limb.
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Usedtobekaren AND Paul...
UsedtobeKristen
Then they should be discussing the fact that the Republicans who traveled to Syria earlier said things like this:
“I don't care what the administration says on this. You've got to do what you think is in the best interest of your country,” said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. “I want us to be successful in Iraq. I want us to clamp down on Hezbollah.”
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070404-1605-republicans-syria.html
It's not just the Democrats who are making their "own" policy, but the Democrats are the only ones who face any scrutiny. And that is the issue here.
I pretty much agree with that.
Paul, thanks for the response. I only questioned the poll after GG’s update, where he used it in reference to the video. I watched the video and it seemed like the discussion was more about the Dems overstepping their bounds - going too far - by enacting their own foreign policy than it was about how the Dems are putting forth a fringe opinion re: Syria.
So the first time he used the poll data, it made perfect sense, i fully agree. The second time not so much.
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Usedtobekaren AND Paul... (second try)
UsedtobeKristen
Then they should be discussing the fact that the Republicans who traveled to Syria earlier said things like this:
“I don't care what the administration says on this. You've got to do what you think is in the best interest of your country,” said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. “I want us to be successful in Iraq. I want us to clamp down on Hezbollah.”
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070404-1605-republicans-syria.html
It's not just the Democrats who are making their "own" policy, but the Democrats are the only ones who face any scrutiny. And that is the issue here.
I pretty much agree with that.
Paul, thanks for the response. I only questioned the poll after GG’s update, where he used it in reference to the video. I watched the video and it seemed like the discussion was more about the Dems overstepping their bounds - going too far - by enacting their own foreign policy than it was about how the Dems are putting forth a fringe opinion re: Syria.
So the first time he used the poll data, it made perfect sense, i fully agree. The second time not so much.
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Last try sorry... i'll just use quotes
"Then they should be discussing the fact that the Republicans who traveled to Syria earlier said things like this:
'I don't care what the administration says on this. You've got to do what you think is in the best interest of your country,''said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. 'I want us to be successful in Iraq. I want us to clamp down on Hezbollah.'
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070404-1605-republicans-syria.html
It's not just the Democrats who are making their "own" policy, but the Democrats are the only ones who face any scrutiny. And that is the issue here."
Usedtobekristen - i pretty much agree with that.
Paul, thanks for the response. I only questioned the poll after GG’s update, where he used it in reference to the video. I watched the video and it seemed like the discussion was more about the Dems overstepping their bounds - going too far - by enacting their own foreign policy than it was about how the Dems are putting forth a fringe opinion re: Syria.
So the first time he used the poll data, it made perfect sense, i fully agree. The second time not so much.
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"Trust me" media and politics - I don't think so
The MSM rhetoric attacking the Democratic congress seems to be aimed entirely at individuals as opposed to policies. Why, for example, the rant against Pelosi's scarf? Why accuse her of negotiating with terrorists? Why not rant instead against the new policy on the part of the Democrat's congressional majority not to trust a single thing they are told by the Bush administration? That is the reason Reid and Waxman and Pelosi and others are insisting on documents and recorded testimony and face-to-face conversations (both domestically and internationally) instead of the "trust me" rhetoric from the administration and its supporters. That undeserved trust is what got us into this huge mess in the first place. No thinking person could possible trust this administration or those in the media who support its narratives. That is the reason Pelosi is wearing a scarf, and talking to other governments and doing the diplomacy the President and his staff have failed to do.
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Bias.
What's also interesting is how infrequently (like never) we hear the converse bit of wisdom, that perhaps the public doesn't want Republicans taking things "too far" in their refusals to deal with the Congressional Democrats.
Or, how public opinion didn't support the Republican witch hunts during Clintons presidency. That didn't deter Republicans from going "too far," nor prevent the media from cheering them on.
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Hey Glenn!!!
Care to write back to ABC and explain to them that St. Thomas is in the US Virgin Islands!
I know that it would be a shame to let accuracy spoil a good story!