Patterico's Pontifications

5/23/2016

Politico Employs Classic Methods of Leftist Bias Re the VA Head

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 10:11 pm



Politico follows the usual lefty playbook when it comes to portraying a screw-up by a member of a Democrat administration. Don’t focus on the screw-up. Focus on the attacks by the political opponents of the guy who made the screw up.

As I observed 12 years ago of the Los Angeles Times (but the criticism holds for any Big Media publication):

When the paper disagrees with criticism of a candidate, it is portrayed as an attack by political opponents. When the paper agrees with the criticism, the criticism becomes a mysterious and disembodied (but ever-growing) entity.

In another old post, I even took an article full of descriptions of attacks by Republicans (“seized on” and “threw [some leftist] on the defensive” and so forth), and rewrote it to show how you could spin it the opposite way.

The Politico piece has the classic “seized on” and “lashed out” formulations, as well as the sympathetic portrayal of the guy from the Democrat administration all hunkered down, just defending himself from all that Republican attacking. I won’t link it. Just Google “Republicans lash out at VA secretary for ‘Disney’ comparison” if you want to read it. Here is an excerpt:

Republicans are lashing out at Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald after he invoked Disney when talking about how veterans’ care should be judged.

McDonald on Monday was talking to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast when he referenced the amusement park owner as he hit back at critics focused on long wait times for veterans seeking medical care.

“What really counts is how does the veteran feel about their encounter with the VA. When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what’s important? What’s important is what’s your satisfaction with the experience,” he said.

Republicans quickly seized on the comments, holding them up as the latest example of the Obama administration’s callous approach to veterans.

See? Republicans are “lashing out” and “seized on” the comments, while the VA head simply “hit back” — as you do when you are the victim of a bunch of “lashing out” (which sounds awful mean).

This is how they take some dipshit who isn’t doing squat to help veterans, and who makes a callous and jaw-dropping statement about it, and somehow turn him into the victim. Meanwhile, veterans are dying right and left, but never mind all that.

It’s good to just sit back and analyze this crap from time to time. They never ever stop doing it.

I hate them all.

44 Responses to “Politico Employs Classic Methods of Leftist Bias Re the VA Head”

  1. Is “hate” too strong a word? I maintain that it is not.

    Patterico (328df5) — 5/23/2016 @ 10:12 pm

  2. They deserve to burn. I’d ask the politico trash if they agree with the VA secretary.

    njrob (d742c3) — 5/24/2016 @ 4:44 am

  3. “…your satisfaction with the experience…” In a just world, McDonald would be terminated as Va secretary.

    mike191 (4c004d) — 5/24/2016 @ 5:50 am

  4. I really don’t see a problem with comparing the VA to Disney. After all, the VA is definitely a Mickey Mouse agency…..

    The Old Man (8a56e1) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:46 am

  5. There’s a rather significant difference between waiting 90 minutes at Disneyland to to take a fun ride with Mr Toad, and waiting months for an appointment to see a doctor about a painful medical condition. The former is a minor inconvenience and the latter just may be the difference between life and death.

    The LA Times is a reliable Democrat Party ‘house organ’ and during an election year they come out from behind the mask of objective journalism and demonstrate in bold relief yet once again their true colors: there is no Democrat so corrupt the LAT won’t sell their souls to defend.

    PS: Is there really a difference between leaving a wounded soldier behind on the field to die, and denying our wounded veterans the medical care they’ve earned?

    ropelight (df52b0) — 5/24/2016 @ 7:16 am

  6. The Left is evil. Simple.

    Rodney King's Spirit (e2dd8e) — 5/24/2016 @ 8:11 am

  7. Is “hate” too strong a word? I maintain that it is not.

    It is not. What the media are doing is so premeditated and so evil that it deserves hate.

