Back in the 80’s, one of the more irritating things about following politics was watching stupid Republicans walk onto liberal news programs and get ambushed. It was if they were just made aware of the fact that the Left never plays fair. It was not just Republican politicians. Conservative chatters would also fall into these traps. It was very frustrating until I figured out that it was all a show. The “conservative” was hired to play a role in the drama. George Will, in private, thought you people were gross and disgusting.
This model persisted through the 90’s and it was only when Fox News came on-line did we see some fair treatment of people outside the Progressive orbit. Even there, the obsession with being fair often resulted in being stupid. Exactly no one gives a crap what Juan Williams has to say about anything. Yet, FNC felt they needed to decorate the set with him. Even so, it was just one outlet among many so the prevailing model was a Progressive gang-up on anyone not professing the One True Faith.
What made it most infuriating is that so-called conservatives would go on moonbat networks and do taped shows. The producers would then cut up the recording to make the conservative sound nutty or unresponsive. When confronted, the so-called conservative would admit to knowing it was a setup, but they would say they did it to try and change minds. In reality they were just taking the check. The boys and girls from Official Conservatism™ on the payroll of PBS and CNN were taking a dive on purpose so they could get paid.
It’s why the Tea Party was doomed from the start. When guys like Dick Army got involved, you knew it as a con. More important, the organizers were clawing each other’s eyes out trying to get on TV. These were not people motivated by a cause. They were motivated by the desire to be famous and hang around green rooms with the Lefties they saw on television. Those are people easy to corrupt so it was just a matter of when, not if, they sold out their people, which most promptly did for short money.
What has always been encouraging about Trump is he seems to get this. He has done almost no taped interviews and he avoided private interviews with news sites like the NYTimes and Washington Post. In the former case, he knew they would edit the hell out of his interview because he saw it first hand doing his TV shows. In the latter case, he knew these people were not honest. They lie on spec and giving them a private interview would only enable them make up fake news about Trump.
Trump’s live events were big enough to require coverage, but he put the media in pens so they could not pretend to be talking to Nazis and Klansmen in the crowd. The only thing they could do was show the video and moan about it. You also note that Trump uses lots of hand gestures when speaking. He never used to do this, but I suspect he started doing it because it makes editing impossible. As you can see in this Breitbart story, editing is now the main tool of the media.
National Public Radio ombudsman/public editor Elizabeth Jensen has recommended that the taxpayer-funded radio news service bar future live interviews of conservatives who may have controversial views, following an interview Nov. 16 with Breitbart News’ Joel B. Pollak.
Pollak, who serves as Breitbart’s Senior Editor-at-Large and In-house Counsel, defended its Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon from false and defamatory claims of antisemitism and “white nationalism.” He also turned the tables, pointing out that NPR has “racist programming,” including a story that called the 2016 election results “nostalgia for a whiter America.”
NPR listeners were apparently outraged that anyone from Breitbart News had been given an opportunity to defend the website and its chairman.
In her response, “Listeners: Two Recent Interviews Are ‘Normalizing Hate Speech’,” Jensen concluded that the live format had allowed Pollak to get the better of host Steve Inskeep.
She suggested that future interviews be taped: “In addition, in my opinion, these interviews should not be done live. Inskeep is an excellent live interviewer, but live interviews are difficult, especially when there is limited time. A little contextualizing never hurts.”
In other words, live interview make it hard to fake the interview. In the Reagan years, the press complained that Reagan sat for few taped interviews and he preferred giving speeches to be covered live. Trump seems to have learned this and taken it to another level with the use of social media. What he was able to do is keep the media on the wrong foot, always playing defense, even when they thought they had him, like with the fake bimbo stories. By being unpredictable, he was impossible to script.
It’s a good lesson for the Dissidents doing interviews on Lefty media. Avoid anything that is taped and only do live interviews. Supporting media that supports you has a corollary. Don’t support media that is at war with you. If you are at an event, just ignore the people with cameras and microphones. When you see people claiming to be prominent members of the alt-right, for example, begging to be on CNN or FNC, it is a safe bet that they are just in it for the money and you would be wise to tune them out and drop them from your rotation.
Getting the better of Steve Inskeep? Is such a thing even possible….?
I notice Inskeep is plugging away on his badly written book on Jackson and the Trail of Tears. Let me guess, is the six part documentary, funded by grants from the NEH and the Ford Foundation, already in the works?
Before the R field winnowed down a friend sent me a link to a Keith Albertan rant (I know, I know, one of hundreds). The point of this rant was that Trump couldn’t be a serious candidate because he was ‘all over the place’ because ‘this is not how it’s done’, but yet ‘he poses a danger’. (A rare bit of perception from Mr O, it turned out.)
All of a sudden, the light went on. The spittle slinging loon was actually bitching that Trump wasn’t playing their game their way_!
