Bernie Sanders Has an MSNBC Problem

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

After last Friday’s Democratic debate, Chris Matthews waxed apoplectic about what electing a socialist could mean for America. “I have an attitude towards [Fidel] Castro,” he said. “I believe if Castro and the Reds had won the Cold War there would have been executions in Central Park, and I might have been one of the ones getting executed. And certain other people would be there cheering, OK?” Matthews’s colleagues pointed out that Sanders was more of a Danish type of socialist than a Castro type of socialist, but to little avail.

Two days later, James Carville, Bill Clinton’s former campaign guru, went on Morning Joe to rant about how a Sanders nomination would bring about the apocalypse. Literally. “The only thing between the United States and the abyss is the Democratic Party,” he said. “That’s it. If we go the way of the British Labour Party, if we nominate Jeremy Corbyn, it’s going to be the end of days.” The same day, Chuck Todd, who also hosts NBC’s Meet the Press, read from an article from the right-wing website The Bulwark comparing supporters of Sanders, who is Jewish, to “brownshirts.”

(snip)

While other media outlets, particularly in print, have grappled with the rise of leftists such as Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in recent years, MSNBC’s prime-time shows have invested heavily in coverage of the president’s war with the “deep state” and his ties to Russia. MSNBC has become increasingly filled with talking heads with national security experience—not exactly the type of people who can speak to the rise of democratic socialism in the Democratic Party. With some exceptions, such as All In With Chris Hayes, MSNBC has been obsessed with unraveling Dan Brown-ish ties between Trump and foreign leaders, often letting the issues that Sanders talks about, like health care and income inequality, fall by the wayside.

(snip)

Sanders’s problems reaching older voters certainly go beyond cable news—socialism is viewed more negatively by those who grew up during the Cold War, for instance—but at the moment, he’s facing a wall of bad coverage across networks that reinforces doubts about his candidacy. Tune in to CNN or Fox News or the Sunday shows, and you hear the same questions about Sanders’s political beliefs, his electability, and his age. Sanders has been surging in spite of these questions, but there are growing signs that the resistance to his campaign will be led by cable news anchors.


https://newrepublic.com/article/156545/bernie-sanders-msnbc-problem

[hlthe2b]

1. After two weeks of MSNBC writing Biden (and Warren) off, I'd say they have a bigger problem

[katmondoo]

2. I am old so I know what it is like to be old. That is one reason I couldn't go for Sanders.

[Perseus]

16. I hope that if he becomes the nominee you will support him

How can Sanders be worst than trump? How can anyone be worst than trump? I don't understand that.

How bad is "Universal Healthcare", or "Free Education"? Free Education will liberate this country from idiots like the MAGA followers, if they had a little bit of brain they would see through trump, how bad is that?

Sanders IS NOT a socialist, he believes in a regulated capitalism, that is not socialism, yes he said some stupid things in 1989, but so did the others too say and do stupid things. Biden was not very good at the Anita Hill hearings against Thomas, he did not support busing then (ask Kamala Harris), does that mean he still believes that? Should we crucify him for what he did then?

I hope that we all unite and help get rid of this administration, I have experience with what has happened in other countries who are now suffering big time from the abuses of the dictatorship that is holding them hostages, children are dying from malnutrition, people are looking for food in the garbage, no medicine, chaos all around, people getting killed in plain day light in front of other people for a pair of shoes, kids being kidnapped, girls sent out for prostitution. Anyone who believes that IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE doesn't understand that we are as fragile as any other country in the World. I do hope that if your preferred candidate does not win that you will help the Democratic nominee in defeating these crooks, the consequences of four more years are dire.

Vote blue, no matter who...Please

[colorado_ufo]

35. Trump is old and

it is not bothering him or his supporters one bit.

[cilla4progress]

3. Others of us have also

observed this.

