Friday Talking Points (157) -- Eight Point Nine

[ChrisWeigant]

This just in... Charlie Sheen and Sarah Palin caught smoking pot in love nest!

Well, no, sorry, that's absolutely false. However, it would make a dandy headline, wouldn't it? In terms of media catnip (or even "click-friendly" online media), the obsession over the shiny, shiny media non-stories sadly continues, at the expense of the actual news (not to mention the field of "journalism"...). So, while that first line was indeed fun to write, there will be nothing at all in this article about Charlie Sheen, Sarah Palin, smoking pot, or love nests. Sorry about that.

Sigh.

In other mainstream media idiocy news, today was the day all the networks had slated as "Government Shutdown Day" (you just know they had snazzy graphics and a theme song waiting in the wings, don't you?). Sadly for them, it did not come to pass.

The media, of course, loves conflict. They bear a giant portion of the blame for politics descending to Roman-gladiator levels, and this was to be the prize fight -- Democrats! Republicans! Obama! Granny's Social Security check! But, again, it didn't happen, and you could just see the disappointment dripping from the well-coiffed set on television this week as they reported that the shutdown had been averted. Oh, well, maybe they'll get lucky in two weeks when we go through this all over again.

Sigh.

In other non-news, two Republican presidential hopefuls toyed with the media, but did not actually throw their hat in the ring. Fox News suspended two contributors who may run for president, but inexplicably did not suspend two other prominent Republican possible-candidates who work for them as well. Of course, actually running for president (or even forming an official exploratory committee) involves reporting all your financial information to the Federal Election Commission, which is why Donald Trump is just not going to run. Not in a million, billion years. It's also why Newt Gingrich may not run, either; but this time around Newtie is looking a little more serious than the last two or three times around, so who knows? Gingrich and Trump, currently, are duking it out to win the "Best Fake Candidacy" award, I guess. The only real news here is the story most are ignoring -- Republicans have been strangely quiet on the presidential candidacy front, and unlike four years ago, none of the big-name candidates has actually made any sort of announcement about running. Perhaps it's because Obama's poll numbers have been climbing of late, who knows?

In other election amusements (can't really call it "news"), Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican from Utah, seems to be awfully, awfully worried about being "Tea Partied" in his re-election bid. Utah is a caucus state, meaning it would be awfully easy for the Tea Party Republicans to oust him from the general election ballot. Hatch was pretty far to the right to begin with, but now he's quite obviously discovered that you've got to be angry to placate his base. Which was on full display on PBS' NewsHour the other day (Hatch looked like he had wandered in from a Fox News appearance, and moderator Judy Woodruff was downright astonished by the end of it).

But the really astonishing thing, to me at least, is the way the media has reported the unemployment rate for the past few months. A quick review is in order. In November of last year, the unemployment rate was 9.8 percent -- about where it had been for the past year or so (it was actually on an upswing from 9.5 percent in July). December, unemployment went down to 9.4 percent. January, it hit 9.0 percent. And today, it was announced that unemployment in February went down even further (if not as fast) to 8.9 percent -- the first time it has gone below nine percent in almost two years. Those are the facts. You would think this would be presented as good news.

You would be wrong. Compare these facts to the coverage this news brings (admittedly, I have not watched how mainstream television news has reported the February number before writing this). Even from the progressive side of the media. From a Huffington Post article which ran today:

The last several months of job growth have been achingly slow. Despite numerous indicators of economic recovery -- manufacturing expanding for the nineteenth straight month, gross domestic product on the rise, and growing corporate profits -- the unemployment rate didn't drop below a grim 9 percent.

While technically true ("job growth" is not the same thing as the unemployment rate), but that last sentence could also have been written as: "the unemployment rate fell at the fastest rate in over fifty years -- since 1958, to be exact." Both are true, and yet they tell very different stories -- "a grim nine percent" versus "fell at the fastest rate in over fifty years."

