Maddow is not honest

[snowy owl]

The MSNBC host to frustrates me the most is Maddow. She claims to be a policy wonk and everybody thinks she's smarter than Einstein. Today she did another hit piece on Bernie by claiming that his claim that a mandate from the people will result in a revolution by the sheer numbers that turn out. So she compared his numbers with Obama's in 2008. Obama's were greater of course. And that did not result in a mandate nor did it change our politic process. Case closed. Right?

Well I don't think so. Obama did bring in a democratic congress as I recall. He had his congress but he failed to deliver. The country was behind him 100%. But suddenly he forgot promises made and spent too much time trying to bring Republicans and Democrats together. And that is why he lost so many of those Democrats in 2010. Liberals were disappointed and did not vote. He was the problem.

If I'm wrong, please correct me. But Bernie won't waste such an opportunity. He's all fire and mission where Obama was milquetoast and right wing in some of his policies. I recall a lot of people calling Obama center-right. Well, Rachel, you can spin it any way you want but one thing I'll give Bernie, he's honest almost to a fault. And, damn, he's a whole lot smarter than you or anybody else on MSNBC. In fact, he sounds smart . . . he is smart. That's what attracts me. He is just so darn smart!

[shenmue]

1. I hope you have a lot of room under that bus

Since you're throwing everybody.

[Ed Suspicious]

2. Under the bus with you.

Busses were never designed to drive over so much crap.

[snowy owl]

3. busses are kisses

Happy Valentines

[2pooped2pop]

32. I have plenty of room for all of those who vote or help sway the vote to kill the people out here

With more of the same shit that is devastating so many. My bus is large enough for all of them but more importantly I have forward and reverse, so I can back up and run over them again and again.

[99th_Monkey]

4. Rachael's "voter turnout" attack on Bernie, totally left out INDEPENDENT voters

the very voters Democrats absolutely must attract in order to win the GE.

But Indie voters were NOT even factored into Rachael's equation. it was a sad
sorry-ass piece of journalism.

[valerief]

6. It was Comcast journalism. nt

[pacalo]

13. Yes.

[RKP5637]

26. Exactly!!! She's drunk the Comcast cool-aide, likely a requirement to keep her job IMO. MSNBC

is just another niche market. Fox uses republicans for $$$$$'s. MSBNC uses democrats for $$$$$'s.

[Blue_In_AK]

35. Oh, you know, they say the independents are voting for Bernie

because they really want their chosen Republican to run against the "weaker" candidate. And, of course, Republicans who vote in the Democratic primary are up to similar mischief. They can't conceive that independents and even some Republicans might actually like to see Bernie win.

[angstlessk]

5. Bernie needs to do the equivalent to fireside chats

FDR knew the congress was against him. but he reached out to the public!

Bernie needs to something similar so he can get his programs through

[DreWId]

27. This!

Yeah, Bernie needs to be accessible to the public, all public.

He could have, for example, a national radio show with streaming online services. He doesn't even have to have his own radio show, he could just piggy-back off of an existing program. It could be in the late-morning or afternoon so people could listen to at least portions of it during their lunch break. He could even take phonecalls from anyone who calls in and talk, directly, to people.

It could be called something like, I don't know, "Brunch with Bernie". That has a nice ring to it, don't you think?


(also: ;p )

[MrMickeysMom]

34. You're right, angstlessk!

I believe, before he was cut out of the process, that many of us were wondering if THAT'S how Dean could get his message through.

Bernie WILL.

[redstateblues]

7. I wouldn't call ACA "failure to deliver"

I am amazed how BSS forget the mess was handed to him by Bush. He has done a good job considering the intransigence he faced. You seem to think Bernie shouting and wagging his finger will get things done. The trashing of Obama here on DU is disgraceful. It will come back to haunt the Puritopians.

[snowy owl]

10. Obama left $350 billion on the table for homeowners

It was tarp and it was earmarked for homeowners but Obama's team didn't want to "make the decision" to activate it and Bush wouldn't do it because it was transition. Well, the banks got theirs but the homeowners didn't. Also, ACA is a step in the right direction I guess but I know many lower middle class people who cannot afford it. It helps the poor but not the working poor a whole lot. I know, I've got a brother in the $30,000 a year range. His medical costs through ACA are astronomical. Somebody has to pay. And 20 m people still don't have any healthcare. So love ACA if you want and I won't disagree, but it isn't what we need. People forget what Obama campaigned on and then what he actually tried to do. He was all for cutting social security. Funny how he's acting on all those liberal impulses since Warren has given establishment democrats permission to go for something better. How many times have you heard "rigged" since she introduced it? She started the fire. Bernie will keep it going.

[montanacowboy]

8. We were all ready for hope and change and what did we get

bending over backwards to hold hands across the aisle and which got us jack shit - and we were called "retarded"by that bastard Rahm, and Social Security was put ON THE TABLE and on and on

Obama should have figured it out real quick that the fix was in with the Repukes, they had no intention of working with anyone.