[jalan48]

4. MSNBC is actually Comcast, a Fortune 500 media behemoth.

[redstateblues]

5. Oh please. stop the victimhood. The panels on MSNBC are packed with Sanders backers

Mathews is way past his use by date. Carville doesn’t have a show. The prime timers, Hayes, Maddow and O’Donnell are Sanders fans. MSNBC has been bashing Biden since day 1

[George II]

9. Correct, and what's worse is CNN's panels the last week - Alexandra Rojas has been a staple....

...on all their shows. Ask her a question about any candidate and the answer is, "Well Bernie is yadda yadda yadda" or "he/she isn't as good as Bernie".

I switch to MSNBC anytime I see her on a panel.

[bunny planet]

12. Hayes is a Sanders fan....Rachel is opaque on the issue and rarely has talking heads on her show.

O'Donnell has had a variety of nasty remarks made by guests against Bernie....most notably Mimi Rochah...who said 'Bernie makes my skin crawl.' - how she says that about any other candidate and gets away with it is what I want to know. Chris Matthews might be past his use by date but he was still allowed to go on the air and say that he thinks Bernie might be a Commie like Castro whose going to line people up in Central Park and shoot them. Unreal. If any other candidate was talked about that way everyone would be flipping out. But anything goes when you're talking about Bernie because....socialist and he's not really a Democrat. I'm for Warren, but I'm starting to agree with that lady who voted for Bernie just because of the bias against him she saw on her tv (Bernie is my second choice anyway so not much persuasion is needed). The Bernie disdain and out and out hate on MSNBC is disgraceful. Plus, Bloomie is much more disingenuous about his party allegiances but it's ok because he has a D after his name now. There are no Bernie supporters on three quarters of the programming at MSNBC and those that are on are marginalized and provoked, belittled and patronized. I haven't liked Nina Turner on programs I've seen there because she is too angry but then I saw her in an interview with Chris Hayes last night and he was respectful and neutral and lo and behold she was calm and intelligent and made her points clearly. So, when someone knows themselves to be in a hostile environment their having a chip on their shoulder is understandable. Human in fact. When a person is treated respectfully then they can be calm enough to present themselves without that edge. It is a corporate channel so I don't expect more from them....I just wish they'd try and refrain from out and out smearing of Bernie with no shame. Chuck Todd is the host of Meet the Press, we all know what he said this week. Just as Brian Williams was asked to step down from his anchor position for lying about something that made him look untrustworthy, Chuck Todd should lose his seat on Meet the Press for his reprehensible remarks. Honestly their coverage of Bernie is shockingly biased, I don't know how that can be disputed by anyone. Carville ran candidates in states on a Medicare 4 all platform...single payer, so he's kind of disingenuous himself. He might not have a tv program there but he's been on constantly this week spreading a very biased philosophy about the Democratic party.

[Scotch-Irish]

34. There is nobody on MSNBC that backs Bernie. They trash him at every turn.

That's been complained about by many people who are progressive politically.

[redstateblues]

38. A lot of victimhood in Bernie's campaign. Grievance politics works well

It’s gotten us in our current situation

[George II]

6. MSNBC isn't his biggest problem.

[NurseJackie]

22. I know. Right? Gotta blame something, I suppose.

MSNBC isn't his biggest problem.

I know. Right? Gotta blame something, I suppose. It's always easier than taking a hard and honest look within to see one's own faults and flaws and determine what can be improved.

[George II]

23. It's funny. A candidate is now running around the country boasting that he won two states....

....but who is the only candidate complaining about the results?

[NurseJackie]

24. I guess it's humbling to finally begin to realize that...

I guess it's humbling to finally begin to realize that there will NOT be a revolution.

And that is despite Susan Sarandon's hopes and optimism and best efforts. In a way, she's kind of like an End of Times "Armageddonist" who believes so strongly that something is "going to happen," therefore she must do everything possible to "make it happen" or to create the appropriate conditions so that it can "more easily happen".

Ugh.

[Perseus]

7. Am Joy also said last night "what is it that Democrats need to do to elect a 'centrist'?"

WTF???