Now, I understand that the economy isn't out of the woods yet, and that there are other indicators which show this to one degree or another, but come on -- this is good news! Politicians -- from both sides -- are obviously wary about overpromising on the economy at this point. Republicans are wary, because they know full well that if the recovery kicks in, their chances of electing a Republican president in 2012 decline. Democrats are wary, for two reasons. The first is, the numbers could always take a turn for the worse, in which case you look like an idiot for offering up rosy predictions that later turned out to be false. Secondly, 8.9 percent unemployment -- taken as a standalone number -- is nothing to be jumping for joy over. Democrats know that if they're seen as too positive, then folks who are still being affected by the recession are going to grumble that the politicians "are out of touch."

To a large extent, this last rationale has been driving the media storyline as well. They don't want to be seen as "out of touch" either, so they've been downplaying the good news for the past two months, just in case there's a turnaround. And to show empathy for those still out of work, as well.

But at some point, the storyline has to turn to reality. This has been the best three months, in terms of changing rates, that the United States economy has had since Eisenhower was president. That is news. That is a story. It's been going on for three months now, consistently. As I said, I have not yet seen any of the television news today, so hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised that the unemployment number won't be reported with the usual doom-and-gloom backdrop later tonight, but I wouldn't bet a lot of money on it at this point.

And finally, a story which really should be getting a lot more attention -- Speaker of the House John Boehner has refused a request to let the last American soldier from World War I to lie "in honor" in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Frank Buckles lied about his age to join the military when only sixteen, and he was the last survivor of the "War To End All Wars." Refusing this honor is just downright inexplicable, and indefensible. This is how Republicans honor our veterans?

Oh, wait, Charlie Sheen just said something outrageous! Sarah Palin tweeted about it! Gotta go....

 



We've got to at least hand out an Honorable Mention this week to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for pointing out that the American media empire not only has no clothes, but is as naked as the "naked therapist" media-catnip story they've been drooling over all week (I refuse to waste time looking up that link, Google it for about 100,000 links to what I'm talking about...).

The Hillary quote is more important anyway. Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Clinton said the following:

Viewership of Al Jazeera is going up in the United States because it's real news. You may not agree with it, but you feel like you're getting real news around the clock instead of a million commercials and, you know, arguments between talking heads and the kind of stuff that we do on our news which, you know, is not particularly informative to us, let alone foreigners.

Boy, howdy, you tell 'em, Hillary! Somebody certainly needed to say something along these lines, that's for sure. Al Jazeera was covering the Cairo uprising with a live camera feed days and days before the American media even noticed anything was happening. Then the American anchors all raced to Egypt, only to retreat (never to return) within one day because violence flared. The anchors bugged out of the country so fast, it was laughable. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera was still reporting the news live from the square.

For speaking truth to power, Hillary Clinton is hereby awarded an Honorable Mention this week.

But the winner of the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week is none other than Congressman Rush Holt, who astoundingly beat the IBM "Watson" computer at the quiz game Jeopardy! -- a feat even Ken Jennings couldn't manage. Before becoming a member of Congress, Holt worked as a nuclear physicist -- not exactly the normal route to Capitol Hill.

There's really not a whole lot more to say -- this victory stands by itself in sheer impressiveness. Holt modestly said of the encounter: "I think he (Watson) had a low-voltage night." But, self-depreciation aside, Representative Holt is our Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week for his victory in the man-versus-machine battle. Well done, Congressman, from a fellow member of the human race!

{Congratulate Representative Rush Holt on his House contact page, to let him know you appreciate his efforts.}

 



President Barack Obama has been noticeable by his absence in the past week, on all sorts of important issues. To be fair, Libya is beyond anyone's control at this point, and blithely calling for a "no-fly zone" was bluntly explained by some military types to Congress this week for exactly what it would be -- an act of war against Libya which we would begin by bombing all their anti-aircraft sites. "All" means "no matter who holds them currently" I would assume. This would begin a low-level war between the United States and Libya, which could be open-ended (remember Iraq before George W. Bush?) and mean we'd be involved in three wars simultaneously.

