i can't watch Rachel any more.

[barbtries]

i can barely stand to listen to NPR.
why should i be surprised that CBS puts out a poll saying that romney would beat Obama? there is NOTHING on the airwaves that i can tell that isn't 24/7 REPUBLICANS.

and it's not the kind of news the people need: their obstructionism, their elitism, their total indifference to the problems of the people of this country. it's "news" like so and so did a town hall here, and that guy gave an interview there, and the election, election, election.

they don't deserve that validity. it's like a self fulfilling prophecy. and i'm just sick to death of it.

corporate media SUCKS.

[Syrinx]

1. Rachel sold out

Maybe she'll do a year at 8 million, and then come back to the good side.

[Cooley Hurd]

2. One poll (that she didn't even commission) and you're going to throw Rachel under the bus?

whatever...

[barbtries]

3. no, no, no

she didn't do the poll. as far as i know she didn't even report on it.
it's her coverage, it's all republicans. i usually watch it in the morning while i'm getting ready for work, and i can't do it anymore.
i'm not throwing her under the bus. i'm saying i can't watch her show anymore.

[Ship of Fools]

6. Thank you.

And does anyone else think that Dylan Ratigan is having a
drug-induced nervous breakdown on air? Quick! Somebody...
get him some therapy!

[unionworks]

12. Maybe

... but he wrote a lot of great protest songs.....:-P

[WolverineDG]

22. Did it ever occur to you

that the only primary garnering any news is the Republican primary? And that Rachel's show is a news program?

[barbtries]

25. no.

of course not, i don't think. i just don't think therefore things never occur to me.

rachel is a pundit. i would love it if she spent some time for instance discussing what the world would be like if one of the assholes running for the republican nomination were to gain the white house whether by a free and honest election or (more likely) by thievery. but instead it's just the same old same old. the personalities. fuck the personalities.

anyhow. don't matter. i get to skip her show just like i've been skipping all tv news for over a decade now. i guess i'm just bummed because i want her to be better than all that.

[joeglow3]

76. You realize that will happen during the general?

Again, news tends to cover what is happening today. Apparently, you want the same topic covered forever. Sorry, that is not news.

[barbtries]

79. i want just the opposite of the same topic covered forever.

the news.
whatever.

[joeglow3]

83. Same thing happened on 2004

But it was flipped. It is the nature of politics when one party is running in a primary unopposed and the other party is a wide open free-for-all.

[barbtries]

85. yeah i know.

didn't watch then either. i'm very thankful for DU.

[jwirr]

86. You do what you want. She is not going to miss you. Most of us will be watching her. She is one

intelligent woman and she does delve into many issues in depth. What is happening in the world today is the rethug primaries and she shows them because they are busy showing the world just how stupid they are. She is doing us a service by highlighting that fact.

[barbtries]

87. thanks,

i will. i'll miss her.

[jwirr]

88. Come back after the primaries are over - or when something big is happening. She will be on it.

[barbtries]

90. i will.

she's my companion when i'm getting ready for work in the morning. i am just SO SICK of the constant coverage of the republican assholes!

[jwirr]

92. I am ignoring much of it also.

[frazzled]

46. Correction: it's not a news program

It's a politics program. I think it's really a huge problem if people have come to believe that political chitter chatter (whether it's good, like Rachel's, or bad, like some others) constitutes the "news."

There is plenty of news that never gets remotely talked about on these shows. If you want to watch a fairly comprehensive news program on television, I'd say go to PBS NewsHour, where at least there is an attempt to cover domestic and foreign stories of the day (things from Asia, Africa, Europe), as well as science, cultural, and business reporting.

I used to be a politics program junkie, watched them all. About two and a half years ago I stopped watching them altogether. The only time I'll tune in is if something is happening live and I want to see real-time coverage.

[Mimosa]

73. ^ ITA with you, Frazzled ^

I quit watching the chatter shows over a year ago. I agree with you that PBS NewsHour is pretty good.

