Bill Moyers On WaPo Lobbyist Salons: 'A Glimpse Into How Things Really Work In Washington'

In a lengthy piece at TRUTHOUT, Bill Moyers and Michael Winship have weighed in on the Washington Post lobbyist salons. As you might expect, they give good scathe:

"Spirited? Yes. Confrontational? No." The invitation promises this private, intimate and off-the-record dinner is an extension "of The Washington Post brand of journalistic inquiry into the issues, a unique opportunity for stakeholders to hear and be heard."

Let that sink in. In this case, the "stakeholders" in health care reform do not include the rabble - the folks across the country who actually need quality health care but can't afford it. If any of them showed up at the kitchen door on the night of this little soiree, the bouncer would drop kick them beyond the Beltway.

No, before you can cross the threshold to reach "the select few who will actually get it done," you must first cross the palm of some outstretched hand. The Washington Post dinner was canceled after a copy of the invite was leaked to the web site Politico.com, by a health care lobbyist, of all people. The paper said it was a misunderstanding - the document was a draft that had been mailed out prematurely by its marketing department. There's noblesse oblige for you - blame it on the hired help.

In any case, it was enough to give us a glimpse into how things really work in Washington - a clear insight into why there is such a great disconnect between democracy and government today, between Washington and the rest of the country.

There's more, here. Additionally, you can watch Bill Moyers' video journal on the matter, in which he calls the paper's plan "an unholy alliance":

[WATCH]

FOR MORE ON THE WORLD OF LOBBYISTS, CHECK OUT OUR LOBBYBLOG.

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Comments

[WIKANDER]

AGAIN, FOLLOW THE MONEY AND YOU'LL FIND THE POWER. AND THAT IS WHAT CONTROLS CONGRESS....

[unite4change]

The Washington Post has shown us:

Our corporate media and our politicians are in concert to keep us ignorance

Our corporate media does not report news, they create it

Both parties are guilty of accepting money from lobbyists

Anyone with money can have laws written in the favor by our politicians

They will continue to pit republicans, democrats, and independents against each other using divide and conquer tactics to keep us distracted

America doesn't want to accept, it's not about whites, black, Asians, Latinos, Native Americans, etc, it's always about Money

And, if you do your homework, you will find wealthy whites, black, Asians, Latinos, Native Americans in America get along just fine.

But if you have a closed mind and you are a bigot you never see what really matters because you only see things from your point of view and that's exactly how the wealthy and powerful want to keep it. Whether you believe this or not, we are all playing their game of monopoly.

Finally, there are two classes of people, rich and poor. There is no such thing as a middle class because rich people work because they want to, and poor people work because they have to. If you cannot maintain your lifestyle without a job, you are poor. I'm willing to bet, all Americans who believe they were middle class prior to our country's financial crisis now know they were poor after all.

[unite4change]

Excellent video.

[demomntgirl]

We have a FREE PRESS! ????????


Watergate...would never be written about today.
IF a "journalist" today investigated, and wrote the story...
it would be killed...
b/c the media outlet they work for...
b/c just paid for access to get near the crooked politicians!
And they wouldn't want to waste their journalistic lobbying money!

GW might have been right when he said.."The constituion is just a GD piece of paper!"

No newspaper would send out invites UNLESS they had the access to sell!
soooo...this is the change I should still believe in?

[mjtaylor22]

that was great bill, thanks so much for real journalism, to tell the people what is really going on instead of just spinning for a personal agenda..

[yliza]

The WaPo showed us who they are when they published Palin's op ed yesterday. So eager to give a megaphone to an uneducated opportunist in a lame attempt to sell papers. They might try going back to real news, but that would be too expensive :-p

Bill Moyers, you are the man.

[Madhyamika]

Bill Moyer's show on PBS (Western New York schedule) is the only must-see show on Sunday, followed by CNN's GPS as a worthy runner-up. All the rest are froth and shouting matches.

With Moyer's blunt and honest critique of the true power in the American Style democracy, i.e. the big money industrial-finance-complex - it is to be expected that daggers and hatchets will fly his way.

That Vietnam accusation just smell Swift Boat all over again. It stinks.

[Durango]

They are smearing him because they know he speaks the truth.

And they fear that more than anything.

Which is why they forced him from PBS.

[dukeitout]

Moyers is performing very noble duty when he exposes the press at it's very worst. Also, I hope you all have viewed the Moyers' DVD of his 4/7/07 program entitled "Buying the War." It should be mandatory viewing for you. The Washington Post was a prominent player in that story too. By the way, did the MSNBC and CNN pundits cover the WaPo Salon issue or did I miss it.? Thanks HuffPo for covering this story. It's a big one.

[jackjava]

Bill Moyers Friday night show on PBS should be mandatory viewing for every memeber of Congress. Moyer's is the last of the great journalists. He has been an advocate for avergae Americans since he worked with LBJ.

Keep up the good work Bill. I like to see you on this site as many young people will get exposed to your work.

[toocoldout]

Moyers can never wash off the stain of his role in the LBJ administration no matter how many PBS specials he does. I've read about the Vietnam war and it was the most horrific thing in American history.

[Durango]

You have "read" about Viet Nam?

