Seung Min Kim, a White House correspondent for The Washington Post, has found herself under vicious attack this week because she had the temerity to show Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (left) a critical tweet from President Joe Biden’s for budget director, Neera Tanden. Kim was seeking a comment from the key senator on whether the tweet criticizing her in personal terms would influence her vote. Kim was then attacked as a “dumb**s snitch” for undermining the nomination of a person of color.
The attacks began after HuffPost Capitol Hill reporter Igor Bobik posted the picture of Kim asking Murkowski about the tweet in which she accused Murkowski of being “high on your own supply” for supporting Trump’s massive corporate tax cut.
Kim was immediately set upon by a digital mob. One person reportedly wrote “Hi. What a coonish thing to do to fuck up another POC nomination on behalf of whites. Dumb**s snitch.” Vox senior correspondent Matthew Yglesias posted, in a now-deleted tweet, that “I do not approve of harassing @seungminkim, but just FYI to everyone covering the Hill the reason many people were triggered by that image is there were so so so so many instances of republican members of congress saying they hadn’t seen Trump tweet X.” Kim shot back in a tweet that said “When you have to add a ‘but,’ after saying you don’t approve of harassment on someone, just take a moment and think about that.” Yglesias then deleted his tweet.
Columbia University lecturer Tom Watson joined the criticism. Watson is the President of Cause Wired where cites his past work with the New York Times as a writer. Watson tweeted “@seungminkim decided to try and sink the nomination. Good lord.”
The story surrounding the Tanden nomination is a long list of deleted tweets that attacked members of Congress and particularly Republicans. I have not read all of the tweets, but I am not convinced that the tweets make her unqualified for this position. I am concerned when members are influenced by criticism of themselves in voting against a nominee. They are public figures and Tanden clearly holds opposing views. I do not see why such tweets should be determinative in a nomination vote and could send a chilling message to others not to criticize people in power.
However, the legitimate story is how these tweets are impacting key senators and Kim wanted to see how this tweet would influence Murkowski, a key swing vote in the Senate. That does not mean that Kim “decided to try and sink the nomination.” She was doing her job as an independent journalist opposed to being an advocate.
Watson’s criticism reminded me of the recent position of a leading journalism professor at Stanford. Professor Ted Glasser publicly called for an end of objectivity in journalism as too constraining for reporters in seeking “social justice.” He insisted that journalism needed to “free itself from this notion of objectivity to develop a sense of social justice.” He rejected the notion that the journalism is based on objectivity and said that he views “journalists as activists because journalism at its best — and indeed history at its best — is all about morality.” Thus, “Journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it’s hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity.” Good lord.
The attacks on Kim is another example of this age of rage, as I discussed his week in my testimony before the House. There is a growing distemper where academics engage in vulgar or religious attacks and others endorse violence. Our most basic values of free speech and the free press are under attack. When a reporter like Kim must face such disgraceful abuse, we have become untethered from those values that define us.
Turley is such a carnival clown. Hard to take him serious. I’m a Trump guy all the way, but spare me Turley and his BS.
Well , the left eats it’s own when it’s own methods are use don itself by it’s very own media pawns. My I just may have a moment of schadenfreude over this…oh joy !!!. The hypocrisy of the left fascist party is never ending. When it shots itself…ah yes time to rejoice at their spectacular despotism !!.
“undermining the nomination of a person of color”
Perhaps we need a Tower of Babel like building to be sure we aren’t stepping on those who really need boost.
As Jobama Biden the emperor potus has already called for airstrikes in Syria… you all know the direction this administration is going to take. Americans are in denial. Was un Cancun listening to international news, we are the laughing stock of the world…btw, that’s on international FOX also…
Why does everyone focus on the “medium” and not the “content”!
What she says is infinitely more important than the publication uses to convey her vitriol.
Prof Turley I’m surprised at you.
“Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…. even by children. Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews”
As I am jewish who’s parent gave up their identity as jews. I have read much about the nazism movement and yes, todays politicians in DC are acting very much like the nazis. “Get in their face, if you see them in a restaurant, you didn’t build that… ex police officers and ex military personnel are problems”…
Jobama says once they eliminate the conservatives, the healing process can begin
I’m Jewish, and like most American Jews, I’m liberal. It’s hard for me to take you seriously when you use terms like “Jobama” and lie about what Obama and Biden have said.
Awwww – I’m Jewish and I used to be an active member of the democratic Party, but as my mom and dad said, don’t ever swear allegiance to a political party, as they can change their agenda and they can become corrupt and even tyrannical. And this is what has happened to the Democratic Party. Don’ t put yourself in a category of liberal or conservative. Be issue oriented. Don’t be a lemming that you will follow these democrats over their cliff. Don’t be loyal to a party. Be loyal to ideals. Be issue oriented. Seek out the truth from all media. Don’t believe the fact checkers. Everyone called Trump names? Were you irate about that?????