[MedicalAdmin]

74. Correction of the correction (but a small one)

There is no news in the USA. Even Newshour only puts on a facade which falls way short, although they are probably as close as has been seen in the USA in a looooooong time.

There is news, there is opinion and there is propaganda. We live in the 3rd camp.

[barbtries]

81. i'm still hoping DU

comes up with a like button for comments. this is a good one, thank you

[Ter]

51. Too bad there's no Democratic Primary from a high-ranking challenger

That would get some coverage.

[Matariki]

78. It's Republican Primary season ffs

She's reporting on the primaries but her show is far from "all republicans, all the time". What are you going on about?

[glinda]

96. All the coverage is on Republicans pretty much everywhere doing a disservice

to any other issue be it something moving through the Courts or Dems or other important issues. This is planned by the Repubs having so many many debates also. They are hoping that by having all the focus, it will give them an advantage.

[unionworks]

4. thank you

For expressing so eloquently what many of us are feeling. It is a bald faced transparent effort by the M$M to demoralize democrats and progressives. Remember, money is "free speech" now. Bastards.

[barbtries]

9. they are bastards.

the corporate media appears every bit as owned as most of congress. bad situation.

[markpkessinger]

67. I hardly see how Rachel is "demoralizing Democrats"

I mean, she pretty well skewers the entire GOP field, and often devastatingly so. An example: while other networks and pundits have played up Santorum's religiously conservative social views, and have tried to cast Romney as more moderate, only Rachel has pointed out that there really isn't much distance between Santorum and Romney (at least Romney's positions du jour).

It happens to be Republican primary season. And frankly, I think Democrats HAD BETTER keep themselves informed as to what the GOP candidates are saying and doing. When we get to the general election season, I think you will see a lot more stories from her about what President Obama is doing/saying/proposing as well.

[unionworks]

70. I love Rachel

...but it is getting to the point in the media where I can't turn on radio or t.v. without hearing when Gingrich last took a dump, or whether Santorums last nose pickinng session was productive. And I have noticed a difference in Rachels show since comcast took over - at least to me it seems she has less control over the shows content. I keep waiting to see the old Rachel, who when reporting on santorum points out that he invented k-street, and was voted most corrupt politician in 2006 before the voters booted him out (that was from a citizens watchdog group) SO WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE NOW, or pointing out daily when Grinch is mentioned his hypocrisy of trying to impeach Clinton while he was cheating on his own wife...but we aren't hearing it. Because they've been ordered not to say it. My take. One small compensation - the 1% bought and controls the media and it's message. That's o.k., cause come spring OCCUPY OWNS THE STREETS!

[barbtries]

93. from your mouth

to the hearts and minds of the 99%!!!!!!!!!!

[taterguy]

5. I can't watch her either

I don't get MSNBC on my cable package.

[barbtries]

7. you can watch on your computer.

i don't have TV.

[taterguy]

8. I could

But I won't

[barbtries]

11. me either,

any more. i'm switching to the daily show for my morning news.

[joeglow3]

77. Is this you?

http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/

[barbtries]

80. one time

and it's constant. okay. i didn't click on the link though; i'm a woman so just by that alone i knew it could not be me.

i don't have a TV

[joeglow3]

82. I just love the article

And there ARE people like that here. I think it is funny and hope they see the humor.

[Common Sense Party]

94. I'm kind of like that about cable. I don't have it; don't want it.

I loved this line:


"I'm not an elitist," Green said. "It's just that I'd much rather sculpt or write in my journal or read Proust than sit there passively staring at some phosphorescent screen."

[goforit]

10. I haven't watch in 6 months any MSM...... It's awesome. I have a life.

[Jazzgirl]

13. I haven't either.

And I haven't missed a damn thing. It's been great getting ready for work and not being pissed off the whole time.

[barbtries]

35. life is good.

without corporate media.

[brooklynite]

14. So what exactly is your complaint?

1. That someone did a poll of Presidential matchups?

or

2. That a poll eleven months out generated a result you don't like?

or

3. That the media reported it?

Our FRiends on the right like to live in an isolated cocoon where all the "news" reinforces pre-existing biases. I'll take a broader perspective.

