YOUTUBE and podcasts have extended the careers of some fired from cable and network news. Sometimes that's a good thing. Sometimes.
But for every single Mehdi Hasan there are several Jim Acosta.
Last week, Acosta reminded us again of how lucky the country was when CNN fired him at the start of this year.
That's not to say that Acosta doesn't have some talents -- he does. But too often he undermines what he's covering. During Chump's first administration, he did this repeatedly. Everything is not equal except in Jim Acosta's eyes. In his eyes every action is equal and deserves massive attention and should make your blood boil. That's how he helped Chump from January 2017 through January 2021. He was such a drama queen, that he made people sympathetic to Chump or at least aware enough that somethings were just too much.
Now Jim worked with a staff at CNN and you could argue that the problem was his producer, for example. But on YOUTUBE, Jim's calling all his shots and he's embarrassing and harming the cause so many times of late.
There are stories that need to be told and that need to be amplified. The new material on the Epstein and Maxwell scandal needs to be amplified, for example. Immigration needs to be covered more -- and not justified -- remember that second point, we'll be coming back to it.
He's posted a video Saturday on his YOUTUBE channel and RAW STORY thought it was noteworthy. No, not for any reason that they're covering. It's garbage and his guest is garbage. It helped no one.
Let's start with the topic: They're might be more grab them by the p---- type tapes! Someone would have them!
Who the f**k cares?
What? You want a Congressional investigation on them?
You want to waste our damn time on this bulls**t?
The tapes will never see the light of day -- if they exist. If they exist, they're not going to shock at this late date. But there was Acosta and Billy Bush talking about creepy Mark Burnett (husband of Roma Downey) and in all their gabby and gossiping, the two couldn't even make one important point: Chump's given away another American jobs. Mark Burnett should not be the US Special Envoy to the UK. He shouldn't. He can be. He can't be a US ambassador because he's not a US citizen. But he can be one of this government's special envoy because it doesn't require US citizenship. They usually are US citizens but they don't have to be. Here's Chump giving away another job that could have gone to an American but instead handing it to a foreigner who doesn't even live in the United States.
Some in the public -- people other than political junkies -- are paying attention to important stories. Such as? Epstein-Maxwell, immigration, the looming shut down, inflation, jobs, the abuse of government by targeting people like Comey, etc.
And here comes Acosta dragging in the dead bird that no one cares to see.
Not only do we not want to see it, its harming us.
How so?
On the set of THE APPRENTICE are we supposed to think a rape took place? On camera? Chump probably said something sexist and vile and disgusting.
But what does it matter at this point?
More to the point, the middle of America sees this garbage -- this Acosta garbage -- that time is being wasted on and they see is as unserious and just an effort to get Chump. In other words, they see it as all the work Acosta did before at CNN.
Acosta's not keeping us directed or focused, he's distracting us and he's giving people reason to blow off serious complaints about Chump .
There was nothing of value. Nothing. Acosta let the disgraced Billy Bush lie about his career and he let him float support for Chump's war on immigrants. See, Bush explained, he was just in Ireland and he spoke to some men there and they support Chump. Oh, how we've missed Thomas Friedman and his Taxi Cab Confessions. Whenever Friedman wanted to make a point in the '00s, he generally found a taxi cab driver to hide behind. It's interesting, if you look at his body of work, how every tax cab driver he ever noted in those bad columns agreed with Freidman's own views. Never once was there a NEW YORK TIMES column by Friedman about how a taxi cab driver disagreed with him
We disagreed with Billy Bush. We especially disagreed with his lies about his time on THE TODAY SHOW. He was a victim, Billy insisted, because the producer didn't want someone from ACCESS HOLLYWOOD on a news show.
No, the chief producers and the entire crew and talent objected that a gossip columnist was brought on. And that objection only grew stronger when the gossip couldn't -- or wouldn't -- nail down the facts. Most infamously, Billy was enthralled with a male athlete who was 'attacked.' Only, turns out, he wasn't. And any real journalist would have asked the right questions -- the ones Billy didn't. Not only did Billy fail at journalism, he got into an on air row with Al Roker. Al. Roker. Known as the nicest man on daytime television. And during that on air beef -- Al was right, Billy was wrong.
And Acosta was wrong to waste everyone's time.
In addition to the topics noted prior, there's also a good chance that the government will go into shut down this week. They have until Tuesday night to pass a short term funding bill. At midnight, it's over. Dems were supposed to meet with Chump last week but Chump cancelled the meeting and bluffed and blustered backing off only when polling indicated that the public ould blame a shut down on the Republican Party since they control the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Now Chump rushes to meet with the Democrats on Monday.
Dems are concerned about the cuts to healthcare, to cite one important issue. They need to stand up for their concerns.
Without any real messaging, they are already winning.
And if the shut down happens? As soon as Tuesday night turns into Wednesday morning (midnight), Democrats should be in front of every camera pointing out Chump's inability to pull a budget together.
It should, in fact, go something like this.
Minority House Leader Hakeem Jeffries: He had time to golf but didn't have time to work on our nation's budget.
Minority Senate Leader Chuck Schumer: He had time to go after James Comey but he didn't have time to put together a budget.
Senator Patty Murray: He had time to repeatedly attack veterans' health care but he didn't have time to put together a budget.
Senator Ron Wyden: He had time to invade Portland, but he didn't have time to put together a budget.
Senator Maria Cantwell: He had time to demand Microsoft fire Lisa Monaco but he didn't have time to put together a budget.
Senator Tammy Baldwin: He had turn to destroy American farmers while bailing out Argentina but he didn't have time to put together a budget.
US House Rep Alexandria Ocasio Cortez: He had time to work on getting Jimmy Kimmel fired but he didn't have time to put together a budget.
Senator Elizabeth Warren: He's had time to launch attacks on Social Security but he didn't have time to put together a budget.
US House Rep Jasmine Crockett: He made time to terrorize immigrants without criminal records but couldn't make time to put together a budget.
If the country goes into a shutdown, that should be the messaging over and over. How Chump has stuck his big nose into everything -- including in private business, in colleges, in museum, etc, etc -- but he hasn't made time to go the actual work that a president is supposed to focus on.
The showdown all by itself will be evidence of Chump's failure. But Democrats can also use that event to demonstrate all the time he's wasted on everything but helping the American people.
That's how you flip the script.