But Obama is going to have to, at some point, give a "Cairo II" speech, as a followup to his address to the Muslim world at Cairo University in June, 2009. He's going to have to lay out "The Obama Doctrine" (whatever that proves to be) in the region, with respect to popular uprisings, democracy, Islamic governments, dictators we support, monarchies we support, and a whole host of other nuance. His first speech was a welcome resetting of our relationship in the region, but it is high time he revisited the broader subjects of America's interests and support in the whole region.

Likewise, Obama has largely remained aloof from the situation in Wisconsin, after giving some initial words of support. Since Obama made a campaign pledge to "put on some comfortable shoes" and walk the picket lines shoulder-to-shoulder with the Unions, his absence from the debate has been noticeable. But all of this, in our opinion, only merits a (Dis-)Honorable Mention.

Instead, the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week this week was Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia. Manchin, you'll recall, is the guy who got elected shooting the "cap and trade" bill with a hunting rifle, in a television ad. West Virginia is coal country, so it really comes as no surprise that Manchin has now announced he's throwing in with the Republican attempt to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of their ability to... you know... protect the environment. No surprise, really, but that doesn't mean it wasn't disappointing. A handful of House members also joined with the Republicans, but Senator Joe Manchin is the only one from the upper house to do so at this point.

Joe Manchin's action was not surprising, but it did earn him this week's Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award.

{Contact Senator Joe Manchin on his Senate contact page, to let him know what you think of his actions.}

 


Volume 157 (3/4/11)

Frank Luntz, evil wordsmithing genius of the Right, has shared something valuable: he can't count! Heh. No, seriously, I'm impressed that Luntz is giving away advice which normally costs Republicans megabucks to hear. He has listed "The 11 Words For 2011" in a recent column -- which actually contains 29 key words, in 11 phrases, but whatever.

Some of these are too silly to be used, such as "Believe in better." But some of them we'll actually sneak into this week's Friday Talking Points, just to take them for a spin (as it were). Hey, it's worth a shot, right?

 

   Tax the millionaires! Tax the oil companies!

I'm getting awfully tired of the Republican talking point of continuously referencing "the American people" (as in: "the American people are solidly behind what Republicans are trying to do"). Democrats need to fight back against this nonsense, and the best way to do it is with polling numbers. Fortunately, there's a new poll out which Democrats should be happily mining for data right about now, to have close at hand during upcoming interviews.

"Actually, that's not true. The, quote, American people, unquote, that you speak of have a very different set of priorities than Republicans. In a recent poll by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, here is the simple truth of what the American people overwhelmingly supported to bring down our deficits: 'eliminate the Bush tax cuts' -- 68 percent in favor; 'cut oil and gas tax breaks' -- 74 percent; and astonishingly, 'raise the tax rate for millionaires' got a whopping eighty-one percent approval from 'the American people.' Even when you turn it around, and ask what not to cut, you get similar results: 'don't cut Medicare' -- 76 percent approval; 'don't cut K-12 education' and 'don't cut Social Security' -- both get 77 percent approval from the public, when directly asked. So let's be a little more accurate when talking about what 'the American people' want us to do to fight the deficit, shall we?"

 

   Defend to the death your right to say it

This one is an easy one. Any politician -- especially any Democrat -- should be able to do this sort of thing in their sleep, when asked about the recent Supreme Court decision allowing Fred Phelps' "church" to protest military funerals in order to spread their hatred.

"As for the recent Supreme Court's First Amendment ruling, while I obviously condemn in the strongest possible terms what these people are saying -- and especially the venues they choose to say such odious things -- I must also remember that the First Amendment protects even indefensible opinions, therefore I will defend their right to speak... 'to the death,' as the saying goes."

