Kevin Koster commented on Watch Obama Advisor Austan Goolsbee Clash With Fox Host Neil Cavuto Over Trump Budget Cuts
2017-05-25 20:13:06 -0400
· Flag
Cavuto is just following the usual 2017 Right Wing approach to discussion here – this is par for the course for anyone who has tried to discuss any current event with a Right Winger this year.
That approach starts with making a ridiculous, untenable statement. Such as “The new Trump Budget really doesn’t have ANY cuts and it’s great for taxpayers and everyone else, isn’t it?” Which is of course a complete whopper, just like the rest of the statements regularly made on Fox News about the Pence White House. It’s along the same nonsensical lines of “Trump is a VERY successful President!” and “Berkeley has no right to ever talk about free speech again!” All lies, and all designed to put anyone left of the Far Right completely on the defensive in trying to discuss even the simplest of issues. So Cavuto starts with that nonsense right away, hoping that Goolsbee will fall for that bait and meet him on his own turf.
Goolsbee, to his credit, doesn’t fall for the bait and doesn’t accept the false premise Cavuto is using. He brings the conversation back to reality. Had he simply accepted the premise, Cavuto could have followed the flowchart to the usual Right Wing conclusion of gloating about how much better everything is under Trump and about how stupid Democrats have been to supposedly mismanage the economy so much under President Obama. (Don’t worry about the actual history of what happened under W, or that Obama spent 8 years fixing with no help from the Right, which was hoping to keep the economy mired to get themselves back into power or at least to completely obstruct Obama from accomplishing anything.)
So Cavuto takes the flowchart to the usual 2017 Right Wing place if the other party says “No” to the false premise – he begins screaming and shouting incoherently, as though he had any kind of moral standing to be doing so. The line “You should be ashamed of yourself!!!!” is a standard retort in this approach, as it’s meant to shame the other party into suddenly recanting their views or at least doubting their own beliefs. I’ve encountered this too many times in the last 6 months, all from the same Right Wingers who are incapable of having a reasonable discussion without suddenly losing their temper and screaming and shouting. This was the case under President Obama, but since Trump squeaked into office, it’s become almost sinister at times.
And these guys are taking their cues from the childish behavior of the Pence White House’s chief spokesman and Tweeter, who seems to think that “I know you are, but what am I?” constitutes intelligent discourse. Never forget – this is the Year of the Bully. The Right has no interest in having a real conversation with you. They just want to kick their opponents in the face and then tell them to get over it.
That approach starts with making a ridiculous, untenable statement. Such as “The new Trump Budget really doesn’t have ANY cuts and it’s great for taxpayers and everyone else, isn’t it?” Which is of course a complete whopper, just like the rest of the statements regularly made on Fox News about the Pence White House. It’s along the same nonsensical lines of “Trump is a VERY successful President!” and “Berkeley has no right to ever talk about free speech again!” All lies, and all designed to put anyone left of the Far Right completely on the defensive in trying to discuss even the simplest of issues. So Cavuto starts with that nonsense right away, hoping that Goolsbee will fall for that bait and meet him on his own turf.
Goolsbee, to his credit, doesn’t fall for the bait and doesn’t accept the false premise Cavuto is using. He brings the conversation back to reality. Had he simply accepted the premise, Cavuto could have followed the flowchart to the usual Right Wing conclusion of gloating about how much better everything is under Trump and about how stupid Democrats have been to supposedly mismanage the economy so much under President Obama. (Don’t worry about the actual history of what happened under W, or that Obama spent 8 years fixing with no help from the Right, which was hoping to keep the economy mired to get themselves back into power or at least to completely obstruct Obama from accomplishing anything.)
So Cavuto takes the flowchart to the usual 2017 Right Wing place if the other party says “No” to the false premise – he begins screaming and shouting incoherently, as though he had any kind of moral standing to be doing so. The line “You should be ashamed of yourself!!!!” is a standard retort in this approach, as it’s meant to shame the other party into suddenly recanting their views or at least doubting their own beliefs. I’ve encountered this too many times in the last 6 months, all from the same Right Wingers who are incapable of having a reasonable discussion without suddenly losing their temper and screaming and shouting. This was the case under President Obama, but since Trump squeaked into office, it’s become almost sinister at times.
And these guys are taking their cues from the childish behavior of the Pence White House’s chief spokesman and Tweeter, who seems to think that “I know you are, but what am I?” constitutes intelligent discourse. Never forget – this is the Year of the Bully. The Right has no interest in having a real conversation with you. They just want to kick their opponents in the face and then tell them to get over it.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News In A Pickle Over MT GOP Gianforte’s Assault On A Reporter
2017-05-25 19:51:39 -0400
· Flag
The Right is quite happy with Gianforte having assaulted Jacobs – I’m seeing repeated posts from angry conservatives who wish that more politicians would physically attack the press in this manner. They’re not sorry at all, and they’re hoping that Gianforte wins his seat easily to boot, so they can continue their gloating in the spirit of the Year of the Bully. Rush Limbaugh went on at length about this today, describing Gianforte as a man and Jacobs as a wimp, and stating that Montana voters would of course side with Gianforte, and that it wouldn’t matter anyway since 70 percent of the state has already turned in absentee ballots.
