The president’s speech this Friday will be about the future of democracy – yet the press seems reluctant to make that clear
When Joe Biden talks on Friday about US democracy on the brink, there’s no doubt that it will be a campaign speech. Maybe the most important one of his life.
But the speech will be more than that. It’s intended as a warning and a red alert, delivered on the anniversary of the violent January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
The date was chosen for good reason – to make the point that more mayhem and more flagrant disregard for the rule of law and fair elections, are just around the corner if Donald Trump is re-elected.
Can the political media in America get that reality across? Or will their addiction to “horserace” coverage prevail?
So far, the signs aren’t particularly promising.
A line high up in the New York Times’ advance coverage of what Biden plans to say is typical of the mainstream media’s tone and focus: “The two speeches are part of an effort to redirect attention from Mr. Biden’s low approval numbers and remind Democrats and independent voters of the alternative to his reelection.” (Biden is speaking on Saturday at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and Monday at the South Carolina church where a young white supremacist murdered nine black parishioners in late 2016.)
CNN offered an advance headline that emphasized the presidential race, not the message: “Biden opens campaign push …”
USA Today did better, putting the emphasis where it belongs: “Biden will mark Jan 6 anniversary with speech warning Trump is a threat to democracy.”
We all know there’s a campaign happening. And remember, many readers don’t get beyond the headlines or news alerts. Those bulletins have to be short, true, but they also have to get the larger job done.
I’m not suggesting that Biden’s speech be covered as something separate from his presidential campaign. It’s obvious that November’s election and the fragility of American democracy are intertwined.
Even Biden campaign officials are making that point. “We are running a campaign like the fate of our democracy depends upon it. Because it does,” campaign manager Julia Chavez Rodriguez has said.
But there is another element that is more subtle.
“The choice for voters,” Rodriguez said, “will not simply be between competing philosophies of government. The choice will be about protecting our democracy and every American’s fundamental freedom.”
That’s where the media gets tripped up. In a constant show of performative neutrality, journalists tend to equalize the unequal, taking coverage down the middle even though that’s not where true fairness lies.
Biden, of course, is not a great natural speaker, and perhaps the biggest knock on him is that he’s 81 – and not a young 81.
Those factors won’t help, no matter what the media focuses on.
But journalists do have an obligation to get beyond delivery and appearances, to get beyond poll numbers and approval numbers – all the things that they are most comfortable with.
presidential horse sense
to it’s credit wapo’s coverage by matt viser today on the speech and not so much the horserace: Biden, in Valley Forge speech, to hit Trump hard as threat to democracy (msn.com) President Biden is scheduled to arrive outside Philadelphia on Friday afternoon to deliver his first speech of this election year, attempting to cast the 2024 presidential campaign as a battle for the future of American democracy and portray former president Donald Trump as its chief antagonist. He plans to speak from a community college in Blue Bell, Pa., about 10 miles from Valley Forge National Historical Park, where George Washington mobilized troops during the Revolutionary War to fight for democracy some 250 years ago. The president’s remarks come on the eve of the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, when a Trump-inspired mob stormed the U.S. Capitol and attempted to prevent Biden from taking office. Biden amps up focus on Trump Top Biden advisers say the speech is intended as “the opening salvo for this campaign,” depicting events that occurred three centuries ago as well as three years ago, and that Biden will blast Trump for rejecting the will of the American electorate in 2020. “In describing January 6th, the president is going to be very straightforward on what happened, the truth of what happened and the role that Trump played in that,” said a senior Biden adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview the speech. Biden aides say he will also decry the threat of political violence while suggesting that Trump accepts it. “One of the fundamental questions of the 2024 election is going to be: Can a candidate for president, without equivocation, denounce political violence in America?” the adviser said. “President Biden can answer that clearly, and he does. There’s never, ever any place for political violence in America.” Biden has long cited presidents including Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt as inspiration, and on Friday he will invoke Washington in several ways, emphasizing his willingness to peacefully hand power to his successor. “It’s always been foundational in American democracy that you don’t… Read more »
I did not realize how serious the issue is until my friend, almost as off the chart liberal as myself, spouted stuff about President Biden that I thought was straight from faux snooze. When asked about the shift to the far right, she told me she was getting her “information” from WashPoo, NYTimes, and NBC. I was floored. Then she gave me a couple more sentences that sounded even more far right. We had a discussion about this and I hope she changes. The kicker was she said she might not, could not, vote for Biden. I asked her if that meant she would vote for the orange idiot, “no, maybe Kennedy”. Yup. The fruit of five corporations providing news as entertainment. She and I have some more talks ahead of us. Oh yeah, she was stunned when I showed her enough real information that she could see the guy was nuts and a maga party shill.
