The Politics Thread

[Roman]

very few true journalists on CNN and MSNBC called that man out from Day 1. the rest sold out for access. they ignored all the lies and slander that was being covered by internet news sites, and had big smiles on their faces when he won a primary....and now sit back and act like they are the aggrieved party. AC asked him on the trail what he ordered from McDonald's. softball questions while HRC was getting grilled left and right by these networks. how many stories about Trump were ignored by the majority of on air talent? and now their ratings are high because they blast him every single day. where was this during the campaign? 

Michelle IMPO did a splendid job calling all of these high priced bellhops out for what they have put this nation through in the last year and a half. 

[DramatistDreamer]

ICYMI: Another fire at a Trump tower building, this time in Azerbaijan.  

 

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by DramatistDreamer

[Khan]

Frankly, Michelle Wolf's remarks about Sarah Huckabee Sanders don't even compare to what has been said about HRC for decades.  People are upset because she compared SHS to a "Handmaid's Tale" character and said she was the white woman equivalent to Uncle Tom?  Honkies, please.

 

 

Yet, evangelical Christians are convinced this man has been anointed by God.  (Whatever, Jesus freaks.)

 

Yep.

 

I must hand it to Les Moonves: as venal as that man can be, he was right when he said that Trump was "bad for [the country], but good for CBS."  Because, he was.  Someone, even Donald [!@#$%^&*] Trump, with zero political experience, making it all the way to the presidency, made for some damn good copy.

 

But, more than that, I'm starting to believe that the media was MORE determined NOT to let HRC win -- or, at least, not just to hand her what should have been a very winnable election.  If that [!@#$%^&*] c**t and her jumpsuits want to be president so bad, they said, then let her work for it.  Because, honestly?  If it had been another woman in that position -- hell, even someone like "Hanoi Jane" Fonda -- I don't think they would've been as ready to fillet her.

Edited April 29, 2018 by Khan

[DRW50]

My main issue with her jokes is they felt lazy and done to death (especially the Handmaid's Tale joke) and if she's white then casually throwing around terms like "Uncle Tom" isn't the best idea either. The women in the administration have been the main focus of progressive anger from early on and at this point it's mostly just become a distraction. 

 

I don't care about those who insist oh this is why they hate liberals/the media - those people hate liberals and the media no matter what - I just think she took the easiest path. Her comments about the media profiting from Trump were more honest, and of course were overshadowed by all the rest. 

[Khan]

I mean, if she really wanted to be nasty, she could have said what I did the first time I saw Sanders on TV: "Dear God, we've gone from the world's worst varsity wrestling coach...to a fat tranny with a cheap wig and terrible fashion sense."

 

(Now, that, ladies and gentlemen, is being cruel.)

Edited April 29, 2018 by Khan

[DRW50]

I'm also annoyed by the many who have, rather than say, "She didn't attack anyone's looks," instead glibly said "Trump does it too!" What those comments essentially are saying is that it's fine for Trump to do it and there's no point in expecting much else from anyone at this point. If that's how people now feel, then it means they don't have any real room to get upset over his future comments. Given how many people make a meal out of focusing on the outrage of the day (the latest being the Paralmypics comments), they are just twisting themselves into knots. 

Edited April 29, 2018 by DRW50

[DramatistDreamer]

Michelle Wolf is, as they say in today's parlance, "Savage"!  That was R-A-W but anyone who has ever seen her comedy routine should've known what they'd be up for.  To quote Wolf "Should've done your research". 

 

Sarah Sanders Huckabee was a small part of that monologue, from what I saw. I'm not sure why people decided to focus their attention on a bit that was about a minute and a half.

 

Are people seriously getting their noses out of joint about a comedian's monologue?  In the long run, how much impact will Wolf's monologue truly have?  Do most people even remember Minhaj's monologue from last year?

 

I guess it beats talking about the real problems that this country has (and soon will be facing due to poor governance) but okay.

