The Post is a fucking disgrace. And has been for quite some time.
Sharkbabe |
01.15.06 - 8:14 pm | #
Repeat: complaining to these guys is pointless. I'm willing to donate to a direct mail campaign that will explain the facts of life directly to the republican constituencies: the Evangelicals need parallels between Revelation's Beast and Bush and a lurid who's who of RepublicanGay night life, the vets need tutorials on the rape of the VA and the smears of Murtha and etc., most people need to know a lot about the personal life of Grover Norquist and his career of lobbying for the Saudis who's personal lives also need to be explained in detail, and so on.
The right uses the MSM to demoralize and split the majority, the left needs to use direct mail to strike back at the wingnut constituency.
citizen k |
01.15.06 - 8:16 pm | #
citizen k,
Vets are coming around. Was told Thursday by a retired military musician that a poll among that group shows 87% opposed to Bush's war. I don't know how different that community might be from retired service personnel in general, but 87% is higher than the public at large.
Edward Teller |
01.15.06 - 8:21 pm | #
People are coming round, but there is no substitute for direct marketing if you want to sell something.
citizen k |
01.15.06 - 8:22 pm | #
I'm wiping spewed coffee off my computer screen right now! Can you believe this?
In Ga., Abramoff Scandal Threatens a Political Ascendancy
By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 16, 2006; A01
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. -- Ralph Reed, candidate for lieutenant governor, had just finished his opening statement to the Dawson County Republican Party when retired pulp paper executive Gary Pichon sprang from his seat with a question that cut to the chase:
"Did you accept any gifts, commissions or other payments of any kind from Mr. Abramoff, and are you likely to be a party in the unfolding investigation?"
Silence enveloped the 60 or so Republicans in the auditorium, and Reed's cheerful manner turned tense. "No," he replied. "No to all these."
This is mind-numbing. Here is the argument the WaPo makes:
"Judge Alito's record is troubling in areas. His generally laudable tendency to defer to elected representatives at the state and federal levels sometimes goes too far -- giving rise to concerns that he will prove too tolerant of claims of executive power in the war on terror. He has tended at times to read civil rights statutes and precedents too narrowly. He has shown excessive tolerance for aggressive police and prosecutorial tactics. There is reason to worry that he would curtail abortion rights. And his approach to the balance of power between the federal government and the states, while murky, seems unpromising. Judge Alito's record is complicated, and one can therefore argue against imputing to him any of these tendencies. Yet he is undeniably a conservative whose presence on the Supreme Court is likely to produce more conservative results than we would like to see."
Thus, the WaPo concludes, Alito is in the mainstream and it would be bad if the Senate did not allow the President to have his choice on the SCt.
Great logic. Guess there was no need for hearings or even a background check or ABA rating.
scarecrow |
01.15.06 - 8:30 pm | #
No president should be denied the prerogative of putting
a person as qualified as Judge Alito on the Supreme Court.--WaPoHo
And think about what it means if a SCt's views on the balance of power are "unpromising." Gosh, guess he'll never develop! Never mind that he might screw the country for 30 years.
scarecrow |
01.15.06 - 8:32 pm | #
Ya know, the WaPo would be alot more useful if it were printed on hemp.
neokneme |
01.15.06 - 8:32 pm | #
"Judge Alito is superbly qualified." From WaPo. Aw...bullshit.
goodnight and good luck |
01.15.06 - 8:34 pm | #
Susan I saw that too. Ya think he's lying?
This is probably old news, but I saw the name Murray Waas out of the corner of my eye on Yahoo and didn't know if everyone had seen this editorial. I gave it 5 stars. It's Murray's editorial on the shoddy reporting of the WaPo.
Unfortunately, people are coming around in 2006.
Had they 'come around' in 2004 we would not be having these discussions.
Much as I would like to think my Senators from Illinois would help out, the best I really hope for is a Nay on Alito.
I have written and called Durbin and Obama's offices to call for a Fillibuster, but just cannot get too optimistic.
Personally I think the nuclear option is a bluff which should be called.
The Reppubs don't buy the sauce for the gander part.
Mack |
Homepage |
01.15.06 - 8:35 pm | #
The comment about people attempting to smear Alito is a bit schizophrenic when the Post made its own attempt to smear Murtha. Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican.
Nadine |
01.15.06 - 8:37 pm | #
And now, a word from our sponsors. Welcome to the publicly traded blogosphere:
neokneme
with their quality control, i think it a toss-up
Mack |
Homepage |
01.15.06 - 8:40 pm | #
Libby Sosume
It is astounding what some people will do for coctail weenies
Mack |
Homepage |
01.15.06 - 8:41 pm | #
This seems to be the meme they're pushing. Bork got borked because his ego was so large that he was willing to defend extremist views in his hearings. Alito thinks Bork was the greatest judge of the century. So, what does that say?
Alito is an extremist, but no one in the press wants to put it that plainly, except perhaps Knight-Ridder. Did the Democrats drop the ball and then kick it toward their own goal? Yup, but that's no excuse for the press not to pick up on Mehlman's rather frantic attempts to quash every suggestion that Alito is not a "moderate," (whatever the hell that means after thirty years of the government lurching to the right).
