Age of Reason

Wolf Blitzer: Future of the Democrats >> Media Criticism

Dem guests tussle with host Wolf Blitzer, who plays a journalist on CNN's Late Edition . The blow-by-blow:

This starts out as a panel on the future of the Democrats, but turns into some interesting, but much-too-restrained, media bashing.

Wolf's panel is Franken, Jesse Jr, Martin Frost, and Loretta Sanchez (Sanchez is a Representative; Frost is a Texas House Democrat -- one who recently lost his seat in the DeLay redistricting; Jesse Jr is Jesse's son; Franken you know).

Some interesting ideas here about the future of the democrats, though you've already heard them if you read the blogosphere. Jackson makes the strongest points. He says repeatedly that the party has to plan long-term, and that it has to try to take southern states and planes states. Points out that we need to use initiatives to get control of the issues, as the Republicans have done so successfully. Gets agreement from Franken and small amounts of help from Frost and Sanchez, who however are largely incoherent. As far as strategy goes, Jackson is clearly the one of these four who gets it. Frost and Sanchez are disappointing.

Early on, Franken begins excoriating the media over bias. Blitzer tries to cut Franken off, but Franken finishes anyway. Blitzer tries to redirect attention to the Dems failure as strategiests, which would be an excellent point if it wasn't coming from a man who so badly needs to get his own house in order -- but to his credit, he then picks up the media issue. He offers it to Martin Frost, clearly not a man with a spine, who does not pick this up. But Sanchez does pick it up, in response to the next strategy question. Again to his credit, Blitzer asks Jesse what he thinks. Jesse piles on.

Sanchez tries to make the point that the media has internalized the right-wing's pretending that the media is left-wing. Franken then draws this out in detail.

posted by conchis @ 10:45 AM