Laura Ingraham is trying to make points for herself by getting into the tiniest of definitions with Alicia Acuna and then trying to make it sound like Acuna retracted her story. In reality, Acuna has stated to Ingraham that she isn’t sure if Gianforte’s assault happened with his hands completely around Jacobs’ neck. Maybe his hands were just on either side of his neck as he was throwing him to the deck and then repeatedly punching him. Ingraham thinks this is a major coup – Acuna is admitting that she doesn’t think he grabbed him by the neck! And it’s an irrelevancy. Gianforte lost his temper and grabbed Jacobs and assaulted him. Period. Full Stop. Ingraham is also (as is Limbaugh) trying to make it sound like Jacobs should have hit Gianforte back if he was a real man. Sure. And then both men would have been arrested. Instead, Jacobs acted like an adult, and reported Gianforte to the police, who took statements from multiple people and then charged Gianforte with misdemeanor assault. Somewhere in this, Gianforte’s staff decided it would be best to pull a Trump and try to redirect the discussion to a lie about whether Jacobs actually initiated the contact.
Likely result will be that Gianforte still wins his seat but serves under a cloud, including pleading guilty to a reduced charge. And that Fox News plays up the situation as yet another case of wimpy Dems losing.
Laura Ingraham is trying to make points for herself by getting into the tiniest of definitions with Alicia Acuna and then trying to make it sound like Acuna retracted her story. In reality, Acuna has stated to Ingraham that she isn’t sure if Gianforte’s assault happened with his hands completely around Jacobs’ neck. Maybe his hands were just on either side of his neck as he was throwing him to the deck and then repeatedly punching him. Ingraham thinks this is a major coup – Acuna is admitting that she doesn’t think he grabbed him by the neck! And it’s an irrelevancy. Gianforte lost his temper and grabbed Jacobs and assaulted him. Period. Full Stop. Ingraham is also (as is Limbaugh) trying to make it sound like Jacobs should have hit Gianforte back if he was a real man. Sure. And then both men would have been arrested. Instead, Jacobs acted like an adult, and reported Gianforte to the police, who took statements from multiple people and then charged Gianforte with misdemeanor assault. Somewhere in this, Gianforte’s staff decided it would be best to pull a Trump and try to redirect the discussion to a lie about whether Jacobs actually initiated the contact.
Likely result will be that Gianforte still wins his seat but serves under a cloud, including pleading guilty to a reduced charge. And that Fox News plays up the situation as yet another case of wimpy Dems losing.
Kevin Koster commented on TV Critic Zurawik Explains Why ‘This Is A Dangerous Time’ For Fox News
2017-05-21 19:18:11 -0400
· Flag
What’s happening with Fox News is pretty simple to understand. Their ratings are down due to two basic problems.
The first is that they’re going all-in, at least during prime time throughout the week, to cheerlead for the most unpopular White House since the darkest days of the W and Nixon administrations. That’s great for the people who already agree with them but doesn’t work for even the Republicans who have issues with Trump, and there are plenty of those. In the years of W, Fox News could count on Republicans closing ranks around him. In the current situation, people are a lot warier about the Pence White House, and with good reason.
Also, the complete marriage of Fox News to the people now generating real scandals in the White House is something that will come back to bite them hard as the investigations multiple and bear fruit. As much as the Right Wing tries to stick their fingers in their ears and yell “La-La-La, I can’t hear you!”, these are real problems that aren’t going away. And unlike the phony smears they attempted to throw at President Obama’s presidency, these have real teeth and real consequences. I really don’t know what Fox News will do to cover themselves when people start to go to jail. How will Hannity deal with that one? Trot out another bogus story about Seth Rich?
And the second problem is that Fox News has been effectively forced into updating its lineup in a much faster and more drastic way than it would have preferred. When they added Megyn Kelly to prime time, that was an addition that supplemented and buttressed what they already had going. It meant that they juggled Greta and Hannity to new slots and gave Kelly the plum position of having O’Reilly as her lead-in. Unsurprisingly, this led to her getting better ratings, and it probably strengthened their lineup. And then Greta left the network, which didn’t hurt them a lot due to having Brit Hume take over for a while before handing that timeslot to Carlson. Flash forward to the top of 2017 and suddenly Megyn Kelly herself leaves the lineup, forcing the network to push Martha MacCallum into the Greta slot and juggle Carlson. Flash forward again to April and suddenly O’Reilly himself is gone, and he was the lynchpin of the lineup. So within a short time, Fox News has replaced ¾ of its primetime, and viewers who were partial to O’Reilly, Kelly and even Greta no longer have a reason to tune in. Greta’s viewers can now see her at 6pm on MSNBC, which means she’s pulling some of them from Bret Baer’s news/opinion show. Kelly’s viewers are standing by to watch her on NBC when she finally debuts there. The biggest blow has been with O’Reilly’s viewers, who really don’t have anyone like him left on the air at Fox News, so they’ve had to go cold turkey with Tucker. It’s not a surprise that many of them don’t really like Tucker and aren’t willing to spend an hour with him every night – so they’re choosing to just go to O’Reilly’s website and perhaps they’ll listen to Beck’s radio show once a week, provided they can tolerate Beck’s continuing bizarre behavior.
In a way, Fox News is facing a Perfect Storm. They’ve backed an unpopular and scandal-plagued administration that is quickly capsizing, and they’ve replaced their most popular prime time hosts with shows that don’t attract as many people (and won’t, based on the trends). That’s on top of the already serious problems Fox News and the GOP are facing with an increasingly elderly constituency. I’ve said this repeatedly, but it’s important to remember – the Pence White House is acting as quickly as it can, not just because the people are smug and vicious, but because they know they don’t have much time to do these things before they will lose their opportunity. The same reasoning applies to Fox News. They went for the quick fix but will wind up in a serious hole within the next year or two. As the coverage and ratings are showing us, the major decline has already begun.
The first is that they’re going all-in, at least during prime time throughout the week, to cheerlead for the most unpopular White House since the darkest days of the W and Nixon administrations. That’s great for the people who already agree with them but doesn’t work for even the Republicans who have issues with Trump, and there are plenty of those. In the years of W, Fox News could count on Republicans closing ranks around him. In the current situation, people are a lot warier about the Pence White House, and with good reason.