Well that certainly qualifies you to judge one of America's greatest journalists.

Has it ever occurred to you that he might have learned from that experience?

[Heady]

You mean the covering up of secret blacksites, justifying breaches of international law via torture, indefinite detaning of prisoners without charges, funneling money to a mercenary corporation, having more contractors and civilian employees in a warzone and blowing a few million on a compound built right in the middle of the country you're invading?

Oh wait that wasn't the Moyers of the world. That was your Fleishers, your McClellans, your Perinos.

Somehow with all the talk of religion and "God" that goes around here in the USA we've forgotten about retribution.

Somehow the man who conveyed the escalation of Vietnam, a time in his life he'd regret (and still talks about regretting), cannot possibly teach us any lessons in modern day.

[Sloane7]

How insurance companies handled the release of Michael Moore's movie "Sicko" as described on Bill Moyers: http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/07/how_sicko_got_b.php

[norkas]

The Republicans go to church that are in office almost all of them that is not to say Dems also go to church or other places to pray.

I ask everyone here to be homest about the followong statement and then understand what blind liars almost all Republicans are and howanti g-d in their undersatnding of religion.

What would Jesus Christ say when it would comes medical health care for everyone which includes the poor and needy.

These are the Republicans of today thay are lying to themselves and the world when it comes to the teching of those they pretend to value. What they undersatnd is almost devil worshiping when it comes to Religion.

There is NO spritual path for these Republicans perhaps not all of them but most of them along with some DEMS are bought and paid for and care nothing of humanity.

Please quit pretendimng that you believe in Jesus teaching because you live the lie of lies.

Other religions have those who they look up to and follow spritualy and all would say the same when it comes helping the poor and the needy when it would come to health care.

[bluehand]

Thank you Mr. Moyers.

[hulagirrrl]

That is why young people in record numbers went to the polls for the last election, because they were promised change. Let us hope that it was not an empty promise, not this time.

[Snerdgronk]

I only hope you're correct about today's Youth ...

A philosopher of science, T.S. Kuhn describes major changes in scientific development (revolutions) as occurring from outside the power structure, NOT from efforts from within. Existing orthodoxy (existing power structure) is too conceptually wed to their view, and so resists the outside influence as too destructive. Progress as such, by definition must come from outside the current paradigm, from outside of prevailing orthodoxy ...!

Snerd

[norkas]

Great post and trueeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[drkazmd65]

Bingo!

[mjtaylor22]

if you want change get up off your butt and call your representative and tell the m to supprot the presidents agenda, he cannot do it all alone, he is not king he is an elected president. WITH TWO OTHER ELECTED BRANCHES OF GOVT TO CONTENT WITH,

[mirza]

Great piece--unfortunately hardly anyone will read it

[Snerdgronk]

Particularly give is largely 'visual' format ... ;-)

Snerd

[toocoldout]

Too bad Moyers didn't show this level of integrity during the Vietnam war when he was actually in a position of power. He's spending the rest of his life trying to makeup for that, but it's way too little, way too late.

[Snerdgronk]

So it is "Who" is saying it, not "What" they are saying, is it ...!?

Snerd

[Durango]

Doesn't appear Toocold knows a thing about LBJ.

Suggest her begin reading Robert Caro's biography.

And get back to us when he is finished. Which, considering Caro hasn't even made it to the 10960 election could be a while.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

True, he was LBJ's press secretary. But how was this a "position of power" which allowed him to do anything other than serve as a press secretary? And what is it that would lead a person other than yourself to conclude that he is now "spending the rest of his life trying to makeup for that"? What kind of supporting facts do you have for that?

[toocoldout]

The press secretary is the one who justifies the administration's policy to the press.

[mjtaylor22]

why are u talking abt vietnam, we are currnelty in two wars and that one is ancient history
it appears that in your mind one can never recover from a mistake or a misdeed even after decades of good service,
so glad My God is a forgiving God and ask that we not persecute others..............
who is your God that says hold on to ill will for all time and to never be forgiving...........

[mjtaylor22]

press secretary is NOT A POSITION OF POWER, NO POLICY INFLUENCE THERE, THEY JUST DO WHAT THEY ARE TOLD
MY GOODNESS

[westcoastsc]

Sounds like Bill has finally woken up and smelled the coffee. I hope this reinvigorates his journalism.

[toocoldout]

He just feels guilty because of his role in the Johnson administration during the Vietnam war.

[Snerdgronk]

So what !?... What is the value of his current input?

Moreover, to argue against his current input, because of his past deeds, is to argue against , learnin' itself, against progress, against development ... isn't it?

Snerd

[AnotherMcIntosh]

ad hominem fallacy

[drkazmd65]

So what? Realization that one has done wrong can result in guilt.

Guilt, and remorse followed by self-reflection, self-realization, and a choice to never make that type of mistake again indicates growth.

So,... you are faulting a man for something he did that was wrong in his (relative) youth, for which he has spent most of the rest of his life attempting to attone and become a better person?

Sad.

[Durango]

Where have you been the past 9 years or so?

Not watching Bill Moyers excellent television journalism i can see.

[drkazmd65]

Exactly. Moyers has been one of the few American Journalists actually doing journalism for most of the Bush years.