Media doing what media does best: not hold Republicans accountable
PardonMyFrenchToes on
Republicans did something, quick let’s blame Democrats
Proper-Table5570 on
I mean (A) there **was** information ahead of time released to the press- the NYT and WP simply declined to publish said information for… “informational security”, I guess, and (B) what levers exactly do the Democrats have left to pull on an administration that’s essentially a bunch of children in the control room of a nuclear power plant?
poontong on
I read the piece and it essentially argues nothing short of voting on impeachment is the only acceptable opposition from Democrats in response to Maduro’s capture/abduction. The Democrats tried that, repeatedly, in Trump’s first term and, given the nonexistent chance it would be successful, only underscored Congress’s powerlessness to stop Trump. I have no idea what value it would have this time around but at best it would be symbolic if not a Pyric victory.
While there is plenty of abuse to be leveled at the Democratic Party, this author isn’t offering anything pragmatically useful. The gaps and failures of our institutions that Trump has exploited or worsened will require a dedicated, multi-year project of internal nation-building to address. Instead of chasing headlines and staging hopeless Kabuki theater for the left, Democratic leaders should be offering a vision of a functional democracy in the face of petty tyrants.
leontes on
Party out of power has no power! Shocking!
Ok-Lets-Talk-It-Out on
A failed impeachment view looks worse than no impeachment vote at all, and that’s even if it was allowed to the floor. Which it wouldn’t be.
I’m so confused about how the author of this article and so many Americans fail to understand basic civics or how the legislative branch works. Democrats are a minority in both chambers and there are not enough Republicans who actually care about checks and balances to do anything to stop the White House.
Whenever someone says Democrats need to start doing more I always have to ask them how? Which usually is followed by implausible suggestions or jumping to blaming Democrats.
Voting has consequences, not voting or protesting the vote also has consequences. Unfortunately the US citizens aren’t the only ones who are suffering because of said consequences.
Boofing_with_Squee on
The media is doing what they do best on Republican actions: Blame Democrats.
AstalderS on
American voters doing what they do best: not holding Republicans accountable.
NewMidwest on
Yeah, the big problem today is what Democrats are doing.
That kind of dumbassery is Trump’s best friend.
SinxHatesYou on
I would love to see one of these newspaper write an article about how much their click bait and refusal to publish critical news caused all this shit and actively made it worse
TopicTalk8950 on
Imagine that. Democrats don’t vote for Democrats to have any power in the government, then expect Democrats to have any power in the government.
Vote for Democrats to be able to do something if you want Democrats to be able to do something.
Just a thought.
Fickle-Molasses-903 on
The same old bullshit. Republicans go on a blitzkrieg of mayhem and lawlessness, and somehow the Democrats are to blame.
Thanks, Obama. /s
Darrkman2 on
I would love for anyone on Reddit to give us a really good idea of what the Democrats can do when they do not hold the majority in the senate or their house.
It has become the dumbest thing in the world to see the media well as the online left go on and on about how Democrats aren’t doing anything when those same people did all they could to make sure that Democrats didn’t win their elections.
pickleparty16 on
Americans told democrats to kick rocks and barely a year later are begging them to save them with power they dont have
BRD73 on
I keep reminding people that Republicans hold all 3 branches. Democrats are not in control of any of them. How is that so hard to understand? You need to blame the party in charge who is the Republicans. This is such a stupid argument to be repeated over and over again. Do Americans really not know how the United States government works?
StaceyJeans on
Two things can be possible at the same time:
1.) By giving the GOP the White House, Senate, and House, voters gave Trump and MAGA the keys to the country and full control. The Democrats can’t really do anything to stop the GOP if they are determined to pass a bill. They have to hope that GOP members like Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul in the Senate help them out. Democrats also have Senators like Fetterman who are increasingly voting with the GOP.
In the House, anyone who is remotely moderate or showed any streak of independence about Trump – like Don Bacon and Dan Newhouse – are retiring or have left already. MTG is already done. Unless Democrats take the House back in the midterms, we are stuck until January 2027.
