Sunday Smack Down: The Mainstream Media Finally Challenges Republican Lies

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16. The saddest part of this is how this is viewed as a "smackdown."

John McCain seemed quite surprised and then immediately enraged when he realized that David Gregory, whose standard reply to Republican talking points is a serious look and then the expression mmhmm, would actually challenge him on something that he said.


Well... I read the transcripts. Unless a forceful tone of voice and some assertive body language (like suddenly leaning forward in your seat, and/or and taking up more visual space by spreading your arms wide across the table, or farther in front of you on the table, to appear more dominant) was used, these are merely gentle little nudges toward reality and the truth of the matter. Too bad that nudges are regarded as "smackdowns" these days. No. I want people to start spouting "You LIE!" I want some of these interviewers to start saying - "that's flatly not true, Senator," or "Congressman, you know you're misrepresenting what happened/rewriting history/not telling the truth." Or even hell, "YOU built it." THIS is considered a smackdown? I want one of these assholes to throw a hissy fit and rip off the mic and stand up and stalk off the set! I want to see them make themselves look so bad that even the thickest media mule-head can't avoid or soft-pedal or deny it.

I'm sorry, maybe I'm going overboard here, but I want pompous double-talking windbags like mccain firmly put in their places. Being nice to them or just making a serious face and saying mm-hmm and nothing more certainly hasn't worked. It's only reinforced and rewarded bad behavior and encouraged it to continue and grow even worse! Because it goes unchecked. It's like giving the tantrum-throwing five-year-old what he/she is demanding by throwing a public fit, instead of taking the child outside and imposing a time-out for a few minutes. You do NOT reward the dog you're training by giving treats when it does something shitty, after all!

It's like this scene in "Fawlty Towers" where this family of three is seated in the hotel dining room. Parents and a maybe 13-year-old boy. And the boy behaves WRETCHEDLY!!! Rude, insulting, disrespectful, and not exactly mumbling about it, either. And the mom's idea of checking that young lout's behavior is merely looking at him sideways with a little smirk and mewling "oh, nnnowwww!" from time to time.

Basically the republi-CONS have been allowed to run amok, unchecked and unrestrained, ever since they got smart about monopolizing the media. It's a multi-pronged campaign involving:
1) buying up critical masses of media
2) programming relentlessly partisan shows wall-to-wall
3) swarming the talk shows and panel discussions with an overabundance of CONservatives all dressed up and photogenic, and loaded with carefully vetted and focus-group-tested talking points.
and more.

I swear - the very same people who sneer at research and science sure have made a science of this! Check out this link that was posted here awhile back. I love this essay so much that I've kept it open on a separate tab on my laptop for weeks!

http://churchandstate.org.uk/2011/07/14-propaganda-techniques-fox-news-uses-to-brainwash-americans/

Gotta be aware of these things at all times! And they're at it constantly, so we always have to be alert and observant. Shit - it's like being on patrol or something. But we have to stay on top of these guys.