(HILLARY GROUP) Could someone please explain to me about Maureen Dowd?

[bellicosecello]

And her virulent hatred for Hillary, who likely doesn't even know Ms. Dowd exists?

I am an infrequent reader of the NYT and I gave up on the Opinion pages with the departures of Bob Herbert and Frank Rich. But a friend of mine, who, interestingly is a supporter of Sen. Sanders, sent me a link to Ms. Dowd's column in today's Times with the added note "She really hates this woman." (Referring to Ms. Dowd's apparent feelings for Hillary).

The column was a barely coherent screed aimed at impugning Hillary's character. I figured that it takes all types and was about to move on when I decided to read the comments. According to many of them, this is SOP for Ms. Dowd. So I looked up some of Ms. Dowd's recent columns and holy fregoli!

I get that Ms. Dowd is apparently a friend(?) of Donald Trump, but her columns about Hillary read like that of a scorned ex-wife dishing her ex-husband's new love interest. I actually felt a great deal of second-hand embarrassment for Ms. Dowd. And the Times pays for this?

Am I missing something? I know little about the side battles that the media have with certain politicians, aside from President Obama's affection for the late Helen Thomas, whose birthday he shared. I am just baffled why a columnist for the paper of record has been routinely allowed to vent her spleen in such a personal and frankly immature and unprofessional manner.

[DURHAM D]

1. She had an affair with Bush senior way back

in the day and Bill Clinton took away his second term and for that Dowd has never forgiven Hillary.

[bellicosecello]

4. Whoa, if that is true, there is definitely no accounting for taste

And also it shows Ms. Dowd to be hypocritical. In several columns she has made sly reference to the Lewinsky situation and how awful the morals are of Bill and Hillary, and yet she served as a mistress to a married man? Shameful.

Thank you for the intel!

[yallerdawg]

2. Piling on "Clintons" is a cottage industry.

There is always some kind of audience - left and right - who swallow it hook, line and sinker.

It's all about the money - ironically.

And the "Clintons" are so easy for 'journalists' - a fact-free zone, so anything goes.

[bellicosecello]

5. Sadly, I find this to be true

It's becoming clickbait in a way, and with the ability to comment directly on stories, people who have bought into the same lies Hillary has been battling for decades have another chance to poison the well. That part I get. But that there is someone who gets paid quite handsomely, I'm sure, by a supposedly storied and serious publication to spew such nonsense is breathtaking to me.

[SharonClark]

16. So true about Dowd

[Buzz Clik]

3. She's Rita Skeeter.

That's all I've got.

[bellicosecello]

6. Ha! Love it!

Makes me want to break out the HP books again!

[SharonClark]

17. Love it!

[kstewart33]

7. Dowd won a Pulitzer many years ago for columns attacking the Clintons.

Her hate goes back a very long time.

Dowd is not as popular as she once was. She seems to be on the downside of her career.

[bellicosecello]

13. Ah, I see

I figured there had to be some reason the Times would keep her on so long. It's sad. Newspaper buyouts happen frequently. Perhaps she'll be in the next wave.

[MBS]

8. You're not missing anything.

Dowd is all about trivial, cynical snark and negativity. She's particularly hard on women, but she is also hard on any public figure who is sincere and serious about trying to make a difference (Kerry, Gore and Obama have all been regular targets in addition to her long-time favorites, the Clintons).
I think of her as a high-school level "mean girl" type.
She also has this weird crush on Hollywood celebrities, especially, of course, men.
"Immature and unprofessional"- you bet!
I can't stand her.

Oh, and the other thing that's useful to know: though she's sort-of-kind-of a liberal, the rest of her family seem to be Republicans.

About once every two years or so, when she decides to be serious, she can write something worth reading. But mostly it's like this column (though I have to say that this column is a bit worse than usual).

Like you, I have also often asked the question, ". . the Times pays for this?"
Her longevity at the Times remains a mystery to me.
She does seem to be writing less often than she used to, which is a welcome trend.

[SharonClark]

18. Excellent analysis

[BlueCaliDem]

20. "sort-of-kind-of a liberal" = Libertarian: a Republican who likes and uses weed.

Snowden is a Libertarian. I hope that helps.

Dowd is stuck in the 1990's when it was 'cool' to attack Democrats and excuse Republicans.

[hrc guy]

9. Her Idiotic Marijuana "Overdose" in Colorado

She still hasn't recovered!

[kstewart33]

19. Yes, it was quite the story here in Denver.

The shop where she purchased the brownies enjoyed their 15 minutes of local fame and sales.

[Walk away]

10. Dowd's hatred of Hillary is all about jealousy and readership.

Maureen doesn't have a genuine bone in her body. She would shit all over Bernie if she thought he had any chance of winning.

[IamMab]

11. Your first sentence answers the question. Dowd can't stand that Clinton doesn't take her advice. nt

[Gman]

12. This has been going on with Dowd since Bill was prez

If you read her stuff in a consistent basis you conclude she's pretty much a sick puppy not in the same universe with anybody.

[Orrex]

14. She's horrible. She's always been horrible.`

It amazes me that she's often cited here at DU as if she were a credible journalist worth reading.

[Haveadream]

15. Media Matters did an analysis of Dowd's 21 year long attacks on Clinton

Last edited Sun Apr 17, 2016, 07:59 PM - Edit history (1)

Fantastic article and breakdown of her unhinged jealousy, raging sexism and obsession with Hillary. Her screeds are so filled with hate-filled, raw sexism that it being in print in a major publication is tantamount to sanctioning it against all women. It is that bad. She must be thrilled to have the object of her obsession return to give her attention and a reason to be relevant again.

For more than twenty years, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd has been attacking Hillary Clinton from a shallow well of insults, routinely portraying the former secretary of state and first lady as an unlikeable, power-hungry phony.

Media Matters analyzed 195 columns by Dowd since November 1993 containing significant mentions of Clinton for whether they included any of 16 negative tropes in five categories (listed in the below methodology). 72 percent (141 columns) were negative towards Clinton -- only 8 percent (15 columns) were positive. The remaining 20 percent (39 columns) were neutral.

For example, Dowd has repeatedly accused Clinton of being an enemy to or betraying feminism (35 columns, 18 percent of those studied), power-hungry (51 columns, 26 percent), unlikeable (9 columns, 5 percent), or phony (34 columns, 17 percent). She's also attacked the Clintons as a couple in 43 columns (22 percent), many of which included Dowd's ham-handed attempts at psychoanalysis.

Dowd's latest column discussed Clinton's book tour for her new memoir Hard Choices. In a tortured comparison, Dowd compared Clinton to Elsa from the popular Disney movie Frozen. Dowd concluded, "Those close to them think that the queen of Hillaryland and the Snow Queen from Disney's 'Frozen' have special magical powers, but worry about whether they can control those powers, show their humanity and stir real warmth in the public heart."

Dowd described Clinton's memoir as "a testament to caution and calculation," an accusation she has lobbed at the former secretary state for decades. Dowd called Clinton "scarred and defensive" and asserted that she lives in an "ice palace." The Frozen comparison is one of dozens of pop culture references Dowd has invoked in her writing about Clinton.

Dowd has stuck to this script for over two decades now, and shows no signs of letting go.

You gotta see it to believe it. Much more here:

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/06/18/the-numbers-behind-maureen-dowds-21-year-long-c/199752

[spooky3]

21. She's totally internalized the patriarchal messages.

Misogynists love it when women attack successful women.