Also, the complete marriage of Fox News to the people now generating real scandals in the White House is something that will come back to bite them hard as the investigations multiple and bear fruit. As much as the Right Wing tries to stick their fingers in their ears and yell “La-La-La, I can’t hear you!”, these are real problems that aren’t going away. And unlike the phony smears they attempted to throw at President Obama’s presidency, these have real teeth and real consequences. I really don’t know what Fox News will do to cover themselves when people start to go to jail. How will Hannity deal with that one? Trot out another bogus story about Seth Rich?
And the second problem is that Fox News has been effectively forced into updating its lineup in a much faster and more drastic way than it would have preferred. When they added Megyn Kelly to prime time, that was an addition that supplemented and buttressed what they already had going. It meant that they juggled Greta and Hannity to new slots and gave Kelly the plum position of having O’Reilly as her lead-in. Unsurprisingly, this led to her getting better ratings, and it probably strengthened their lineup. And then Greta left the network, which didn’t hurt them a lot due to having Brit Hume take over for a while before handing that timeslot to Carlson. Flash forward to the top of 2017 and suddenly Megyn Kelly herself leaves the lineup, forcing the network to push Martha MacCallum into the Greta slot and juggle Carlson. Flash forward again to April and suddenly O’Reilly himself is gone, and he was the lynchpin of the lineup. So within a short time, Fox News has replaced ¾ of its primetime, and viewers who were partial to O’Reilly, Kelly and even Greta no longer have a reason to tune in. Greta’s viewers can now see her at 6pm on MSNBC, which means she’s pulling some of them from Bret Baer’s news/opinion show. Kelly’s viewers are standing by to watch her on NBC when she finally debuts there. The biggest blow has been with O’Reilly’s viewers, who really don’t have anyone like him left on the air at Fox News, so they’ve had to go cold turkey with Tucker. It’s not a surprise that many of them don’t really like Tucker and aren’t willing to spend an hour with him every night – so they’re choosing to just go to O’Reilly’s website and perhaps they’ll listen to Beck’s radio show once a week, provided they can tolerate Beck’s continuing bizarre behavior.
In a way, Fox News is facing a Perfect Storm. They’ve backed an unpopular and scandal-plagued administration that is quickly capsizing, and they’ve replaced their most popular prime time hosts with shows that don’t attract as many people (and won’t, based on the trends). That’s on top of the already serious problems Fox News and the GOP are facing with an increasingly elderly constituency. I’ve said this repeatedly, but it’s important to remember – the Pence White House is acting as quickly as it can, not just because the people are smug and vicious, but because they know they don’t have much time to do these things before they will lose their opportunity. The same reasoning applies to Fox News. They went for the quick fix but will wind up in a serious hole within the next year or two. As the coverage and ratings are showing us, the major decline has already begun.
Kevin Koster commented on Bill O’Reilly Has A New Gig On Glenn Beck’s Radio Show
2017-05-20 12:10:01 -0400
· Flag
O’Reilly is clearly desperate to have some kind of public platform where he can opine as the “elder statesman” he wanted to be. (And I’m not convinced that Fox News won’t bring him back in a few years from now as their next Brit Hume – not to host his own show but to be a phone-in or in-studio pundit once a week for one of the prime time hosts, whoever those will be at that time.
Beck is clearly happy to have O’Reilly, since his radio company has been floundering – but I don’t think this will do much other than add another anchor to the water.
Beck is clearly happy to have O’Reilly, since his radio company has been floundering – but I don’t think this will do much other than add another anchor to the water.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox’s Earhardt: Many People Think Roger Ailes Saved This Country By Starting Fox News
2017-05-18 22:59:24 -0400
· Flag
Interesting that Earhardt went back to a version of the old Fox trope of “Some people say” for her tribute to this man.
It is not a matter of speaking ill of the dead to note the destruction this man gleefully and willfully visited upon this nation and the world. It would speak ill of the dead to not be mindful of the many people in nations around the world who suffered in horrifying and cruel ways as a result of his behavior. The body count is truly staggering, if you include the vicious legacies of the Nixon, Reagan and W Bush foreign and domestic policies – and all of that was celebrated, promoted and very much made possible by the work of one Roger Ailes.
It is not a matter of speaking ill of the dead to note that this man happily promoted divisiveness and viciousness as a way of life, cheapened the public discourse in the United States, and championed the most hateful elements of society in spreading vile racist and misogynist sentiments – and simultaneously emboldened the worst among us to not only behave as childish bullies but also somehow take pride in that behavior.
It is true that this man ended his life in disgrace, but one doubts he would ever have acknowledged it. In the same way that Bill O’Reilly now petulantly insists that some grand conspiracy caused him to act so horribly as to become a liability to even an organization like Fox News, Ailes similarly never took any responsibility for his behavior. (I note that O’Reilly is now so desperate for public acclamation that he is frantically taking a regular slot on Glenn Beck’s failing radio show. One presumes he is doing so to warm the seat for Ted Cruz, who should wind up there in the next few years, as soon as he is either voted out of office or chooses on his own to go to punditry as a profession – like Jason Chaffetz just did.)
Weep not for Roger Ailes, or even for his family, which enjoys untold millions reaped from the horrors he willfully inflicted upon this world. It is said that the true measure of a person’s life is whether they made the world a better place by their having lived in it. The notion of leaving the campground a little cleaner than when you arrived there. If we apply that measure to Ailes and his life, it is a sad truth that he left the world an angrier, nastier and more divided place – as a direct result of his willful actions. He personally profited from these actions and was proud of them. He is no more worthy of anyone’s sympathy, even at this time, than any other public malefactor.
