RS blows the whistle on Kerry's campaign press pool

[Rose Siding]

Rolling Stone's Alexander exposes Bumiller, Candy Crowley, Nedra Pickler and more unnamed reporters at their unprofessional worst.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6539090?pageid=rs.Politics&pageregion=single4&rnd=1097588324609&has-player=false

.......Unlike the 2000 Bush plane, which became notorious for its party atmosphere -- margaritas flowed at the end of the day and affairs among the press corps were widely rumored -- the feeling on the Kerry plane is professional and businesslike. It soon became apparent that many members of Kerry's traveling press make no attempt to hide their open dislike of the candidate. The morning after Kerry had addressed the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala on the evening of September 15th, two members of the press corps were talking on a campaign bus. "That event was stupid," one said, referring to the previous night's occasion -- one of the largest Hispanic galas of its type. "A waste of time," the other said.

Other reporters were just as dismissive. Kerry had gotten a series of impassioned standing ovations during his speech. But when Elisabeth Bumiller described the event in the New York Times, she said, referring to a moment when Kerry spoke an entire paragraph in flawless Spanish, "Kerry's audience . . . listened in startled silence, then broke out into cheers and applause when he made his way through ."

But to report on these events accurately would mean you had to say something unqualified and positive about Kerry. This is something his traveling press corps has been -- and still is -- loath to do. On the evening of September 21st, outside an auditorium in Orlando, where inside more than 7,500 people were screaming wildly as Kerry spoke, Candy Crowley stood next to the venue and reported on CNN that Kerry was "trying . . . to rev up the crowd." The implication was unmistakable: Kerry's supporters in Florida were resistant, even standoffish. Just to make sure Crowley was able to get away with downplaying the event as she was, CNN never showed a wide shot of the large, cheering crowd.

there's too much to snip, but read on to see how Pickler and others refused to speak with Kerry on background:

"He gets more out of this than we do," one reporter said loudly. "He's the one in trouble."

[proud patriot]

1. great article

:D

[Gloria]

4. KICK!!!! And how I'd like to kick this bunch of freaks right in their

backsides.

It's really inexcusable.

But, having gone to many local events, when I see the idiots "reporting" I really have to control myself. Young, stupid, etc.

[blm]

18. I rarely hear a news report of a Kerry rally that remotely matches what

we hear from people who are there.

[wickywom]

2. too funny...

Candy Crowly has always reminded me of a b*tchy girl from my old high school.

[Chimpanzee]

35. I remember during 2000, Candy Crowley

was totally gaga over * - she is a real bitch

[ProfessorPlum]

3. This is what I try to point out to my relatives

Who are still trying to figure out what's going wrong with this country i.e. How does Bush get away from everything? I try to tell them it is the media, but I'm sure I sound like an unhinged idiot ranting. But it is as plain as the nose on my face.

[Dr Fate]

5. We rely on musicians & comedians to tell the truth...

...where the hell did all the "journalists" go???

[Pithy Cherub]

47. Candy Crowley

ate them!

[Shopaholic]

48. And ex-sports anchors. . .

Keith Olbermann

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. Kick!

I wish I could do that to Crowley.

[tabasco]

7. Unprincipled tools of the corporate media ...

manipulating American opinion in favor of a corrupt and destructive right-wing regime. This is not funny anymore. I somewhat understand the widespread use of the guillotine in the French Revolution. The propagandists are only fueling the rage of freedom-loving, free-thinking Americans.

And some still cry "liberal media." The media they want, apparently, is something akin to Goebbels.

[Rose Siding]

9. They are power junkies and corporate climbers...

the perfect little deregulated capitalists; without conscience or ethics.

[cthrumatrix]

10. this is the "liberal media" my ass.... pass this along to friends

[Chimpanzee]

36. truly the corporatists own media

[seabeyond]

8. well F* now we ask our reporters to work, not get drunk

geez that bad bad kerry and liberals as a whole

[NYCGirl]

11. Cool illustration, too!

[glitch]

14. Hey! You beat me. We have such good taste! nt

[glitch]

12. I love this image!

[LittleClarkie]

39. I love your sig!

Perfect. That Buckaroo Bonzai quote occasionally runs through my head too, complete with accent.

