Election 2016

[spike]

I think this kind of polarization between the left and right, which isn't exclusive to the US, is the result of the political poles specifically defining themselves as the opposite of the other. It's evident even in parliamentary systems even if we have more than 2 parties.
I think it's unavoidable for someone who does political or social satire to be distinctively partisan. I think any attempt at a politically neutral approach would just end up feeling artificial or even insincere.
There is an us against them way of doing politics that wasn't created by the media. It's evident even in what the media is being accused of. It's usually not so much that a certain outlet isn't neutral as much that it isn't on one particular side.

sure, but guys like stewart on the idiot box every night brought it to all the couch potatoes, and now everyone's "informed." trust me, some people shouldn't vote.

Stewart gave people a product they desired, a kinda of risk-free subversiveness in the midst of the 8-year W. Bush debacle. Sure it had been done before, but never with the powerful mix of media savviness and intelligent commentary. He did nothing wrong. The blowback is that the infantilized millennials have never known a world without that unending mix of sarcasm with their news. God knows Twitter isnt helping in that area.

we're not debating the morality of the daily show, just the influence it's had on the current political climate.

[spike]

I think this kind of polarization between the left and right, which isn't exclusive to the US, is the result of the political poles specifically defining themselves as the opposite of the other. It's evident even in parliamentary systems even if we have more than 2 parties.
I think it's unavoidable for someone who does political or social satire to be distinctively partisan. I think any attempt at a politically neutral approach would just end up feeling artificial or even insincere.
There is an us against them way of doing politics that wasn't created by the media. It's evident even in what the media is being accused of. It's usually not so much that a certain outlet isn't neutral as much that it isn't on one particular side.

sure, but guys like stewart on the idiot box every night brought it to all the couch potatoes, and now everyone's "informed." trust me, some people shouldn't vote.

Yeah. Like old people and the Midwest.

[Simple Torture]

So CNN has a report floating around that a few top Rubio aides are suggesting he drop out if Michigan goes very poorly (he's been polling between 9% and 16% recently) so that he doesn't lose in his home state next week and then have to drop out. Less than an hour later, the Rubio campaign denied the report. It may not be true--maybe they were just discussing potential outcomes, not really "advising" him to do something--but I feel like stuff like this doesn't leak out of campaigns that are getting ready for a glorious comeback.

[b_i_revisited]

So CNN has a report floating around that a few top Rubio aides are suggesting he drop out if Michigan goes very poorly (he's been polling between 9% and 16% recently) so that he doesn't lose in his home state next week and then have to drop out. Less than an hour later, the Rubio campaign denied the report. It may not be true--maybe they were just discussing potential outcomes, not really "advising" him to do something--but I feel like stuff like this doesn't leak out of campaigns that are getting ready for a glorious comeback.

Nope. And surely the media isn't sitting on a ton of Trump dirt that they will release after he wins the GOP nom and Hilldog has secured the Dem nod. That definitely wasn't the plan this whole time.

[96583UP]

I had a dream last night. I dreamt I was a dove flying over the sea. And then I dove into the ocean... And I swam with the dolphins. I was two animals joined as one... ...which meant - good things are coming. Good things.

[McParadigm]

So CNN has a report floating around that a few top Rubio aides are suggesting he drop out if Michigan goes very poorly (he's been polling between 9% and 16% recently) so that he doesn't lose in his home state next week and then have to drop out. Less than an hour later, the Rubio campaign denied the report. It may not be true--maybe they were just discussing potential outcomes, not really "advising" him to do something--but I feel like stuff like this doesn't leak out of campaigns that are getting ready for a glorious comeback.

Nope. And surely the media isn't sitting on a ton of Trump dirt that they will release after he wins the GOP nom and Hilldog has secured the Dem nod. That definitely wasn't the plan this whole time.

Yeah it's super great that the media are all in cahoots, so when they get a slice of interesting information or dig up something about a public figure they don't always have to think "hey we need to release this immediately so we can make sure our brand is associated with the breaking of the story."

[Green Habit]

I had a dream last night. I dreamt I was a dove flying over the sea. And then I dove into the ocean... And I swam with the dolphins. I was two animals joined as one... ...which meant - good things are coming. Good things.

[96583UP]

others who do this political thing for a living are doubtless sitting on some material to be released to the media at later dates, but the notion that the 'agenda-setting media' is itself sitting on material and coordinating its release is giving the halitosis media a bit more credit than it deserves

[96583UP]

I had a dream last night. I dreamt I was a dove flying over the sea. And then I dove into the ocean... And I swam with the dolphins. I was two animals joined as one... ...which meant - good things are coming. Good things.

technically that is true

[96583UP]

Trump has such a big mouth, just imagine what embarrassing audio/video there must be floating around out there of him from yesteryear expressing overt racism, sexism, democratic support and/or republican bashing, or 99%-er bashing ... something, everything, anything.

i am a little giddy to think that Karl Rove and Rupert Murdoch might be staying up late combing the universe to find lost lost embarrassing treasures to release upon the mediasphere at a later date to sink Drumpf

how often do you get to root for your supervillain nemesis?

obama was so squeaky clean, the best they could find was a preacher that said 'god damn america'

image what Drumpf must have floating around in his archives....

at least some racist asian jokes. those are practically still acceptable. just ask chris rock

[BurtReynolds]

Speaking of the media, I really want to punch that five-headed CBS news anchor in the face so hard. What a smug douchebutt.

[Simple Torture]

Trump has such a big mouth, just imagine what embarrassing audio/video there must be floating around out there of him from yesteryear expressing overt racism, sexism, democratic support and/or republican bashing, or 99%-er bashing ... something, everything, anything.