2.) The Democrats desperately need a more effective response machine. They need You Tube videos, Tik Tok videos, social media videos, etc. to counteract the GOP messaging. Running to post a statement on Twitter or sending a “stern letter” won’t cut it. In recent studies, Twitter is actually one of the least visited social media sites out there. It beats only Threads, Bluesky and Truth Social in popularity. Only 20-25% of adults in the U.S. use Twitter or have a Twitter account. Meanwhile 65-70% use You Tube, Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok.
The Democrats are terrible at getting their message out and need to do a better job.
Abystract-ism on
And just WHAT are they supposed to do?
Wave a magic wand to stop all this? Democrats are perusing all the venues available-the courts have overruled and overturned many executive orders BUT that means NOTHING to a regime that doesn’t care!
It’s not like Democrats can simply remove any of the players here.
coffee_ape on
Why are democrats always held accountable but not republicans?
Why are democrats held accountable for the shit REPUBLICANS do?
Fuck the US at this point. Failed its people.
toxiamaple on
I am so tired of this shit. GOP has all three branches of the government but it’s the DEM’s fault that tRump invaded Venezuela.
Dems impeached him twice. What did GOP senate do?
Doctor_Freeeeeman on
Articles like this thrive on lack of civic education in this country. As it turns out, the party the electorate didn’t vote for doesn’t have much power at all.
Anything the Democrats do will be merely symbolic, often getting the exact same critique from these outlets as “weak” or “inadequate” responses. Don’t fall for the bait. Much of the press, both mainstream and “independent” thrive on your outage.
Also, bad actors realized they have more success in getting their opposition to hate one another than bring them over to their side. Can’t convince you that their fascistic ideas are any good? Well at least they’ve convinced you that your side is just as bad!
AnonAmbientLight on
Could Democrats be doing more? Maybe. There’s possibly messaging that they could be doing that’s better.
But this is what happens when you lose the majority in the House and Senate. You don’t get to fucking do anything. You have next to no power because that’s how it is set up.
We are stuck after an election for 2 to 4 years on the course that the American people have decided. That’s how it works.
The biggest issue is that Republicans in the last 40-50 years have given up on trying to run the country for all and instead run the country for the benefit of the party itself.
Understand that that means roughly HALF of our government doesn’t give a shit about the people of the country, only what it can do for the party.
It’s fucked up and the sooner voters realize this and vote accordingly, the better.
FlopShanoobie on
The voters really don’t care. Venezuela is not an issue that the average voter cares about, or even really knows about.
And if the voters don’t care then why would the Democrats in Congress do anything other than pander to the petroleum corporations, who very much want this.
The American taxpayers are about to fund their wholesale takeover of an entire nation’s oil industry.
That is the bottom line.
Ambiorix33 on
The fuck do you want democrats to do? As far as we are aware every level.of government is being dominated by the Republicans cose Americans are too dumb to either vote or would rather vote for a criminal than a woman
dudleydidwrong on
Democratic leadership is more worried about blocking Bernie Sanders and AOC than they are worried about blocking Trump. With recent wins by progressives the Democratic leadership and all the other moderate Republicans in Washington have their hands full. They do not have time to deal with petty issues like war crimes and blatant imperialism.
AleroRatking on
I feel like people are idiots and don’t realize the Dems don’t have the majority.
Queasy_Range8265 on
Congress is a joke: they have no influence over tariffs or wars. What are they doing on a daily basis?
Malix_Farwin on
What do you expect Democrats to do man, they aren’t in power. This is the Voter’s fault.
Pal_Saradise_ on
The dems, the media, and the voters are all doing their part.
CheezWong on
“Democracy fails when voters give absolute power to people who will act like dictators.”
Fixed it for ya.
CreepyWhistle on
Form a committee that’ll take three years just to come to the conclusion that Trump was likely wrong.
Crunchychilisauce on
They want it too… that’s why.
cmarme on
I can’t read it. Does it give any practical ideas on what the Democrats can do?
Im assuming that they don’t. At what point do we call these articles victim blaming?
GrandAd6958 on
From a private account. Shit post from the right. Block this crap. Mods, why do you allow this crap?
moutonbleu on
And what can they actually do? Shut down the govt again next time around? They don’t hold any branch of govt
TJWattsBurnerAcct on
Yes it is up to democrats who hold…checks notes… absolutely no federal power to check this. Next we should blame them for the big beautiful bill which passed with no Democrat support.
blyzo on
I read this honestly curious what they wanted Democrats to do.
