RONNA (Romney) McDaniel Rebuked...TRUMP Selling...Bibles?

(Blogger’s Note: Please excuse my sparse number of recent posts. Between the distractions of a late-Winter/early Spring foray to the SC coast at Litchfield Beach/Pawley’s Island and the death of my laptop — I’m using a computer at the Litchfield branch of the Georgetown County Public Library for this post — it’s been difficult to keep up.)

Massive Gaffe by NBC Brass to Hire Election Denier/Seditionist Enabler McDaniel Will be Costly

By all accounts NBC’s hiring of Romney-McDaniel (she dropped the “Romney”a few years back in deference to Trump, even though the Romney name is what got her to where she was in life) was motivated by their desire to provide “balance” among their stable of paid contributors. Apparently they saw her as someone who could explain the Republican side of issues.

A revolt by their own newsroom as well as a public groundswell led to a lightning-fast reversal of the hire. GOOD! But it’s gonna cost NBC a lot. And that’s a shame. McDaniel will get big bucks for her embarrassment.

Why the heck did NBC enter into an agreement with a supporter of the Big Lie, who may go on trial for joining trump in an effort to keep Michigan from certifying Biden’s win, and who led an RNC that called January 6 “legitimate political discourse”?

Media veteran Chris Cillizza¹ explains in his Substack blog:

“…it’s easy to dunk on [NBC brass]. But I actually think the decision to hire McDaniel (and the subsequent decision to get rid of her) raises a deeper question for mainstream media outlets: How do you represent the views of the tens of millions of people who support Donald Trump on your airwaves?…Paul Farhi, a former media writer at the Washington Post, put this question better than I have in a tweet on Tuesday

One of the most fundamental mandates of the mainstream media is to make sure that they put voices on their airwaves (or in their print pages or whatever) that represent the broad views of the two major political parties in this country.

While I understand the criticism of “both sides” journalism, I think, generally speaking, it is a good thing to be willing to platform divergent but representative perspectives….this system has worked just fine for quite some time….[but] Trump Donald Trump changed that — particularly after 2020. Here’s why.

Trump made election denialism a litmus test for Republicans. Either you believed (or at least were willing to say) that the 2020 election was stolen or you weren’t. If you believed the former, you were an upstanding member of the Trump army. If you believed the latter, you were a RINO who needed to be cast out of the party….What this Trump loyalty test means…is that the ONLY way you can say you speak for him (or understand the interests and goals of his movement) is to say that the election of 2020 was stolen.

Translating — this thinking suggests that responsible news outlets either have to: a) find someone today’s “Republican” viewers can accept as honest brokers even if they did not jump on the Big Lie bandwagon; b) give a platform to patently dishonest Trumpists, or; c) take criticism for failing to provide balanced coverage.

This is a false dilemma, in my view. One that the media has been browbeaten into by the right wing attacks on “the liberal media,” over the last fifty years, and perhaps most illustrated by:

• the roster of reporters on Nixon’s “enemies list”

• Rush Limbaugh’s “lamestream media”

• Steve Bannon’s and trump’s “identification of the honest media as “enemies of the people,” and their “fake news.”

There are plenty of responsible Republicans who have been cast out of today’s version the party. And many of them are currently contributors to news outlets. People like former Republican congressmen David Jolly, Charlie Dent, Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney. Mike Pence’s chief-of-staff Marc Short was hired by NBC without any fuss.

Other prospects should include recent Congressional refugees like Ken Buck (R-CO) (a former Freedom Caucus member for God’s sake!) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI) or former members like Michigan’s Fred Upton. Here’s another list to consider.

Invite them on to offer their thoughts.

Or simply tell it like it is:

liars and fascist-enablers need not apply. If that’s who you, the viewing audience want to see, go to Fox, or Newsmax, or OneAmericaNetwork. We’re gonna offer the news and fact-check the spinners, and let the chips fall where they may.

Trump selling…Bibles

Guess the shoes didn’t cover his needs.

The Workers Lost on the Key Bridge Were Hard-Working Immigrants

For your consideration. From the Baltimore Sun:

“Seven men left home Monday evening for a night shift on the Francis Scott Key Bridge repairing the Interstate 695 roadway.

Six members of the crew — fathers, husbands and at least one grandfather — did not return to their families in Baltimore, Dundalk, Owings Mills and Glen Burnie when the sun rose Tuesday over the wreckage of the collapsed Key Bridge….Three of the men were originally from Mexico, one of whom was rescued with injuries but has been released from the hospital, according to the Mexican embassy. The remaining workers were from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras…

Authorities have yet to officially name the other four victims, but CASA, a nonprofit supporting immigrants, said that two were members: Maynor Suazo Sandoval, who emigrated from Honduras 17 years ago, and Miguel Luna, who has lived in the U.S. for 19 years. Luna’s friends and neighbors in Glen Burnie described him as a sweet and hardworking grandfather who forged friendships despite language barriers.”

1. Chris Cillizza has had a long and distinguished career spanning work with outlets like The Atlantic, Roll Call, CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post, among others.