Media Matters asks, Who is Jonathan Kaplan?

[whometense]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200608230008

Summary: After a conference call with Sen. John Kerry and Pennsylvania Democratic congressional candidate Patrick Murphy, Hill reporter Jonathan E. Kaplan commented on an argument Kerry had made by saying: "Screw that and screw him."

On August 21, The Democratic Daily weblog noted that after a conference call with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Pennsylvania Democratic congressional candidate Patrick Murphy, a reporter, who, according to The Democratic Daily blog, was later confirmed by his Hill editor to be Jonathan E. Kaplan, commented on an argument Kerry had made by saying: "Screw that and screw him."

During the call with Kerry and Murphy, Kaplan asked Murphy whether Connecticut Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont's primary victory over Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, in a campaign in which Lamont contrasted his support for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq with Lieberman's opposition, "hurts or helps your chances of defeating the GOP incumbent." Kaplan's question echoed the Republican strategy -- explicitly laid out by White House senior adviser Karl Rove earlier this year -- to stress the Republican's purported strength and the Democrats' purported weakness on national security. Kerry objected, noting that it is the responsibility of the media to "not allow them to be able to try to transform failure into an offensive policy to suggest that someone else is weak because they have an alternative that works." Kaplan responded, asking: "Isn't that your job, not ours?" Kerry said: "We're -- we communicate through you. And we need to invite you to be holding them accountable. ... We speak, but if it doesn't get out there, the American people don't hear it."

After Kerry and Murphy left the call, Kaplan attacked Kerry "for blaming the media for how he can't communicate with the American people." When another participant in the conference call noted that "the media does not put the Kerry message out," Kaplan responded: "Screw that and screw him. For him to criticize us? It's his own fault." When then asked to identify himself, Kaplan refused, saying: "Actually, I shouldn't have even said that because I'm gonna get in trouble now." Audio and transcripts of the conference call are available at The Democratic Daily blog...

[whometense]

1. Atrios named him "Wanker of the Day"

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_08_20_atrios_archive.html#115627013615518985

[whometense]

2. HUGE discussion on DailyKos

here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/22/125629/481

[kerrygoddess]

3. I'm glad Media Matters picked up on this

Here's the link to the original on the Dem Daily - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=3932

[Canuckistanian]

4. This right here

If anyone asks what's wrong with America today, this should be a HUGE clue as to why.

The fourth estate has all but abandoned it's intended role in the American experiment.

The first Amendment is dead, no longer operative- while those in power retain a death grip on a once free press.

[blm]

6. That's the bottom line - and we need the Dem strategist class to wake up

and realize that this party doesn't need to move rightward or the platform changed - it just needs to call out the corporate media for their many years of servitude to the GOP agenda.

Expose the GOP control of most media and voting machines, and we'll soon see that more American people have been voting for Democrats over Republicans since 2000.

[Clark2008]

5. Well, maybe Mr. Kaplan would like to hear from us?

Probably not, but I'm going to write him when I'm not just up in the middle of the night, wandering around, eating a piece of cheese:

[e-mail]