Apparently it’s impeach Trump again? Which they somehow should do despite being in the minority?
Like this is just nonsense. And it’s blatantly obviously untrue that Democrats have “primaried anti MAGA dissidents from it’s ranks” lol. Can’t believe the Nation even published this.
>The opposition party that continually rules out impeachment as a viable strategy is banking on lawmakers aligned with a ruling party that’s systematically purged and primaried anti-MAGA dissidents from its ranks to rescue flailing Democratic bids to get illegal war plans duly set down on paper before the concerned principals on Capitol Hill. That’s the polar opposite of politics—and it is most decidedly weak.
ArcBounds on
What are they supposed to do? I am honest. They have no power in Congress. We really cannot do anything except talk and try to convince people of the evils of Trump until the elections. The US gave them no power in congress.
Darzin on
“Why would the democrats allow this to happen!” says media instead of holding those who caused the issue accountable.
BankBlackPanther on
Democrats aren’t in charge of any branch of government.
solitudeisdiss on
What could they do? Anyone have ideas? I’m so sick of the do nothing accusations… they can’t do anything when they don’t have the majority really they can’t unless they control senate house and Supreme Court. But that ship has sailed…. We learned this the first trump presidency. They just blocked everything when we had the house. So idk what the fuck u want them to do…. Guess you should have sucked it up and voted blue no matter who. …
Generic_Username26 on
What would you have them do exactly? They aren’t in power. The real failure is the media who A.) ran cover for Trump in order to maintain their precious ratings and B.) continue to not hold anyone in maga accountable because their ratings are more important than their service to the American people.
Shameful for profit media
Auerbach1991 on
Why is this the democrats fault? Republicans control everything currently.
Rephrase that question: why aren’t democrats doing anything, into “WHY ARE REPUBLICANS FASCIST ASSHOLES AND PROTECTING A PEDOPHILE?”
ToddBauer on
The poster does not seem to understand what it means to control all three branches of government and have the Justice Department in your pocket. It’s a very common error by uninformed people.
TheGOPisTheDeepState on
The media is so fucking stupid, Democrats don’t have the votes to do anything. Maybe hold the Republican Party accountable for their failures while they control everything…ffs.
captaincanada84 on
What can Democrats in Congress do with a minority in both the House and Senate? Absolutely nothing. Republicans are the ones allowing Trump to do whatever he wants
Oldman32092 on
What the fuck do they want the Democrats to do? Take up arms? These are politicians, not the military, they are not in charge of the House or Senate so they are making statements against the invasion and Trump. Start talking about Trump instead of the do nothing Democrats.
46 Comments
Media doing what media does best: not hold Republicans accountable
Republicans did something, quick let’s blame Democrats
I mean (A) there **was** information ahead of time released to the press- the NYT and WP simply declined to publish said information for… “informational security”, I guess, and (B) what levers exactly do the Democrats have left to pull on an administration that’s essentially a bunch of children in the control room of a nuclear power plant?
I read the piece and it essentially argues nothing short of voting on impeachment is the only acceptable opposition from Democrats in response to Maduro’s capture/abduction. The Democrats tried that, repeatedly, in Trump’s first term and, given the nonexistent chance it would be successful, only underscored Congress’s powerlessness to stop Trump. I have no idea what value it would have this time around but at best it would be symbolic if not a Pyric victory.
While there is plenty of abuse to be leveled at the Democratic Party, this author isn’t offering anything pragmatically useful. The gaps and failures of our institutions that Trump has exploited or worsened will require a dedicated, multi-year project of internal nation-building to address. Instead of chasing headlines and staging hopeless Kabuki theater for the left, Democratic leaders should be offering a vision of a functional democracy in the face of petty tyrants.
Party out of power has no power! Shocking!
A failed impeachment view looks worse than no impeachment vote at all, and that’s even if it was allowed to the floor. Which it wouldn’t be.
I’m so confused about how the author of this article and so many Americans fail to understand basic civics or how the legislative branch works. Democrats are a minority in both chambers and there are not enough Republicans who actually care about checks and balances to do anything to stop the White House.
