But the reaction by both the right-wing nutfactory and the supposedly impartial D.C. political press to Michelle Wolf's commentary at the White House Correspondents' Dinner was a perfect encapsulation of the sickness of our era and the media elite's complicity in it. And it's fucking pissed me off all day.
For those that (blessedly, for certain) don't live in this region's toxic bubble of handjobbery and mendacity, the right/media axis are shocked, shocked that Wolf attacked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders' looks. Here's a sampling of the indignantly purple tweetprose:
There are lot more where those came from. And here's what Wolf actually said about Sanders:
"And, of course, we have Sarah Huckabee Sanders. We're graced with Sarah's presence tonight. I have to say I'm a little star-struck. I love you as Aunt Lydia in "The Handmaid's Tale."
Mike Pence, if you haven't seen it, you would love it.
Every time Sarah steps up to the podium, I get excited because I'm not really sure what we're going to get: you know, a press briefing, a bunch of lies or divided into softball teams. "It's shirts and skins, and this time, don't be such a little b----, Jim Acosta."
I actually really like Sarah. I think she's very resourceful. Like, she burns facts, and then she uses the ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like, maybe she's born with it; maybe it's lies.
It's probably lies.
And I'm never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders. You know, is it Sarah Sanders? Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what's Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know: Aunt Coulter."
Vulture.com has a better, less pissed off discussion of the matter, if you care.
I don't think the media is actually that angry about Wolf's comments regarding Sanders. What really has them pissed off is a different portion of the speech. You can find an annotated transcript here, if you care.
"There's a lot of print media here. There's a ton of you guys, but I'm not going to go after print media tonight because it's illegal to attack an endangered species.
Buy newspapers.
There's a ton of news right now; a lot is going on, and we have all these 24-hour news networks, and we could be covering everything. But, instead, we're covering like three topics. Every hour, it's Trump, Russia, Hillary and a panel of four people who remind you why you don't go home for Thanksgiving.
“Milk comes from nuts now, all 'cause of the gays.”
You guys are obsessed with Trump. Did you used to date him? Because you pretend like you hate him, but I think you love him. I think what no one in this room wants to admit is that Trump has helped all of you. He couldn't sell steaks or vodka or water or college or ties or Eric, but he has helped you.
He's helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster, and now you're profiting off of him. And if you're gonna profit off of Trump, you should at least give him some money because he doesn't have any."
The reason the D.C. press corps is pissed today? Michelle Wolf fucking nailed them, dead to rights, in a place they don't talk about at cocktail parties. Because they're at those parties with the same people they're supposed to cover impartially, sucking down fancy whiskey and stroking their egos and raising money for their kids' schools, and kissing up for access, which is, at the end of the day, the coin of the realm for the strivers inside the bubble. It's a fine way to make a living.
But it's a fucking horrible way to inform a nation about its leaders.
Most of the bubblepress spent the day talking about this issue. Very few of them made much mention of the final line of Wolf's speech, which was, simply, "Flint still doesn't have clean water." The media's reaction proved she was right, in 72-point all caps.
If I sound pissed and bitter and resigned, it's because I am. The press is supposed to be the eyes and ears for all of us. It's supposed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. In so many places around our world, it does just that. I work with some amazing people who are uncovering incredible stories about injustice, criminality, innovation, and human interest around the globe. But in the place where it may matter more than any other right now, the press is failing us.
But at least they can get a good table at Le Diplomate.
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15 comments:
Rob - feel free to hit me off-line w/ the address of this "bubble of handjobbery." I may want to visit that place.
TR - it used to be above the cupcake store on Waverly but it got raided.
I think many comics have insulted people's appearances in worse ways than suggesting they wear too much eye makeup or that they look like a fat nun. You would think that individual members of the press would tweet in umbrage every time the president's spokespeople tell outright lies, but then they wouldn't have any clickbait. And I think that was the point of Wolf's routine.
Her set wasn't very funny
Speaking of not funny and wolves, the family of laxbros across the street from me have (perhaps paradoxically) what appear to be two little dishrags that run out the front door every time it opens, but apparently they're actually dogs. I know this because they bark. A lot. The laxbro family alleges that they are labradoodles and this might be true, assuming the poodle parent was a toy. These things weigh no more than 35 pounds combined.
I'm telling you this because yesterday my son's friend was walking her dog with her mom and they stopped in our yard to kick a soccer ball around. Their dog is a fifty-some-odd pound pit bull mix, and by mix I mean one pit bull mixed with another pit bull, with maybe some other smaller terrier breed making a genetic contribution a few generations ago. It's a great dog and strikingly good looking (black and white and the black portion on the hindquarters has a faint brindle pattern). As if on cue, the laxbro mom came home (stepping out of her black Volvo SUV wearing name-brand athleisure, natch), opened the front door, and her two animate dishrags made a yapping stampeding bee-line for the pit. The laxbro mom was terrified, the dishrags were preposterous, the pit was uninterested, and the woman holding the leash thought it was cute. Mercifully no one was bitten. If it got gully those two dishrags would've become four or more washcloths.
I had to read Zman's last comment like I used to read Faulkner. Not understanding it, re-reading it, still not really getting it, just nodding along and moving on...
That's a nice way of saying there's no point to my comment. How about this:
My neighbor's pit bull almost ate my other neighbor's 15 pound dog on my front lawn yesterday.
The Sound and the Furry?
Maybe it was the reference to "laxbros" that threw Whit off? It did me at first but the smarter side of my brain (the really small side) figured it out.
The Laxbros are often related to the Bankerwankers.
we leaned on the cliffs notes hard for a "light in august." then when we conferred, we learned that we all plagiarized the "hub and spokes" metaphor from the notes. luckily, the teacher never put it together . . .
rob's post is exactly why i only listen to podcasts. you've got to control what you consume. the only things to be concerned about are nuclear war and environmental catastrophe. the rest is filler.
http://ew.com/books/2018/04/17/trump-bestsellers-2018/
Are any of you guys part of a “sit on the same side of the booth” couple? I just don’t understand.
dave is part of a 'sit at different tables' couple. not really by his choice.
CatPel is a smart woman with questionable taste in men.
as to your booth question question, marls, look to the first post label for your answer.
duh.
i am about to tape up my foot and put on a knee brace so i can go play basketball at our school. there is a 6 AM game. most of the guys are in their 20's. should be ugly.
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