The worm is turning...

[nradisic]

In the last week, something unreal has happened. From Soledad O'Brien, to Chuck Todd, to CBS this Morning, they are smacking down Republicans talking shit. The Republicans have gone off the edge and the lies, obfuscation and falsehoods have gone far enough that the mealy mouthed MSM is calling them outright on their lies. Wow!

The GOP and their "agenda" has been fully unmasked and unless you are still drinking the cool-aide, the vast majority of Americans ain't buying it and the MSM may finally have had enough of the she said, he said - especially when the other side is all about lies, lies, lies...

This election may end up being a referendum on Republican policies for the last 30 years...I don't see the election being close the way things are going. The smack down has only begun and this November I see gains for the Democrats across the board, given that Ryan and Romney will actually have reverse coat tails.

[2on2u]

1. Soledad does give them hell, and this isn't the first time either. n/t

[riverwalker]

2. She should replace David Gregory

on Meet The Press. How refreshing that would be.

[Loudestlib]

10. +1000

[mikekohr]

17. Very

[magical thyme]

3. W courted and charmed the press

Embedded them in the military, amused them with his drunken foolishness, and rewarded them for publishing his talking points without question.

Mittens and Her Royal Haughtiness Empress Ann insult and banish the press. The press is not amused.

[get the red out]

5. Indeed!

The press expects to be an expensive date, not a "wham-bam thank you maim/sir".

[GoCubsGo]

8. They're not even getting "Wham-bam thank you ma'am/sir".

And, that's what this is really about. How many interviews of Mitt Romney have you seen since he got the nomination? One? Two? I've heard his surrogates tell the press, "Kiss my ass!" as many times as I have seen their boss sitting down with someone to discuss his policies, or lack thereof.

[n2doc]

6. Don't forget the nicknames! n/t

[Gabby Hayes]

4. Soledad is beginning to hit long tators

To think that Soledad could inspire a stampede of reporters who suddenly remembered they are public servants with some of the best news Mankind has ever known. Right and wrong becomes crystal clear and they are no longer afraid or hesitant to say so. Dare I say it? Yes, The worm is turning.

[GoCubsGo]

7. It's not about the lies and obfuscation....

It's the Romney campaign refusing to talk to the vast majority of them, and they're pissed off about that. They're calling out the lies as revenge for being snubbed. If Romney and his campaign gave them more access than they're getting, the MSM would ALL be happily carrying his water, save for people on the left like Rachel and Ed.

Also, some of them, like Soledad O'Brien, are pissed off because one of the Romney surrogates, in this case John Sununu, treated them like garbage. There are several threads here that are discussing the O'Brien-Sununu episode in the GD. He bullied and patronized her, and that's what has her pissed off, not the lies and obfuscation.

[Cosmocat]

9. RIGHT - no worms turning here

this is a BIT like 06 ...

The Rs have to be bad, REALLY, REALLY fricken bad for the press to have the sack to call A FAIR GAME SOME OF THE TIMES.

This is the same crew that legitimized the whole Tea Party bullshit and how a bunch of republicans throwing a hissy fit after 2010 for no reason other than losing the election, was some great thing, while basically ignoring Occupy.

It is only when you have the Iraq War and 100 other Bush disasters that they turn on them.

And, it is only now, after a never ending stream of flat lies and BS from Romney that they in PART have called Ryan for the snot nosed little puke he is.

But, make no mistake, they know their orders are 1) to protect the Rs at all costs 2) negatively frame the Ds at all times.

And, they are STILL going to try to make this a horse race.

[shcrane71]

21. +1000 Thank you for saying that.

[Kablooie]

18. I'd agree with that.

I think the RR campaign is pissing everyone off by being blatantly obstructionist and secretive.
AND being successful at it.
In a way it's impressive. To simply say 'No, I won't talk about that.' repeatedly is pretty bold.

Nothing pisses off reporters more than only being offered well chewed platitudes to publish.
They've got to create an interesting story somehow and so nothing is left except to expose the lies.

I hope there are some intrepids digging around behind the facades where most of us are not able to go.
If a reporter could open up some of those closed doors they could make quite a name for themselves and perhaps a place in history.

[trof]

11. Great Eric Sevareid quote from decades ago:

"Our rigid formulae of so-called objectivity have given the lie the same prominence and impact that truth is given. They (networks) have elevated the influence of fools to that of wise men."

So true.

[monmouth]

12. +1000

[hifiguy]

13. Mr. Sevareid was a real journalist.

Truly, there were giants in those days.

[dsharp88]

14. Voter ID laws...

Let's not kid ourselves. This is going to be a tough one. The will of the people doesn't matter if their votes aren't cast and counted.

[Richard D]

15. I wonder if "The Newsroom" might have something to do with this.

[starroute]

16. Or perhaps their owners are worried about the GOP brand being destroyed

The Koch brothers and other Tea Party backers are intent on pulling the GOP as far right as they possibly can. Their model is what happened after Watergate, when the GOP was in shambles and ripe to be taken over by Reagan and the movement conservatives. Instead of discrediting the party further, that somehow became the new norm, and the entire American political system was pulled to the right as a result.

But right now, there are the "sensible" Republicans, the establishment Republicans, and many corporate Republicans who either don't see that working a second time or who sincerely don't want to live in the lawless, theocratic, third world America the likes of the Kochs seem intent on creating.

And I believe those Republicans have put the word out to destroy the Tea Party right now so that they can take over and run a "sensible" candidate of their own in 2016. Even if I'm right about this, I'm not convinced it will work. I believe the Tea Party has its hooks too deeply into the GOP, and into most of the up-and-comers in both Congress and state legislatures -- to be dislodged.

But I do think it explains why the GOP has suddenly lost their absolute immunity from criticism in the MSM. There's a battle going on, and this is only the tip of it.

[Kablooie]

19. Could be. The GOP elite have been criticizing the Romney campaign in public.

I can't see any reason for them to do this unless they plan to either throw the election or expect to nominate a different candidate in the convention.

[Scuba]

20. Two minutes of smackdown, 23 hours and 58 minutes of fellatio.

[musiclawyer]

22. I really think the powers that be don't want to live in a John Galt world

Well maybe some. But many of the mid-level executives/ producers of these news shows have investments and houses and children. And they are educated. They know that Romney/Ryan spells disaster with a bid D for the nation. They don't want their cities and suburbs to turn into Rio, where obscene wealth lives in fear adajacent to poverty and despair. Where their personal safety and possessions are always at risk because the masses have little money or no job, no health care, and despair. Romney Ryan will exponentially expand the footprint of nasty neighborhood right to the property lines of where these middle managers live. That is the Romney/Ryan vision of the world.