We didn't even try for Single Payer, who sat at that negotiation table? The progressives, liberals whatever you want to call us were sold down the river. And remember we don't look back? And the whole criminal cabal got off the hook. Remember renegotiating NAFTA? did I miss that?

And Hillary is going to carry on where all that shit left off, more of the same and worse.

This may be the last time in most of our lifetimes to have at least a crack at a real progressive president and if we piss it away and settle again, it won't come again.

[Peace Patriot]

15. Agree 1,000x!!!

[rhett o rick]

9. She sold her soul. nm

[jillan]

11. Love how she forgot to mention that Bernie got more votes in NH than Obama, or any other Dem since

JFK!

It's the new Capehart style of journalism.

[brush]

21. It's the next state over, of course he got more votes than anyone else

Who else from Vermont or New Hampshire have even run?

[swilton]

24. The neighboring state argument

is only valid for NH in cases where Massachusetts is in play.

[brush]

25. How so? Those two states share a pretty long border.

[pacalo]

12. I saw it & was as disappointed as you.

Chris Hayes did a hit piece, too.

If they were reporting facts I couldn't hold it against them, but they were seemingly trying to persuade their audiences (who trusted them) to Hillary's side.

They are only hurting themselves. We dropped the newspaper during the early Duhbya years because of slanted pro-Bush coverage & so did a lot of others.

[snowy owl]

14. Too many liberals still cling to MSNBC

We don't have much in media but it is time to quit watching. I'd love to see their numbers fall because the liberal cause (the American cause) is being trashed.

[brush]

16. Obama was the problem?

Do you not know that on his inaugural day in 2009 several big wigs in the repug party met in a DC restaurant and vowed to vote against all his proposals and make him a one-term president.

Come on, you have to know this before blaming Obama for everything, like there wasn't any repug obstructionism, that is still ongoing btw.

[snowy owl]

17. Of course I know that

I even know who they were. Not the point. He had a democratic congress. So, yes, we need a louder and stronger voice. And we need a congress not filled with blue dogs. What liberal puts social security on the table? or leaves $350B for homeowners on the table? I learned my lesson about voting for inexperienced politicians. And TPP is hardly liberal.

[earthshine]

18. Snowy, I agree with everything you eloquently wrote here.

Obama has been a terrible disappointment. He absolutely blew it when he had majorities in congress -- and this is why we are no longer the majority.

The ACA was a giveaway to insurance companies. The TPP is grotesque.

The ACA and TPP were the only things for which he ever fought passionately.

Now, he wants to be the "cool" president and be thought of as progressive. Sorry, neither.

Welcome to DU. Have a heart on me.

[brush]

19. Because of the Al Franken recount delay in '09 . . .

Last edited Sat Feb 13, 2016, 05:17 AM - Edit history (1)

The democrats only had a 60 vote majority in the Senate for a total of 5 months in the 111th Congress, and that time was not contiguous because Franken wasn't seated until July of '09, then Ted Kennedy died and then Scott Brown defeated his dem replacement and the summer recess also interrupted that 5 month time period.

The repugs had the votes to filibuster and thus obstruct for most of the first two years that people like you claim there was a Democratic congress.

I don't agree with all of his policies either but if you're gonna list the things you don't like, list the things he accomplished also to be fair. You'll find the accomplishment list a lot longer.

And please don't exaggerate by saying he had a two-year dem majority.

That's just not factual.

[LSK]

20. ^^ this ^^

Obama didn't have a filibuster proof Senate for very long at all. He needed Arlen Spector to get Obamacare passed.

[One of the 99]

22. The problem wasn't the President.

After the '08 election, many on the left thought the job was done and went home. At the same time the Tea Party was mobilizing.

[swilton]

23. Agree with everything you say+++

A few points on Obama: 1. Sanders is coming into this campaign with a substantially thicker resume than Obama had. 2. Yes, Obama won by a great mandate but one has to admit that the bar had been set fairly low after 8 years of Bush ii....The entire electorate was hungry for ANYONE who could walk and chew gum at the same time. 3. Furthermore, there are many reasons why Obama moved or governed from the center-center right. According to Hillary's arguments** (caveated wink wink) but also supported by other journalists, Obama had taken a substantial amount of financial resources from the banking industry. That is why his financial advisors were largely from Wall Street- the establishment and why many argue the Dodd Frank bill was weak, why he never allowed any single payer advocates to sit at the table to work out health care reform, etc., etc. and why despite overwhelming bail-out give-aways to the banks, no bank CEO's were prosecuted.

Rachel Maddow is smart and I've long said that she uses her wit and credentials to serve her own interests. She is capable of arguing that the rain falls up. I believe that despite her giving lip service to progressives that she is at the end-of-the day, a servant of the establishment. She is smart enough to walk a fine line and say just enough to attract a left leaning following but not get in trouble with those whom she serves. I lost my respect for her long ago when early on in the Obama Administration she made an argument supporting President Obama's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize. Although I never saw her show when she said this and only saw this through a post here on DU, I heard that this week she made some sort of argument that Bernie Sanders turn-out in NH was NOT the largest turn-out for a Democratic candidate, an assertion that is contradicted by Amy Goodman's statements on Democracy Now on 10 February. I trust Amy Goodman - I do not trust Rachel.

