MSNBC goes after the bright shiny trinkets Donnie tossed out for them to play with

[Backwoodsrider]

Every Friday this happens, major news about Trump investigation gets pushed off the front page headline by some thing Trump did.

There are some major things going on with the Mueller investigation and Trumps cabinet and cat 4 hurricane but Ari is using up at least the first 20 minutes of Rachels show to talk about that old dude in AZ getting a pardon.

Does anyone care or are we doing like Trumps supporters and just looking for a distraction maybe even an emotional release by yelling at the TV?

[oberliner]

1. Very bummed that Rachel isn't on tonight

This is a good night to hear from her.

[ecstatic]

2. The problem is, the pardon and transgender ban are huge stories

that can't be ignored. Everything he does is disgusting!

[Miles Archer]

6. Bannon was a shiny trinket. Gorga's a shiny trinket. You're right about the other two stories.

And one thing that IS being said on MSNBC, that we need to take note of, it that the Arpaio pardon could very well be a "dry run" for pardoning everyone who comes up dirty in the Russia investigation.

[Backwoodsrider]

13. yes the last part of show very informative

That could very well be a dry run..... made my skin crawl when I heard that.

[RandySF]

3. I can walk and chew gum.

I am fully capable of following everything that's going on.

[stopbush]

5. Bingo! The Russian investigation goes on, no matter what the media decides to cover.

[oasis]

4. Mueller's investigation will be ongoing for months, if not years. Arpaio's

pardon needs immediate attention, reaction and analysis.

[nolabear]

7. Don't conflate attention with action. This stuff is moving forward.

The things being talked about are important and need attention. A horrific natural disaster where people might be trying to find out about relatives, friends or just fellow human beings is important.

Gorka is just a thing right now. Arapaio is license for racist law enforcement to torture and kill minorities in their jails.

And Mueller's wood chipper is chipping, chipping, chipping...

[Mr. Ected]

8. The walls are closing in on Trump.

He's scared shitless and he's lashing out.

Make no mistake. The transgender ban and the Sheriff Joe pardon wasn't red meat for his base.

It was a big fuck you to liberals and Democrats, the demons in Trump's head, the ones who are closing in fast on him via the Mueller investigation.

[Eugene]

9. Ari Melber is covering the Mueller investigation right now.

It got pushed from the top of the hour but it's not completely obscured.

[procon]

10. Why don't you consider that pardon, and all its implications, a newsworthy event?

Its hardly a "distraction" to discuss the president pardoning "that old dude in AZ" who was convicted of violating the constitutional rights of American citizens based on racial profiling. Yes, that is a very big and important topic for our democracy when the president sides with a convicted racist over the Constitution.

Most of us are not monolithic, we are quite capable of multitasking and processing all these late breaking news events does not seem out of the realm of normal activities. Maybe you don't care, but it looks like your disinterest in racism, discrimination, abuse of power, and constitutional rights is in the minority.

[RandySF]

12. Too much "identity politics".

[procon]

14. Stop promoting rightwing talking points.

Slapping a derisive label on key topics like racism, sexism and discrimination doesn't mitigate their critical importance to our county. These issues are inexorably linked to the ideals and policies that Democrats support because we believe it is unjust to to allow hate to shape our laws or create a caste system that subjugates certain segments of the population.

Democrats aren't the only ones who engage in identity politics, Republicans use it too, but the difference is that they use racism, sexism and discrimination as a cudgel to foment hate and division.

[RandySF]

16. It was sarcasm.

There's a fair number of DUers who think we should not worry so much about race/gender/orientation issues.

[RhodeIslandOne]

11. The Arpaio thing is important

It's a signal that this guy has no compunction about discarding the rule of law to help out his buddies and himself. And that includes everything attached to the Mueller investigation.

We are quickly sliding towards constitutional crisis where a criminal sitting president is trying to defuse his own prosecution.

[Squinch]

15. So they should not cover a Constitution busting pardon and a

ban of transgender people in the military?

That would be stupid of them.

[blogslut]

17. The latest events about the Russia investigation have been on steady rotation all night.

They have covered/discussed it at least twice per hour since I turned on Chris Hayes at 7PM CST.

[Backwoodsrider]

18. 43 minutes until Ari switched to Mueller investigation

The pardon is important in that it might be a dry run and a dog whistle to those in his team worried about said investigation but that's way on down the line and just an idea at this point but worth the first 43 minutes?

MSNBC is going at a persons FEELINGS about this issue. They want our attention. I don't do feelings in medias coverage of politics unless they are trying to grab peoples attention thru feelings then yeah I get a little emotional because that's how our nation is probably going to crumble ie media propaganda.

Hoping the west coasts gets out before the south goes to war with itself.

[TeamPooka]

19. There was other news during Watergate too, as I recall