Ocasio-Cortez bans press from town hall

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Queens Chronicle

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Monday that stops on her “listening tour” throughout the district, like the one held a day earlier in Corona, are “intended for lively, compassionate discourse with a diversity of viewpoints.”

According to the Democratic nominee in the 14th Congressional District, she and the dozens of area residents who attended the event “talked about race, immigration, healthcare, disability rights and housing.”

But unless you were in the room on Sunday, you won’t know what specific community problems were mentioned or how Ocasio-Cortez planned to address them once she is sworn in.

That’s because her campaign banned members of the media from attending the event, which was otherwise open to the public.

Read more: http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/ocasio-cortez-bans-press-from-town-hall/article_e59fba26-ddd9-559a-af62-e11dd76e1191.html

[mr_liberal]

1. Sounds like something Trump would do. nt

[Honeycombe8]

51. That's the first thing that crossed my mind. She is, therefore, crossed off my list.

And anyone who joins with her.

The press is NOT the enemy. The press IS the American public. I reject, totally, the banning of the press from any and all public events.

This says a lot about her "movement."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. That's not good. Why would she do that?

[Fred Sanders]

9. So she could LISTEN and folk could speak without the potential intimidation of the media

reporting every thought said or discussed...it is a good thing once in a while...the Pavolian outrage is sad.

Why this is progressive woman seemingly attacked from the right and the left?

The fusillades from the left are just plain crazy and ill-informed. The propganda machine of Fox is gearing up to make her a symbolic target of "socialism" - boo! - and she could use all the help she can get fighting that off...as will we.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Seems to me she should be able to listen without banning the press.

[Fred Sanders]

14. My point is the audience can speak freely, nothing more, so the listening can be better.

For a candidate for office, not holding current office.

[TeamPooka]

25. It's a public forum. Blocking the press from attending is what Republicans do, not Democrats

I hope she learns that in the future.

[Fred Sanders]

31. It is not public if make it private...for a candidate not holding office done all the time.

Even some listening meetings for candidates are held in homes...press banned...all the time.

Are folk forgetting she holds no public office??

[TeamPooka]

36. are you forgetting she's running for public office?

[PatSeg]

38. I understand the point

but it is probably pretty poor timing. Republicans do this sort of thing all the time. Democrats are suppose to be the more open and transparent party.

[obamanut2012]

47. You do know this is exactly Trump's "rationale" for banning press

From his rallies, right? And, this is a TOWN HALL.

[Fred Sanders]

62. No, that is not even remotely Shitler's rational, that rationale is from Goebells. Am I right?

[Honeycombe8]

58. That's Trump's argument sometimes, too. There is always an argument to be made against the press.

That doesn't mean it's a good reason. There is NO good reason to ban the press from a public event.

[H2O Man]

22. Thank you.

[Fred Sanders]

26. Loved your post on the whole revoking of security clearances distraction the media is chasing after.

Just mean spirited tantrum...his base is growing increasingly ravenous for red meat as the walls close in.

[Honeycombe8]

52. The press is NOT the enemy. The press IS part of the American public. They should NEVER be banned...

from any public event. No exceptions.

Some truths are self-evident. Children cannot be incarcerated in cages and separated from their parents. Ever. There is no good reason for it. And the press can never be banned from a public event. Ever. There is no good reason for it.

[LanternWaste]

3. Personal recording devices however, were not denied the attendees. nt

[RandySF]

4. Not surprising based on her most ardent district supporters' tweets

[Progressive2020]

5. Sounds Like A Bad Idea

I like Ocasio-Cortez, but this seems like a bad move. She is running for Public Office. The Press needs to be present wherever she goes. Part of the job is talking to the larger Public through the Press. I hope that this matter gets resolved properly. I want to see her in the U.S. Congress. The Press should not be banned.

[lagomorph777]

6. +1

[Snellius]

21. -1

[PatSeg]

41. I agree

Could be a rookie mistake or perhaps poor political consultation.

[pazzyanne]

68. Absolutely agree 100%.

[Steerpike]

7. I think this is fine

A very local political position. The agenda should be set by the residents, not the dog and pony show the press is likely to put forward. If her goal is to be a national figure in good standing with the nation, then yes this is a bad move. If she wants to truly find out the issues that are important to her constituents then I believe this is the way to go.
Going into the future she can have a meet and greet withe the press.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. The press should never be banned from a politician's meetings with the public.

