John Kerry: Media Has "Responsibility" To "Not Give Equal Time" To Tea Party

[Biff Mayhem]

John Kerry: Media Has "Responsibility" To "Not Give Equal Time" To Tea Party

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday that the media has the responsibility to not give equal time or credence to the Tea Party's views:

SEN. JOHN KERRY: "And I have to tell you, I say this to you politely. The media in America has a bigger responsibility than it's exercising today. The media has got to begin to not give equal time or equal balance to an absolutely absurd notion just because somebody asserts it or simply because somebody says something which everybody knows is not factual."

"It doesn't deserve the same credit as a legitimate idea about what you do. And the problem is everything is put into this ***-for-tat equal battle and America is losing any sense of what's real, of who's accountable, of who is not accountable, of who's real, who isn't, who's serious, who isn't?"

John Kerry: Media Has "Responsibility" To "Not Give Equal Time" To Tea Party | RealClearPolitics


John Kerry also served in Vietnam.

[Truth]

Ha, wonder if Kerry felt the same way when he was lying about Vietnam in front of a Congressional committee.

[pfife]

I agree with his general notion that just because someone says something, the media shouldn't cover it. But I don't think the Tea Party fits the bill of "just someone" - they're clearly an elelectoral & political force, and should be covered.

Besides Kerry, the more coverage they get, the quicker everyone sees they're FOS.

[DGTigers]

[Lousluggage]

Wow, what a stupid thing for Kerry to say.

I agree with his general notion that just because someone says something, the media shouldn't cover it. But I don't think the Tea Party fits the bill of "just someone" - they're clearly an elelectoral & political force, and should be covered.

Besides Kerry, the more coverage they get, the quicker everyone sees they're FOS.

+1

[MrDeeds]

Information is democracy's oxygen.

[Titus Tiger]

I agree with his general notion that just because someone says something, the media shouldn't cover it. But I don't think the Tea Party fits the bill of "just someone" - they're clearly an elelectoral & political force, and should be covered.

Besides Kerry, the more coverage they get, the quicker everyone sees they're FOS.

I am not sure if the TeaParty is a political force, but for the fact they receive so much media coverage

It's like the preacher who got every excited because he was going to burn the Koran, no he got everyone excited because all the media gave him a platform to talk on.

The Teaparty candidates --- and I am not sure what that means because really there is not a TeaParty, but politicians tat align with tose that say they are teaparty-- are a small majority, but a few more right leaning politicos that are riding the wagon.

I listened to Rusty Limbaugh for 20 minutes last week and he spend much of that time kissing up to Sarah Palin and the teaparty, but I think that is mostly because true conservatives have no traction, though talk radio jumps to who they think are the winners and who they have influence on they are a blip on the radar, like a 'bluedog democrat.'

[Titus Tiger]

The more important quote is below.

You don't give equal time to all ideas.. Also, when somebody says something --- any politician -- you don't prove or disprove it by asking another politician. If the TeaParty says the way to balance the budget is not by taxing, you don't go to a democrat and ask if that is true, you find examples of how it does or does.. and/or you talk with an economist.

SEN. JOHN KERRY: "And I have to tell you, I say this to you politely. The media in America has a bigger responsibility than it's exercising today. The media has got to begin to not give equal time or equal balance to an absolutely absurd notion just because somebody asserts it or simply because somebody says something which everybody knows is not factual."

[hueytaxi]

John Kerry also served in Vietnam.

I knew there was a punch line.

[DrWho17]

Kerry is backing a losing argument, raise taxes and keep on spending the country into ruin. The problem he has isn't the media coverage which generally follows the Democratic talking points and calls the tea party crazed/terrorist/anarchist, but that their point is better and supported by 80% of the electorate.

Why can't Democrats have a civil argument without all the name calling, must every opposition idea be dealt with by character assassination?

[Melody]

I just don't want to hear it from that stinking tax dodger. When these people willingly pay the taxes that they should, THEN perhaps I'll listen when they say we need to be taxed more.
Sen. Kerry docks yacht in R.I., saves on taxes - politics - msnbc.com

[djhutch]

Hey Senator, why the long face?

