By going on Fox town halls, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, & Sanders just might have been the catalysts

[mtnsnake]

that got more than a few people on the other side to start thinking, hey, those Democrats sound nothing like how Trump describes them. Hmmmm...

Think about what's happened since those 3 brave Democratic candidates accepted invitations to do town halls on Fox. Since those town halls, two prominent Republicans became the first ones to call for Trump's impeachment. First is was Michigan Rep. Justin Amash (R). Now former Missouri Rep. Tom Coleman (R) is all over the news calling for the impeachment of both Trump and Pence because in his own words they are both "illegitimate." Is it just a coincidence that finally a couple of repubs jumped on the impeachment bandwagon soon after 3 Democrats did Fox town halls? Maybe or maybe not.

Maybe after seeing how well received our Democratic candidates are, maybe some people on the other side of the fence are finally opening up their eyes enough to start seeing the light and to start speaking out against Trump.

Major kudos to Buttigieg, Sanders, and Klobuchar for going into enemy territory so all American viewers could end up hearing the great things that Democrats have to say.

[murielm99]

1. Nah. I don't agree.

I think they opened themselves to all kinds of propaganda from Fox personalities. And why give Fox the credibility? They are not a television station, they are pure propaganda.

[mtnsnake]

5. I spoke with a couple repub "friends" who for the first time ever said anything good about Democrats

after seeing Sanders, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg on Fox. Mayor Pete seemed to impress them the most. One of them told me he no longer thinks Sanders is a commie after hearing what Sanders had to say. Neither of them hinted that they would vote against Trump, but hearing what those 3 Democrats actually had to say did open up their eyes for sure.

[femmedem]

6. That's great to hear.

I'm glad Fox viewers were able to listen to primary sources--the candidates themselves--rather than solely spin.

[MBS]

24. Promising anecdote, thanks.

A ray of hope for the weekend.

[brush]

39. A one-hour blip on Faux Noise viewed by a relative few that disappears into the ether...

never to be shown again benefits who in the big picture of things?

[brush]

13. My thoughts exactly. Why give them a chance to pull advertisers and...

fundraise for being "balanced"? And their evening propagandists will continue to trash them 24/7, probably pulling clips from their appearances out of context to make them look bad.

[friend of m and j]

34. murielm99 I don't agree with you.

The beauty of our huge field of candidates is that most of them project what they are. What you see is what you get.

The "Fox personalities don't have to watch them in a town hall to come up with propaganda to be used against (most is false) them. Those 3 candidates That accepted Fox's town hall invitation have a opportunity show millions of Fox viewers that they don't seem like the "Fox personalities" description of them. Those viewers have probably never seen them except the way Fox has portrayed them. The Town Hall setting lets them see them in true light. All 3 are people of principles and integrity and I think some of those viewers will recognize that and I believe they will get a few votes from those Fox viewers.

[mtnsnake]

36. Exactly. Well said.

The truth is the truth, and by appearing on Fox, there is no way that any of the Fox hosts can portray those 3 candidates as anything other than what the viewers saw of them on those town halls.

[empedocles]

2. Perhaps a number of fox viewers learned there are Democrats out there besides Biden

[marylandblue]

3. The never Trumpers have been long-time critics of Trump.

They are mostly unemployed politicians and political consultants. Amash is the rarest of breeds: a Republican politician who criticized Trump but didn't quit or lose his seat.

I'll believe things have changed when enough Repubs in Congress decide to reign Trump in. I'm not holding my breath.

[Mike Nelson]

4. I thought it was...

… great. They made decisions and all were excellent. I agree with their decision. I also think Elizabeth Warren made the correct decision... not to accept. They all made decision that I could understand. Also, they did things that were right for their campaigns, and got media attention for them. Best of all, they planted the FOX "News" goal posts firmly in right-wing land. The discussion was about whether or not to appear on FOX "News" - everyone knew why it was debatable! That was fantastic.

[earthshine]

7. As scientists say, "Correlation is not necessary causation."

Is it just a coincidence that finally a couple of repubs jumped on the impeachment bandwagon soon after 3 Democrats did Fox town halls? Maybe or maybe not.

It coincides better with the release of the Mueller report.

I support the Democrats who went on Fox and their reasons for doing so. Sanders gets double credit for being first.

I support the Democrats who chose not to, and their reasons for doing so. Warren really called them out.

[brush]

11. Hmmm? Sanders went on Faux Noise and his numbers have cratered.

Or maybe it's Biden? For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to have helped Sanders.

Getting one hour of programming versus the weeks and months FOX uses Dem appearances for advertising and 24/7 anti-Dem programming and fundraising, IMO it's hardly worth it. Time is better spent getting out our vote than catering to the very few indepedents one might sway. If we learned anything over the last two years we know trump's hardcore base is not switching.

[earthshine]

12. Hmmm. Reading between the lines, I'd say you don't like Sanders.

> FOX uses Dem appearances for advertising and 24/7 anti-Dem programming and fundraising

Show me!

[brush]

16. Do I have to show you that nothing is beneath repugs?

Not trustworthy.



Bobby Lewis @revrrlewis

Fox & Friends uses Pete Buttigieg's Fox News town hall to accuse him of "going after our Founding Fathers" and "trying to erase our country's history."

[earthshine]

17. Show me how they used the Democrats' appearance on Fox as propaganda!

[brush]

19. Not hard to find.

This is from "Rolling Stone": "...Fox & Friends uses Pete Buttigieg's Fox News town hall to accuse him of "going after our Founding Fathers" and "trying to erase our country's history."