[Fred Sanders]

12. She holds no political office. Listening to potential voters once without the media bad, because...?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. She's running for office which makes her a politician.

[DonViejo]

27. Running for office with the nomination and endorsement of the Democratic Party.

[Honeycombe8]

54. The press should never be banned from any public event. Ever.

They are part of the public. And report to the public, by the public, for the public.

[JustAnotherGen]

13. A private fund raiser - yes

A meeting / town hall? No.


Her PEOPLE are wrong to do this. I have the biggest mealy mouthed wimp in Congress - and even HE allowed the press into our very loud, abrasive, and demanding town halls.

[obamanut2012]

48. exactly

[heaven05]

49. this+++

not fooling anyone with common sense and the good of the Democratic Party as a priority. What is she hiding? It is election season, she is a candidate and the 'free press' is an American tradition and reality denied only by trump. Hell her right....yeah

[Rebl2]

10. Don't

like to hear this and don’t understand her reasoning for banning media.

[harun]

16. More room for constituents.

[jayschool2013]

24. I bet she has quite a few

I bet she has quite a few constituents who are journalists.

I bet she has quite a few constituents who can't go, so who are also reliant on journalists to tell her what happened and what was said.

[Snellius]

17. The liberal press has already set a negative narrative on her.

They've disputed her claim that medicare-for-all would save money as idealistic pie in the sky. They've dismissed her as naive and overly loose with her facts. They've trivialized her as just a photogenic political fad. Don't fool yourself that, because the liberal press hate Trump, they won't misrepresent the opposite side of change. Look what they did to Hillary. The story about the emails, which wasn't a real issue at all, was started by the New York Times. They wanted to prove so badly how open-minded and balanced they were. Seemingly too above the fray, to consider how it would be used. And of course, the right ran with it. "See it's from the New York Times. It has to be true."

She has a right to give her message directly on her own terms, not through anyone else's voice.

[padah513]

23. The liberal press?

[Snellius]

28. Yes, the liberal press.

That's how they think of themselves. Until they confront ideas really liberal or worse progressive and their "objectivity" pushes them back to the right.

[DonViejo]

29. Have some links from this so-called "liberal press" you want to share with us? TIA

[Snellius]

35. Read coverage and opeds in NYT and WaPo on AOC.

[DonViejo]

46. No, I asked you for links to articles that will sustain your position, I didn't ask for an...

all expenses paid trip to Googleland or to the search engines of the Post or NYT.

[Snellius]

57. Not a thesis, but e.g.

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/08/washington-post-medicare-for-all-error

[mr_liberal]

33. NY Times have always been hard on the Clintons because theyre moderates from the south.

I think re the emails though they thought she couldn't lose to Trump so covering it didn't matter.

The liberal media is starting to attack Cortez because they know if Democrats go that far left they'll lose. Theyre trying to help Democrats stay electable.

[Snellius]

53. Is that an excuse? CNN & NYT did as much for Trump's election as FOX News.

The non-stop coverage. News wants a story. Facts are one thing. The story is another. Facts are fractals and can be presented many ways. Facts mean nothing unless there is a story that forms a narrative. And once the story is set, it is very difficult to turn it around. The Clinton story was written in stone early on and seldom varied. And it was bullshit. But the story after a while determines how we see the facts. It's a question of values.

[Honeycombe8]

56. It doesn't matter WHAT the press says. They ARE the public. They report TO the rest of the public...

Of the public, for the public. They are NOT the enemy. We know the sort of person who bans the press from public events, don't we?

[Snellius]

63. Not the enemy but also not necessarily a friend.

[Honeycombe8]

70. Doesn't matter. How disappointing to see the same behavior happening in the Dem Party.

That some people are accepting behavior in their leader that they decry as wrong in someone else's leader.

I'm so disappointed that her followers showed up for that "public" meeting, that banned some of the public because they weren't "friendly" enough.

This behavior says a lot about her and her "movement." A lot.

I'm consistent. I know "wrong" when I see it, no matter who does it.