[Gehringer_2]

The more important quote is below.

You don't give equal time to all ideas.. Also, when somebody says something --- any politician -- you don't prove or disprove it by asking another politician. If the TeaParty says the way to balance the budget is not by taxing, you don't go to a democrat and ask if that is true, you find examples of how it does or does.. and/or you talk with an economist.

thank you. Kerry may be a doofus, but he is spot on the that the media should pursue truth, not just symmetry of argument. Lazy journalism abetted by the way too short new/analysis cycle.

[MrDeeds]

Give me a break. There is nothing valid in what Kerry said above. It represents the opposite of what we should stand for in our system.

What if 80% of the public and all of the "experts" believe we should go to war? Does the media have a responsibility to ignore the 20% who go against expert opinion?

[Titus Tiger]

maybe you are right, maybe the media should interview MrDeeds on a twitter feed about the economy... why discuss the us job market with an economist

Please......

[Titus Tiger]

Hmmm is this the neo-con way of discussing issues

1) character assignation

2) ignore the message

3) raise taxes on the poor

4) increase goverment

[MrDeeds]

I have no idea what you are talking about. The KKK was a big political force for the first half of the They were powerful because of what wasn't known about them. In other words, the media ignored them. It wasn't until their ideas were exposed that they ceased being ifluential, literally overnight. Information is powerful and shouldn't be suppressed.

[Titus Tiger]

I have no idea who you are talking to... but if you are saying the media should have said the KKK ideals and theories are equal to what the democrats or socialist or even the main stream neo-cons were saying at the time

I would like to hear why.

I am glad of this post -- no matter who it is intended for, since it kind of proves the point of the media should be analyzing information on its merit, not because it is spoken. I hope the thought is we don't think if a certain group espouses prejudice rhetoric that we have to find a group that is against it and see their side of it....if something is wrong, you don't need a for and against argument, you just need to point out the faults of the theory

[MrDeeds]

I have no idea who you are talking to... but if you are saying the media should have said the KKK ideals and theories are equal to what the democrats or socialist or even the main stream neo-cons were saying at the time

I would like to hear why.

I am glad of this post -- no matter who it is intended for, since it kind of proves the point of the media should be analyzing information on its merit, not because it is spoken. I hope the thought is we don't think if a certain group espouses prejudice rhetoric that we have to find a group that is against it and see their side of it....if something is wrong, you don't need a for and against argument, you just need to point out the faults of the theory

I don't know what neo-cons have to do with any of this, hence I didn't know what you were talking about. Back to Kerry's original point about ignoring tea party people, there are fellow Senators who would consider themselves a part of the tea party. Should the media ignore them? Should the media also ignore sitting US congress people who affiliate with the tea party?

As Pfife says above, if the tea party is so extreme, their ideals will be proven as such with the increased attention from the media. Information is not something that should be hidden in a democracy. My reference to the KKK is an example of a rising political force that vanished overnight once their true agenda was revealed to the nation.

[Titus Tiger]

I don't know what neo-cons have to do with any of this, hence I didn't know what you were talking about. Back to Kerry's original point about ignoring tea party people, there are fellow Senators who would consider themselves a part of the tea party. Should the media ignore them? Should the media also ignore sitting US congress people who affiliate with the tea party?

As Pfife says above, if the tea party is so extreme, their ideals will be proven as such with the increased attention from the media. Information is not something that should be hidden in a democracy. My reference to the KKK is an example of a rising political force that vanished overnight once their true agenda was revealed to the nation.

If the TeaParty says te sky is green, it is the job of the media to show it is blue and Rayleigh Scattering effect not to interview a democrat, socialist, neo-con, etc.

If they say the sky is blue because democrats who are the reason there is no clouds... then maybe you get a scientist to explain the lack of clouds and maybe get a reaction from a democrat.