 

 

And then there's this, which truly stood out to me, in addition to the roast of the media:

 

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by DramatistDreamer

[Juliajms]

^ I don't even see why what Michelle Wolf (who I've never heard of before) said is a big deal?  Don't we mostly agree that SHS is out there spouting surreal lies and propaganda on a daily basis?

 

She reminds me of that spokesperson for Saddam's government. The one SNL used to love to mock, who was saying things like the Iraqi army was winning, while CNN was showing footage of decimation. Well, now the joke is on us ( or US).

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=iraqi+propaganda+minister&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1

Edited April 29, 2018 by Juliajms

[DRW50]

 

We do, yes. She's an awful person and she also seems extremely petty and callous. 

 

The problem I have with Wolf's comments is that like Kellyanne Conway (who also got digs), SHS is a very easy target. Everyone loves to joke about her and make her the big focus of their critiques. In many ways this helps Trump and the GOP (just as the attacks against Melania and Ivanka did, although given Ivanka's more involved role I don't think she should be as exempt) because it distracts from the main decision makers and faces in the administration or in Congress. 

 

And while I don't think she went after SHS' looks, comparing her to a spinster character from a much-hyped show, to a gym teacher, etc. leaves enough room to make people feel she did. 

 

I don't think this "hurts" people who are against Trump (other than the people who say it's fine to make personal attacks because Trump does it - those people are basically telling the world they can never criticize Trump's attacks against people again without being hypocrites) or "hurts" liberalism or whatever, but I do think it's just one more pointless distraction, and I think all the people rushing to defend Michelle Wolf (who will get plenty of money and opportunities from this without being made a free speech martyr) are better off using their time elsewhere. 

[Juliajms]

^ I get what you are saying Carl.  In most cases I cringe at ad hominem attacks. There are just as many ugly Democrats as Republicans, and hell, I won't be winning any beauty contests myself.  We've talked about how some attack old people and wish them death, as if there aren't plenty of wonderful old people out there. 

 

In the context of a comedy routine though,  I don't think what she said was that bad.  I also agree that MW knew what she was doing.  She has a show coming our on Netflix according to a CNN article.  She went for her 15 mins of fame and got it. As you say, there are bigger fish to fry.

 

 

[Vee]

I think it's turning out like the Colbert roast tbh - overnight intense fury from the Beltway press, followed by walking it back when most of the Internet says he was right. Wolf's not getting Kathy Griffin'd, in part because she wasn't nearly as foolish as Griffin was. Her remarks on Sanders were calculated and were not physical attacks. While she got vulgar at other times, it was in all the right places AFAIC.

 

You already see Haberman, a queen of passive aggression, walking her attacks back when confronted by people like Kumail Nanjiani and trying to close the issue off. That doesn't happen often. Wolf will be fine and while she may have gotten a bit broad at times for my tastes, I thought she was mostly right.

[DramatistDreamer]

While the media et al. are whining about the WHCD:

 

 

[Juliajms]

^ Yikes.

 

Meanwhile Trump continues to win friends. This time Merkel.

https://www.politico.eu/article/a-desperate-merkel-gets-trumped/

[DramatistDreamer]

Merkel, who has her own challenges at home, likely wants the path of least resistance with Trump/U.S.  She can't waste time fighting small battles with Trump. It is unlikely that she'll ever consider Trump an actual "friend" in the true sense of the word, but she is a pragmatist, if nothing else.

 

 

Speaking of cases where the media colluded to put a good face on the worst of humanity, this memorial museum on lynching is really causing a reckoning that is now reaching the media.

 

A Lynching Memorial Forces a Reckoning for a Nation, and a Newspaper

 

“We proliferated that idea of white supremacy,” said Mr. Krift, who has been the executive editor for nearly two years.

 

 

[Khan]

No doubt, we'll be hearing from some lunkheads who question why we can have memorials to lynchings but not to Confederate generals.