[glitch]

43. It is perfect isn't it? I read it with the accent too. nt

[Cha]

50. And who is this wise ..

Dr. Lizardo? :)

[glitch]

51. Well, he wasn't wise - just a nutty mad scientist working with aliens .

maybe he was an alien too although I don't remember them showing his alien face.
Played by John Lithgow. I can't do him justice.
If you need some laughs and a break from politics, rent it, but beware, the movie either gets all 5 stars or just 1 on amazon.com reviews.
"The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension"

[LTR]

13. ...and now the truth comes out

I do have a disturbing image of Candy Crowley partying it up, though.

[MsTryska]

26. Like a real-live image?

or just one in your head?

[ewagner]

15. Kick!

It's not just that the reporters are serving corporate masters...it's evne worse than that...they are all prima-donnas and want to be treated like prom queens or they will dis Kerry in the worst way.

[fugop]

16. So freakin' depressing

I just hate this crap, because I know it's true and have no idea how to put a stop to it. I remember the same thing with Gore: the press hated him and took it out, basically, on the readers by being completely unprofessional and writing their bias into every single story.

I"m just so ashamed of the press people who are putting their own petty issues ahead of their jobs ... and ahead of the public's right to know the truth. There was another front page piece in the Washington Post today that went on and on about how Bush is a rock star at his events and Kerry is just "the guy that isn't bush." Seems to be a complete lie from all the Internet reports, which show great enthusiasm for Kerry. And it goes against all the firsthand info in my world, which has all the people I know voting for Kerry not just because of Bush, but because they've come to really like Kerry, as well.

So sick of the bias. If Bush really is re-elected, I fear it will be a long, long battle to get our country back.

[Rose Siding]

17. That was Milbank's article

And he inadvertently put a finger on one of the intrinsic differences in this race; for Bush crowds (and for BUSH!), it's all about him. Kerry supporters instead, see the country at a dire crossroad. If Milbank can't recognize the diffence between groupies and patriots, boy is he stupid.

What he SHOULD have included in that article is Rove's remark about the cheering crowd after Sept 11. He said it reminded him of a Nazi rally. ROVE said that and MILBANK could have used it to give weight to his argument.

[fugop]

24. Rock star or cult figure?

Thanks, yes, it was Milbank. And yes, the more I read of such rabid Bush people, the more they seem like cult followers rather than rock star groupies. Sure wish the media would make the same connection. But it seems that when it comes to Bush, reporters only editorialize in positive terms.

[high density]

22. I don't know what to do about it either

It makes me both sad and angry at the same time.

[cheshire]

19. Fire the f**kers.

[kaitykaity]

20. I am so not surprised. This is the same bunch

who made it their mission to gore Gore in 2000.

Gawd, they are such Heathers.

[Supersedeas]

21. an Election especially noted for the impact the Media has weilded

an impact lost on those who one day may point to the Bush/Gore election as the beginning of the Corporate Election Economy.

On might recall that the Gore press corp. was none to friendly, either.

[xxqqqzme]

23. if any of U read

the RS story about Gore's press pool...they did a grat story near the end of the '00 election cycle Xposing the bias and how the lies about Gore were repeatedly reported and Xaggerated, i.e. 'inventing the internet'; the the water release for the whitewater rafting photo op among others - then U know this is more of the same. No surprises here. The whorporate media is owned by squatter campaign contributors - there is, and will B, no unbiased coverage of Kerry.

[girl gone mad]

25. What I don't get is why Kerry doesn't just..

kick them off the plane.

If they're going to write garbage and lies anyways, let them do it from the sidelines.

It makes me angry to think that my campaign donations might be helping fly such scum around the country on Kerry's plane.

[progressivebydesign]

27. I guess if the candidate doesn't offer alcohol and condoms...

So that's the price of FAIR journalism now? A bit of tequila and some ribbed Trojans? Nice to see how low the journalist scuzzballs will go, if they are not allowed to participate in the Mile High Club on the Kerry Campaign's dime.

NOW do you all understand WHY Bush gets such glowing reports from those same journalists? And WHY none of this shit about Bush came out during 2000??

The country and it's politics is like High School. One big snarky fucking High School!! :puke:

[Rose Siding]

30. When you realize those yoyos were fresh off the Clenis beat...

it's enough to make you :cry:

[Lex]

28. What does the press want: tequila and porn?

Jeez.

America is dying and it's the PRESS that is killing it as much as anything.

They sit in the back and pout because they don't get margaritas and a big drunken party every night on Kerry's campaign bus?