I am irritated media not covering the bonkers crap Trump is posting on his own site. I check it every day and it’s even more nuts than his old tweets. Yesterday he posted more than 40 (yes, FORTY!) attacks on E. Jean Carroll, whose second rape defamation case begins jury picking on Tuesday. Forget the argument more coverage makes him stronger. People really need to see just how much crazier he is now. The metastasizing lies in his rally speeches are getting some attention, but he has to channel Hitler to get that. There’s plenty more in those speeches to skewer.
He prefaced each attack with this:
This puts Florida in play for presidential election, much better than Biden himself for turning out votes for Biden… “Florida on the cusp of adding abortion rights amendment to 2024 ballot” – POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/05/florida-abortion-rights-amendment-00133938
Anyone near DC-Richmond heard any bad weather reports Saturday Sunday Monday?
Actually Interstate 81
What’s a good weather site? All I have is sc radar.
Lack of coverage of the Dumbass (further) decline into insanity is maddening. I would certainly like to see more coverage of that, but it would mean being subjected to clips from his rallies. I’m guessing he’s not filling MSG or the Silver Dome these days.
Nikki Haley – damage control?
Courtesy WaPo. Sorry Nikki, try again. You are doing what conservatives criticized liberals for during the civil rights era as trying to glom onto black friends to provide a false air of non-racist bona fides to demonstrate how open they (we) were to equality. How about this – (1) a full-throated denunciation of Elise Stefanik and her despicable crusade against the 1st black female president of Harvard (hard to tell on that one whether her racism or misogyny) and (2) a full throated denunciation of the Republican and RW SCOTUS gutting of affirmative action. I hear something like that coming out of that yap of yours and I might be inclined to think your childhood friendship with black kids might have been something other than necessity from going to the same schools.
sturge, starting at :28 in the weather channel’s forecast thru the weekend for that area mit maps
Winter Storm Ember Targets Northeast, Mid-Atlantic – Videos from The Weather Channel
CNN anchor Phil Mattingly absolutely body-slammed Republicans over the Trump-inspired January 6 riot in a blistering commentary ahead of President Joe Biden’s speech marking the anniversary of the attack.
https://www.mediaite.com/news/theres-the-truth-and-there-are-lies-cnn-anchor-destroys-republicans-over-trump-inspired-riot-in-blistering-commentary/?s=01
Ugg
But thanks. 😐
The CNN link not coming thru.
Here is correct link to text and video of Mattingly’s commentary, twas well done…
Sturg, yeah, I-81 looks like a horror show tomorrow north of the MD-PA line and east to NJ. I had planned to go and do more construction work this weekend in Deep Creek but the forecast is 5-8″ of mixed precip, then snow, then a glaze of ice. Not my idea of a good time so I’m hanging in EB where the forecast is 1-2″ of mixed precip turning to rain. Hot toddy time.
From article below Biden should quote “hotter-than-expected labor market isn’t great news on Wall Street” — and say:
“Right there is all you need to know about Donald Trump and his Wall Street pals: They think job growth on Main Street is bad news. No wonder we had so little of it when he was in office”
Wall Street analysts expected the figure to come in much lower, about 170,000. And the hotter-than-expected labor market isn’t great news on Wall Street, which is worried that the Federal Reserve might start worrying that interest rates are too low again. Dow futures fell more than 100 points in the immediate wake of the report. (CNBC)
I so rarely get snowed in in SC. Last time was like, um….1989. Currently re-thinking plan of moving to the Catskills to become a little old Jewish comedian.
Come to think of it, maybe not a good time to be a little old Jewish comedian anyway, not with all these “repla
Democrats need to make sure that by election day every voter knows these facts:
The economy under Trump lost 3 million jobs and unemployment climbed to over 6%. Biden increased jobs tenfold, cut unemployment and inflation in half.
Wall Street is legalized gambling and that is where your 401(k) is; that is what our economy teeters on. The Fed tried to stack the deck. It’s ridiculous. Break up the big banks. Make the wealthy pay taxes. Overturn Citizens United. Put term limits on Congress. Increase SC Justices to thirteen. Unions, unions, unions. Single payer health CARE. Eat the billionaires.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/05/politics/attorney-general-trump-370-million/index.html
“New York Attorney General Letitia James argued that Trump and his co-defendants’ intent to defraud while preparing the former president’s financial statements was “inescapable,” seeking the repayment of $370 million in disgorgement, or “ill-gotten gains.”