We should absolutely remember Roger Ailes, and we should remember what he did in life. And we should remember that the continuing viciousness of Fox News and the Right Wing of this country owe much to Ailes. We can mark his passing, but there is no cause to mourn him.
It is not a matter of speaking ill of the dead to note the destruction this man gleefully and willfully visited upon this nation and the world. It would speak ill of the dead to not be mindful of the many people in nations around the world who suffered in horrifying and cruel ways as a result of his behavior. The body count is truly staggering, if you include the vicious legacies of the Nixon, Reagan and W Bush foreign and domestic policies – and all of that was celebrated, promoted and very much made possible by the work of one Roger Ailes.
It is not a matter of speaking ill of the dead to note that this man happily promoted divisiveness and viciousness as a way of life, cheapened the public discourse in the United States, and championed the most hateful elements of society in spreading vile racist and misogynist sentiments – and simultaneously emboldened the worst among us to not only behave as childish bullies but also somehow take pride in that behavior.
It is true that this man ended his life in disgrace, but one doubts he would ever have acknowledged it. In the same way that Bill O’Reilly now petulantly insists that some grand conspiracy caused him to act so horribly as to become a liability to even an organization like Fox News, Ailes similarly never took any responsibility for his behavior. (I note that O’Reilly is now so desperate for public acclamation that he is frantically taking a regular slot on Glenn Beck’s failing radio show. One presumes he is doing so to warm the seat for Ted Cruz, who should wind up there in the next few years, as soon as he is either voted out of office or chooses on his own to go to punditry as a profession – like Jason Chaffetz just did.)
Weep not for Roger Ailes, or even for his family, which enjoys untold millions reaped from the horrors he willfully inflicted upon this world. It is said that the true measure of a person’s life is whether they made the world a better place by their having lived in it. The notion of leaving the campground a little cleaner than when you arrived there. If we apply that measure to Ailes and his life, it is a sad truth that he left the world an angrier, nastier and more divided place – as a direct result of his willful actions. He personally profited from these actions and was proud of them. He is no more worthy of anyone’s sympathy, even at this time, than any other public malefactor.
We should absolutely remember Roger Ailes, and we should remember what he did in life. And we should remember that the continuing viciousness of Fox News and the Right Wing of this country owe much to Ailes. We can mark his passing, but there is no cause to mourn him.
Kevin Koster commented on Chris Wallace Whitewashes The Republican Plot To Make Merrick Garland FBI Director
2017-05-16 12:13:20 -0400
· Flag
In the spirit of bipartisanship, I would offer the following response to Mike Lee and Mitch McConnell:
It’s wonderful that they are now recognizing the value of Merrick Garand, a man they disgraced themselves to ignore last year so they could steal his Supreme Court seat. Unfortunately, Judge Garland is not interested in leaving the judiciary and his important work there for a temporary post, one that would be in a subservient position to an unqualified and inappropriate person like Jeff Sessions. So he’ll be staying at the District Court. But the GOP’s newfound respect for Garland could absolutely be demonstrated in a more meaningful fashion: When Clarence Thomas or Anthony Kennedy steps down in the next couple of years, it’s great to know that Mitch McConnell and Mike Lee will be supporting Garland’s re-appointment to the Supreme Court at that time. I’m sure Democrats will be able to get behind that and make this a fully bipartisan action.
It’s wonderful that they are now recognizing the value of Merrick Garand, a man they disgraced themselves to ignore last year so they could steal his Supreme Court seat. Unfortunately, Judge Garland is not interested in leaving the judiciary and his important work there for a temporary post, one that would be in a subservient position to an unqualified and inappropriate person like Jeff Sessions. So he’ll be staying at the District Court. But the GOP’s newfound respect for Garland could absolutely be demonstrated in a more meaningful fashion: When Clarence Thomas or Anthony Kennedy steps down in the next couple of years, it’s great to know that Mitch McConnell and Mike Lee will be supporting Garland’s re-appointment to the Supreme Court at that time. I’m sure Democrats will be able to get behind that and make this a fully bipartisan action.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News Hosts React To Comey Firing By Salivating For Criminal Charges Against Hillary Clinton
2017-05-13 13:05:34 -0400
· Flag
It’s becoming obvious that Fox News is hoping to get Trump to push for the Clinton perp walk we discussed several months ago. It was clear all along that the Pence White House would mount this attack when they ran into trouble in Congress or otherwise. It’s cheap political theater, it satisfies their base’s hatred of the Clintons, and it’s a fun way for the Right to bully everyone else.
Since Trump takes his cues from Fox News and Limbaugh, I’m expecting to hear about Sessions and the new FBI Director re-opening and expanding the investigation, with an emphasis on getting criminal indictments before the end of summer. Idea would be to get that perp walk around the time that the fall budget goes in, so that they’ll have an alternate cover story for the media. And then the trial would be smack in the middle of the midterm elections.
Keep in mind that these guys will always try to change the narrative whenever they can. So the story isn’t that Trump badly lost the popular vote – it’s that there must be millions of fraudulent votes. The story isn’t that Trump’s campaign was colluding with Russian agents to mess around with the election – it’s that someone is leaking that information to the press.
And of course these guys have already managed to distract everyone with Trump’s antics from the actual work being done by Mike Pence every day at the White House.
Since Trump takes his cues from Fox News and Limbaugh, I’m expecting to hear about Sessions and the new FBI Director re-opening and expanding the investigation, with an emphasis on getting criminal indictments before the end of summer. Idea would be to get that perp walk around the time that the fall budget goes in, so that they’ll have an alternate cover story for the media. And then the trial would be smack in the middle of the midterm elections.