Whenever someone says Democrats need to start doing more I always have to ask them how? Which usually is followed by implausible suggestions or jumping to blaming Democrats.
Voting has consequences, not voting or protesting the vote also has consequences. Unfortunately the US citizens aren’t the only ones who are suffering because of said consequences.
The media is doing what they do best on Republican actions: Blame Democrats.
American voters doing what they do best: not holding Republicans accountable.
Yeah, the big problem today is what Democrats are doing.
That kind of dumbassery is Trump’s best friend.
I would love to see one of these newspaper write an article about how much their click bait and refusal to publish critical news caused all this shit and actively made it worse
Imagine that. Democrats don’t vote for Democrats to have any power in the government, then expect Democrats to have any power in the government.
Vote for Democrats to be able to do something if you want Democrats to be able to do something.
Just a thought.
The same old bullshit. Republicans go on a blitzkrieg of mayhem and lawlessness, and somehow the Democrats are to blame.
Thanks, Obama. /s
I would love for anyone on Reddit to give us a really good idea of what the Democrats can do when they do not hold the majority in the senate or their house.
It has become the dumbest thing in the world to see the media well as the online left go on and on about how Democrats aren’t doing anything when those same people did all they could to make sure that Democrats didn’t win their elections.
Americans told democrats to kick rocks and barely a year later are begging them to save them with power they dont have
I keep reminding people that Republicans hold all 3 branches. Democrats are not in control of any of them. How is that so hard to understand? You need to blame the party in charge who is the Republicans. This is such a stupid argument to be repeated over and over again. Do Americans really not know how the United States government works?
Two things can be possible at the same time:
1.) By giving the GOP the White House, Senate, and House, voters gave Trump and MAGA the keys to the country and full control. The Democrats can’t really do anything to stop the GOP if they are determined to pass a bill. They have to hope that GOP members like Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul in the Senate help them out. Democrats also have Senators like Fetterman who are increasingly voting with the GOP.
In the House, anyone who is remotely moderate or showed any streak of independence about Trump – like Don Bacon and Dan Newhouse – are retiring or have left already. MTG is already done. Unless Democrats take the House back in the midterms, we are stuck until January 2027.
2.) The Democrats desperately need a more effective response machine. They need You Tube videos, Tik Tok videos, social media videos, etc. to counteract the GOP messaging. Running to post a statement on Twitter or sending a “stern letter” won’t cut it. In recent studies, Twitter is actually one of the least visited social media sites out there. It beats only Threads, Bluesky and Truth Social in popularity. Only 20-25% of adults in the U.S. use Twitter or have a Twitter account. Meanwhile 65-70% use You Tube, Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok.
The Democrats are terrible at getting their message out and need to do a better job.
And just WHAT are they supposed to do?
Wave a magic wand to stop all this? Democrats are perusing all the venues available-the courts have overruled and overturned many executive orders BUT that means NOTHING to a regime that doesn’t care!
It’s not like Democrats can simply remove any of the players here.
Why are democrats always held accountable but not republicans?
Why are democrats held accountable for the shit REPUBLICANS do?
Fuck the US at this point. Failed its people.
I am so tired of this shit. GOP has all three branches of the government but it’s the DEM’s fault that tRump invaded Venezuela.
Dems impeached him twice. What did GOP senate do?
Articles like this thrive on lack of civic education in this country. As it turns out, the party the electorate didn’t vote for doesn’t have much power at all.
Anything the Democrats do will be merely symbolic, often getting the exact same critique from these outlets as “weak” or “inadequate” responses. Don’t fall for the bait. Much of the press, both mainstream and “independent” thrive on your outage.
Also, bad actors realized they have more success in getting their opposition to hate one another than bring them over to their side. Can’t convince you that their fascistic ideas are any good? Well at least they’ve convinced you that your side is just as bad!
Could Democrats be doing more? Maybe. There’s possibly messaging that they could be doing that’s better.
But this is what happens when you lose the majority in the House and Senate. You don’t get to fucking do anything. You have next to no power because that’s how it is set up.
We are stuck after an election for 2 to 4 years on the course that the American people have decided. That’s how it works.
The biggest issue is that Republicans in the last 40-50 years have given up on trying to run the country for all and instead run the country for the benefit of the party itself.
