From Dan Rather's Facebook page today

[justiceischeap]

I think I can post it in its entirety because it's a Facebook post.

https://www.facebook.com/theDanRather/posts/10158087282405716

This are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

When you have a spokesperson for the president of the United States wrap up a lie in the Orwellian phrase "alternative facts”…

when you have a press secretary in his first appearance before the White House reporters threaten, bully, lie, and then walk out of the briefing room without the cajones to answer a single question…

when you have a President stand before the stars of the fallen CIA agents and boast about the size of his crowds (lies) and how great his authoritarian inaugural speech was….

these are not normal times.

The press has never seen anything like this before. The public has never seen anything like this before. And the political leaders of both parties have never seen anything like this before.

What can we do? We can all step up and say simply and without equivocation. "A lie, is a lie, is a lie!" And if someone won't say it, those of us who know that there is such a thing as the truth must do whatever is in our power to diminish the liar's malignant reach into our society.

There is one group of people who can do a lot - very quickly. And that is Republicans in Congress. Without their support, Donald Trump's presidency will falter. So here is what I think everyone in the press must do. If you are interviewing a Paul Ryan, a Mitch McConnell, or any other GOP elected official, the first question must be "what will you do to combat the lying from the White House?" If they dodge and weave, keep with the follow ups. And if they refuse to give a satisfactory answer, end the interview.

Facts and the truth are not partisan. They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with them, with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Great! Facts do seem to have a liberal bias, though!

[TheBlackAdder]

21. Only due to the often refutation of conservative and orthodox bullshit!

[gordianot]

2. But Dan knows this will not generate easy revenue.

Every melt down has some value but eventually people might abandon fantasies and that is not good for consumer confidence or advertisement.

[SticksnStones]

7. I think people would tune in to see a brawl

I think it would actually increase viewership for the press to push back and make them squirm.

Beat Up By The Press...i'd tune in

[Dustlawyer]

63. The MSM is owned by TPTB, they will not do much.

Hope I am wrong.

[justiceischeap]

17. You know what page was one of the most popular during the election?

Dan Rather's.

I get that media must profit but I think he's proven that truth can be profitable and that people are looking for it.

[George II]

49. Dan Rather is retired, he's not looking for "profit".

[Eyeball_Kid]

24. Sometimes the "chicken or the egg" argument comes to mind:

Is the news media creating a dramatic conflict in the aftermath of the Trumpy inauguration to maintain wonderful ad revenues, just as the campaign created wonderful revenues, or are they merely reflecting the mood of the electorate and the nation by challenging Trumpy?

[Cha]

3. Good advice from Dan Rather.. and he gets it.. starting with

Con way again.. that woman is evil.

[guillaumeb]

4. I do not trust the corporate media to forgo access for the sake of principle.

Ratings and revenue are all that matter to media CEOs.

[branford]

5. There couldn't possibly be a worse spokesman to complain about political lies.

I care not at all that I might share Rather's liberal politics, it doesn't make him credible or persuasive.

If we need to rely on disgraced has-beens like Rather, our Party is well and truly screwed.

[Greybnk48]

8. Dan Rather is, and was, one of the premiere newsmen in this country.

He is not disgraced, unless you're referring to the "swiftboating" that happened to him by the Bush regime, any more than Secretary of State and war hero John Kerry is. Don't peddle that right wing shit here.

[Greybnk48]

11. How is Dan Rather disgraced? Enlighten me.

That is without using swift boat bullshit covering up Bush's AWOL. I'm waiting for your evidence.

[panader0]

15. BS--- Dan Rather spoke the truth and got fired for it.

[branford]

18. Dan Rather vouched for documents he didn't and couldn't authenticate

because he believed in a story, and lashed out critics and his own employer for demanding that he substantiate the documents and story.

The fact that the alleged expose was highly critical of Bush is immaterial. Defending Rather is supporting "fake news," not real journalism.

[Squinch]

29. How about the fact that the "alleged expose," as you call it, was true?

[Sparkly]

45. The woman who was supposed to have the document said...

that she didn't type that particular document, but she did type others that said exactly the same thing.

The document was fake, but the story was true.

[calimary]

65. Everyone everywhere forgets this part of it.

She vouched for the content of the document, even though she said she personally did not type that particular document. So she obviously knew the contents of the document were true, and for real. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough.