Keep in mind that these guys will always try to change the narrative whenever they can. So the story isn’t that Trump badly lost the popular vote – it’s that there must be millions of fraudulent votes. The story isn’t that Trump’s campaign was colluding with Russian agents to mess around with the election – it’s that someone is leaking that information to the press.
And of course these guys have already managed to distract everyone with Trump’s antics from the actual work being done by Mike Pence every day at the White House.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox’s Meghan McCain Loses It When Confronted With Details Of Trumpcare
2017-05-05 14:38:58 -0400
· Flag
We should keep in mind that the Fox News perspective (and the Right’s in general) is that there should never have been an ACA in the first place. As far as they’re concerned, it’s your problem to pay for your hospital bills and if you can’t afford them, then obviously there’s something wrong with you, isn’t there?
It’s not a surprise that these guys finally got something through the House – they were going to get there at some point. I’m frankly surprised that it took these guys all the way to May 4 to do it. I figured they would have gotten this all done by January 21st. And the Pence White House could have just stopped the subsidies at that time, which would have destroyed the ACA immediately, but they chose to wait for Congress to do it instead. Which tells you how scared the Right actually is of the consequences of their actions here.
The reality of this situation is that, again, it has nothing whatsoever to do with health care. They don’t care whether you can get to a doctor or not – that’s your problem. The issue has always been for the Right to be able to kill the ACA so they could retroactively declare Barack Obama the failure they’ve always thought him to be. If that means that millions of people will lose their coverage, that’s the problem of those people. And as Mo Brooks has made clear, the Right believes that if you lived properly, you wouldn’t have any pre-existing conditions anyway.
It’s not a surprise that these guys finally got something through the House – they were going to get there at some point. I’m frankly surprised that it took these guys all the way to May 4 to do it. I figured they would have gotten this all done by January 21st. And the Pence White House could have just stopped the subsidies at that time, which would have destroyed the ACA immediately, but they chose to wait for Congress to do it instead. Which tells you how scared the Right actually is of the consequences of their actions here.
The reality of this situation is that, again, it has nothing whatsoever to do with health care. They don’t care whether you can get to a doctor or not – that’s your problem. The issue has always been for the Right to be able to kill the ACA so they could retroactively declare Barack Obama the failure they’ve always thought him to be. If that means that millions of people will lose their coverage, that’s the problem of those people. And as Mo Brooks has made clear, the Right believes that if you lived properly, you wouldn’t have any pre-existing conditions anyway.
Kevin Koster commented on Gabriel Sherman: Hannity Is ‘Likely Going To Stay At Fox’
2017-05-02 14:49:32 -0400
· Flag
Not a surprise that Hannity is staying for now. His smug attitude last night indicated as much. But as we noted in the other thread, he really doesn’t have a choice. No legitimate network will take him, and going with any startup or better yet, with Newsmax, would mean a huge pay cut for him. And once he loses his perch at Fox News, he’d take a huge hit in his radio situation as well.
Kevin Koster commented on Tonight Could Be Sean Hannity's Last Show On Fox News
2017-05-01 23:07:00 -0400
· Flag
Hannity figured he’d troll his viewers on this tonight. Word had been out he was going to say something at the top of his show about what was happening. I switched it on at the top to see if he would admit his failings and act like an adult. Instead, he took a smug tone of voice and “welcomed” anyone trying to find out what was happening. He then said he “might” say something before the end of the show. So I turned him off and did other things for the rest of the hour. Turned him back on for the last 30 seconds and noted him saying only that “everything you’ve been hearing is a lie”. No specifics and nothing to dispute his own desperate tweets on the subject.
I think he was impressed with himself – as if he’d raised his ratings via trolling. I tend to doubt he did, as most people would respond the way I did – not give him the time of day. Let’s see if more tidbits come out during the week. If not, we’ll have solid evidence that Hannity doesn’t have any other options than to stay at Fox News. I can’t imagine any legitimate network wanting anything to do with him, so his only other choice would be to leave television (which would impact his radio show) or to go with something like Newsmax and take a big pay cut.
I think he was impressed with himself – as if he’d raised his ratings via trolling. I tend to doubt he did, as most people would respond the way I did – not give him the time of day. Let’s see if more tidbits come out during the week. If not, we’ll have solid evidence that Hannity doesn’t have any other options than to stay at Fox News. I can’t imagine any legitimate network wanting anything to do with him, so his only other choice would be to leave television (which would impact his radio show) or to go with something like Newsmax and take a big pay cut.
Kevin Koster commented on Busted! Fox News Tweeted Dishonest Stats To Boost Trump's First 100 Days
2017-04-30 14:55:10 -0400
· Flag
These numbers are actually testament to the failures of two GOP presidencies – the elder and younger Bushes – and to the real successes of Clinton and Obama. Fox News already knows this and is hoping their loyal viewers don’t figure it out.
The Clinton presidency started on the heels of the 1991-1992 recession under HW Bush, and saw the economy take off due to internet expansion and its effects. The Obama presidency started in the depths of the W recession, which would have plunged the country into a full depression if the GOP had had their way. And if the GOP had actually worked with President Obama rather than obstructing every single thing he did, the economy would have recovered a lot more quickly. But it had been their goal to mire him down and keep anything from improving, which would have allowed the Right to campaign on how Obama wasn’t making things any better. Of course, even after the economy improved, the Right campaigned on the bad news notion anyway – figuring their loyalists would believe Fox News and not their lying eyes.