Understand that that means roughly HALF of our government doesn’t give a shit about the people of the country, only what it can do for the party.
It’s fucked up and the sooner voters realize this and vote accordingly, the better.
The voters really don’t care. Venezuela is not an issue that the average voter cares about, or even really knows about.
And if the voters don’t care then why would the Democrats in Congress do anything other than pander to the petroleum corporations, who very much want this.
The American taxpayers are about to fund their wholesale takeover of an entire nation’s oil industry.
That is the bottom line.
The fuck do you want democrats to do? As far as we are aware every level.of government is being dominated by the Republicans cose Americans are too dumb to either vote or would rather vote for a criminal than a woman
Democratic leadership is more worried about blocking Bernie Sanders and AOC than they are worried about blocking Trump. With recent wins by progressives the Democratic leadership and all the other moderate Republicans in Washington have their hands full. They do not have time to deal with petty issues like war crimes and blatant imperialism.
I feel like people are idiots and don’t realize the Dems don’t have the majority.
Congress is a joke: they have no influence over tariffs or wars. What are they doing on a daily basis?
What do you expect Democrats to do man, they aren’t in power. This is the Voter’s fault.
The dems, the media, and the voters are all doing their part.
“Democracy fails when voters give absolute power to people who will act like dictators.”
Fixed it for ya.
Form a committee that’ll take three years just to come to the conclusion that Trump was likely wrong.
They want it too… that’s why.
I can’t read it. Does it give any practical ideas on what the Democrats can do?
Im assuming that they don’t. At what point do we call these articles victim blaming?
From a private account. Shit post from the right. Block this crap. Mods, why do you allow this crap?
And what can they actually do? Shut down the govt again next time around? They don’t hold any branch of govt
Yes it is up to democrats who hold…checks notes… absolutely no federal power to check this. Next we should blame them for the big beautiful bill which passed with no Democrat support.
I read this honestly curious what they wanted Democrats to do.
Apparently it’s impeach Trump again? Which they somehow should do despite being in the minority?
Like this is just nonsense. And it’s blatantly obviously untrue that Democrats have “primaried anti MAGA dissidents from it’s ranks” lol. Can’t believe the Nation even published this.
>The opposition party that continually rules out impeachment as a viable strategy is banking on lawmakers aligned with a ruling party that’s systematically purged and primaried anti-MAGA dissidents from its ranks to rescue flailing Democratic bids to get illegal war plans duly set down on paper before the concerned principals on Capitol Hill. That’s the polar opposite of politics—and it is most decidedly weak.
What are they supposed to do? I am honest. They have no power in Congress. We really cannot do anything except talk and try to convince people of the evils of Trump until the elections. The US gave them no power in congress.
“Why would the democrats allow this to happen!” says media instead of holding those who caused the issue accountable.
Democrats aren’t in charge of any branch of government.
What could they do? Anyone have ideas? I’m so sick of the do nothing accusations… they can’t do anything when they don’t have the majority really they can’t unless they control senate house and Supreme Court. But that ship has sailed…. We learned this the first trump presidency. They just blocked everything when we had the house. So idk what the fuck u want them to do…. Guess you should have sucked it up and voted blue no matter who. …
What would you have them do exactly? They aren’t in power. The real failure is the media who A.) ran cover for Trump in order to maintain their precious ratings and B.) continue to not hold anyone in maga accountable because their ratings are more important than their service to the American people.
Shameful for profit media
Why is this the democrats fault? Republicans control everything currently.
Rephrase that question: why aren’t democrats doing anything, into “WHY ARE REPUBLICANS FASCIST ASSHOLES AND PROTECTING A PEDOPHILE?”
The poster does not seem to understand what it means to control all three branches of government and have the Justice Department in your pocket. It’s a very common error by uninformed people.
The media is so fucking stupid, Democrats don’t have the votes to do anything. Maybe hold the Republican Party accountable for their failures while they control everything…ffs.
What can Democrats in Congress do with a minority in both the House and Senate? Absolutely nothing. Republicans are the ones allowing Trump to do whatever he wants
What the fuck do they want the Democrats to do? Take up arms? These are politicians, not the military, they are not in charge of the House or Senate so they are making statements against the invasion and Trump. Start talking about Trump instead of the do nothing Democrats.