Morning podcast with Jay Rosen

Things have been heating up politically and Jay Rosen has been steadily posting interesting stuff to Twitter, so I couldn't think of anyone I wanted to share my thoughts with more this morning so here goes.

First, I read Frank Rich's column in the NY Times, everyone should. There's a lot of meaning in the choice Sarah Palin's invisible speech writer made in using Truman as the model for her unusual path to the Republican nomination for VP. It would be chilling for John McCain if he read it the way Rich did; we know how Truman's path to the Presidency was completed. (That they put this out there so openly is pretty amazing.)

Also be sure to read this Politico piece which explains why the Republicans feel justified in shutting out the press, and openly lying. Can't say I support it but I understand it. Their reasons are the same ones I have for rarely doing interviews with reporters, they're always looking for a gotcha and have no interest in reporting what's actually going on. Why bother? What's in it for me? That's the calculus the Republicans offer and it's compelling.

That led me to the idea that perhaps it's not Obama that the Repubs are really running against, perhaps it's the press. What clued me into that was the way Carly Fiorina conflated three NY Times columnists as "The Democrats" on This Week earlier today. Huh? They may be Democrats, but they are not The Democrats. If the Repubs are running against the press, then why do the press care what the Repubs think (the mistake Obama makes too). And how does Obama get back in the game if the conversation is to between the Repubs and the press (and the press like Obama are always three steps behind, confused as hell and not going to take it anymore).

Which finally led me to the conclusion for the Obamas and I really hope they get the message, you need to grow your own press, quickly. Use the Internet. It's all you've got. Don't count on the press caring, they're busy fighting a war with the Republicans.

This really is the battle for Democracy with a capital D. If the Republicans win this election, kiss what's left of what we think of as the United States goodbye. Imho.

Here's the podcast.

http://mp3.morningcoffeenotes.com/cn08sep14.mp3

Dave

Comments

[DickTater]

dear dave

thanks for the post.
Quite agree the internet is about all we have
except real-life and shoe-leather

But:
the press is corporate owned

the republicans are corporate owned

they are not at war with each other. The press is LETTING mcPOW cry foul on the press. They're taking one for the team, so to speak.

If the press were at war with mcPOW they would be broadcasting his infidelities and lies and flip flops constantly. THey would NOT be airing his grievances and all the bad mentions of the press. The republicans are careful to always mention the TImes and maybe WAPO like they are the enemy, but their inference is ALL THE PRESS cannot be believed..­..
what a wonderful world they get to live in.

The press lies for the repubs constantly, but the repubs get to claim the press is liberal whenever they like. And that no-one should believe the press, here right before the election.
If the press truly were liberal, mcPOW would be suppressed. Heads would be rolling, conservatives would be getting frozen out, rightleaning producers and hosts would be fired.

Face it, we are up against the greatest Mass BrainWashing Machine ever devised, and the other team owns it runs it uses it to crush our bones.

[Dave Winer - Huffpost Blogger]

I meant to say the Republicans are at war with the press, not the other way around. The press is totally confused, befuddled, they're always three plays behind.

[DickTater]

THanks again Dave. I sure wasn't laying all of my rant at your feet.

I wish we could all just wrap our brain around the fact that the Media is Corporate Owned. It is not Mainstream Media and it is not National Media. It is corporate. They control our Information Delivery System and just about everything else....th­ings like public opinion, huge money, and voting and civic habits. They repeatedly have combined to turn our best and brightest dems into pantswetting, kneeknocking, babykilling, appeasers in the public's mind. We all need to admit this, and own it, and let it soak in that even the best of us were duped for a long time. They are not Neutral Actors.

The Republicans are purely Corporate.

Anytime the press or media or repubs are crying foul about EACH OTHER, something is up.