In the current day, the Pence White House is obviously bent on doing as much damage as it can, in the name of appeasing the Far Right and creating a completely alternate version of reality. The actions Pence is taking may well cause major problems in the economy, particularly in terms of health care once Pence removes the subsidies from ACA insurers and crashes the system. The Dems are now doing anything they can to stop these guys, not in the name of trying to crash the economy as the GOP attempted 8 years ago, but in the name of stopping the GOP from crashing it now.
I’d say these first 100 days are a good microcosm of what we will see over the next 3 3/4 years – many more sneaky backroom orders from Pence, many more blustering tweets from Trump, many more court orders stopping Pence’s wilder ideas, many more deportations, and total gridlock in the Congress – leading potentially to stagnation and uncertainty in the economy. Leading then to even greater anger throughout the country and paving the way for the next president to need to clean up a large mess in 2021 when Trump and Pence are emphatically shown the door. I’ll be curious to see how Fox News will play that story…
The Clinton presidency started on the heels of the 1991-1992 recession under HW Bush, and saw the economy take off due to internet expansion and its effects. The Obama presidency started in the depths of the W recession, which would have plunged the country into a full depression if the GOP had had their way. And if the GOP had actually worked with President Obama rather than obstructing every single thing he did, the economy would have recovered a lot more quickly. But it had been their goal to mire him down and keep anything from improving, which would have allowed the Right to campaign on how Obama wasn’t making things any better. Of course, even after the economy improved, the Right campaigned on the bad news notion anyway – figuring their loyalists would believe Fox News and not their lying eyes.
In the current day, the Pence White House is obviously bent on doing as much damage as it can, in the name of appeasing the Far Right and creating a completely alternate version of reality. The actions Pence is taking may well cause major problems in the economy, particularly in terms of health care once Pence removes the subsidies from ACA insurers and crashes the system. The Dems are now doing anything they can to stop these guys, not in the name of trying to crash the economy as the GOP attempted 8 years ago, but in the name of stopping the GOP from crashing it now.
I’d say these first 100 days are a good microcosm of what we will see over the next 3 3/4 years – many more sneaky backroom orders from Pence, many more blustering tweets from Trump, many more court orders stopping Pence’s wilder ideas, many more deportations, and total gridlock in the Congress – leading potentially to stagnation and uncertainty in the economy. Leading then to even greater anger throughout the country and paving the way for the next president to need to clean up a large mess in 2021 when Trump and Pence are emphatically shown the door. I’ll be curious to see how Fox News will play that story…
Kevin Koster commented on Multimillionaire Hannity Complains There’s ‘No Urgency’ For Congress To Destroy Americans’ Health Insurance
2017-04-27 15:31:51 -0400
· Flag
The Right has made extremely clear that they intend to destroy the ACA, one way or the other. I’m frankly surprised that they waited this long to take this action.
I expected the Pence White House to immediately stop subsidizing the insurers as of January 21st, but it looks like they wanted to use that as a stick a little later on.
From what I can see, there’s going to be a stalemate on funding the government, and Pence will take revenge by simply pulling those subsidies. Which will crash the ACA and remove that problem from the Congress’ hands.
Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with health care and it never did. This is about erasing the presidency of Barack Obama. Hannity and the Right desperately need the ACA to be tossed out, so they can finish their victory lap and retroactively declare President Obama the failure they always claimed he was.
I expected the Pence White House to immediately stop subsidizing the insurers as of January 21st, but it looks like they wanted to use that as a stick a little later on.
From what I can see, there’s going to be a stalemate on funding the government, and Pence will take revenge by simply pulling those subsidies. Which will crash the ACA and remove that problem from the Congress’ hands.
Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with health care and it never did. This is about erasing the presidency of Barack Obama. Hannity and the Right desperately need the ACA to be tossed out, so they can finish their victory lap and retroactively declare President Obama the failure they always claimed he was.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News Didn’t Want To Discuss Breaking News Of Trump’s Delayed Wall Funding
2017-04-24 23:08:11 -0400
· Flag
Here’s yet another example of why Tucker Carlson’s hour of viciousness is something that most sane people would prefer to skip.
First, that poll is not showing what Carlson is frantically trying to say it shows. The poll shows that many Dems are disillusioned right now, which is understandable given that Dem congresspeople are outnumbered and mostly irrelevant at this time, while the Right Wing is theoretically free to romp their agenda through. The only thing stopping the Right these days is themselves, as we saw in the spectacular failure of the Pence White House to ram through its first assault on the ACA. The more relevant polls are those recent elections where GOP candidates in supposedly safe districts are being given a run for their money by Dems who shouldn’t have been able to come within 15 points and are instead scaring the heck out of the Right.
Next, it’s clear that Pence intends to pull the federal subsidies from the insurers still in the ACA – he’s already threatened to do this in short order. Trump gilded the notion by suggesting that he’d hold off on this approach if the Dems either supported the vicious Wall project or supported the various gutting proposals re the ACA. Pence is fully aware the Dems will play no part in this kind of nonsense, and even Carlson is aware that current polling shows that 61% of the country is holding the GOP responsible for what it does to the ACA.
I really have to wonder how Carlson is going to react if the Dems consolidate the very real anger in this country next November.
First, that poll is not showing what Carlson is frantically trying to say it shows. The poll shows that many Dems are disillusioned right now, which is understandable given that Dem congresspeople are outnumbered and mostly irrelevant at this time, while the Right Wing is theoretically free to romp their agenda through. The only thing stopping the Right these days is themselves, as we saw in the spectacular failure of the Pence White House to ram through its first assault on the ACA. The more relevant polls are those recent elections where GOP candidates in supposedly safe districts are being given a run for their money by Dems who shouldn’t have been able to come within 15 points and are instead scaring the heck out of the Right.
