Here’s Stu Rothenberg blaming the media for Congress being so unpopular with the American people.
Journalists and talking heads tell voters over and over that Congress is inept, even corrupt, and when we ask them what they think about Congress, they call Congress inept and even corrupt. And then we report back that Americans think Congress is inept and even corrupt. It’s a never-ending feedback loop that reinforces the conventional wisdom.
Rothenberg never once mentions the Republican Party as a reason that people hate Congress. Amazingly, he doesn’t even mention the Democratic or Republican parties. It’s just one indivisible Congress that is inept and corrupt and that people hate.
This is taking “both sides do it” to another, higher, level. Rothenberg acknowledges that the people don’t pay close enough attention to politics to know how unproductive this particular Congress has been, but then offers them no explanation for their lack of productivity other than this:
There are plenty of reasons Congress has had a difficult time addressing the nation’s issues. Some of them involve the political parties and their leaders. Many are related to the demise of broad based parties, new technologies that undermine authority and leadership, and the increasingly diffuse nature of power, both in the media and in our campaign system.
But counting the number of laws enacted and harping on gridlock in Washington doesn’t inform or educate, and it isn’t going to unite a divided country. Of course, the voters could encourage Washington to move toward compromise if they wanted. Just don’t hold your breath until they do — and don’t expect them to be much happier with the eventual compromises anyway.
“Some of them involve the political parties and their leaders.” Would one of those political parties be the Republican Party? Would some of those leaders be Senator Mitch McConnell and Speaker John Boehner? Could any of those people or things just maybe be responsible for the absolute gridlock in Washington? Or are you going to tell me that Maxine Waters and Tammy Baldwin are responsible for this Congress’s inability to do anything about anything?
Puh-leeze. Americans deserve to know that Congress sucks because the Republicans suck. They need to know that one side offers compromises and the other side threatens shutdowns and defaults.
Rothenberg is part of the problem he is attempting to describe.
How is this even possible when both sides are actually the same side?
Probably something to do with quantum mechanics.
“Both-siderism” on steroids that there would seem to be.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine
a bootDavid Broder stamping on a human face — forever.It would be nice if Rothenberg had some vague notion of how he could inform or educate his readers. As it is, his column is just more harping.
Man, when you are defending today’s paralyzed status quo you are either paid directly by the RNC or so deep inside the beltway that you can’t find the highway to Manassas. What would a Congress have to (fail to) do to merit Stu’s disapproval? The mind boggles.
Jeesus, so now reporting on the (historically low) number of laws enacted (a fact) “doesn’t inform or educate”? But I thought the boobs also were ignorant of this crucial fact, Stu. Which is it?
“of course, the voters could encourage Washington to move toward compromise if they wanted”. Exactly what does Stu envision here—throwing out a party in power? which one, exactly? And how, given our perversion of democratic elections? I guess Stu is the new Oracle at Delphi, haha.
Incoherent drivel. But spectacular Repub apologetics. Bravo, Stu!! Another great day of “informing and educating”!
>Rothenberg is part of the problem he is attempting to describe.
And he’s also part of two equally bad problems – steno-journalism and access-journalism.
What scares me is that I think Veep is as much a reality show as a comedy.
If the public hates Congress, there’s certainly no evidence of it here in WA. All our incumbents won their primaries handily. The one open seat in a strong R district will send another R to replace Doc Hastings. People hating Congress doesn’t necessarily translate to people hating their own representative.
Well, ok, but those are GOP primaries. (The GOP has been taken over by its extremist wingnuts . . . or hadn’t you heard?)
Now beat the teabaggin’ wingnut (I presume) that ousted the moron Hastings! (Yeh, yeh, I know, gerrymandering. Still think you gotta go for it.)
8 kinds of stupid wrapped up in a single column.
Reading stuff that stupid explains how Rmoney got 47% of the vote.
I estimate that the US has lost about 10 points off the median IQ in the past 20 years.
Or as George Carlin put it: Imagine how stupid the average American is and then think that half the people in the country are stupider than that.
“8 kinds of stupid wrapped up in a single column.”
Douthat should sue for plagiarism! Sure, there were no “word for word” quotes lifted, but that’s his gig, and Rothenberg totally paraphrased what Douthat was going to say, eventually.
Ugh. That flacks like Rothenberg retain influence within Dem politics is indeed the (or at least a) huge problem.
The majority of today’s voters were educated in underfunded schools and they’re informed by the vacuous infotainment that masquerades as television news. Rothenberg is clearly waiting at the airport for his ship to come in.
I’m not familiar with Stu or his past work. My question: Is he deliberately trying to be obtuse…pretending to not understand or be aware of a problem he’d rather not see discussed in public…
Or does he really not understand what’s going on to the point that the article was his best sincere accounting of the problem?
If he’s just confused, I wish I could visit with him, have him read this post by Booman…and see if he doesn’t gain a better understanding.
I’m guessing he knows what he’s doing, and rather than being a confused good faith commentator, he leans more towards advancing propaganda.