[Snellius]

80. Unfortunately liberals live in not so liberal times.

[mr_liberal]

61. They thought he would surely lose. They were trying to help Hillary and Democrats by

promoting the weakest Republican nominee. The Hillary campaign thought that as well, we found that out in the leaked DNC emails. Everybody thought that. Everybody thought Trump was a joke and could never win.

[Snellius]

73. When I first saw the email story in NYT, I knew the NYT just handed Trump a hand grenade

Especially when it comes from NYT. The biggest power player in the press.
It astonished me that just to prove how "objective" they were that they lost all sight of how an article like that, which really proved nothing, would be used by other side which they profess to oppose. Like they did with Judith Miller on the Iraq War. Just because they get the facts right, doesn't mean they get the story right, let alone the truth or how the story will be used.

[obamanut2012]

50. lulz

The liberal press.

[johnp3907]

71. AKA "The enemy of the people."

“Fake news.” “Lamestream media.” etc.

[pazzyanne]

75. Just like tRump does!

NO, THANK YOU! I've had enough of that kind of governing/ administration to last me the rest of my life. I am appalled that a Democrat is doing this. She is a neophyte, but is apparently getting very bad advice from people who should know better.

[nycbos]

18. Very foolish

[jayschool2013]

19. As a journalist

And as a member of the public, I would go anyway. If she's not requiring credentials and confiscating pens and notebooks, I'm there. If she says something newsworthy, I report it, via Twitter, blog site, news site, Facebook, Medium, Quora, whatever.

Screw her.

[athenasatanjesus]

20. This is part of the rights strategy.

They attack the media constantly while knowing the media is on their side causing the left to criticize media criticism. Then when the media is actually unfair to a liberal, they can't do anything without being hypocrites.

[left-of-center2012]

30. Did each of you read the accompanying article in the original post?

The explanation for this ban was given,
and that it would not become "the norm" for future events.
..............................................

... she was “mobbed” by reporters, “even though we said no Q&A and no one-on-one [interviews].”

... that unwanted attention led to a press ban for both of last Wednesday’s listening tour stops in the Bronx and Sunday’s in Corona.

“We wanted to help create a space where community members felt comfortable and open to express themselves without the distraction of cameras and press.
These were the first set of events where the press has been excluded,” Trent said.
“This is an outlier and will not be the norm."

[Fred Sanders]

34. Thank you. Exactly what I have been saying...apparently too much logic for some.

[jayschool2013]

37. It sounds as if

she's just trying to "ban" show-business journalists = television.

She's still accountable for answering questions from the crowd, which may include journalists and other citizens serving a journalistic purpose, i.e., getting answers and then reporting them to a wider audience via blog, social media or news site.

[Fred Sanders]

40. Sad that so many progressives are also prone to fake news and inaccurate headline.

[Voltaire2]

39. No of course many looked no further than the headline.

Their form of supporting Democrats includes absurd outrage over fake issues regarding Ocasio-Cortez.

[malchickiwick]

42. This sounds like bait. If its open to the public, then, by definition, it is open to

the press.

Ever wonder who benefits when false accusations are lobbed like intra-party bombs?

[Fred Sanders]

66. Even when the hurlers are starkly exposed as wrong they keep on hurling, makes me want to hurl!

[left-of-center2012]

43. Hey? Did y'all miss this?

[mr_liberal]

55. "mobbed" asked tough questions, that she's been giving dumb answers to that then go viral. nt

[left-of-center2012]

59. Thanks for the laugh

[Honeycombe8]

65. And? So what? If the public mobs you, you ban the public? Which is what that is.

The press IS part of the public. They report TO the public, FOR the public.

If she bans the press, she is against the dissemination of information to the public, unless she can control it.

Sound familiar? You betcha it does.

Man, oh man. How easily people are duped by leaders they adore. They are willing to accept from their own leader what they have previously said was WRONG or fascist behavior by someone else's leader.

Not me. I'm consistent in my views. The press is NOT the enemy of the people. Period. It is wrong to cage children. Period. There are some truths that are self-evident in a humane, democratic nation.

[left-of-center2012]

74. stop !

I'm rolling with laughter.