Next, it’s clear that Pence intends to pull the federal subsidies from the insurers still in the ACA – he’s already threatened to do this in short order. Trump gilded the notion by suggesting that he’d hold off on this approach if the Dems either supported the vicious Wall project or supported the various gutting proposals re the ACA. Pence is fully aware the Dems will play no part in this kind of nonsense, and even Carlson is aware that current polling shows that 61% of the country is holding the GOP responsible for what it does to the ACA.
I really have to wonder how Carlson is going to react if the Dems consolidate the very real anger in this country next November.
Kevin Koster commented on Bill O’Reilly And Roger Ailes Left Fox News With A Lot More Money Than Their Victims Did
2017-04-20 19:58:42 -0400
· Flag
O’Reilly certainly isn’t concerned about only getting the 25 million as his consolation prize for being fired. He’s been paid a LOT more than that over the past 20 years from Fox News and by every account I’ve read, has not been a wild spender (other than when compelled to pay for legal matters like these suits and his divorce).
O’Reilly’s real punishment is going to be the denial of what he wanted most over the next decade or two – the status of being an “elder statesman” like Brit Hume or better yet, a less stuffy George Will. O’Reilly had been pushing for this in his appearances on other Fox News shows – presenting himself as the elder expert on matters political whenever asked to provide some sage wisdom on current events. He’d been maneuvering to become the next Brit Hume of the network, where he could make one or two appearances a week and be paid to just expound on his opinions but not need to actually put together a full hour five times in that same period. It’s a nice gig if you can get it. That, plus the inevitable speaker engagements would be enough to not only further line his pockets but also flatter his ego.
Instead, O’Reilly is now a pariah at the network and can’t really be picked up by any legitimate outlet. He could always go with Breitbart or Glenn Beck’s foundering network or even Newsmax if they’ll take him. But it’s more likely that he’ll just go with retirement and make the usual appearances at Right Wing events where he won’t be subject to any tough questions.
I’ll be curious to see if Fox News tries to sneak O’Reilly on as a commentator in another year or two.
O’Reilly’s real punishment is going to be the denial of what he wanted most over the next decade or two – the status of being an “elder statesman” like Brit Hume or better yet, a less stuffy George Will. O’Reilly had been pushing for this in his appearances on other Fox News shows – presenting himself as the elder expert on matters political whenever asked to provide some sage wisdom on current events. He’d been maneuvering to become the next Brit Hume of the network, where he could make one or two appearances a week and be paid to just expound on his opinions but not need to actually put together a full hour five times in that same period. It’s a nice gig if you can get it. That, plus the inevitable speaker engagements would be enough to not only further line his pockets but also flatter his ego.
Instead, O’Reilly is now a pariah at the network and can’t really be picked up by any legitimate outlet. He could always go with Breitbart or Glenn Beck’s foundering network or even Newsmax if they’ll take him. But it’s more likely that he’ll just go with retirement and make the usual appearances at Right Wing events where he won’t be subject to any tough questions.
I’ll be curious to see if Fox News tries to sneak O’Reilly on as a commentator in another year or two.
Kevin Koster commented on Watch How Fox News Announced Bill O’Reilly’s Departure
2017-04-20 19:31:21 -0400
· Flag
Bob is correct. It’s clear in watching the clips that Perino was very stiffly reading an official Fox statement from the legal department. The concern being shown was not about the conduct that got O’Reilly thrown out the door after Ailes but rather about the viewership of the O’Reilly Factor.
The statement scripted for Perino sounded very much like it was aimed at viewers who probably don’t turn on the TV until O’Reilly time, and didn’t know that he’d been fired. Given that O’Reilly himself refused to discuss the matter, this group of viewers were left wondering what the heck happened to the usual hijinks they were expecting to return next week – what with the opening smug monologue, the cozy chats with Lou Dobbs and Dennis Miller, the back and forth with Charles Krauthammer, and the usual scoldings O’Reilly would inflict on lesser lights on his show like Juan Williams and now-deceased Alan Colmes.
Instead, they’ll be looking at a prime-time lineup of Martha MacCallum continuing her cheerleading section, and then they’ll get Tucker Carlson’s snide meanness in O’Reilly’s slot, followed by The Five and finally the usual viciousness from Hannity. I have a feeling that the ratings won’t quite be the same for Carlson as they were for O’Reilly.
The statement scripted for Perino sounded very much like it was aimed at viewers who probably don’t turn on the TV until O’Reilly time, and didn’t know that he’d been fired. Given that O’Reilly himself refused to discuss the matter, this group of viewers were left wondering what the heck happened to the usual hijinks they were expecting to return next week – what with the opening smug monologue, the cozy chats with Lou Dobbs and Dennis Miller, the back and forth with Charles Krauthammer, and the usual scoldings O’Reilly would inflict on lesser lights on his show like Juan Williams and now-deceased Alan Colmes.
Instead, they’ll be looking at a prime-time lineup of Martha MacCallum continuing her cheerleading section, and then they’ll get Tucker Carlson’s snide meanness in O’Reilly’s slot, followed by The Five and finally the usual viciousness from Hannity. I have a feeling that the ratings won’t quite be the same for Carlson as they were for O’Reilly.
Kevin Koster commented on Professor Caroline Heldman Has Also Filed A Complaint Against Bill O’Reilly
2017-04-20 02:39:31 -0400
· Flag
Carlson’s juvenile behavior since November has been a model of Trumpesque bullying and smugness.
This clip is his typically vicious approach. He sets up a completely false premise, sneaks in his biased narrative in a setup question that is intended to immediately knock the guest into a sidetrack, and then repeatedly interrupts her with irrelevant jabs to try to distract her from saying anything.