[barbtries]

17. that there is nothing but REPUBLICANS 24/7

as stated in the OP

[brooklynite]

23. I understand there's an election going on in the Republican Party...

...if Ralph Nader can find a Democratic opponent for President Obama, I suspect you'll see more news about it.

[barbtries]

36. i suppose that must be part of it.

maybe a really huge part. good news is no news. obama is essentially running unopposed. but that should not mean that the republicans own the airwaves! that's what i mean about a self fulfilling prophecy.
too many people rely solely on what they see on tv. they aren't getting the news. just sucks, i don't know what to do about it.

[lunatica]

15. It's a Presidential election year. What do you expect?

I find it's always a good year to find something other than politics to be interested in. I don't like the real visceral clashes that happen in Presidential election years. I left DU for long periods during the Obama/Hillary fights. They get really ugly.

[barbtries]

16. they do.

i think it's absurd that we have such a ridiculously long election season. i think it's all driven by money. what matters gets so lost. anyhow. i don't know what i expected. i'll just do what i do, get my news from DU.

[Sky Masterson]

18. Rachel is about the only thing on MSNBC worth watching besides To catch a predator.

.

[barbtries]

37. i still agree with you on that.

which means for me there just ain't nothin' worth watching on msnbc. not these days anyway. sort of like fox and cnn.

[tsuki]

19. I have been watching RT. Do you know that the entire world continues to function

outside of Iowa and New Hampshire?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

24. Same here,

I've heard the rant on DU many of times, that RT is evil Russian Propaganda. But what news channel isn't. All you have to do is ask where is the propaganda is coming from and agenda's become clear. Our MSM is a bullshit echo machine, that has no intention of challenging the status quo. Just keep your mouth shut and keep buying into the myth.

[tsuki]

65. Actually, I enjoy the economic reports with Michael Hudson and Steve Keen. I got introduced

to both by RT. And Thom Hartmann is good also.

[barbtries]

30. i wouldn't know it

if it wasn't for DU, Daily Kos, etc.
after today Iowa and NH will cease to exist. then it's SC. oh my.

[maggiesfarmer]

20. if you're talking about Maddow, I agree

not sure where I first heard the phrase, but it applies very well to her:

"Her personality screams so loud that I can't hear what she's saying"

[barbtries]

27. yes, Maddow.

used to really love her. still believe her heart's in the right place. but she loves this shit and i can't take anymore of it.

[Autumn]

21. The problem is that it's election time. No Democrats are running

just a handful of nutty republicans, so that handful of republicans are going to be on all the shows. It's going to be 24/7 republicans until this shit is over.

[barbtries]

26. i know you're right.

i just cannot stand it.
this has happened before. i suppose it will happen again. i had been enjoying watching rachel in the mornings while preparing for work.

i still have the daily show.

[rurallib]

28. I am with you on NPR

what once was on nearly 10 hours a day in my house now gets about 10 minutes in the morning as I clean up for the day.
Even then it is hard to listen to.

Me? I listen to lefty radio over the internet mostly - Steph, Thom etc.

[barbtries]

39. i only listen in my car

and i'm in NC, don't even know the stations. however i would be willing to bet that i could find Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck before any leftist commentating.
i really don't like talk shows anyway. i want to hear the news. there's a lot that i love about NPR. their in depth stories that you'll never know about otherwise. story time, car talk, etc. but they've just gone off the rails along with the entire world of corporate media over the election season.

[KharmaTrain]

29. National Presidential Polls = Mental Masturbation

We don't have a national election, we have 50 separate ones. These popularity/beauty pageant numbers are strictly for the talking heads to bump their gums and about and that's what Rachel is doing.

For the past two months the rushpublican clown car demolition derby has gotten non-stop coverage by the corporate media while there's precious little going on with the Democrats...and I think that is by design. The more people see these losers the higher the President's approval ratings go and the better he looks for next year.