    Patricia (5fc097) — 5/24/2016 @ 8:47 am

  8. Your remarks are spot on, but you neglect to consider the victim. Are our veterans one of the groups on this administration’s list of preferred clients? Of course not. They don’t have TB, nor scabies, nor are they sworn to jihad against the western world. They speak English, and have some knowledge of this country’s history, at the very least the part they contributed to. Right there you have a deal breaker with progressives. Do they vote in lock step with the Democrats? Do they continue to cast votes for Democrats from the grave? Are they unemployable except by government agencies? No, no, and no. Veterans are, in fact, considered likely terrorists by this administration.

    Our elite leaders and their flock are well aware of the political deficiencies of many of those who have served this country. And as a result, they have been dismissed as yet another group that is best flown over and ignored. I doubt half of those under 40 even know what a “veteran” is, let alone know one. And when I attend a volleyball match at the U. W. on a day calling for some display of patriotism, meaning the veterans are asked to stand up, in a crowd of 4,000 I can only see a score or so, and we’re all getting along in years. The audience probably considers us just another contender for their piece of the pie, and old- and likely expensive contenders at that.

    So like all the others considered to be enemies by this administration, we are expected to shut up and step to the back of the bus.

    And as for the value of a military academy education, it has been clear for at least half a century that guys like McCain (USNA) and Westmoreland (USMA) can integrate into the upper reaches of the cartel smoothly, creating hardly a ripple in the pond. Famed FBI sharp shooter Lon Horiuchi is a graduate of the USMA, class of 1976. But just to make certain that the Cadets understand the new reality, Obama went so far as to change their oath, making it clear that their duty is to the occupant of the White House, and not to the Constitution. This was in addition to getting flag officers to agree in principle that they would be willing to fire on American civilians. So if one of these graduates gets the order to cut expenditures on veteran healthcare, who’s surprised if the answer is “Yes Sir! To the bone, Sir!”

    BobStewartatHome (404986) — 5/24/2016 @ 8:58 am

  9. ditto, bobsh, now if we had any credible opposition the rejoinder will be something like this,

    ‘at long last, have you no sense of decency sir, when you were appointed there were credible reports of veterans who have given their all to this country to bastogne to bien hoa to bagram, dying in wards, alone, those who could get appointments under the stewardship of your predecessor general shinseki,

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 9:02 am

  10. Palin rants. Obama makes impassioned plea.

    CrustyB (69f730) — 5/24/2016 @ 10:00 am

  11. I’ve more noticed the LHMFM using two of what I’d guess you’d call variations of this tactic.

    First, if they disagree with the criticism they present it as a dubious claim.

    “Republicans say Obama budget will hurt job creation”

    But if they agree with the (leftist) criticism they’ll present it as objective fact.

    “Ryan budget will deny elderly Medicare recipients access to medical care.” (Inset image of Paul Ryan pushing grandma off a cliff here.)

    The other variation is to paint conservatives as wild eyed, bomb throwing extremists. Even if, or rather especially if, the vast majority of Americans agree with the conservative opinion. On the other hand, present leftist Democrats (but I repeat myself) as pragmatic non-partisan centrists whose ideas are always mainstream and common sense.

    Mainstream. Of course mainstream. In Havana, an Occupy Wall Street camp, the faculty lounge, including the journo school faculty lounge, and therefore your average LHMFM newsroom or broadcast studio.

    Speaking of good ol’ fashioned America & mom lovin’, hotdogs, and apple pie mainstream Democratic centrist common-sense pragmatism, a blast from the past:

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/pelosi-on-occupy-wall-street-protesters-god-bless-them/article/595117

    “God bless them,” Pelosi said, “for their spontaneity. It’s independent … it’s young, it’s spontaneous, and it’s focused. And it’s going to be effective.”

    “The message of the protesters is a message for the establishment everyplace,” said the House Democrats’ leader. “No longer will the recklessness of some on Wall Street cause massive joblessness on Main Street.

