Pundits, Radio Talkers and TV Opinionators Are NOT Political Leaders

[MineralMan]

Not in any way. They are interpreters of news, and that's it. They're people who have opinions and get paid to express them, for better or worse. They are running for nothing. They make no laws. They do not have any position of public trust. They are simply people who are stating their opinions about stuff. Some do that better than others, and some are completely wrong, 100% of the time.

They are not protected from criticism on DU. They are not "leading Democrats." They are just doing the same thing we all are doing here on DU. They're telling people what they think. And, in so doing, they open themselves up for public criticism by anyone who wishes to criticize them.

Here on DU, we all have opinions. We're free to express them, even when the opinions are of others who express their opinions. Nobody is immune from that criticism...especially not pundits on various media outlets.

[HopeAgain]

1. Can we also add self-declared Twitterers with "sources" everywhere

as well?

[MineralMan]

2. Same thing, exactly.

Paid or unpaid, pundits use all sorts of outlets to spread their opinions about stuff. None of them should be protected from criticism on DU. They make statements in public, and should be criticized in public if they are full of crap.

Attempts to turn DU into a non-critical venue for discussion will always fail. Anyone who states opinions about politics or news in public is fair game for public criticism, as far as I'm concerned.

They can also be praised, of course. Two sides of the same coin.