When Your Media Are 'Disappointed' by Opposition to Bigotry
As the aggressive behavior of his supporters becomes as much of a story as the violence implied in his politics, Donald Trump is bringing together folks who agree on little else to denounce him. It's true Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have policies in some ways even more regressive than Trump's, but then neither of them is openly pining for the days when protesters were carried off on stretchers.
Turnout by thousands of appalled citizens led to the cancellation of Trump's Chicago rally, and a coalition of public interest groups, including MoveOn, Color of Change, Greenpeace and Jobs with Justice, released an open letter calling for a mass Nonviolent Mobilization to Stand Up to what they called a "five alarm fire" for democracy.
So it might not seem extreme for Cokie Roberts, commentator emeritus at NPR, to say in a column that Trump's nomination would be a "devastating blow" to the US's reputation around the world.
Nevertheless, Roberts' column was too much for the public radio network that many insist leans left. So Roberts was brought on Morning Edition (3/14/16) to be admonished by host David Greene:
Objectivity is so fundamental to what we do. Can you blame people like me for being a little disappointed to hear you come out and take a personal position on something like this in a campaign?
For her part, Roberts claimed to be a "totally unpartisan human being" who is just "very interested in civility." When Cokie Roberts is your firebrand, things have come to quite a pass. This is the host who gushed to David Letterman that she was "a total sucker for the guys who stand up with all the ribbons on and stuff"--meaning military officials--and "so when they say stuff, I tend to believe it." Her advice to Bill Clinton after the Republican congressional victories of 1994 was "move to the right, which is the advice that somebody should have given him a long time ago."
Which, I suppose, is just to say: Keep in mind that some of the news outlets you rely on hold that being anti-bigotry biases your journalism. That is news you can use.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
As the aggressive behavior of his supporters becomes as much of a story as the violence implied in his politics, Donald Trump is bringing together folks who agree on little else to denounce him. It's true Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have policies in some ways even more regressive than Trump's, but then neither of them is openly pining for the days when protesters were carried off on stretchers.
Turnout by thousands of appalled citizens led to the cancellation of Trump's Chicago rally, and a coalition of public interest groups, including MoveOn, Color of Change, Greenpeace and Jobs with Justice, released an open letter calling for a mass Nonviolent Mobilization to Stand Up to what they called a "five alarm fire" for democracy.
So it might not seem extreme for Cokie Roberts, commentator emeritus at NPR, to say in a column that Trump's nomination would be a "devastating blow" to the US's reputation around the world.
Nevertheless, Roberts' column was too much for the public radio network that many insist leans left. So Roberts was brought on Morning Edition (3/14/16) to be admonished by host David Greene:
Objectivity is so fundamental to what we do. Can you blame people like me for being a little disappointed to hear you come out and take a personal position on something like this in a campaign?
For her part, Roberts claimed to be a "totally unpartisan human being" who is just "very interested in civility." When Cokie Roberts is your firebrand, things have come to quite a pass. This is the host who gushed to David Letterman that she was "a total sucker for the guys who stand up with all the ribbons on and stuff"--meaning military officials--and "so when they say stuff, I tend to believe it." Her advice to Bill Clinton after the Republican congressional victories of 1994 was "move to the right, which is the advice that somebody should have given him a long time ago."
Which, I suppose, is just to say: Keep in mind that some of the news outlets you rely on hold that being anti-bigotry biases your journalism. That is news you can use.
As the aggressive behavior of his supporters becomes as much of a story as the violence implied in his politics, Donald Trump is bringing together folks who agree on little else to denounce him. It's true Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have policies in some ways even more regressive than Trump's, but then neither of them is openly pining for the days when protesters were carried off on stretchers.
Turnout by thousands of appalled citizens led to the cancellation of Trump's Chicago rally, and a coalition of public interest groups, including MoveOn, Color of Change, Greenpeace and Jobs with Justice, released an open letter calling for a mass Nonviolent Mobilization to Stand Up to what they called a "five alarm fire" for democracy.
So it might not seem extreme for Cokie Roberts, commentator emeritus at NPR, to say in a column that Trump's nomination would be a "devastating blow" to the US's reputation around the world.
Nevertheless, Roberts' column was too much for the public radio network that many insist leans left. So Roberts was brought on Morning Edition (3/14/16) to be admonished by host David Greene:
Objectivity is so fundamental to what we do. Can you blame people like me for being a little disappointed to hear you come out and take a personal position on something like this in a campaign?
For her part, Roberts claimed to be a "totally unpartisan human being" who is just "very interested in civility." When Cokie Roberts is your firebrand, things have come to quite a pass. This is the host who gushed to David Letterman that she was "a total sucker for the guys who stand up with all the ribbons on and stuff"--meaning military officials--and "so when they say stuff, I tend to believe it." Her advice to Bill Clinton after the Republican congressional victories of 1994 was "move to the right, which is the advice that somebody should have given him a long time ago."
Which, I suppose, is just to say: Keep in mind that some of the news outlets you rely on hold that being anti-bigotry biases your journalism. That is news you can use.