    I’d be curious to know if these spontaneous, youthful, sincere, independent, anti-establishment protesters who are “going to be effective” are still just as praiseworthy in 2016 now that they’re disrupting Democratic party conventions and throwing chairs at Hillary! supporters as they were in 2011 when they were merely ruining the “little people’s” lives by shutting down ports, blocking traffic, stinking-up neighborhoods by squatting in filthy drug and crime filled camps, defecating on police cars and people’s doorsteps, vandalizing private property by breaking windows and painting graffiti all over them, barging into businesses and disrupting people’s brunches and dinners, and throwing rocks and bricks at riot police?

    Dunno. Maybe someone should ask her. I’m sure the LHMFM will be right on it.

    There’s not much to be happy about this election season. The likely choices will be corrupt lying-sack-of-sh*t autocratic NY establishment leftist A vs. B. The influence peddler vs. the influence buyer. The dark horse in the race, the only one who isn’t a lying-sack-of-sh*t I must say to his credit, is a fossilized 1960s hippie bolshevik relic.

    But at least I can derive the same schadenfreude from the horror wall-street money-addicted establishment leftist Dem types are now experiencing as I do when see the same fear in the eyes of faculty leftists as the Frankensteins they’ve created turn on them.

    Steve57 (fa6407) — 5/24/2016 @ 11:47 am

  12. they have loosed imhotep’s minions, (the fact they are remaking the mummy is a travesty) upon the land,

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 11:54 am

  13. they’ll just go voom any minute now,

    http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/speaker-ryan-va-secretary-i-dont-know-if-he-should-resign

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 11:57 am

  14. “In a just world, McDonald would be terminated as Va secretary”…. or fragged by his troops.
    FTFY!

    askeptic (bfa00e) — 5/24/2016 @ 12:15 pm

  15. who was the one in animal house, who had just that fate?

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 12:17 pm

  16. Wasn’t it Kevin Bacon?

    askeptic (bfa00e) — 5/24/2016 @ 12:29 pm

  17. no james daughton, I think is his name, niedermeyer,

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 12:30 pm

  18. Anyone else perk up when they see “politico.com” in a link on another site, and then get disappointed when they take a closer look and see that it doesn’t say “patterico.com”?

    CayleyGraph (353727) — 5/24/2016 @ 12:43 pm

  19. no it’s this guy,

    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0582420/?ref_=tt_cl_t3

    politico is not only politically tendentious, but generally terribly uninteresting writing, one probably goes with the other,

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 12:47 pm

  20. Sometimes I think the closing credits were the best part of that movie – other than Bluto soliloquies.

    askeptic (bfa00e) — 5/24/2016 @ 1:21 pm

  21. who was the one in animal house, who had just that fate?

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 12:17 pm

    That was Niedermayer. Off to the side, there’s a commenter over at Ace’s that goes by Niedermayer’s Dead Horse.

    Bill H (971e5f) — 5/24/2016 @ 1:30 pm

  22. Wasn’t it Kevin Bacon?

    askeptic (bfa00e) — 5/24/2016 @ 12:29 pm

    No- he was the one shouting at the parade “REMAIN CALM!! ALL IS WELL!!!!!!!!”

    Bill H (971e5f) — 5/24/2016 @ 1:33 pm

  23. McDonald gave one of those non-apology apologies today where he apologized if you misunderstood what he said.

    JD (7fd277) — 5/24/2016 @ 4:54 pm

  24. chip dillard, that’s the job of say tim miller, or john weaver.

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 5:07 pm

  25. McDonald gave one of those non-apology apologies today where he apologized if you misunderstood what he said.

    JD (7fd277) — 5/24/2016 @ 4:54 pm

    Izzok. I’m sorry he’s a living, breathing component of our government. I’m sorry he doesn’t get to experience first-hand how our vets are treated.

    Bill H (971e5f) — 5/24/2016 @ 5:31 pm

  26. Meanwhile:

    Almost four months after promising $1 million of his own money to veterans’ causes, Donald Trump moved to fulfill that pledge Monday evening — promising the entire sum to a single charity as he came under intense media scrutiny.

    Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, organized a nationally televised fundraiser for veterans’ causes in Des Moines on Jan. 28. That night, Trump said he had raised $6 million, including the gift from his own pocket.

    “Donald Trump gave $1 million,” he said then.

    As recently as last week, Trump’s campaign manager had insisted that the mogul had already given that money away. But that was false: Trump had not.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/24/four-months-later-donald-trump-says-he-gave-1-million-to-veterans-group/

    Seems I read about this somewhere.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/24/2016 @ 5:56 pm

  27. Donald Trump moved to fulfill that pledge Monday evening — promising the entire sum to a single charity as he came under intense media scrutiny.

    Yeah, that’s a check you can cash at your Jewel-Osco. (sarcasm)

    nk (dbc370) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:07 pm

  28. Kevin – and he only made that promise because one of the MFM people held his feet to the fire about his claims of having done so previously. Which, of course, was a lie. Should that check ever go out, it will come from his Foundation or “charity”, contrary to his claim that it was from him. Bank on it.

    JD (48a4cb) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:12 pm

  29. One of the biggest drivers of climate change is the on-going development of third world nations. Around the globe, countries that have spent centuries with economies largely built on subsistence agriculture are slowly starting to advance into the modern world. This is bad news for those concerned about climate change.

    jesus pls to smite this twat with your jesus powers thank you

    happyfeet (831175) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:18 pm

  30. Wasn’t that the one which supposedly raised $6 million but actually raised 4.3 million? So it really raised 3.3 million….unless Trump’s million is really the major part of the missing 1.7 million.

    kishnevi (698d28) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:20 pm

  31. there is a supreme arrogance to the skydragon conceit, that we who have been around for a flicker of time, can materially change the earth, pshaw, charleton heston made that point when he narrated jurassic park, and george carlin, made it in his off the way.

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:21 pm

  32. jesus pls to smite this twat with your jesus powers thank you

    Truly. This is right up there with “homeless people starting to get housing, driving up rents.”

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:26 pm

  33. Well, of course we can materially change the earth. We have what, 5000 H-bombs each capable of turning several thousand square miles into fused glass and messing up considerably more? Done perversely, the long term damage is even worse than that.

    The question is not whether human activity on a global scale can affect the earth, but if the scale at which we are doing it will affect it enough to matter. Clearly we are affecting CO2 levels. That much we can measure. Those are higher than they have been in millions of years. Is this a bad thing? I have no idea. The warmists think not. Is this a wise thing? I’m not sanguine. Should this be done casually? No. Should we starve all the little brown people to death to prevent it? Also no.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:34 pm

  34. *The warmists think so.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:35 pm

  35. you know what I meant, they want us to believe that the very things that keeps us from the nasty brutish and short existence we had a mere 300 years ago, condemn the people to locusts, superhurricanes et al,

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:38 pm

  36. Well, yes, and when we get all our eco-ducks in a row and our overlords are all satisfied that everything is just so, the Yellowstone caldera will break loose and God will laugh.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/24/2016 @ 7:07 pm

  37. well he doesn’t laugh, but he finds ways of rendering judgement

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 7:13 pm

  38. hf is going off topic to change the subject. All things considered, this is an improvement.

    BobStewartatHome (404986) — 5/24/2016 @ 7:24 pm

  39. thematically joining the triad,

    https://pjmedia.com/diaryofamadvoter/2016/05/24/tsa-the-va-venezuela-and-bernie/?singlepage=true

    narciso (732bc0) — 5/24/2016 @ 7:54 pm

  40. Yeah, that’s a check you can cash at your Jewel-Osco. (sarcasm)

    nk (dbc370) — 5/24/2016 @ 6:07 pm

    HA! Even I knew that. 🙂

    J. Jackson and the Rainbow Warriors (971e5f) — 5/24/2016 @ 8:49 pm

  41. Oh, and, off with the sock. You’d think by now after several years over at Ace’s I would remember that……

    Bill H (971e5f) — 5/24/2016 @ 8:50 pm

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