It’s hard to take your POV seriously when you can not see that for Lord Darth Biden of chyna’s 48 years as a goobermint stooge at the public trough ,has done NOTHING to improve anyone’s life. His continual flaunting of plagiarism(s) , his whore mongering , his early days with KKK political dear friends , his support of segregated bussing of children , foot in mouth gaffs above and beyond. And of late his dementia , and absolute taint of Chinese communist cash via his crack addled whore mongering son…like father like son.
And please don’t get pious about obammy…what were his accomplishments ?…really what ?. He clearly put race above all else and pandered to muslim fanatics world wide. His domestic policies were antithetical to America and it’s founders. His short stint in the senate , used only as a stepping stone to become potus where his track record there is a blank slate…on purpose. He like Lord darth biden was groomed by the kingmakers in the shadows to “do unto us”.
I could care less of your modern version of intolerant hate definition “liberal” you coin yourself to be. The classical definition of liberal would be an independent today, open minded and relishing to hear all sides of a debate. But the modern liberal is all about hate , intolerance and embracing the state and sycophant media to squish any and all opposing views…. the social fascist bent of the prog demoratzi zeig heil party we have been plagued with like a cancer.
I know your dear leader Rush has left you, but don’t feel obligated to carry on his silly naming conventions and hyperbole. Oh how sanctimonious it is to define exactly the terms of how people opposed to you should act, and what they react to. Yes, yes, please preach about your moral clarity some more.
Many on the left disavowed our warrantless killings abroad under Obama, and continue to rally against them under his two successors.
There is a good but sad book out there titled “ordinary men ” By Christopher Browning. Its a good but sad read exactly on your theme , Neighbors. And to think something like this can not happen hear is quite nonsensical considering the ideology of the virulent left and how they grasp critical race theory coupled with scorched earth politicking . Our political Krystallnacht came this last presidential farce of an election. The violent narcissistic left is eagerly engineering the human krystallnacht of their desires. It is obvious to all but the willingly blind and those perpetrating same.
For those curious about conformity and men in combat, Helmut Langerbein, Hitler’s Death Squads (Texas A&M, 2004), is a study of Sicherdienst officers that suggests that the situation determined the behavior of most — forced with the choice of killing or being killed or sent to the front lines on the eastern front for refusing to do so, the choice was not that difficult for most, and certainly not an intellectual exercise. There are also good studies of men in battle which suggest that they fight for their comrades, the guys next to them, not for country or the great leader, e.g., Richard Holmes, Acts of War. The Behavior of Men in Battle (1986). Much of our behavior is situational; we tend to conform for a variety of reasons, in the office, at church, and on the streets if we are in crowds. There’s a good literature on that as well, beginning with Gustave Le Bon’s classic, The Crowd. It is foolish to underestimate the power of a crowd and our tendency to conforrm when confronted with one.
I was raised on westerns with the lynch mob (a particular type of crowd) calling for blood and the brave sheriff (or lone ranger) holding them off in the name of due process (although I did not realize that was what they were doing), so I always believed standing up to the mob was a good and brave thing to do. But now I see our lawmen and judges rationalizing ways to dump due process in order to placate the mob. Ah well, live and learn. . . . (this is not a dog whistle)
Funny, Gina Carano of “Star Wars” “Mandalorian” got canned for posting the same statement.
When communism comes to town, they’ll tell you what you can say. Read first they killed my father… some of you think this isn’t happening but America is now communist America and Obama has his 3rd term as Jobama Biden.
Neera Tanden is not being treated fairly…she should be banned from polite society…according to the new rules. I thought that claiming an election was stolen is the start of an insurrection? I thought that Cruz, Howley and of course Trump were traitors for questioning an election? Well this person, Tanden, claimed over and over again that the Russians stole the election in 2016. This little gadfly claimed that the voting machines were rigged! Why is she not banned from Twitter, FB and whatever else the young idiots are using these days?
The story should be about the “vetting” process of the Biden team (nobody thinks for a minute that the old guy was involved) that would pick someone who is not only toxic to the right but is also anathema , or should be, to the left for her corporate ties and her war stances with Hillary Clinton.
Jobama Biden says he’s giving amnesty to 22 million illegals… this is mouse nuts compared with what’s really going on.
The real issue is will the Washington Post back up their reporter in a forceful manor? Or are they caving to that Stanford professor’s philosophy?