NRA thug Wayne LaPierre resigns on eve of his corruption trial
BTW it’s epiphany eve or in some parts of the world twelfth night. so time for a musical interlude in accordance – sorta – here’s tommy steele singing feste’s song “the wind and the rain” from willie the shakes “twelfth night”
a repetitous line therein very applicable here to tonight & tomorrow’s weather “for the rain it raineth every day”
the guardian
US braces for snow and heavy rain as major storm predicted for weekend
New England could see snow while heavy rainfall along the
Gulf coast and snowfall and rain in the Rockies are predicted
Cities across the US are bracing for intense weather leading into the weekend, as a major storm coming in from the east brings heavy snow to northern states and intense rainfall along the Gulf coast.
Forecasters have warned that the storm could deliver heavy snowfall to north-eastern and New England states, where some cities have not had substantial snow in recent times.
Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut could see 6-12in of snow, the National Weather Service Boston reported.
A winter storm watch was also in effect in parts of New Hampshire, where the incoming storm could bring 6in of snow, the Boston Globe reported, and more than 25 million Americans are under storm watches from the Carolinas up the east coast to Maine.
Major east coast cities will probably face more rain than flurries. New York City is expected to receive less than an inch of snow, after a snowless winter last year.
[continues]
Gorgeous stage for Biden rollout
Feint #1. The chump has threatened to leave the country.
It was an effective speech although I was expecting to see the historic backdrop of cabins and cannons to evoke the George Washington legacy. The stage setup could have been anywhere.
Sturg, don’t tease me.
Would it be possible for Alina Habba to be any stupider? WaPo.
And breaking news: (also from WaPo)
And with that, everyone have a good weekend and stay safe out there.
Sturgeone – The one thing in my life I always feared was going off the deep end and hearing voices. You always hear about people hearing voices, but no one would tell me what those people hear. Finally a shrink told me it could be many different voices. I told her my concern is that I would always hear old Jewish comedians from the Poconos, Shecky Greene types, and not goddess. Tells you how bad my luck is.
Thanks, Craig, for keeping us informed on the Truth Social invective we’re not otherwise exposed to. These are the rantings of a street corner psychopath. I asked a Trump zealot if they read his posts, they said no. I have a feeling most of them don’t and aren’t seeing the craziness. They just believe.
In the past, I’ve fallen into a trap of “explaining” or “defending” Obama, Hillary, and then Joe, to my right-wing zealot people. A lost cause, with or without lame media coverage. They’re too dug-in to their agenda. So, no more letting them push those buttons. Joe can explain himself and he does. My focus will be a calm and rational one to call out the danger and damage Trump is doing ripping apart the moral fabric of the country. I had a chance to practice this today and I held my ground, no matter how many times they said “Joe” or “Hunter.” Bottom line: Donald is worse, worser, and worst.
Pat
Just did a check from Denver to Chicago to Buffalo, no disastrous weather anticipated, just winter as usual. Maybe someone needs to tell the folks at the Guardian that we are a bigger country than we were back in 1776. We have grown a bit.
As to winter in upstate New York and New England in general. I visited relatives, one winter, in western NY and also up along the Canadian border and from what I saw with 7 or 8 inches snow, they have the roads clear the next morning. They know how to handle snow.
From what Renee says a little snow would be welcome about now.
Ivy
The greatest blessing about Biden being president is he sleeps through the night and doesn’t wake up and rage tweet while setting on the toilet at 3 am in the morning.
POTUS Joe has a wife who loves him, and kids and grandkids.
Orange Adolf’s spawn are just trying to earn his attention. Melania doesn’t care, per the back of her jacket.
Jena Griswold is awesome. Wears pearls, doesn’t clutch them. Stands up for the rule of law.
Sturg – SFB said he’d leave if he lost in 2020. Lies. All lies.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/04/musks-spacex-seeks-to-blow-up-nlrb-00133919
“Lawyers for Elon Musk’s SpaceX alleged in a lawsuit Thursday that the National Labor Relations Board’s in-house courts are unconstitutional and the agency should be prohibited from taking enforcement actions against it.”
“The complaint, filed in the southern district of Texas, relies heavily on a case currently pending before the Supreme Court, Jarkesy v. SEC. The plaintiff in that case alleges agency tribunals infringe on the constitutional right to a jury trial in civil cases and if administrative law judges — as utilized by the NLRB and many other federal agencies — violate the constitution’s separation of powers.”
“Citing a Federalist Paper written by James Madison, it compares the NLRB’s structure to “the very definition of tyranny.”
“The filing comes on the heels of NLRB prosecutors issuing a complaint against the company accusing it of illegally firing eight employees who had circulated a letter in 2022 criticizing Musk, its combative CEO. The letter criticized him “for issuing inappropriate, disparaging, sexually charged comments on Twitter,” their lawyers told the NLRB. (Musk also owns the social media platform and rebranded it as X.)