[brush]

28. IMO Maddow lost her progressive bonafides when she stayed on MSNBC when that network . . .

gutted their left-leaning shows/commentators and shifted hard to the right in their programming.

She herself has many, many nights of wall-to-wall Trump coverage so she has apparently and willing shifted rightward along with her employer.

WTF is up with that?

With her smarts, credentials and resume she could have landed on her feet if she had resigned over principle after the rightward lurch.

Guess she didn't want to give up the lifestyle, or maybe she's looking, not wanting to quit her job without having found another.

Hope that's the case.

[snowy owl]

33. Well said.

[Bucky]

29. She's a journalist, not an advocate. Getting upset cause she doesn't support your cause is silly.

The way to win is to organize and win, not sit around pouting cause some TV show highlighted the obstacles we face.

[brush]

30. I don't know, she has long been thought of as progressive, left-leaning commentator . . .

who broadcast on "Air America" before signing on with then left-leaning MSNBC.

That stance has apparently been jettisoned however as she has stayed on after MSNBC's rightward lurch of several months ago.

On second thought, maybe you're right. She has shown herself to be just a journalist, and not a particularly principled one.

[MisterP]

31. they tried to deny the Supermajority a while back

now they're even forgetting the Dem Congress (because people will ask not just "where'd the 60 Senators go?" but "where did 11 Governors, 13 Senators, 69 Reps, and 913 state seats go?"

[merrily]

36. Let's rip off the bandaid, once and for all. MSNBC anchors follow orders from

NBC News, and NBC News is not liberal. It's probably not even Democratic. And whoever gives the orders to NBC News from the owners of NBC is even less likely to be Democratic.

Cenk is not on MSNBC any longer because he criticized Obama. Shultz is not on MSNBC any longer--and his show got shifted around a lot while he was there--because he was strongly pro union, pro public option and, finally, pro Sanders.

Whatever Maddow may have been, she is an MSNBC anchor now. So is O'Donnell. What is worse about her is that she keeps waving the liberal flag. What is worse about O'Donnell is that he has claimed for years to be a socialist. Not even a Democratic Socialist, but a socialist.

Liberals are not represented on TV because no one pays for liberals to be represented on TV. Even Stewart was far more centrist/establishment than liberal.

[BaldHippie]

37. Obama Thinks This Is SILLY SEASON

Snowy I could not agree with you more. When Obama took office FOX and the GOP were terrified. We supposedly had two qualities in our new "progressive" President.

1. Strong liberal anti-wall street values.
2. Great Oratorical skills to preach those liberal anti-wall street values.

Remember in his first 6 months there was going to be "card check" whereby union membership would rise. Did Obama push for it? Did he try to "FAST TRACK" it. NO instead he pushed for fast track of TPP (NAFTA on Steroids). Then when the unions needed him in Wisconsin and he gave his word to walk the lines with them what did he do? Nothing. He sent a last miniute TWEET of 140 characters. No this is not "change we can believe in".

Wall Street tanked our economy. Along with the corporate wing of the Democratic party who play "make believe liberal" inside the corporate sandbox of their patrician donors, the banks got off free. Obama even added banksters to his government.

America has become the "Shinning Casino on the hill". Obama "turned the page" on the banksters and how we got into Iraq along with looking the other way at Wall Street crimes. Worse Haliburton had a subsidiary in Iran while our troops where dying from their mines.

Why didn't Obama play the PATRIOTISM GAME at Haliburton (see video below)?

Obama got money from Goldman Sachs analysts.

https://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cid=N00009638

Hillary Clinton is indeed is following in Obama's Goldman Sachs footsteps making money from them

http://middle-class-populist.com/hillary-clinton-refuses-to-stand-up-to-her-patrician-sponsors/

Obama has stated on HARDBALL that our manufacturiing jobs are lost and not comming back. The concept of a TARIF is beyond him. Then again standing up to the GOP is beyond him.

We lost Congress due to Obama believing this was just "silly season". Americans want ACTION FIGURES. They will vote against their own self interest but not against their self concept. That is why Donald Trump is rising becasue Obama refused to use the BULLY PULPIT.

So what Obama gave us RomneyCare! Oh sure it is just a starter program but Democrats could not get it strengthened if we had 150 Senators in a Senate of 100! As a Progressive I cannot wait till Obama leaves office. I do not want a Republican but if we did have one at least individual members of Congress would stand up to him.

Stop making excuses for Obama!

[iwannaknow]

38. Rachael, I dare you to show clips from this video

[Duckfan]

39. This link is also in this forum from Thom Hartmann which proves her wrong

Just saw it a few minutes ago.

Yes, I'm beginning to believe Maddow is another MSNBC hack like Up-Chuck Todd. She has changed in the last few years--especially since they let Ed go.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017330391

[KoKo]

40. Bernie will "Waste NO opportunity to TELL THE TRUTH!"

Right On!

[eviliberal]

41. Obama-bashing, are we?

[demwing]

42. Nope, the OP is just telling the truth

And it feels like bashing