Media, Politics, Uncategorized

MSNBC Reporter Asks Protester How Best To “Neutralize” The Trump Threat To Democracy and Make “Our” Voices Heard

Screen Shot 2017-04-17 at 11.32.42 AMI have been writing about the surprising bias shown in coverage of the Trump Administration. While I strongly disagree with Trump’s portrayal of the media and believe that much of the negative coverage is legitimate coverage of Administration missteps and controversies, the media appears to be losing sight of its navigational beacons in pursing Trump like some “great white” out of Moby Dick.  The latest example is an interview of actress Debra Messing by MSNBC reporter Morgan Radford during the Tax Day Protests.  (For the record, I agree that Trump should disclose his tax records and that his rationale of being audited is not a compelling legal basis for withholding the records).  In the course of the interview, Radford not only refers to “our voices” in agreement with the protesters but refers to the Trump Administration as threatening democracy.

In the interview available here, the former “Will & Grace” star objects to how  American democracy was “attacked and infiltrated by Russia.” Radford then follows her comments by asking about the “best way to make our voices heard” in order to “neutralize” the threat posed by the “current administration to democracy.”

In a recent column, I wrote about how the media seems to be struggling with notions of neutrality in coverage of the Administration.  I also believe that the allegations of Russian interference should be investigated (though as I previously wrote we have a long history of even greater forms of interference in other countries).  At one time, such statements would have resulted in outrage from the media, which has long jealously protected its neutrality in coverage. Now it seems commonplace that a national reporter would refer to “our” voices in protests and describe the current Administration as a threat to democracy.

I am perfectly willing to accept the interview as a major slip or unguarded moment, but there should be some official response to such coverage to reaffirm that reporters are not advocates in coverage.

What do you think?

150 thoughts on “MSNBC Reporter Asks Protester How Best To “Neutralize” The Trump Threat To Democracy and Make “Our” Voices Heard”

  1. It should be NO secret progressives are steadfast in their attempts to delegitimize President Trump! Are MSNBC & CNN not allied to marginalize our president? Does a partisan media & so-called, liberal party not daily spew veil, pejoratives at Trump? Has CNN & MSNBC, along with progressives, not contaminated themselves? In short, protracted attempts to rebuke politically Trump will, in time, destroy the snobbish progressive party.

  2. Bob,

    I saw that also. I have a difficult time thinking Trump wasn’t spied on given that nearly everyone else is.

    Trump seems willing to continue mass surveillance of the world’s population as long as he’s exempt from it. He is also willing to continue Obama’s wars and up the ante on those with nukes. There has been a seamless transition from Obama to Clinton afterall!

  3. Bet Comey has built quite a case against Carter Page and he will probably do some hard time.

      1. From what I heard Comey used it to bolster an already strong case. Trump kept Comey on so are all the decisions made by Comey now Trump Comey? Would not want to be in Carter Page’s shoes. What is,that old saying about the FBI?

        1. Anon
          ..
          – I don’t know if it’s an “old saying”, but here’s one:
          “The FBI has 100 people working on Russiagate and at this point we know VERY LITTLE”.
          Since you wrote that two days ago, maybe it’s an “old saying”.

  6. I agree with Jon’s assessment, but I, unfortunately, am not at all surprised. The media bias is not a new phenomenon. This particular “interview” seems more akin to a sophomoric attempt to get a seat at the “cool kids lunch table.” Disgraceful, inane, vapid and all too common. Messing says without contradiction, “We all do it every year!” Really? She publishes her tax returns every year? Interviewees get away with utter nonsense because the wannabe-a- star interviewer is too busy trying to ingratiate herself. Depressing.

    1. Is the president of the USA personally financially indebted to the Russian oligarchs?

        1. The Dave T’s are just play acting..the false hysteria thing in hopes of feeding the next generation of non-reasoning “Liberals”

          1. News? From MSDNC? You mean where the left is now pushing their latest narrative out to the brainwashed masses to go out and protest over Trump’s taxes because their Russia collusion story is falling apart? Or the most recent analysis by the leftist media that says Trump won the election because of racism and Hillary lost because of sexism? THAT news? Notice how nothing in the analysis addresses the failure of Obama and his policies? Notice how nothing addresses the personal failures of Hillary Clinton? They blame it all on identity politics – racism and sexism. Let’s hope they never learn.

  8. I have never seen a liberal reporter speculate as to why Obama’s college and law school records are state secrets, but I have a pretty good guess as to why.

