Politics has always been a manipulative business to some extent. Yes, there have been smoke-filled back rooms where issues were decided and careers were made or broken. John McCain said, “This isn’t a nice business we’re in.” But I’m pretty sure that McCain never saw politics degenerating to open lying about plain facts. That, however, is today’s GOP. Nikki Haley was on TV Sunday morning and she’s pushing the lie about the $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds being spent on terrorism. Kristen Welker sputtered and made noises but Haley just kept going. This is civil discourse in the post-truth era, what you’re going to see right here.
That’s the lie, here’s the reality.
Reading LIES from Don Junior, the #MAGACult, right-wing propagandists, MAGA Republicans, GOP presidential candidates etc., about Israel, Hamas, Palenstine & Iran makes me ill!! We’ll never solve problems when 33% of Americans lack integrity to be honest. #VoteBlue #wtpBLUE #LOVE pic.twitter.com/ov52iFy2T2
— 🪴Laurie (@Laurieluvsmolly) October 8, 2023
Kristen Welker sucks at her job. When Haley started down this path, THIS, what’s in black above, is what Welker should have confronted her with. Her weak mewling, “but there’s no facts to support that,” vanished in the cross-talk. Haley won this encounter today, like Trump won bigly when Welker interviewed him.
Is it fear or lack of guts or what that keeps these highly paid TV anchors from just flat out laying out the facts? Remember this maxim from Journalism 101?
IF SOMEONE SAYS IT’S RAINING & ANOTHER PERSON SAYS IT’S DRY, IT’S NOT YOUR JOB TO QUOTE THEM BOTH. YOUR JOB IS TO LOOK OUT OF THE F**KING WINDOW AND FIND OUT WHICH IS TRUE
The TV anchors and a lot of the press reporters are afraid to lose access to politicians and candidates and so they soft soap everything, to the detriment of the American people. As we speak, a new conspiracy theory, started by Donald Trump is making the rounds and that is that Joe Biden “gave” $6 billion of taxpayer money to Iran. He did not. But as Mark Twain observed, “A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.”
Journalist Margaret Sullivan said that the problem was that the news media aren’t thinking about “what’s good for the public, they think about what’s good for engagement.” Swell. While the networks are concerned about views and clicks, we may well end up living in a Christo-fascist country because the free press (which will be the first thing to go, Trump has made no bones about that) is worried more about their bottom line than truth.
Nikki Haley is a typical Republican of this era. She’s got ambitions way above her expertise and skill level and she’s fundamentally dishonest. Look to her to lie her way into any situation she can, or conversely, to lie her way out of it. They’re both flip sides of the same coin.
I want to see Haley lose. She’s a feeble excuse for a politician. She’s got no policies and no stance, just a weak “if you can’t choose between terrible candidates then I’m your choice.” Very motivating, that. Vote for me, I’m the lesser of all the evils. No, Nikki, you’re part of the evil. And what’s worse, you’re the kind of evil that pretends to be good and that’s the worst evil of all.
This is one of the very few times I agree with Donald Trump, Haley is a Birdbrain and she has no “talent.”
Yes! thanks for that. It hasn’t been entirely clear to me what the $6 billion dollar issue was about. Now I (we) know. Thanks
The Republicans poison the well of truth daily. That’s Trump’s doing, the $6 billion lie. He started that the day the funds were unfrozen. A lot of people laughed that day but I cringed because I knew his confusion (whether deliberate or just his usual stupidity) was going to get amplified and soon Biden would be accused of funding terrorists. And lo and behold, a few weeks later, Israel declares war on Hamas, which is declaring war on Iran to all intents and purposes, and now that’s the faux talking point on all the right-wing shows — and NBC, who allowed this bullshit to go on today.
I’ve said more times than I can remember – what Haley got away with (and so will others) is because Welker and other “journalists” WILL follow their MARCHING ORDERS from their bosses in the executive suites. They want their goddamned “horse race” election coverage next year. They don’t care if it allows Trump to get re-elected, and in fact prefer that he or someone like him who will continue to cripple efforts to re-regulate and start enforcing things like the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up media empires wind up winning. If we devolve into a fascist state isn’t their concern. THEY will be just fine, with oligarch sized fortunes and an escape plan to somewhere they and their can live out their despicable lives in comfort.
Normalizing the abnormal is never a good move. That our “legacy” media has done so is appalling. There are still some people telling the truth out there. As long as there’s a beacon of light in the darkness, all is not complete black.
I’m getting to the point where I can’t watch these photo ops anymore. For years 60 Minutes was my favorite, because they got down to the nitty gritty and then they did a photo op puff pieces with Marge Space Lasers Greene. That was a major mistake. Again, normalizing the aberrant and the destructive.
Ursula, I didn’t know 60 Minutes had MTG on! That’s unacceptable! Talk about giving the enemy the advantage! Horrible move.
Not only did they have that abominable pig on Meg, she told Leslie Stahl that the democrats were the party of pedophiles. Stahl’s reaction? Oh wow, Nothing more. Pretty sickening, I’ve been watching 60 Minutes as long as I can remember. They’ve sold out to the bottom line.