Personally I loved it when Mitten's "I like to fire people" gaffe was shown over and over...until now he's been able to avoid getting dirty. That's starting to change.

"News" is what you make it to be...the cables are political...weathervanes. Rachel is a part of that weathervane...

[barbtries]

34. i'm glad for that too, BUT

i'll give an example. NPR ran that story this morning. but they were oh so careful to "put it in context" - after all he was just talking about firing a health insurance company that wasn't doing right by you.

they could have gone SO much deeper in a couple of ways. romney's history of shitcanning jobs as he lined his own pockets. that by the time you know your insurance company is screwing you, you're already in bed with them. that ALL of the insurance companies are screwing pretty much ALL of the people ALL of the time.

i'm frustrated because what NPR did is what passes for news these days. i understand it's nothing new; hell i stopped watching cable news over 10 years ago. rachel was a breath of fresh air. i guess i'm just sad that it's over.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

31. I know Obama has no opposition...but why can't the dems create some

buzz of some sort for the Dem primaries? When Obama spoke privately to Iowan supporters - for the life
of me - I don't understand why they didn't do something public

[barbtries]

32. i'm with you.

he has the bully pulpit he needs to use it. heaven knows the corporate media is in no hurry to spread the truth about what another republican administration would mean to the country.

[stevenleser]

62. I go back and forth on that. Right now I'm happy for the jokes running for the GOP nomination

to have the floor all to themselves so they can demonstrate why they don't belong anywhere near 1600 Pennsylvania avenue.

I think if Obama was more visible, he dilutes that message and they would more focus on attacking him than each other.

[TreasonousBastard]

33. Well, the same could be said for DU-- around here there's a lot more talk about...

the Republican primary race than anything else.

Why would that be on an allegedly Democratic site?

[barbtries]

41. at least here

i read what i think i have a need to know, and it's usually balanced with big healthy doses of the truth about the candidates and the republicans in general.
and we do need to know in order to spread the word and if we plan to work for obama's re-election and so on.
yeah. on DU the republicans are usually given the respect they deserve, which is NONE. on corporate media, they're made out to be statesmen and leaders. people who promote the democratic process and all that.

[TreasonousBastard]

43. Well, I get most of my nooz from the NY Times and NPR, with a dash from PBS and a few magazines...

and I get the feeling that they're all chewing their tongues into bloody pulp because they can't tell us what they really think about the clown car.

(Well, once in a while Diane Riehm lets out a squeal when something outrageous comes up.)

[barbtries]

44. love Diane Reihm.

during her interview with pat buchanan she did not manage to keep the disgust out of her voice. i got the impression that a friendship may have fallen by the wayside that day.
he was...disgusting.

[unionworks]

71. no offense

... but you are quite beautiful.

[barbtries]

72. aww

thanks!

[Javaman]

38. Meh. nt

[tularetom]

40. Rachel is a self described "political junkie"

I've heard her say enthusiastically and often how much she loves covering political campaigns.

But you'd have to be pretty dense to not see the sarcasm with which she is covering the current republican primary campaign. Her entire show is one hour of subtly sticking the knife into one or the other of these cretins.

If you don't like hearing her more than tongue in cheek analysis of the campaign don't watch. Of course that is your right. But she didn't do a bait and switch on you, covering political campaigns is a BFD to her.

[barbtries]

42. agreed.

i'm just a little sad about it. but this morning for instance, i lasted all of 10 seconds. then i wrote this post. oh well.

i will admit to loving her coverage of the herman cain campaign.

[markpkessinger]

63. I agree totally. n/t

[themaguffin]

45. None of this will matter once they (GOP) have their stooge. Polls now mean NOTHING. NOTHING.

[barbtries]

47. you have to be right.

give it a couple months with congress hanging around doing nothing and fighting the president at every turn.