Just because a party or group of people are extreme, then do not get equal time. I would suggest right now there are way more independent thinkers who have way more influence than the TeaParty, but there is not equal coverage... to all and especially to the TeaParty... I would add there are more politicians that relate to te independents than there are those who relate to the TeaParty

If you want to say there are lot of people frustrated with government -- like tea party folks -- that is true, but it does not make them members of the TeaParty.

It is also not the Media's responsibility to cover a minority group just to show they have crazy ideas. This is te example of the minister who wanted to burn the koran.

Certainly the teaparty seem to have influence, but really what they have is a lot more coverage than they deserve. If you say that Kerry's only point in that little snippet of an interview is to ignore the teaparty, then you have chose to ignore this quote in that article:

SEN. JOHN KERRY: "And I have to tell you, I say this to you politely. The media in America has a bigger responsibility than it's exercising today. The media has got to begin to not give equal time or equal balance to an absolutely absurd notion just because somebody asserts it or simply because somebody says something which everybody knows is not factual."

You have also chose to ignore that has been my main assertion

i.e. just because Pfife says the TeaParty will be revealed as extremist does not make it true, even if the media reports it as fact. It may turn out to be true... but pundits making projections need to be assessed by using facts, not opinion. If the media chooses to reveal what the teaparty agenda is fine, but to take what they say as fact... is just as wrong as saying the KKK has a (good) point that should be debated

[Edman85]

Big picture, it's exactly this type of Washington Elite attitude that Kerry is displaying that led to there being a Tea Party.

[pfife]

i.e. just because Pfife says the TeaParty will be revealed as extremist does not make it true

total bovine excrement

[Titus Tiger]

total bovine excrement

so it isn't your opinion, it's facts you know

btw bovine scat is better = BS

[sinister porpoise]

Leading into the excerpt in the OP, he says there was a group in Congress that was unaware or did not care about the consequences of their actions. "They were actually arguing for default." Then he says what is in the OP.

I don't hear any reference to the Tea Party.

John Kerry wants media to ?not give equal time? to Tea Party - On Media - POLITICO.com has the video, repeats disingenuous RCP headline

[Melody]

Honestly, I think that the media offensive by the Democrats against the Tea Party starting at an early day has given them more place in the news than they probably would otherwise have had. Most of the references I've seen to the group have tended to be Democrats criticizing them.

Then the response from those in opposition tends to be perverse, "If they hate them, they must be good."

[DrWho17]

I have no idea what you are talking about. The KKK was a big political force for the first half of the They were powerful because of what wasn't known about them. In other words, the media ignored them. It wasn't until their ideas were exposed that they ceased being ifluential, literally overnight. Information is powerful and shouldn't be suppressed.

Well the Democratic party was built on the KKK, if you want to start with the hyperbolic comparison's.

[pfife]

Honestly, I think that the media offensive by the Democrats against the Tea Party starting at an early day has given them more place in the news than they probably would otherwise have had. Most of the references I've seen to the group have tended to be Democrats criticizing them.

Then the response from those in opposition tends to be perverse, "If they hate them, they must be good."

The tea party has gotten a ton of media coverage way before the Democrats' offensive against them.

[byco42]

I wonder when Kerry will espouse the same sentiment for the so-called left-wing-fringe organizations. I won't wait for that.

[shabba4detroit]

The tea party has gotten a ton of media coverage way before the Democrats' offensive against them.

I first heard about the Tea Party when some lefty called them Teabaggers. A little anecdote to stop the spread of your bovine scat. :-)

[pfife]

I first heard about the Tea Party when some lefty called them Teabaggers. A little anecdote to stop the spread of your bovine scat. :-)

So you're completely unaware of Ron Paul's tea parties, and Santelli's famous rant? Even after the Teabagger thing, they've gotten tons and tons of media coverage.

That's not an overdistribution of bovine scat on my part, that's your underconsumption of bovine scat... :D

[Melody]

It was originally unknown to almost nobody except those who follow blogs like Malkin's. They held a couple of events, but really weren't a force. Little to no organization. Just a few rallies. They didn't hit the mainstream media, hence become at all part of the national dialogue until Palin's association and support and the democrats decided that they needed to squash the uprising like a bug and started using the media to discredit them.