Here is a comment from a reader of an article in The Guardian:

I'm an ex-pat. I was born and raised in the U.S. and moved to a country with national health care in my 40's. That was almost twenty years ago. I worked for the medical industry in the U.S. All of this to say that the biggest issue that holds people back in the U.S. and causes them untold and horrid misery is the medical industry. It is amazing the burden of stress that was lifted when I understood that if I needed medical care I would receive it and I would not go bankrupt. If a nation cares about its citizens, it makes sure they have excellent health care. Good health makes a stronger country, strong military just make angry aggressive countries.

[link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/11/trump-economy-poor-americans-vulnerability#comment-138144031|

For those who continue to spread the meme that "people love their private insurance".

This country doesn't need "slow" changes, this country needs radical changes. To begin with, the new president will need to re-institute all the good things Obama did that this criminal has reversed, it needs to reverse all of the criminality from this administration (including the tax cuts), it needs to investigate all the rats of this administration, and all of it must be done as soon as the new administration gets into office. Step two is to make radical changes in Health, Education, taxes, etc. These changes must be implemented radically/immediately, and we will adapt, we will succeed, but that idiocy that things must be done slowly will get us nowhere.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Thanks for the addition Perseus.

[MoonlitKnight]

43. This should not be a partisan issue

Big business would love to not have to deal with administering health plans.
Small business would love to be able to compete for talent with a level playing field.
Millions of would be entrepreneurs would have the freedom to pursue their dreams.
Trillions of dollars would be saved.
More importantly, millions of lives will be saved.

Yet the fear persists, even among Democrats. All of our candidates want to improve healthcare. And that is better than the alternative. But it is well past time for our leaders to be honest with us and admit that ultimately, there is only one healthcare system that has been consistently proven over decades to be the most cost effective and provide the best patient outcomes. And that is a single payer system.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Socialism and Sanders' historical statements about it

are Willie Horton moments in the making. Trump/Kudlow/WilburRoss/Mnuchin/BFFIcahn/Hannity/Limbaugh/McConnell will excoriate Sanders in a general election. These radical free marketers will not bow to socialism, won't even tolerate it.

So it's not bad press that creates doubt, it's his actual record. Voters are moving past Warren and Sanders because everyone knows defeating Trump is Job One.

[Perseus]

11. Please stop it, enough bashing of Sanders

The likelihood that Biden will become the nominee is less everyday, of course there is still some hope, but I have a feeling that it won't happen, so instead of trying to bash the other candidates, in this case the favourite target being Bernie Sanders, lets all unite and put our hearts and efforts in helping whoever wins the nomination to defeat this gang of crooks, we have bigger problems than a meme of socialism that in the end will fall on anyone who becomes the nominee for the Democratic party.

We need to stop eating our own, and yes, Sanders is one of our own.

[bucolic_frolic]

14. I'm not bashing anyone

I stated an opinion based on facts because I am concerned about the party nominating a strong candidate who is an easy target for the opposition party.

[Demsrule86]

18. Sanders won't win a general.

I vote for the nominee and it wont be sanders IMHO. I remain unimpressed with New Hampshire.

[David__77]

42. I heard he supports unions.

Eight hour workday stuff. May want to prevent young children from working

[LanternWaste]

10. The martyrdom routine gets real old real fast.

[unitedwethrive]

15. I don't think they've been hard enough on Sanders.

Hardly a mention was made about him changing his mind on releasing his medical records for his recent heart attack. This is a huge deal, since a man of his age has a median life expectancy of 3.1 years following a heart attack. The fact that he won’t tell us about his coronary health should be very concerning.

[TwilightZone]

17. How will Sanders and his supporters handle general election media coverage...

if they can't even handle MSNBC now?

As others have noted, the constant victimhood routine is tiresome. If he can't handle press that's mostly in his favor (the assertion that MSNBC is uniformly against him is laughable), then he should probably consider dropping out before the real campaign begins.