The WaPo is proving the old adage correct, I'm afraid--the free press is free only to the guy that owns one.
punpirate |
01.15.06 - 8:41 pm | #
I'd say a throw up from my point of view!
neokneme |
01.15.06 - 8:41 pm | #
It's sometimes hard to see how much the culture of haplessness gets us all. The Senate Democrats think that without massive cover they cannot fight and the lefties think that without the press and Dem leadership they can't win. But there is no reason why the right wings success with direct mail and advertisement can't work better for the left. It's just that nobody is doing it.
Complaining to the Post is as useful as complaining to DiFi.
citizen k |
01.15.06 - 8:42 pm | #
citizen k,
thanks for bringing up the direct mail thing. this is a huge and totally overlooked area. typically, i'm afraid, the dems have conceded this basic, vastly important PR tactic. let's get a fund together to get those lists, mail out those facts, hit the redreglicans where they live!
mamazboy |
01.15.06 - 8:44 pm | #
on another annoying front, i watched our local Fox folks, Walter Jacobson and Jack Connaigh trying to double-team Dick Durbin into saying Corruption is Democratic too, just because our City Clerk was indicted by Fitz last week.
Durbin nicely avoided saying anything by (correctly) stating that he is in Washington, and not a party to local politics.
A little dodgy, but you could see Walter REALLY sucking up for a National spot.
Of course he is lame, and even Faux wouldn't bother, but it was annoying anyways.
Mack |
Homepage |
01.15.06 - 8:46 pm | #
Here is what Sean Hannity thinks of Ralph:
"What I see in Ralph Reed is the next generation emerging," said Hannity. Referencing the late President Ronald Reagan and other conservative icons, Hannity added, "Everything I see in those men, I see in Ralph Reed."
Here's what someone on Air America had to say. (And I am absolutely sure this is a factual statement.)
Ralph Reed has no mother. EVERYONE knows he was shit into existence.
susan |
01.15.06 - 8:46 pm | #
ck -- Wanna bet we'll be hearing their bell ringing about this lastest Ho-down?
The Froomkin-fest caused quite a stir.
neokneme |
01.15.06 - 8:46 pm | #
I'm just wondering if WaPo has given any thought to how Justice Alito might rule on, say, First Amendment/freedom of the press cases.
noblejoanie |
01.15.06 - 8:47 pm | #
Alito....schmalito........the guy is a friggin mess. It has been quite a week in gooperville! and you you can always depend on the the good ol' Washington Gooper Post.
Franco |
01.15.06 - 8:47 pm | #
citizen k--
I wrote to DiFi twice and got the same form letter back twice. If only her staffers would actually read her mail, they might get a clue as to what is going on with her constituents.
notjonathon |
01.15.06 - 8:49 pm | #
" He pays careful attention to the record and doesn't reach for the political outcomes he desires. "
Right. That is why James Dobson and Pat Robertson are so hot for Alito. Because he doesn't reach for outcomes he (and they) desire.
Alvord |
01.15.06 - 8:49 pm | #
I am of two minds about using the same methods that the Repubs have been so successful with.
I don't think that direct mail is inherently a great medium - it is very effective to convey the wpecific messages.
The problem is that the Karl Roves of this world LOVE to roll in the mud they throw in their opponents eyes.
It's the old adage
Don't wrestle with a pig, you will both get dirty, and the pig LIKES it.
It might be handy to have that kind of expertise, but we have not been recruiting pigs.
(or compiling target lists for direct mail slime)
Mack |
Homepage |
01.15.06 - 8:52 pm | #
Here is what Sean Hannity thinks of Ralph:
"What I see in Ralph Reed is the next generation emerging," said Hannity. Referencing the late President Ronald Reagan and other conservative icons, Hannity added, "Everything I see in those men, I see in Ralph Reed."
Here's what someone on Air America had to say. (And I am absolutely sure this is a factual statement.)
Ralph Reed has no mother. EVERYONE knows he was shit into existence
susan |
notjonathan
funny - i get similar responses from Obama's office
("Sorry I took so long getting back to you, but from my answer you can tell I still haven't read your letter")
Mack |
Homepage |
01.15.06 - 8:54 pm | #
new thread, more Ralph
srt |
Homepage |
01.15.06 - 8:57 pm | #
Somebody in the administration must have - literally or figuratively - compromising photos of the WaPo publishers and editors.
–Libby Sosume
Close. Five of the Post's six tv stations are in Texas or Florida. Ten minutes worth of phone calls could probably make a whole lot of advertising disappear.
Iowa Bored |
01.15.06 - 8:57 pm | #
If you have a pig in your house, there are drawbacks to the tactic of ignoring him because you are above it all.
citizen k |
01.15.06 - 8:59 pm | #
Jane, the reference to Digby's take on Time's Abramoff scandal story may be worth a follow up in the near future. Perhaps others find the scandal's details easy to grasp, but a clear picture has eluded me. Digby describes a money laundering scheme like a circle:
A special interest wants a project; the k-street part connects to the Congressman but the contribution goes from the special interest client to the Republican campaign committee, and from there to the Committee member(s) with jurisdition over the project. The Congressman then gets the project earmarked for funding out of tax payer dollars, and when the bill passes, the funding goes to the project where the interest/client gets the funding and makes the profit. In effect, as Digby concludes, the tax payers fund the Republican Party and the congressmen who get the earmarks, but nobody's hand is caught in the cookie jar.