And that's the truth.

[pfife]

I don't think you had to follow blogs like Malkins. I knew of them way before Santelli's rant and I wouldn't soil my monitor with Malkin's bovine scat.

Regardless of how the coverage began, IMO they've gotten a ton of run in the media since about summer 09, when they were angrily shouting down congresspersons during the health care reform debacle.

[chasfh]

I first heard about the Tea Party when some lefty called them Teabaggers. A little anecdote to stop the spread of your bovine scat. :-)

We'll stop saying "Teabaggers" when you stop saying "Obamacare".

[Melody]

Can we call it "Pelosicare?"

[chasfh]

I agree with his general notion that just because someone says something, the media shouldn't cover it. But I don't think the Tea Party fits the bill of "just someone" - they're clearly an elelectoral & political force, and should be covered.

Besides Kerry, the more coverage they get, the quicker everyone sees they're FOS.

I don't think Kerry means the press should ignore them completely and never cover them. I think he means that their points of view, many of which are rooted in lack of education or experience about how economies work, should not be treated with the same respect as those points of view by people who do have experience how economies work. IOW, Kerry maintains that just because the Tea Party says stuff doesn't mean it deserves equal footing with the opinions of economists, since some of their core ideas (e.g., the economy can grow by cutting spending and cutting taxes on wealthy Americans) are provably false.

I'm hearing this sentiment a lot more, actually.

[screwball]

I think the Santelli rant (which I watched live that day) did more than anything to get them traction. The Santelli rant went viral. It was on every investing/trading board I go to, and he is very popular in the investing/trading community because he (unlike the professional liars (like the Kudblow, Cramer’s, and most of the CNBC anchors)) tells it the way it is concerning the markets.

The original's of the Tea Party, from what I have read, even before the Santelli rant, were in 08 at campaign rallies for Ron Paul. They had a completely different agenda than the one now that has been co-opted by the Limbaugh’s, Hannity’s, Beck’s, and Dick Armey’s of the world. Not sure they called themselves Tea Party though.

[pfife]

I think the Santelli rant (which I watched live that day) did more than anything to get them traction. The Santelli rant went viral. It was on every investing/trading board I go to, and he is very popular in the investing/trading community because he (unlike the professional liars (like the Kudblow, Cramer’s, and most of the CNBC anchors)) tells it the way it is concerning the markets.

The original's of the Tea Party, from what I have read, even before the Santelli rant, were in 08 at campaign rallies for Ron Paul. They had a completely different agenda than the one now that has been co-opted by the Limbaugh’s, Hannity’s, Beck’s, and Dick Armey’s of the world. Not sure they called themselves Tea Party though.

Yes, this is exactly my recollection as well.

[screwball]

Yes, this is exactly my recollection as well.

One of the financial bloggers I read daily claims to have been one of the first, and even claims he was in the group that sent the original tea bags to congress out of protest. He is a Libertarian, but not so much a Paul fan (any more). He has been introduced on several TV shows (Dylan Ratigan, and one of the Fox shows) as one of the original Tea people.

He has now divorced them because they have been co-opted by the big money people and the blowhards like listed above. He is also super mad at the so-called Tea Party people who got voted into congress in 2010 (and now mad at the filibuster guy Rand Paul, who failed to produce a filibuster on the debt bill) and not done what they promised (like the debt bill).

I can't verify this is all true, only what he says. It really doesn't matter, our problems are not going to be solved by the Tea Party, the Republican party, the Democratic party, the Independents, Libertarians, or any friken party. We need a party all right, but those aren’t the kind of parties I’m thinking of. I’ll leave the rest up to the imagination.

[mtutiger]

We need a party all right, but those aren’t the kind of parties I’m thinking of. I’ll leave the rest up to the imagination.

You bringing the keg?

[JayVee]

We'll stop saying "Teabaggers" when you stop saying "Obamacare".

I didn't realize "Obamacare" was a pejorative. What would you like people to call it?