[SunSeeker]

77. There are ways to keep the press from interfering without banning them.

Banning them implies she doesn't want what is discussed publicized. It makes it sound like she doesn't want transparency, that she has something to hide. Rookie mistake.

AOC could have insisted journalists and their cameras stay in a cordoned off area to make room for constituents' interaction with her. I remember how some people mocked the velvet ropes separating the media at some Hillary rallies. But the ropes were there to let her interact with constituents and to keep the cameras from mobbing her.

[Fred Sanders]

81. "It makes it sound like...", but in reality isn't. I prefer reality.

[marble falls]

44. BAD mistake.

[obamanut2012]

45. Of course she did

Why is anyone surprised?

[George II]

60. This is unbelievable! Not even a pool reporter? Not a good move whatsoever.

[Fred Sanders]

69. Pool reporter...for a candidate not holding public office, holding a closed to media but not banned

quasi-public, quasi-private function with potential voters for an office...a bit much?

But when you are the target of attacks from left and right and middle then maybe one of the major news aggregators might be there...as if she was President!

Do you not agree with her clear explanation for this great outrage?

[lapucelle]

79. What do "poll reporter" "quali public" "quasi private" and "major news aggregators" mean? N/T

[pazzyanne]

64. She just lost me and any support I may have given her.

She is barely into campaigning and is already shutting down transparency? We have had enough of that crap in the last two years!

[Fred Sanders]

72. Over this?? Sitting the election out, are we??

[PatrickforO]

67. Wow, I'm looking up into the sun trying to see the top of the mountain...

Whoops! Tripped. It's actually...a molehill!

Key word: LISTENING tour. Not town hall. LISTENING tour.

How will Ocasio-Cortez manage to actually listen to her potential constituents with a bunch of reporters in the same room yelling out questions?

My answer: she can't, which is why press was banned from these specific events. She's there to HEAR what the people who might vote for her have to say, NOT to answer question after question. There is a time and a place for that, but if you're being forced to answer a bunch of questions yelled out at you, then how can you listen to what your constituents are actually saying?

Couple of points:
1. The so-called 'liberal press' isn't really. If you count the actual interactions with Rs versus Ds, you see a marked bias in coverage to the Rs.

2. The press has an agenda because it is driven by ratings. Likely the press members would NOT simply allow Ocasio-Cortez to ask her questions and then LISTEN to the answers. THAT isn't controversial. Nope. The press wants juicy quotes from Ocasio-Cortez they can use to generate controversy, which again drives ratings up.

3. If the objective for Ocasio-Cortez is to get to know her district by LISTENING to her constituents, then she was right in these limited cases to ban press because again, how can she LISTEN when she's ANSWERING sometimes inane and leading questions.

****

Sorry, but I've got to go with Ocasio-Cortez on this one. If I was a member of the public and invited to participate in a LISTENING event where I was able to speak my mind and tell a candidate how I feel about the issues, then was drowned out with shouted-out questions from the press, I'd likely tell them to STFU so WE the people could be heard.

I mean, people, I know (gasp!!!) Bernie supports Ocasio-Cortez, but that is not and has never been the point. Not on this thread. We don't get to parse this out according to our own self-image of what a PURE Democratic campaign would be. In this case, this is between the candidate and the people she hopes will vote for her. We do not come into it.

[Fred Sanders]

76. The voice of reason who actually read the post and the campaign explanation...not the voices

ow threatening to sit out the vote over....this!?

Lot of strange voices as we approach Election Day, not at all implying anything at all.

[MineralMan]

78. Bad move on her part.

Truly.

[MineralMan]

82. Not everyone can attend such town halls. The media reports on them.

Barring the media is like closing them to the public. The press shares what happens with a larger audience. if you do not want to reach a larger audience, I have to wonder why that is.

This is a very bad decision on the part of a Democratic candidate for Congress. I hope she reconsiders it. Every congressional district has far more voters than could attend any number of town halls she might hold. Those voters depend on press reports for information. That's the press's job.

[DonViejo]

83. Locking...

Published August 16, 2018 10:30 am; posted on the LBN Forum Aug 17, 2018, 01:38 PM, over 12 hours old (about 27 hours old to be exact)