[George II]

25. Thankfully that's something we won't have to be concerned about.

[TwilightZone]

26. I hope not, but 538 keeps freaking me out.

Making sense of the logic of some of their predictions - and I generally trust Nate Silver - has me questioning reality.

That being said, he did post on today's note that the current model should be taken with a large grain of salt. So, there is that.

[George II]

27. They flipped about 1,000 delegates the morning after the Iowa caucus. They're looking fickle.

[TwilightZone]

30. I have a decent grasp of statistics, but...

37% chance of a majority for Sanders seems way too high considering his average predicted total is only 1500 or so, nearly 500 delegates short. The model seems to be making some huge assumptions about momentum, which has some historical basis certainly, but it seems to be the primary driver here.

Going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

19. Just wait until "how do you pay for it?"

Dominates all three news networks.

[BlueIdaho]

21. No...

Wait until “He’s a communist” dominates the 2020 Presidential conversation. Unfair? Yes! Will republicans use the attack? Absolutely.

[tirebiter]

32. Why is calling him what he's called himself unfair?

The Socialist Worker’s Party was and is communist. Wishing it weren’t so doesn’t make it that way.

[David__77]

41. There were various lying anti-Obama campaigns in 2008.

As for this...

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bernie-sanders-iran-hostage-crisis/

[k2qb3]

20. Lol, Chris Matthews, the voice of 1985...

Everybody is gonna be so busy running against Stalin they never hit Bernie.

[Squinch]

28. The heinous persecution continues.

[Me.]

29. Come Now...This Is Just Nonsense

Yesterday, they had him, Nina, Michael Moore on. His campaign with its very own road warrior was visited every hour on the hour. That Faiz guy was on. He's on now. In fact, they can't seem to stop themselves from talking about him.

[Clash City Rocker]

31. Everyone gets this sort of treatment from the media

Not always the same media, of course. One can whine about it in a Trumpian fashion, or try to change the perspective.

And no one should expect MSNBC to prop up a candidate who routinely bashes the Democratic Party.

[onecaliberal]

33. That is not even close to his only problem.

[EveHammond13]

36. Bernie has an unelectability problem

[msongs]

37. going thru life as a helpless victim. interesting strategy nt

[TomCADem]

39. Salon: Trump campaign's brilliant new tactic: Whining about media bias

It sometimes seems like Bernie and Trump's campaign is reading from the same playbook.

https://www.salon.com/2019/09/03/trump-campaigns-brilliant-new-tactic-whining-about-media-bias-as-the-right-has-for-years/

It looks as though the Donald Trump's 2020 campaign is gearing up to be quite the exceptional grift. It's unknown how much money Trump himself plans to make off all of it, but we do know that he has always thought running for president would be an excellent money-making opportunity. Way back in 2000, he told Fortune Magazine, “It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it."

As it happens, it's not likely that his unorthodox 2016 campaign ended up netting him a profit, despite his efforts to flow as much money as possible to his hotels, clubs and private airplane. Since he was running as a self-financed candidate, he ended up spending more of his own money than he took in.

Last week multiple news organizations reported that Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale appears to have an unusual business agreement that's providing him massive compensation compared to any other presidential campaigns. One assumes that Trump is aware of all this money flowing to Pascale. If he isn't, there's likely to be hell to pay. He doesn't like his people making money off the Trump brand if he's not getting his taste.

* * *
Kvetching and complaining are hallmarks of the Trump era, with the president excelling in his leadership role of whiner-in-chief. Hardly a day goes by that he doesn't throw a tantrum on social media about how unfair everyone is to him. So this strategy fits the Trump campaign nicely.

[wishstar]

40. Then why was his spokesperson Nina Turner on MSNBC constantly for several days this week

This past Monday and Tuesday and maybe the weekend before too, seems like every time I glanced at MSNBC Nina Turner was given a platform there to talk extensively in support of Sanders when I did not see any other campaign representatives being given so much air time on that network in show after show.