 

   Eight Point Nine is actually good news

If the media's not going to point it out, maybe eventually a Democrat will make the attempt.

"While eight point nine is obviously too high, and while we are fighting to restore America's economy and create as many private sector jobs as possible, it cannot be denied that the signs are pointing in the right direction. Eight point nine is much better than nine point eight, for instance -- where the unemployment rate was three short months ago. It's better than being over ten percent, where it was at the peak of the Great Recession. In actual fact, December and January combined were the biggest drop in the unemployment rate in over fifty years for a two-month period. Economists expected it to go back up in February, but it went down again. If you remember only one thing about the unemployment rate, remember that we haven't seen it improve at this rate since 1958, when Eisenhower was president."

 

   Where are the Republican contenders?

I'm feeling a bit snarky, so I'm just going to rip into Republicans for the rest of the program. You have been warned.

"You know, I remember four years ago at this point both the Republicans and the Democrats had a full slate of candidates for the upcoming race for the White House. Every Democrat who ran had already announced by this point in 2007. All the top Republicans were already publicly in the race, and running hard. But there seems to be a deafening silence in RepublicanLand this time around. Not one of the expected frontrunners in the race have made any sort of announcement yet. A handful of the fringiest-of-the-fringe candidates have announced, but nobody of any real stature. What, exactly are the Republicans afraid of? Why haven't any of them thrown their hat in the ring yet? It's a mystery, that's for sure."

 

   How much should I make the check out for, Mrs. Jindal?

Bobby Jindal's wife appears to be making news, for the innovative way she's allowing special interests to purchase access to her husband.

"I read in the news recently that Republican Governor Bobby Jindal seems to be confirming a stereotype about corruption in Louisiana politics. It seems if you happen to be a giant corporation who needs something from the state, the best way to go about getting what you want is to hand the governor's wife some money for her pet charity. Not exactly uncompromising integrity, don't you think? I guess it's back to politics as usual in Louisiana, eh?"

 

   Boehner disrespects unions

Our last two talking points are from the "you just can't make this stuff up" file. They both involve our illustrious Speaker of the House, John Boehner.

"I was astonished at the imagery Speaker John Boehner was using the other day about America's Unions. I think it was completely uncalled for and despicable. Here... you decide. Boehner said of the Unions, quote, We've given them a machine gun and put it right at the heads of the local officials and they really have their hands tied, unquote. There are simply no excuses for this type of language. It is abhorrent, and I denounce Boehner in the strongest possible language, as should any decent American. No excuses for saying such abhorrent things, Mister Speaker, simply no excuses. These are cops you're talking about, and firefighters. Try to maintain a little respect next time."

 

   Boehner disrespects veterans

This is just astonishing. It really is indefensible. If Congress can't agree on such things, there may be no hope left at all for Washington.

"I am outraged -- outraged -- at Speaker John Boehner. He refused a request which should have been not only uncontroversial but also should have been immediately granted. The last American soldier who served in World War I just died. As a mark of our nation's enduring respect, Democrats proposed honoring him by allowing his body to lie under the dome of the United States Capitol. Because he was in this military and not a head of state, this is known as 'lying in honor,' and there is simple no reason why this request was blocked by Speaker Boehner. This is despicable, and indefensible. Any American who honors this country's veterans should be outraged by this slap in the face by Speaker Boehner, as am I. Just imagine what Republicans would be saying now, if it had been Nancy Pelosi who had refused such an honor to such a notable soldier's passing. I call on all Republicans -- and all Americans -- to contact the Speaker and let him know what you think of this incomprehensible action. You deserve better from your leaders in Congress."

 

Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Full archives of FTP columns: FridayTalkingPoints.com
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1. I'm very impressed with Hillary's criticism of US media "news"

I think she deserves to have won the MIDOTW award for that :)

If she would have added that the main function of US corporate news is to install corporate political views into the minds of the American public, I think she would have deserved serious consideration for Most Impressive Democrat of the Year for that.