Of course, if you're the special interest or even lobbyist, you can see this as extortion too.
With all the names and connections, I suspect the mechanism is hard to follow for most Americans, so explaining it over and over would be helpful, and when the trad press confuses it, your spear carriers can follow up with serious comments and corrections, not just "howls."
scarecrow |
01.15.06 - 8:59 pm | #
Oh, re the scandal schemes, it wouldn't hurt to start giving these various schemes nicknames like those Enron used for its trading practices in California. Bet we could come up with some good ones here.
scarecrow |
01.15.06 - 9:02 pm | #
A while back I was doing some research into direct mail.
An interesting statistic stuck with me.
Direct mail is very effective with about 30% of the population. Hit them with a carefully crafted letter, and you know the guys who write them get paid thousands for just one letter, and you'll get a reasonable response rate. Anything over 2% is absolutely phenomenal. Less than that can be acceptable.
It's just that it is relatively cheap to reach huge numbers of people. The Repubs have been building mailing lists for yonks. These are bought and sold and traded all the time.
As I said, it is that 1 in 3 number that stuck with me. Seven in ten don't automatically respond to the emotional plea that touches on our secret fears.
And what is the level that no one seems to believe the GOP can get below? 30%.
Coincidence? I don't think so.
I think the rulers of the GOP decided a long time ago on a game plan to achieve permanent power. Who would you rely upon? 100 million who could be trusted to follow blindly and smile all the way to the slaughter or 200 million who all felt their own problems were important and wanted someone who cared about them?
Back to the marketing, the 70% are the target group for all the companies that are pursuing relationship marketing. These companies are looking to be the source for all their clients' needs (on the whole or just in a particular area). The best of them are committed to doing what they can to help their clients succeed (and still make a profit). They find these sorts of people like doing business with people they know or who are recommended by people they know and trust. The trust is key.
This is why I have some hope for the future. I think Dean's 50 state plan ties in with this type of thinking. It is a method that takes time to build (why it is not popular with the DM crowd) and demands the suppliers be trustworthy (another reason why it's not popular).
What's needed is not some massive top down direct mail campaign but a bottom up or diffuse bridge building program. Blogs are part of it. Local democratic groups are part of it, talking over the water cooler or coffee shop are also part of it. I have not lost hope.
howell hardly resembled a gop shill then and -- we suspect -- is not, (necessarily) a gop shill now.
what howell does evoke in her latest abgate post is the beltway-outsider, now post-insider, caught in the crosshairs and crossfire of ambivalence, i.e., how much cheerleading v. objectivity must i balance to keep my job? how much selling out can i afford without breaking every mirror in the house?
were the post still helmed by katherine graham and her gonzo cajones, howell might be a gonzo ombudsperson.
however, start with the pea-nuts of geldings downie & hiatt and their not unsubtle renovation of every aspect of "the washington post company" with gop kneepads, add the tenuous state of news publishing evidence numerous closures and contractions, and it's not exactly surprising to see oldtimer, pulitzer-winners like howell neutering themselves just to keep their gigs.
reticulant |
01.15.06 - 9:27 pm | #
Years ago the neocon right infiltrated the Editorial dept of the Wall Street Journal. This situation persists today. This, like the takeover of the funding vehicles of conservative thinking during the Reagan years WAS NOT the result of happenstance.
We have also seen it on K Street in D.C.
Now we need to examine and PROFILE the WaPo Editorial dept. staff. Who are the folks in there and how were they hired?
AnonyMoose |
01.16.06 - 4:25 am | #
Have to say that the Post does pretty well nail this. Have past editorials been dissapointing? Absolutley, and I'm sure we'll see more. If I were a Senator, would I vote for Alito? No. But the bottom line is, Bush won last year, folks, and he's gonna get people like Alito onto the court. The Post isn't crazy about him, doesn't think he should've been, or is a top candidate for the job. But they see that this could be a HUGE calamity (for our side) in the future if he isn't. Let's suck it up and move on. Get the Dems prepared for this fall and 2008. This battle is over. Lets hope no more Court appointments are needed before then.
-Ward
Ward Stradlater |
01.16.06 - 7:51 am | #
I completely disagree. The important thing is to fight every battle from now on. The less this dangerous, misguided session of Congress gets done, the better.
Alexandra |
01.16.06 - 2:26 pm | #
Can be used as Business cards, but they won't lose this one.
Please consider giving a 3 days / 2 night travel certificates with your company name and website inprinted on the certifiactes. Cost is only 0.35 cents each.
They pay a processing fee of $12.00 and the taxes on the room which is about $7.00-$12.00 a night depending on the location.
Eil |
Homepage |
11.28.07 - 8:09 pm | #