I give up.

[progressivebydesign]

29. The thing about pissing Bush off.. was priceless:

<<Yes, and you know who understands this better than anyone? John Kerry. The other day, Kerry said, 'I need humor,' which is why he did some of the late-night and morning shows. But the insight he had was, 'I can get under this guy's skin -- if we have the right kind of humorous barb.' " McCurry pauses. "Last night, Kerry read aloud a Bush quote" -- about how the CIA was guessing about conditions in Iraq -- "and made fun of him, which made the news this morning. So I know -- because I've been there -- that Bush was sitting in his suite in the Waldorf-Astoria getting ready for his day at the United Nations General Assembly, and I'll bet you any amount of money he watched that on TV and went nuts, because Kerry was making fun of his own words. If you saw the clip of the quote, Bush looked like his dad." McCurry takes a short pause for effect. "It was devastating.">>

I think that's why Bush came unglued in the debate the other night. It's really, really, true. Bush cannot handle ANY type of criticism, or teasing.. NONE. He can tease (rather meanly) to other people, but cannot take it. THAT'S why Kerry kept that wonderful little smile while Bush was going ballistic the other night.

[HootieMcBoob]

31. It's the 2000 election all over again

This is the same thing they did to Gore. God I hate them. :nuke:

[LittleClarkie]

40. I don't understand what they've got against him

What's the beef?

[Rose Siding]

32. kick

[Insomnicole]

33. I can see the Daily Howler on this before it's even written.

Wish the RS reporter would have named *all* the Heathers doing this stuff. I've got an itchy e-mailing finger tonight; I'd love to give a couple of these pricks a piece of my mind.

[Generator]

34. Propaganda

That's all we have been getting in this country.

Everything all of us DU'ers have suspected and known is true. The fix is so in. Goddamn if they steal this election, have a terrorist attack or whatever the fuck, I don't want to live here anymore.

This country is becoming a disgrace. It was supposed to be a great country. It only took four years. Amazing.

[CBHagman]

37. One more thing the article brought out...

...was how great it is to have Mike McCurry back in politics. What a press secretary he was -- charming and witty and grounded. Not like the bitchy or supercilious (and mendacious) types who populate the current White House briefing room.

[Johnny 99]

38. Here's how the right-wingers will paint this

It's the liberal left-wing media with a lie about the liberal left-wing media.

[Lorien]

41. Call them on it!

write to their parent companies; tell them that we expect honest unbiased journalism. Sure, they may laugh...until you call their sponsors ...

[Cha]

42. So, I'm wondering how these

Major Asswipes are going to be doing when Kerry and Edwards take over the White House?

[Rockholm]

44. Unemployment Line!

[Cha]

45. I would love that..after all the

torture they have put this Country through via distorting our Dems and building up the figment of bush.

[Gold Metal Flake]

46. They are going to rip him to pieces...

What do you expect? We can complain all we want. These trolls are going nowhere.

[John_H]

49. That Rolling Stone reporter is full of shit

at least if you believe what some people have been spouting about the Kerry campaign. After all, if since the following turn of events just didn't happen, how can we believe what he says about Candy or the other mediawhors?

"To refashion his struggling campaign, Kerry began adding a cadre of slash-and-burn Clinton hands -- Joel Johnson, Joe Lockhart, Mike McCurry -- plus one non-Clintonista, John Sasso. From Washington, Lockhart would shape message and Johnson would handle rapid response, while Sasso would travel with Kerry to keep him focused. They unleashed a startlingly aggressive new candidate. "With these new people onboard," one Kerry aide says, "we've now put ourselves in a position where we can win. I don't care what anybody says: Either guy can still win this election."

On the Friday before Labor Day weekend, Kerry returned a call to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. After they chatted, Clinton asked if Kerry wanted to speak to her husband -- she was with him in his Manhattan hospital room as he awaited open-heart surgery. When Kerry spoke with the former president, the two men agreed to have a strategy session by phone. That ninety-minute conference call -- Lockhart was on the line too -- took place on Saturday night. Clinton was unwavering in his critique: Kerry had to stop talking about Vietnam and prosecute his case against Bush in as hard-hitting a manner as possible.

Thirty-six hours or so later, Kerry began his Clinton-inspired assault, saying Bush was carrying on "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Me? I'm just happy we have people on board capable of standing up to the whores on the plane.