    1. Obama’s birth certificate was a state secret for so many years as well. I wonder why……

  9. Just use common sense jt, for trump to release his tax return would allow the corrupt media and insane lawyers to attack trump on things that maybe be totally legal . You can’t see that Jonathan Turley ? You also support no term limits even though you see people like McCain destroying this country , what’s wrong with you ? Can’t rely on the system that is corrupt to purge these monsters out !

        1. What is obvious to us unfortunately is rocket science to our “intellectuals”

  10. Sorry buddy, they don’t like the truth around here, just their opinions. They take the blue pill from the Matrix around here by the bucket.

  11. And I assume all of you are equally upset over the obvious and endless bias shown by Fox?

    Hmmm… odd… silence… I wonder why?

    1. Wow I hear you therepublicofstupidity. Imagine the brass of FOX reporting on Susan Rice’s admission regarding surveillance of the Trump team after CNN’s Don Lemon put for the edict that the story should not be reported on at all! The nerve of them.

    2. Fox news leans right. They also make an effort to have people with opposing views present and argue the other side. The Left Media is merely an echo chamber. I personally wish we could have more straight news and less op/ed. Without Fox, there would be no counterpoint to the State Propaganda that is the mainstream media. I particularly enjoy how Catherine Herridge is proven right time and again.

      The other thing that bothers me across the board in the media is how the female anchors, guests, journalists, and weather girls on all news stations all dress like they’re at a cocktail party, while the men are wearing serious suits. If women want to be taken seriously they need to take the sex appeal out and just be a tough as nails journalist. But this is TV so that will never happen.

  12. There is no way to ensure that “reporters are not advocates in coverage” – journalistic ethics seem to be a quaint concept today for the MSM.

    1. The MSM is under the same delusion as any true ideologue labors under: That what they think or want is always the most moral and that by nature they fight against those who are less moral or worse, immoral.
      That is why they don’t ever have to actually look at the results of all their goodness and the end always justifies the means. “Don’t speak to me of good men, chain them to the Constitution”. TJ

  13. The Trumpistas neutralize themselves and each other. Even Laurel & Hardy are more organized.

    1. The Democratic Party is, of course, functioning like a well-oiled machine.
      With the “unified” leadership of Schumer, Bernie, Pelosi, Ellison, Dean, Warren, the Clintons, etc., they are might put together a Keystone Cops coalition.

        1. Joe,

          Our “beautiful healthcare” became a thing of the past with the advent of the failed Obamacare!

        2. My motive is to get a pre-paid graduated Tax supported 100% Healthcare Plan through the legislative process.
          Interested?

  14. That is without doubt the worst coverup yet. So much for the left stream media Libertarians are breakaways from objectivists. Your description is follow on to secular subjectivism. You are no where close. The Main Stream Media slot has been taken over though not well by Fox as the former occupants abandoned all hope and split for the extreme left a position which died 27 years ago.

    I guess they take some comfort in a political or quasi philosopphical theory that is dead and suffered it’s first mortal wound from it’s first original author about 300 BC. No excuse for those who have to be reprogrammed every day but this one really went overboard. We’ll need a new replacement word for idiocy and stupid before long at this rate of implosion.

    1. The funniest party is some comment about defeniding our democracy that keeps leaking through. I’m wondering which country the ‘our’ represents in their heroic efforts. For sure it’s not the USA which is a Representative Constitutional Republic. Perhaps based in part on the original ideas and democratic principles that preceded development of such things as Republics and Constitutions but even that connection was destroyed when the population gave up the right of control – at least the regressives did. .

      1. I’ve seen zero evidence the country changed from Republic to Democracy other than disjointed disconnected hot air by blowhards who are convinced saying is the same as doing. Since no legal efforts to that end can be summoned from the pages of history go follow the rules of your own ideology —somewhere else.

        1. You have to take into account that for decades the Liberals have been quite clear that Conservatives deserve no representation and their opinions don’t count any more. Looks like the old pendulum knocked them on their collective arse.

    1. Here is a libertarian view. You will not hear it on CNN or Fox either:

      “U.S. Propaganda is Embarrassingly Bad (and Why it Matters)”

      https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2017/04/17/u-s-propaganda-is-embarrassingly-bad-and-why-it-matters/#more-43758

      Genuine ideas have no place in the MSM or rarely in everyday life. It’s all manufactured. I was hoping byl presenting real voices, voices of passion on behalf of our nation, it would be clear how little we are exposed to actual thought and analysis. We are told CNN is left and Fox is right. They are neither. They are oligarchy.

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