Bernie burns the media

[KingOrfeo]

Here:

After being criticised for lowering the course of political discourse by Washington Post writer Amber Phillips, Senator Bernie Sanders fought back with a hard hitting article on Medium.com defending his attacks on the POTUS for the multiple falsehoods he’s been disseminating on Twitter. Phillips took issue with the Senator accusing the President of “being a liar”, but Sanders hit back hard, asking:

What should a United States senator, or any citizen, do if the president is a liar? Does ignoring this reality benefit the American people? Do we make a bad situation worse by disrespecting the president of the United States? Or do we have an obligation to say that he is a liar to protect America’s standing in the world and people’s trust in our institutions?

<snip>

Oddly, the Washington Post didn’t question the accuracy of any of Sander’s facts regarding Trump’s adversarial relationship with the truth. Phillips simply felt that it was inappropriate for a sitting Senator to refer to the president in such disrespectful terms. Sanders responds with the perfect questions:

But how do we deal with a president who makes statements that reverberate around our country and the world that are not based on fact or evidence? What is the appropriate way to respond to that? And if the media and political leaders fail to call lies what they are, are they then guilty of misleading the public?

 

[Wrong Element]

As a sort of writer myself, I have always believed in:

1) Expressing myself clearly

and

2) Accurately describing the world as it is, not how I wish it was.


Amber Phillips, who I was not familiar with before now (apparently for good reason) is not that sort of writer; she wants us all to bury our heads in the sand and pretend the current president is the 44th reincarnation of George Washington. ANYTHING to avoid offending anyone by describing the world as it is.

I don't disagree with Sanders, but it was such a stupid and widely criticized column that he needn't have spent any time or effort responding to it.

 

[sr71plt]

The thread title is misleading and falls into the Trump pit. Bernie isn't reacting to "the media." He is reacting to one article by one author.

 

[KingOrfeo]

The thread title is misleading and falls into the Trump pit. Bernie isn't reacting to "the media." He is reacting to one article by one author.

But he calls out the media. You don't hear them very often call Trump a liar or even say this or that demonstrable falsehood is a lie.

 

[phrodeau]

But how do we deal with a president who makes statements that reverberate around our country and the world that are not based on fact or evidence? What is the appropriate way to respond to that? And if the media and political leaders fail to call lies what they are, are they then guilty of misleading the public?

http://www.cashill.com/images/joe_wilson_you_lie.jpg

 

[Rightguide]

Comrade Bernie belongs in a rubber room.

 

[phrodeau]

Comrade Bernie belongs in a rubber room.

It's tough when you get your ass kicked by a 75-year-old man, eh?

 

[Rightguide]

It's tough when you get your ass kicked by a 75-year-old man, eh?

He never kicked my ass, but obviously he fooled yours.

 

[dan_c00000]

He never kicked my ass, but obviously he fooled yours.

No I'm pretty sure he ruined your ass.

https://media.giphy.com/media/3oEjHLxj7kZ0LeZUeA/giphy.gif