There's a video from the vile "FOX and Friends" but I'm not able to post it here.

[earthshine]

20. And if he said the same things while not being on Fox, the Fox heads would still accuse him of this.

So far, I see the appearances of our candidates on Fox as being somewhere between a nothing and a positive.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

27. The difference is viewers can watch the event and make up their own minds

rather than listen to the gibberish that spews from F*cks and Fiends.

Here's what Fox viewers saw:

And here's the "Fox and Friends" takeaway from the event:

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6038947767001/#sp=show-clips

[Hulk]

32. This may sound stupid...

...but I wonder how many in the crowd, witnessing or participation in a standing ovation, are regular fox viewing dRumptards. I'm guessing none, or damned few.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

33. You're probably right.

But wasn't it nice to have Fox pay for Mayor Pete's rally? And the town hall generated lots of sound bites for later ads. My favorite was when he said his biggest mistake was not firing someone to his face. "You should look the person in the eye when you fire them, and tell them why you're doing it." It was a direct slam at Dotard, who has never fired someone face-to-face, even in the context of a television show (the producers decided who to let go). As WH resident, Fat Donnie has fired people via tweet or through intermediaries, but never in person.

When he quit in protest of IQ45's decision to yank our troops out of Syria (and give a gift to his BFF, Vlad). Secretary of Defense Mattis went right to the Oval Office and put his letter of resignation in Trump's short-fingered hands. Trump thought the letter was complimentary until his staff explained it really said, "F*ck you, asshole!", after which he claimed he was the one who fired Mattis.

[Lucky Luciano]

14. Sanders taking a hit is definitely Biden entering the race. nt

[elleng]

8. There is NO DOUBT that Dems appearing 'over there' will benefit them and US.

I agree, kudos to Buttigieg, Sanders, and Klobuchar.

[LakeArenal]

9. Each candidate should do what's right for them

Thanks for those who have gone on Fux

[delisen]

10. Hard to see that as causative. More likely the Mueller report

and other information on lawsuits, corruption, and and Russia getting into election systems.

[guillaumeb]

15. The 50 state/every voter strategy.

An excellent idea.

[MBS]

23. Agreed. n/t

[nini]

18. Normalizing that fucking network on any level is wrong IMHO

They're a fascist propaganda tool and treating them as anything other than that is wrong.

[Skittles]

21. I agree

although it is nice knowing it truly disturbs Trump

[George II]

22. Should any of those three win the nomination (I don't think they will) the republicans now have....

....a few hours of video with a Fox moderator and the Fox logo in the corner from which they can snip and create attack ads.

I hope none of our other candidates do this.

[Sienna86]

25. Agreed.

It gets our message to those who might not otherwise hear it.

[Mr.Bill]

26. I think Amash is positioning himself

to run for President on the libertarian ticket. Of course, this would take votes from any republican and be great for any Democratic candidate. But right now it's free publicity for Amash.

[Kurt V.]

28. i think our most reliable voting base would disagree. black and brown ppl are demonized

on this network daily. this is an enormous mistake and those candidates who did this won't make it very far.

[still_one]

29. Brave? It isn't brave. They have nothing to lose

[BannonsLiver]

30. If only

What I think happens is the same thing that happens here when people like Hugh Hewitt and Chris Christie appear on MSNBC. I think most Trump Humpers turn the channel. That said, I don’t have a big problem with the appearances on FOX.

[Hulk]

31. I've been back and forth on this a few times now...

And we'll probably be back and forth on it a few more before it's all over. I guess that's because there are pros and cons to going on to the GOP propaganda network. Yes... you do legitimize a worthless propaganda rag of a network... one that is home to some of the biggest traitors in the country... a voice that is more responsible than anywhere else for dividing this country in two.

But you also do reach the ignorant ears of their audience when you jump into the lions den. Personally I find all of the Trump supporters as repugnant and deplorable Americans. But perhaps there is some virtue to giving them a second chance to redeem themselves. They will always be blemished Americans as far as I am concerned... but America lives on long after I am gone.

[sharedvalues]

35. No

You must not know any Fox viewers.
The propaganda outside the town hall times far outweighs the town halls.
Also did you know Fox is doing ratings sweeps and used the Dem town halls to boost ratings so they can reach more viewers in the future?

[Hortensis]

37. :) Imo, presidential candidates shouldn't have "enemy territory"

in our nation, just American citizens to bring their campaigns to. I don't disapprove of Harris and Warren refusing to appear on Fox, they're right about what it is, but unfortunately there really are citizens who only watch Fox.

Samantha Bee says appearing "legitimizes" Fox. Maybe, but I don't think that matters against the reality that Fox is very real and powerful, and not going away. Hopefully most of our plethora of good, solid Democrats will go on Fox to spread our messages, shining their lights into that darkness, even if only briefly.

Don't know that it might have had anything to do with calls for dumping Trump, but I'm definitely with you in hoping Buttigieg and Klobuchar accomplished what they intended to and more.

[Trumpocalypse]

38. I agree with Samantha Bee

[comradebillyboy]

40. I see going on fox as a sign of desperation

Bernie is sinking, Amy has stalled and Pete wants to get more free air time.

[mtnsnake]

41. No one is desperate when the campaign isn't even out of its infancy stage yet.

If anything it was a sign of savvy. Amy got good press all around plus some much needed name recognition, Bernie got good press and a good response from it, and Mayor Pete came out of it a bonafide rock star.