So given that the MSM are full-on Cloud People small f fascists (“Everything inside the state, nothing outside the state…” per B Mussolini IFIRC) implacable hostile to ‘God & Country’, etc., they clearly saw themselves as any R candidate’s enemy, so why get so worked up about Trump in particular_? The old USAF saying came to mind: “You know you’re over target when you’re drawing the heaviest flak.” So what was going on_?
Then it hit me. He had identified the MSM as Hillary’s actual center of strategic gravity and was nullifying their power by operating inside the MSM scandal cycle*. IOW he was inside their tactical decision loop, they knew it, they couldn’t figure out how to stop him and it was driving them nuts_!
That’s when I knew he could win_!
* As Wikileaks confirmed, there is constant coordination: Talking points out on day 1 followed by bare minimum factoid gathering; Day 2 hints on the nightly news while factoids are fleshed out ; Day 3 it’s all over the nightly news; Day 4 the Washington Generals are invited on to walk into the trap as Z Man discusses above; Day 5 it’s the full MSM s**t show; Day 6 the Washington Generals reel in a defensive couch; Day 7 looking for legs; extend or drop. Note that while it looks externally like it’s a 4 day cycle, it’s actually a 7+ day cycle. By changing the BFD every 2 -3 days Trump pretty completely disrupted the MSM while dominating the news himself. Regardless whether it was a preconceived strategy or a lucky expedient recognized early, we now know that this was brilliant strategy.
It’s Olberman damn it_! I hate your spell checker, Z Man.
I recall seeing on brit TV once a comedian appearing on a chat show fill a glass of water and place it before him and announce to the viewers he would be drinking from the glass as the show went on. Viewers should, he said, look at the changing levels in the glass to show when even this (amiable enough) show was put out, it was clear how it had been edited.
The host made faces about this because I suspected he was sure that his ‘TV appeal’ needed the editing. The comedian didn’t.
I’ve been saying that what I liked about Trump, excuse me “President Elect Trump”, is that he fights. I should also be saying that he fights ‘Smart’!
And man, this guy is working his butt off! He is non-stop! I am impressed.
I watched every one of his speeches on OAN here in Florida. He has endless energy, never seemed the least bit tired. The guy’s a 24/7 working machine.
One great service Trump could perform for the republic would be to kill off the “nerd prom” aka White House Correspondents Dinner. Just ignore it. Don’t show up. Can you imagine the reaction from “Official Washington”? Or, better yet, Conservative, Inc? Next to the Oscars, I can’t think of a more odious, cloud people event.
I hope Trump and Bannon beat Big Media to a pulp over the next four years.
Just stay out of their way. They’re doing a right good job of it themselves!
Of course, Trump also uses big hand gestures to be more like his idol, Adolf Hitler. 🙂 (Seriously, Lefties are the gift that keeps on giving in that regard. I wholeheartedly recommend the cherished “Game” principle of Agree & Amplify when it comes to Trump = Hitler. It totally blows their circuits. A buddy and I have a bet — we’re trying to get the Lefties of our acquaintance to go full retard by likening Trump’s cabinet picks to the most obscure 3rd Reich figures we can think of. The winner is the guy who either gets a full screaming meltdown, or gets a Lefty to finally admit he doesn’t know something… which is effectively the same thing. My “Mike Pompeo is just an overrated Otto Skorzeny” bit is a big hit at parties).
Christ on a crutch, that’s hilarious. I’d cut and paste the bit about the bet for the non-amusement of my FB friends, but I’m afraid in my neck of the woods you could get into real trouble just for using expressions like “going full retard” (and if you have to reword shit to avoid offending your FB friends, then the terrorists have won, or something).
Yeah, I admit it, I’m a coward. But I like having a job…
We’re in the same racket, Sauron. I know exactly what you mean. It’s the main reason I’m not on social media – I have to watch myself enough in my day-to-day that I can’t risk letting something slip on FB or whatever (needless to say, I only troll Lefties online and in my civilian life).
Great post. And excellent advice.
Great observations, as usual. It also feels like Trump having won, has allowed most everyone to realize how irrelevant the MSM really is, and the more mea culpas, self analysis, profound pontifications and humble heartfelt apologies they share…. the harder we all laugh..
He’s started this great snowball down the mountain and the more he ignores them, keeps them away from anything that hints of “Breaking News” the more anxious, apoplectic and neurotic they become…. he’s created the ole’ self cleaning oven in that respect and we get to watch it all unfold.
I love it!
Whose got the popcorn…?
I think the fact he controls his Twitter feed is fantastic. When he called out the ACLA for being stupid over the Hamilton nonsense I suddenly realized that he is the perfect man for these times.
The press is still grousing about this, saying Trump “can’t keep away from Twitter”. They’re just mad that he doesn’t need them to talk to the American people. You know if Obama had been doing this in 2007, they’d have been smirking and giggling about how hip and modern he is, unlike that stuffy old Republican McCain.
