General Politics Megathread

[Qaz]

yeah that would be bad for the world. We would need a strong Aussie to rise up against them and unite the kingdoms.

[Izak MD]

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...commodate-more

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/b...ess-corps.html

holy shit

that's kind of brilliant.

instead of denying press access, trump wants to create MORE access, allowing him more control during press briefings, allowing him to play journalists off of one another. that's some machiavellian 4th dimensional chess shit. i highly doubt trump came up with it, it's gotta be a bannon or miller idea

[Phil Williamson]

pretty powerful combo along with his new precedent of only taking questions from friendly publications. just pack the room with administration-friendly shills and take questions exclusively from them! soon we will look back at the outrage over Jeff Gannon and chuckle at what a simpler time it was

[Izak MD]

none of this matters though, that's what you don't get.

the left is deeply worried about the tarnishing of this hallowed ideal of freedom of the press. but nothing is being done to curtail press freedoms in terms of first amendment law. nothing in the slightest. if trump doesn't feel like talking to some reporter, then his refusal is a matter of public record.

it's about delegitimizing the authority of the press -- and, moreover, doing so with the tacit agreement of the public, who are reporting record levels of mistrust when polled.

what upsets you and others isn't that trump turned down a question from some CNN blowhard. it's that no one really gives a shit except for the blowhards who work for the press and the dupes who trust them.

simply put, the alarm generated by the press about trump's disrespect for the press is a top-down controversy that is mostly falling on deaf ears. and the attempt to manufacture outrage makes sense. the press's pretense to special authority (and thus money) largely comes from exclusive access. if trump allows others to have access, their money goes away. they're simply acting in their own self-interest, which is understandable. just don't expect anyone to particularly care.

[Damage Jackal]

yeah pretty badass how trump is systematically knocking down one of the checks against the power of the executive. who needs the press when you've got memes

[Izak MD]

where did you get the idea that the US political system was designed for the press to be part of its checks and balances system? i'm sure you've listened to the Hamilton play on mp3 a thousand times but have you even read the federalist? the concept of the press as a check on the executive branch only refers to its freedom to do so, which is also shared by special interest groups and lobbyists. should we all start freaking out when politicians start refusing to answer to them as well? i'm trying to gauge how principle you actually are vs. how committed you are to regurgitating media talking points like an obedient lemming

[Damage Jackal]

oh i know it's not codified but the press has acted as the fourth estate pretty much forever, it's a pretty common theme of like any democracy. in fact you could probably make an argument that a democracy needs a free and independent press. i'd also defend the right of lobby groups to exist as well.

[Izak MD]

fair enough

i still find it kind of weird that people are acting like these major media companies owned by multinational conglomerates are these plucky underdog heroes or whatever, and that the handful of them is necessary. it just kinda seems like the paradigm was bound to shift one way or the other

[Izak MD]

a much-needed dose of serious, steely-eyed realism: https://storify.com/sphenoid/days-of...oes-it-portend

[Dungeon Snake]

cant fuckin wait for the inauguration, i've never been in a riot before but im real excitd

[Rabid Dinosaur]

do you live in Virginia these days, DS? will you be going to DC?

[Dungeon Snake]

yes and yes. those fascists are gonna spit teeth once the old dungeon snake slithers into town

[Happyjuice]

Don't most Presidents (or their press secretary/whoever) pick/choose the reporters they take questions from during press conferences?? I could be totally incorrect here but I feel like there's lots of times a president just won't address/acknowledge a reporter if they don't want to answer a question from a certain news outlet. This was just different since he fielded a question from that reporter, and answered it by saying he's not gonna answer it.

[Slime]

he didn't even field the question. he said how the misreporting was a disgrace, and the CNN guy just starts acting like because CNN was attacked he gets to talk. the full clip starts around 53m https://youtu.be/SUyAk0bYps0?t=53m5s

[Izak MD]

yes exactly. he was being an entitled little brat. the notion that acosta is some beleaguered victim here is just absurd. trump is giving CNN their precious ratings just by being an asshole. these journalists should be on their knees kissing trump's feet for keeping them in business

[Qaz]

but if they were kissing Trump's feet than Trump wouldn't be an asshole to them, then they wouldn't get the ratings. Acosta knew what he was doing, that was the biggest ratings grab of the press conference!

[Izak MD]

it's true. and trump wouldn't look like a radical rebel. just imagine a reporter from MSNBC raising his hand and being like "oh great god emperor of the 1000 year trumpenreich -- please honor me with permission to beg of you a humble query"

it would probably freak everyone out tbh

[Izak MD]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...=.2484e564a2d4

cool.

more skin in the game, less insulated fuckboy clubs with undeserved endowments

cue "but think tanks are an essential part of democracy and a check on the executive branch of government!!!!!"

says who?

"ummm i think some think tank operative said so once in an op-ed for vox"

[Izak MD]

http://feature.variety.com/the-inauguration-issue/

watch out, drumpf! the loser convention is on the warpath!

[Qaz]

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...d-barack-obama

Thanks Obama!

[Damage Jackal]

Originally Posted by Izak MD

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...=.2484e564a2d4

cool.

more skin in the game, less insulated fuckboy clubs with undeserved endowments

cue "but think tanks are an essential part of democracy and a check on the executive branch of government!!!!!"

says who?

"ummm i think some think tank operative said so once in an op-ed for vox"

nah fuck think tanks. never come across one that wasn't just an excuse for wide-scale cronyism

[Tuna Hematoma]

[Old Rivers]

i doubt that #3 is accurate.

[Tuna Hematoma]

Yeah, I bet Hannah Van Buren lost hope in the country. That bitch.

[Phil Williamson]

Originally Posted by Izak MD

cue "but think tanks are an essential part of democracy and a check on the executive branch of government!!!!!"

says who?

"ummm i think some think tank operative said so once in an op-ed for vox"

you really think that anyone, even us liberal cucks, cares about think tanks as an institution in the same way as the media?