Dan Rather was fouled on a technicality. And that's a shame. He was always great. I still admire him. And he's right again, here, too.

[NCTraveler]

10. He is giving his opinion and sharing advice.

Not being a spokesperson. His words carry weight and are worth reading. He isn't a spokesperson nor is he promoting himself as one. He is sharing thoughts.

[branford]

14. Why would I or most Americans find his opinion or advice valuable or persuasive? nt

[NCTraveler]

20. Because he is intelligent, well thought out, knowledgeable, eyc...

No one is asking you to embrace every word.

I found Ted Kennedy to be an extremely flawed man, including in politics. I still supported him politically and had great respect for him. I would read what he wrote, listen to what he said, and in most instances I strongly supported him.

I don't get your thought process with Rather here. He isn't being a spokesperson. He is sharing his thoughts. He isn't your cup of tea. I appreciate what he has to say.

[LakeArenal]

27. No one is asking you to believe anything...

But you certainly do not speak for "most Americans".

[Squinch]

30. Why would anyone find yours valuable or persuasive?

[justiceischeap]

19. At the time that Rather and CBS screwed the pooch on the awol story

They were hitting the Bush admin hard...nightly. He and his team should have better vetted their source but I'm pretty certain they were purposely fed this story to discredit them.

Prior to this, his career and service to the public trust was unimpeachable and there's no reason to think his opinion and experience in these matters are less valid because he made a mistake.

[George II]

50. Dan Rather is not a disgraced has-been. He was duped by Karl Rove but we found out too late.

[MiniMe]

6. Per KellyAnne Conway, Sean just presented "alternative facts"

That was on Meet The Press. Even Chuck Todd couldn't keep a straight face with that one.

[dixiegrrrrl]

43. She created that phrase????

It is all over the web already....

[George II]

56. I got caught cheating on my wife*, so I gave her alternative facts!

*not really, just kidding around.

[Stuart G]

12. k and r...nt

[TrekLuver]

13. And the good press needs to stick together...some will sell out their mother to gain access.

[Sunny05]

16. K&R

[inwiththenew]

22. The Republicans in Congress don't care

They see Trump as a means to an end. He's doesn't really have any long held beliefs so if they throw him a bone here or there on some things he wants he will rubber stamp legislation that they've been wanting to pass for years. If he does something really egregious they might give some lame ass repudiation of him like Paul Ryan did for most the campaign after Trump got the nomination.

The Republicans are ruthless. They win elections and then stick it to their opponents. That's why they control basically everything outside of a handful of states.

[vlyons]

23. GOP has been lying for years

Let's start with Trickle Economics enables job creaters to create jobs. Let's start with the GOP wants to kill the ACA because it's a failed policy. They want to destroy the ACA because their millionaire owners don't want to pay the surtaxes. How about the lie that climate change is a hoax? Or the lie that there is vast voter fraud? Or the lie about MWD in Iraq? Or the lies that free trade deals are good for America? Lies after lies after lies.

Well here's the truth. The Republican part is a vast criminal enterprise.

[BobTheSubgenius]

25. My favourite memory of Dan Rather.

Right near the end of Nixon's tenure, the sharks were circling, but the administration was still talking a good game and trying to appear jovial. When Nixon had finished talking, and the press were invited to take questions, it came around to DR's turn.

There was quite a reaction to this, because he had been quite outspoken about Watergate and all its ramifications. Nixon smiled and said "Are you thinking of running for public office, Dan?" DR replied "No, Mr. President. Are you?"

The smile instantly left Nixon's face.

[dhol82]

26. I want to know why Chuck only kept using the word 'falsehood?'

Does he think that 'lie' is too aggressive?

[justiceischeap]

31. There's been a long history in news, as far as I can tell, that it was impolite

to call someone a liar. I think we've moved past that at this point.

[dhol82]

57. Definitely with this new crew in the WH

[smirkymonkey]

28. K&R

[malaise]

32. The said press let him do this shit over and over during the campaign

That is all

[justiceischeap]

33. Dan Rather, though no longer really considered press

did not. If you're on FB you should follow him and his new page News and Guts.