The money: once I’d fulfilled what I’d believed to be my financial responsibilities to my now adult children, I began paring down my income and spending. There’s an okay estate to be left to the grandkids, and it may grow, given that I now live on next to nothing and their loony-tune grandma (my 1st ex) is a 69 yr old trustafarian with more money than even she can waste. Money is overrated as far as I’m concerned now that I’m well along on the back nine of life. Scurrying after money the way those clowns do is downright shameful. Theater used to be viewed poorly and with luck it will be again.
The one statement of Obama’s that I agreed with, but which I don’t really think he meant, was when he said that at some point you have enough. Same reason I retired early.
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One thing that has been amusing in this election cycle is watching vilified rightwing hate-monger extremists (so-called) have fair, civil conversations –on their own platforms– with left-wing guests. If an uninformed objective listener were to judge by quantity of screaming, irrational hate, he would imagine that podcasts which it’s not advisable to listen to without a VPN were the mainstream, and the mainstream were the dangerous fringes.
And yet even folks who consider themselves independents–and who claim to be above partisan new sources–tell me that both sides are equally awful. Truly the brainwashing is deep, and the lemmings are many.
One other thing I would add to the above recommendations would be to have your cell phone set to record whenever you are approaching a venue where you are planning to meet any group of right wingers, or at any time when you see media cameras. You never know when you’ll end up saving a comrade’s butt.
Dick Armey was paid $8 million to leave FreedomWorks. It has never been publicly disclosed why this happened.
The Tea Party experience is a good example of how the managerial class is built as a skimming operation. It comes so naturally to them, it is hard to see it happening. They emotional rants about Bannon and Breitbart, for example, is just a form of extortion. The grifters want in so they can sell Ricky Vaughn t-shirts, caps and books written by software.
I use the name because I respected the early efforts and the people. When the mailers came they didn’t get a dime.
…Exactly no one gives a crap what Juan Williams has to say about anything. Yet, FNC felt they needed to decorate the set with him…
Then why pray tell do they still keep him? Maybe as comic relief for their few (insert abusive language here) viewers.
Fox is as bad as the rest of them. They are just marketing to a demographic politically slightly to the right of the others.
And with more testosterone … there is some great eye candy…. not by accident…
It makes their liberal buddies happy.
Juan Williams is very important to the legal department, their Affirmative Action insurance. You have to have one.
Keeping Williams on may be a confidence booster, knowing that you will never be the dumbest guy on the set. Plus, he provides a certain amusement, like an eight year old at an adult discussion.
Juan Williams fills a “diversity” slot, that’s all. It helps Fox avoid raycisssss charges.
Wiliam’s is a racist stalking horse and a cultural marxist foil, a Trojan horse if you will. Like so many trolls who are placed in similar positions within the media. He is also disgustingly effeminate. A very important aspect in of itself. He is a black racist version of a cuck. Talk about faustian bargains.
It is why the Vagina has a cult following, it is the evil Matriarchy that almost was, it was to be the new world order. It was transforming from cultural marxism into matriarchal marxism. All these things tie in together. There was to be no more red blooded American men and women, men with a rifle in one hand and a shovel or axe in the other, and woman with a babe in one arm and the instincts of nurturing in the other, who both had their defined mutually supporting roles of the race of moral men, had their traditional roles in the activity of daily living, to be roll models to keep those traditions alive through time down the generations.
That my fellow dirt people was how they where attempting their final solution, to rule souls, thus rule the world. So goes America, so goes the rest of the west.
Trump uses lots of hand gestures when speaking … I suspect he started doing it because it makes editing impossible.
Brilliant observation–I never would have thought of this being the reason for his goofy hand gestures. For what it’s worth, Trump live interviews are far more interesting than anything that gets chopped up and edited by the media. He has that going for him as well.
The press is also angry that Trump has declined to provide 24-7 news coverage for them. He won’t be available for an unscripted assassination attempt or assault. Which makes it much less likely they’ll be tried. Whose going to try to throw a bag of garbage in protest when no cameras will record it? If there were no cameras following the paid chuckle heads protesting how long would Soros pay for it?
And if God forbid something does happen, everybody and their sister has a cell phone. The reporters are just angry that they are no longer needed, not to spin the news, to ‘frame the debate’ or even really to report on ‘news alerts’. The dinosaurs are circling their last waterhole propped up by propaganda money.
They have to be furious that he revealed them to be pretty much bozos as well.
What is really baked their noodle is the insurgency of the dirt people. Trump could not have won without us.
The fascinating thing here is they still don’t see it for what it is. Personally I think they are clutching their pearls and are becoming desperate. The Great Fuck You is a heaping platter of irrelevancy served cold. And they still don’t see it.
It is important to remember these are scalawags who deliberately, in foresight, through the Intellegentia, the 5th column, infiltrating our centers of higher learning, with malice and hubris, through brainwashing our youth, set out long ago to disenfranchise at least half of the people of America as an act to create a power totally outside the traditions and culture that constitutes the bedrock fundamentalism of what America is.