Democrats still go on Sunday Shows and allow Repubs to beat them up.

[Vinnie From Indy]

Watching Chuck Shumer and Trent Lott on ABC's This Week I think highlights the difference between the GOP and Democrats willingness to directly engage the other side.

For example, the show started with George Stephanopolous introducing the subject of the emerging Walter Reed Hospital scandal. Lott immediately said all the right things about upgrading the facilities and making sure all Veterans are treated well at Govt facilities. Shumer, of course, agreed with him and then launched into a discussion of how he will write a letter asking for a commission TODAY to study other facilities and their treatment of wounded soldiers.

Shumer was, it seems, only prepared to discuss his little pet idea about forming a commission headed by Colin Powell to look at all facilities. That's it! Shumer didn't offer that the failures at Walter Reed occurred under Bush's watch, he didn't offer to the discussion that BushCo has pushed for CUTS in Veterans benefits nor did he attack the GOP for their hollow comments about "supporting" the troops. In short, Shumer's ego and lack of preparation set him up beautifully for Lott to bash him and Democrats in the next series of questions.

IN fact, Lott was PREPARED to attack Democrats as was demonstrated in the later discussions. He bashed Democrats DIRECTLY on a host of issues and Shumer just sat there taking it.

Many of the Democrats in Congress that have witnessed the rise of the Neo-cons continue to allow themselves to be attacked without responding directly and forcefully. It reminds me of the Charles Shultz characters of Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football. Lucy (the GOP) always swears she won't pull the football away as Charlie Brown attempts to kick and she always does.

Also, NO MENTION OF COULTER on ANY of the three news shows this morning. Coulter's comments are being ignored by the mainstream media. Can there be any doubt left that the corporate mainstream media is a corrupt, rotting shell of an institution being run primarily as a PR firm for corporate and right wing America?

[spanone]

1. Agreed.

[Phredicles]

2. It does foster the perception that we have an Evil Party and a Wimp Party

in this country, doesn't it?

[dogman]

3. Schumer was an idiot.

Why Colin Powell? Where is his credibility? He has lied for bushco before. Why not name a General who has stood up to these criminals? Again he cedes the military to those who abuse our military.

[acmavm]

4. It would have been better if we had a someone with more of a backbone

than Schumer go against Lott.

Try Kennedy. Or for that matter (in the area of Veteran's care) a more credible opponent would have been Kerry.

Whatever.

[Cha]

19. They do that purposefully..get a wuss(dlc)

dem against a loudmouth repuke just to watch the beatings.

[Nite Owl]

5. I didn't see the show

but this is typical of the dems. I keep saying it, it may be the corporate media that is to blame for a lot but the dems have to learn how to make their own news, they have learn how speak so it gets attention and creates the discussion that they want (if indeed they really want it?).

[dkofos]

6. What were you expecting, they only lost the election. They didn't

loose the media!!

[cindylouwho]

7. Lieberman on Face the Nation.

Boycott.

[Rob H.]

16. I turned it off as soon as he came on

I find it really irritating that Lieberman gets trotted out on the show and is called an "Independent Democrat." It's true that he caucuses with the Democrats but imo he gets booked on these kinds of shows because the hosts know that he'll invariably support and/or disseminate the GOP talking point of the day. Identifying his as an Independent Democrat implies that he speaks for the Democratic Party as a whole when he clearly does not.

:rant:

And on a lighter note, welcome to DU, cindylouwho! :hi:

[ClassWarrior]

8. Since when does Schumer amount to "Democrats"... plural?...

Has he been overeating? :shrug:

NGU.

[EstimatedProphet]

9. Well, it is Shumer after all

I think the real problem here is: why is Shumer the one picked to represent us? Why not Feingold? Why not Levin? Why not Leahy? Why not someone from the rest of the senators who represent us? Why does it end up being Shumer?

[WiseButAngrySara]

10. I do not understand the ignoring of Coulter's remarks. She should

be afraid of lawsuit, not them. Is that what's going on?
:wtf:

[Doondoo]

11. Coulter SHOULD BE IGNORED!

What most liberals don't seem to realize is that she WANTS to generate this kind of reaction. That's her WHOLE GOAL! Drawing attention for being an outrageous bitch is the only thing that feeds her hatemongering career. Responding to her only dignifies her bullshit. When you focus attention on her by responding to her outrageous bullshit you are doing her a FAVOR!

[Vinnie From Indy]

14. That is a load of hooey!

There are several reasons not to take your advice in regard to Coulter. One reason to aggressively confront Coulter is because of where she said her remarks. Her forum wasn't a college campus or a street corner somewhere, she made these remarks in front of THREE candidates for President and many, many political leaders. There is huge difference between ignoring your town's lunatic fringe, but when the lunatic fringe is the invited guest of a powerful political group that holds some levers of power, it needs to be confronted. History has shown time and time again that ignoring these types of attacks only leads to darker and more terrible things.

The media needs to be held to account for ignoring these statements precisely for the reason stated above. This forum wasn't some backwater meeting of extremists at a Motel 6 meeting room in Possum Trot, Alabama. No, Coulter delivered her remarks to the top of the GOP food chain. These people have real power and they have real responsibilities. For the media to let her comments become scrubbed from their reporting is shameful beyond belief. It is also NOT an accident.

[ClassWarrior]

18. When we draw attention to the fact that she represents mainstream...

...Rape-Publicanism, we are doing US a favor.

NGU.

[tomp]

12. shumer wants to work with war criminal powell?

couldn't he have chosen someone else? wes clark, e.g.?

[Individualist]

13. Schumer is DLC

Bushmedia loves DLCers.

[Patiod]

15. Murtha didn't let anyone beat him up

Russert kept throwing out stupid challenges ("didn't you say two years ago that a fast withdrawel would be a disaster" "well, that's before I realized that the only possible solution was diplomatic") and Murtha handled it like a pro.

[Rob H.]

17. Murtha was excellent

He was a lot more gracious about the things Cheney said about him than I would've been, though. (The temptation to respond with, "And when has the Vice President been right about anything recently?" would've been too great to ignore.)

Guess that's why I'm not in politics. ;)