His page is mostly 6-8 graphs of his opinion on things and the News and Guts purpose is for curating news that isn't fake. Not a lot of editorial going on there.

[malaise]

34. Not attacking Dan

Dealing with M$Greedia who celebrated their windfall in money.

I wonder how much Russian money went their way

[justiceischeap]

35. I hear you

I've been on a tear recently about pointing folks to news that isn't so much revenue generated. And if it is revenue reliant, pointing out sources that appear to be doing their jobs.

But I agree, except for a handful of print journos and a couple on-air personalities, the 4th estate failed America bigly.

[malaise]

36. Precisely - bigly is correct

[joanbarnes]

37. my new mantra (besides lock him up) is You Lie!

[dhol82]

58. +1

Bigly!

[PatrickforO]

38. Well said, Dan!

A lie is a lie.

[world wide wally]

39. News person vocabulary word of the week:

"Blatant Lie"

Please define and use in a sentence

[justiceischeap]

40. Alternative Facts

Did I pass?

[world wide wally]

42. You fail bigly... Retest!

[Eclectic Scribe]

59. A blatant lie is

A lie told by someone who knows he or she is lying, and everyone else knows he or she is lying, but the lie is told anyway.

Example: Trump told a blatant lie when he said that his inauguration had the most attendees of any other president.

Another example: Trump most likely told a blatant lie if he just attempted to utter three sentences in a row.

[world wide wally]

61. Very good, Skeptic

A+.

[McCamy Taylor]

41. Yeah, Dan Rather! The perfect news martyr to lead the press in Watergate 2017!

Link that I miraculously found to one of my pre 2010 DU journals from a link at Kos.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3539083

The Scoop on CBS: Why Redstone Sold Dan Rather for 20 Pieces of Silver

[justiceischeap]

47. Excellent post!

I'm a firm believer that Rather and Mapes were set up by the GOP (Rove?).

[workinclasszero]

44. When is the Dear Leader

going to set up the Ministry of Truth?

[Buckeye_Democrat]

46. "And if they refuse to give a satisfactory answer, end the interview."

Absolutely!

Cut off that blonde-haired monkey skeleton, Kellyanne, for starters!

[justiceischeap]

48. They would be unhappy with Faux being their only news outlet

They already "own" that demographic.

If they can't or don't tell the truth, they should be shut down. They can report the news without interviewing these folks.

[saidsimplesimon]

51. Dan Rather is a real hero.

He paid the price as a journalist for trying to expose the truth about GWB's absence from military service.

[NastyRiffraff]

52. Proud to be the 100th rec!

Excellent advice from a real journalist. Hold Republican officials' feet to the fire and don't let up!

The "new normal" according to Dump staff: If you don't like the facts, just present "alternative facts." As Chuck Todd said to Kellyanne: "Alternative facts are NOT facts. They are falsehoods."

[dae]

53. Thank you for the OP. Truth is under assault. n/t

[heaven05]

54. great journalist

[coco22]

55. Kicked&Recommended!

[Scurrilous]

60. K & R

[KewlKat]

62. I liked this response: What can we do? Get up every morning, grab a cup of coffee,

Anne Kraft Kleinhesselink

What can we do? Get up every morning, grab a cup of coffee, and call [phone]. Give them your zip code. Once connected to your representatives office ask them "how are your going to combat blatant lies coming from the Whitehouse?" Make it your morning routine. Phone calls work, especially when there are millions!

[ramapo]

64. How about calling the White House every morning?

[phone]

Just let them know what you're not happy about.

Tell them you'd love to see the tax returns.

Or maybe you really need that disaster as Trump refers to the ACA since without it you'd have a real disaster.

Or that you don't believe in the Press Secretary making up Alternate Facts

Or the President talking trash while at the CIA

Or maybe you believe America is already, has been, and is, pretty great (although could be greater)

I'm sure there will be more after tomorrow

[Nitram]

66. The problem is that Republicans in Congress will use Trump to get what they want...

passed before they will do anything to remove him from power and put Pence in charge.

[justiceischeap]

67. Yes, this is a very real possibility

and comes with its own dangers and repercussions. That said, other than being a nuisance to the GOP, there isn't much we can do until 2018 and the damage will be done by then whether Danger Cheeto is impeached or not.