Blame these people for Trump's outrageous attack on truth and U.S. law enforcement
By Jennifer Rubin
May 23 at 12:15 PM
-snip-
I’m not talking in this instance about Rudolph W. Giuliani, whose unhinged rhetoric and yen for the limelight is surpassed only by Trump, nor am I referring to the president’s malicious allies in the House, most especially Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who cooked up one fake conspiracy after another and viciously attacked law enforcement. (Freedom Caucus members’ rhetoric sounds more like that of 1960s radical leftists than the voice of conservative Republicans.)
I don’t even point the finger at Fox News, which has abandoned any pretense of real journalism to perpetuate a lucrative cable TV operation, even at the expense of polluting our politics and destroying an semblance of sanity in the GOP.
No, in this case I am referring to the active and quiet enablers, the politicians and pundits on “respectable” publications who indulge and even encourage Trump. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who is responsible for keeping Nunes on the House Intelligence Committee, hit a new low when he applauded the nonexistent scandal. He declared on CNN: “I do think it’s appropriate in the context of the legitimate Intelligence Committee investigation that this information be provided to Congress.” No. This is not a legitimate investigation. It is a hyper-partisan effort built on a mountain of lies (e.g. the Deep State, a planted spy) and designed to provide protection to a president who is engaged in an ongoing scheme to disrupt, to obstruct, justice. Surely Ryan knows this, and yet in his final months in office he cannot manage to put country before party. He is smart enough to know that the Big Lie and attacks on the investigators come straight from the authoritarian handbook. He chooses to do nothing — because, well, tax cuts? His thought process and moral calculus are no longer rational.
There is another cadre of people responsible for the dangerous assault on reality and on law enforcement. These are the supposedly rational Republican pundits who coo about Trump’s court appointments, the rollback of environmental regulations, and a huge tax cut for the rich and corporations. So we’re all good! No problem — he’s a success! Misplaced priorities and tribal loyalty have shredded any semblance of moral and intellectual integrity, making them apologists for a dangerous and unfit president. They have some judges yet passively accept the erosion of legal norms and the assault on the justice system.
And let’s not forget the “mainstream” Republicans who remain silent — Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Rob Portman of Ohio, John Cornyn of Texas, etc. — and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (who won’t bring a bill to protect the special prosecutor to the floor). They actually have the power to call Trump out, to denounce his egregious conduct, to censure the president and to construct guardrails (e.g. protect Mueller, reject unfit nominees, reassert Congress’s war-making powers) to protect the republic during this scary time.
Ultimately, history and the voters will judge all of these people. In the short run, voters in November should consider what a GOP House and Senate majority has wrought. Instead of curtailing an out-of-control, despotic president, they cower or, worse, cheer. They should not be entrusted with power.
full article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/05/23/blame-these-people-for-trumps-outrageous-attack-on-truth-and-u-s-law-enforcement/
= new reply since forum marked as read
In her position, what did she have to lose, especially at that time? Seems like aiding and abetting---and now things are so bad, she was afraid of being "outed, so is taking the initiative ("Ha! Ha! I never really took him seriously," and then, the old standby, "I never really thought he'd be elected"
.
in that they fear backlash from Republicans if they are non-partisan and report negatively on the GOP. These networks are beholden to shareholders who are mostly concerned about maximizing returns, just like all corporations today. And, they are working in a highly competitive environment that is comprised of many more players than in the 60s and 70s, and that competition includes the internet.
Further, they are totally at the mercy of advertisers who are heavily biased toward the GOP. They are also vulnerable to consumer boycotts which can come from both side of the political spectrum.
Particularly with tRump's bunch in charge, they know any negative reporting toward the GOP may well be met with revenge, which could be evidenced in dozens of ways from government agencies such as Commerce and the FCC. So, I'm no longer surprised the networks are so chicken shit with political reporting.
------