[ellenfl]

48. i don't like 'cutesie' rachel.

i'm down to watching ko, lo and an occasional cenk but my main source is tds. i also love alex wagner's show and chris hayes' show. i like their panel format which is heavily left but consistently includes opposition party voices . . . unlike the sunday shows which are always heavily right-weighted. donna brazile must be getting tired of being the only lefty on the sunday shows.

my so is kinda fed up with my 'all politics all the time'. i'm cutting back.

otoh, there is a lot of info that would never get out without all of these shows.

ellen fl

[provis99]

61. ugh. You like the sycophantic Alex Wagner?

you're going on ignore.

[ellenfl]

75. that's a bit extreme, dontcha think? eom

[WI_DEM]

50. well, unfortunately, the political news is the Republicans at this time.

It was the same thing in 2004 when Bush ran for re-election. It was the Dems getting the news. So get used to it.

[barbtries]

54. yeah, i know.

i have DU. yay for DU!

[AtomicKitten]

52. I am big fan of Rachel Maddow.

So there.

[barbtries]

55. you're allowed to be.

so there.
so am i, usually.

[Marrah_G]

53. I like Rachel

[barbtries]

56. me too

i don't think i ever said i didn't. i just can't stand this 24/7 coverage that presents the republicans as if they could possibly give a rat's ass about the vast majority of the citizens of this country.
obviously it's not limited to Rachel. i never watch anyone else which is why she got top spot in the OP.

[jpak]

57. Rachel is now Lackey Running Dog and Public Enemy #!

[Shankapotomus]

58. I don't think it's validity

it's exposure. and pretty negative exposure at that.

[barbtries]

59. maybe with Rachel that's true.

but on NPR it's validity. which to my mind is FALSE.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

60. I hear you

Sometimes it can be very depressing to be exposed to corporate media 24-7-365 where even the "progressive" broadcasting is minimal or "corporatized". Here in Indianapolis, the only non-wingnutty programs we have to listen to AFAIK are Michael Smerconish Show (he's a Republican turned Obama voter/Independent who's usually pretty enjoyable to listen to) during the noon hour and the Alan Colmes show at 10 pm. There's also NPR, which is better than, say, Neal Boortz or Rush Limbaugh's sewer shows but it strains credibility with its corporate media "both sides" and "false equivalency" reporting. The best source for some real meaty left-wing anti-Republican antidotes for me has been podcasts like Jack Clark's "Blast The Right", "GOP Exposed", and Jeff Lyles' "Conceptual Guerilla" website and podcasts. Lyles used to do a daily "Limbaugh Lie of the Day" and he recently put together what looks to be a good documentary on the "Tea Party Cult" due out this summer.

[barbtries]

66. thanks for the heads up

i'll check those guys out.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

68. I think most of them are on hiatus at the moment

The guy who does "Blast The Right" has not been doing any podcasts for awhile due to medical issues but he has several years worth of podcasts on a variety of topics, including an early one he did where he laid out the case that Republicans like Limbaugh are essentially sociopaths. The guy who does "GOP Exposed" is still doing them but does them somewhat infrequently. He goes on some great rants. Lyles hasn't done much new podcasting because of his work on his documentary but if you go to his website he has all of his stuff archived and is free to listen. All of them are downloadable via iTunes. All of them help me deal with the BS coming from the corporate media and "Blast The Right" helped a LOT with getting through Bush's (P)residency.

Enjoy!

[ddeclue]

64. Rachel Maddow? I'm very confused here...

what did she do?

[AlinPA]

69. I can't either since the acting coaches got hold of her and made her act sillier than she used to be

They have her acting "cute", and smiling more than is normal for her. I like her views and material, but she is really hard to watch now.

[marlakay]

84. Saying Obama would win gives no campaign and stuff to talk about

They always have to have controversy and saying its equal pisses off Obama people and gives hope to republicans.

[Hawkowl]

89. Don't watch ANY of the corporate, cable, info-taintment

I stopped watching the "news" after bush got elected. It is all mindless propaganda.

[barbtries]

91. i had actually stopped after

the first gulf war. but i like rachel.

[Hawkowl]

95. I like Rachel too

I used to listen to her on the radio. But as you pointed out, she is just nonstop reporting on Republicans in this fake contest we call an election. No point in watching.