“SpaceX is seeking an injunction against the NLRB barring it from moving forward with that case against the company while the constitutional concerns are litigated.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/29/business/elon-musk-tesla-nordic-strikes/index.html
“What began nine weeks ago with a group of mechanics in Sweden demanding that Tesla agree to collective bargaining has evolved into a broader fight for the Nordic region’s way of work and life.”
“Bowing to union pressure in Sweden could embolden Tesla (TSLA) workers in Germany — home to the company’s only European factory — who, likewise, want a collective agreement on pay and other terms of employment. It could also fire up unionization efforts by Tesla’s US workforce.”
“For labor unions across the Nordics — a region encompassing Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland — the tussle with Tesla and Musk, a vocal critic of unions, is existential.”
“If a large international company is allowed to (impose itself) on the Swedish labor market and not sign a collective agreement, then what’s to say that other companies in the future will accept this (existing) model?” Jesper Petersson, a spokesperson for IF Metall, which represents the Tesla mechanics, told CNN.
“…a wave of “sympathy strikes” has followed. Swedish dockworkers have blocked deliveries of Tesla cars at the country’s ports, electricians have refused to service charging stations, and postal workers have even stopped delivering license plates.”
“…unions representing dockworkers in Denmark, Norway and Finland had announced plans to block all exports of Tesla cars to Sweden from their ports.”
“German law makes it prohibitively hard for workers to strike in solidarity with those elsewhere, but sympathy action in the Nordics “may act as a catalyst” for Tesla’s German workers to join local unions, Schmidt said.
I only hear one voice but it does a lot of impressions.
Bluein D.
Well yes of course he’s lying, he’s always lying; but at some point this time he will HAVE to leave and he’s laying the groundwork.
Government-in-exile. Putin supported. All kinds of nasty work exported.
Old Jewish comedians from the Poconos are Mr. Ivy’s weak spot.
We’re supposed to start receiving our Colorado ballots around February 12. How’s that going to work?
The T. family genogram is rife with rotten apples all from the same orchard.
Those kids are way past getting his attention……….now they just looking to grab any loose loot they can find and maybe stay out of jail.
They probably think something like He can take his attention and stick it in his diaper.
Nah, they are deeply damaged individuals. There aren’t enough therapists in the world, thus the coke.
What good is SFB to Poo-tin if he loses, again, and if he gets banished to Florida with an ankle monitor? No more access to intel, so just a trinket to hold up for the MAGAts in hopes of causing turmoil, I guess.
This contains Biden’s full speech
Old Berman: UPDATE: While we’re here, there’s news on this sports story I mentioned during the week in which Aaron Rodgers, on the Pat McAfee Show, a program for which ESPN just paid its namesake host 85 million dollars to run on its platforms, Rodgers implied that when the Jeffrey Epstein lists were published, Jimmy Kimmel would be mentioned. Rodgers said when that happened, he’d pop open a bottle of something.Kimmel, who like McAfee, and Rodgers – who is under contract TO McAfee to appear on his shows – is employed by Disney. And within hours of the Aaron Rodgers statement, Kimmel tweeted that if Rodgers did not stop, he would sue Rodgers. The next day McAfee pleaded ignorance. It didn’t take much effort; he’s pretty ignorant. He said he believed there was no cause for any problem because Rodgers was just quote “talking shit.” In fact that’s not really a defense many courts will accept in a defamation suit. A defamation suit by one Disney employee against two other Disney employees in McAfee and Rodgers. Rodgers has not again appeared on the show, nor did McAfee issue a retraction. What McAfee DID do Friday, though, was to declare war ON ESPN. He accused executives of the company of leaking inaccurate ratings about the program.Actually, what it is, is – professionally – suicidal. Because McAfee named names, and he named the one ESPN executive who has outlasted everybody who has ever worked there, including me, including me the second time, including me the third time when HE personally got me rehired, including me as he supervised the unlikeliest of outcomes to my ESPN career in which of all people I wound up… RETIRING FROM ESPN. I got everything but the gold watch. The executive’s name is Norby Williamson. And in trashing him, McAfee gave ESPN a way to fire him – for cause – and owe him none of the money in his contract. Or pay him off and silence him, just like Fox did with Tucker Carlson. Because if 32 years with Norby has taught me one thing: he survives… Read more »
They don’t have this part written out, that I can find but have you heard of the new chump tape about “God Made Chump” ?
Berman has the back story…..the god made chump clip was boosted from a 2013 Ram Truck commercial which was in turn boosted from a Paul Harvey (Olbermann’s former boss) speech entitled “And God Made A Farmer”. It’s a rollicking good yarn. And…..Now you know………The REST—of the Story.
NEW THREAD