You meam besides the hours and hours of such footage (plus Tweets and etc) that the media has been pouring over for months?

[Mine]

I think this kind of polarization between the left and right, which isn't exclusive to the US, is the result of the political poles specifically defining themselves as the opposite of the other. It's evident even in parliamentary systems even if we have more than 2 parties.
I think it's unavoidable for someone who does political or social satire to be distinctively partisan. I think any attempt at a politically neutral approach would just end up feeling artificial or even insincere.
There is an us against them way of doing politics that wasn't created by the media. It's evident even in what the media is being accused of. It's usually not so much that a certain outlet isn't neutral as much that it isn't on one particular side.

sure, but guys like stewart on the idiot box every night brought it to all the couch potatoes, and now everyone's "informed." trust me, some people shouldn't vote.

I think the internet had a bigger role. It also served as an amplifier, beyond tv, for Steward.
It's true, everyone is "informed" but i believe what created this is the ability to find an abundance of confirmation for whatever one chooses to believe in 2 seconds.

[Mine]

I think shows like Daily Show were necessary and beneficial at the time and have maybe outlived their usefulness, which is probably why Stewart and Colbert have walked away. It was a necessary reaction to FOXnews (which itself was a necessary reaction to liberal dominated news.) Whatever comes next will probably be a necessary and useful reaction as well.

I don't think Fox news was a necessary reaction to liberal dominated media in the sense that i don't think it ever had the ambition to offer an alternative as much as just fill the demand for this kind of product. It's designed to be relatable to a specific large audience that guaranteed them the kind of success they've achieved. I think it's main goal still is to be relatable to their audience not inform so much.

[Mine]

I think Steward had to walk away from it because it all blew out of proportion by the end.

[b_i_revisited]

So CNN has a report floating around that a few top Rubio aides are suggesting he drop out if Michigan goes very poorly (he's been polling between 9% and 16% recently) so that he doesn't lose in his home state next week and then have to drop out. Less than an hour later, the Rubio campaign denied the report. It may not be true--maybe they were just discussing potential outcomes, not really "advising" him to do something--but I feel like stuff like this doesn't leak out of campaigns that are getting ready for a glorious comeback.

Nope. And surely the media isn't sitting on a ton of Trump dirt that they will release after he wins the GOP nom and Hilldog has secured the Dem nod. That definitely wasn't the plan this whole time.

Yeah it's super great that the media are all in cahoots, so when they get a slice of interesting information or dig up something about a public figure they don't always have to think "hey we need to release this immediately so we can make sure our brand is associated with the breaking of the story."

others who do this political thing for a living are doubtless sitting on some material to be released to the media at later dates, but the notion that the 'agenda-setting media' is itself sitting on material and coordinating its release is giving the halitosis media a bit more credit than it deserves

It's often called an October Surprise, but it depends on how much separation you believe exists between the media (and their owners) and political parties. I find it hard to believe that anyone who watched the last Dem debate didn't think Big H was being protected, but it's really up to your view whether or not you think that was because the media wants to capitalize on the continued back-and-forth between them or because they have chosen a side (assuming you agreed something was 'off').

[McParadigm]

October Surprises are more about the parties or participants than they are the media. Your campaign organization uncovers what it thinks will be a good "gotcha," and issues it on a strategic basis. You've been working on something big (as president, member of congress, etc) and try to time it for maximum impact. The media is just a tool in these circumstances...it's not a co-conspirator.

I don't debate that the democrat party has been doing everything they can to hand Hillary the nomination. I can't begin to guess why.

[4/5]

Apart from my personal objections to Stewart's style (which I've spoken about on RM before), I think his effect on young liberals has been ultimately negative not so much for creating a "nihilistic worldview" (which I don't really think is fair), but for what I mentioned above: coupling political awareness with snark. He catered to liberals predisposed to agree with him, extracted easy laughs borne out of perceived superiority, and further polarized relations between republicans and democrats, making understanding and empathy harder and harder to attain. He hardened both the liberals who followed him and the conservatives he attacked in their opposition to each other, which doesn't help anyone or anything.

Obviously we'll have to agree to disagree. I can grant you that his show wasn't unifying so in that way it can be seen as having contributed to polarization, but let's not overstate Stewart's overall effect in this regard. He came along after things like Crossfire, Hardball, Politically Incorrect, right wing radio, and the host of FOX News commentary shows had already become imbedded on the political scene. Other reasons for increased polarization over the past two decades include weakening political parties, the increase in soft money and independent expenditures, the rise of candidate-centered politics, ideological voters in primary and midterm elections, and the echo chamber that is the internet and social media. I would also argue that while his show was obviously liberal it was much more about challenging institutional power than simply being another tired red team vs blue team spokesman.

If his contribution to polarization is a negative legacy of his show I think that is still far outweighed by his contributions which include highlighting and exposing what passes for news coverage and appealing to a younger generation about the institutional problems in this country.

[Rob]

I agree the media does't do a great job, but Jon Stewart was a late night host on a comedy channel with (at best) an average of about 2 million viewers. If he's (at least in part) the cause of this, it says a hell of a lot more about the electorate than it does about him. Is the guy who has focused most on how ridiculous the media is really the problem here?

[LoathedVermin72]

For the record, I never specified this was about Stewart; you guys brought him up. It's a much larger phenomenon than just his show.

I could not disagree more with this, though:

I would also argue that while his show was obviously liberal it was much more about challenging institutional power than simply being another tired red team vs blue team spokesman.

All I ever saw when I watched his show was "blue is better than red" pandering. If anything, he seemed liked the patron saint of contemporary liberalism.