Carlson and Hannity appear to be vying for who can win the title of Bully of the Year for the Year of the Bully.
I frankly see no point in having any educated liberal appear on Carlson’s show if he is not going to even allow them to say anything without cutting them off, talking over them or making a point of laughing derisively at them when they do manage to actually get six words out without an interruption.
This clip is his typically vicious approach. He sets up a completely false premise, sneaks in his biased narrative in a setup question that is intended to immediately knock the guest into a sidetrack, and then repeatedly interrupts her with irrelevant jabs to try to distract her from saying anything.
Carlson and Hannity appear to be vying for who can win the title of Bully of the Year for the Year of the Bully.
I frankly see no point in having any educated liberal appear on Carlson’s show if he is not going to even allow them to say anything without cutting them off, talking over them or making a point of laughing derisively at them when they do manage to actually get six words out without an interruption.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox Will Have Even More Trump Cheerleaders In Prime Time After O’Reilly Ouster
2017-04-19 18:03:01 -0400
· Flag
Fox News reshuffles the deck chairs. They’re basically refusing to change anything. Eric Bolling gets to spend an hour extolling Trump’s goodness on his own.
I had previously thought that O’Reilly was going to retire his show this year and not renew his contract. I’m betting that right now, he wishes he had done so, which would have allowed him to save face and just say that he was choosing to end his show on his own terms and all that. Instead, he’s essentially been fired in public. Given the way he has treated others throughout his career, this treatment is probably more appropriate.
I had previously thought that O’Reilly was going to retire his show this year and not renew his contract. I’m betting that right now, he wishes he had done so, which would have allowed him to save face and just say that he was choosing to end his show on his own terms and all that. Instead, he’s essentially been fired in public. Given the way he has treated others throughout his career, this treatment is probably more appropriate.
Kevin Koster commented on WSJ: ‘Fox Is Preparing To Cut Ties With Bill O’Reilly’
2017-04-19 17:52:57 -0400
· Flag
I’m very happy to stand corrected on my first paragraph. Sadly, the second paragraph is mostly correct – the programming adjustment being made will not actually change the vicious tone Fox News has taken lately.
Kevin Koster commented on Meghan McCain: ‘It Makes Me Happy’ That Andrea Mitchell Is ‘Uncomfortable And Miserable’ Covering Trump
2017-04-19 13:05:34 -0400
· Flag
This kind of viciousness should not be surprising coming out of Fox News and the Right this year. Just par for the course for the Year of the Bully.
But we should remember that this happened, and thankfully, this behavior has been preserved. So any time that Meghan McCain speaks at a “Family Values” event or at a church event or at anything where she will attempt to tout her decency, this clip should be presented to her and to her audience. Until she apologizes in public for this behavior, she will not have any moral grounds on which to say anything.
But we should remember that this happened, and thankfully, this behavior has been preserved. So any time that Meghan McCain speaks at a “Family Values” event or at a church event or at anything where she will attempt to tout her decency, this clip should be presented to her and to her audience. Until she apologizes in public for this behavior, she will not have any moral grounds on which to say anything.
Kevin Koster commented on Jesse Watters And Herman Cain Share A Laugh Over Killing Mexican Immigrants
2017-04-17 17:18:50 -0400
· Flag
I’d pay attention to what these guys are saying – they’re not kidding. Yes, Watters plays it as “a joke” but he means it. He has repeatedly demonstrated his hatred for undocumented immigrants, and he’d be fine to see a few of them badly injured or killed as an example to the rest.
Keep in mind that Watters and Fox News were the ones banging the drum 10 years ago about their heroes Ramos & Compean. For those that don’t remember them, they were two Border Patrolmen who were imprisoned for trying to kill a fleeing suspect by shooting him in the back. (They actually hit him in the rear end) After this “story” was broken by Sara Carter (read: the same Sara Carter currently trying to foment conspiracy theories about Susan Rice), the Right went on full alert to play the duo as unjustly convicted martyrs. Of course, they also ignored all the inconvenient facts in the situation, such as that the duo tried to cover up their bad shoot until they were arrested for it several weeks later.
I bring up the Ramos & Compean story because it points out what the Right would prefer to see happening at the border. The whole idea was that they wanted those guys to get away with the shooting – it would send the message that it’s not fun at the border and maybe you don’t want to come this way anyway, you know? Think of Little Bill’s “message” in Unforgiven, as delivered through a vicious beating.
I honestly don’t know which is more unsettling – that Watters thinks this is appropriate behavior, or that he thinks it’s funny. The Year of the Bully continues apace.
Keep in mind that Watters and Fox News were the ones banging the drum 10 years ago about their heroes Ramos & Compean. For those that don’t remember them, they were two Border Patrolmen who were imprisoned for trying to kill a fleeing suspect by shooting him in the back. (They actually hit him in the rear end) After this “story” was broken by Sara Carter (read: the same Sara Carter currently trying to foment conspiracy theories about Susan Rice), the Right went on full alert to play the duo as unjustly convicted martyrs. Of course, they also ignored all the inconvenient facts in the situation, such as that the duo tried to cover up their bad shoot until they were arrested for it several weeks later.
I bring up the Ramos & Compean story because it points out what the Right would prefer to see happening at the border. The whole idea was that they wanted those guys to get away with the shooting – it would send the message that it’s not fun at the border and maybe you don’t want to come this way anyway, you know? Think of Little Bill’s “message” in Unforgiven, as delivered through a vicious beating.
I honestly don’t know which is more unsettling – that Watters thinks this is appropriate behavior, or that he thinks it’s funny. The Year of the Bully continues apace.