Thanks be to FSM Kellyanne Conway has been off the air for a few days.
I am not the only one who has noticed.
Even Fortune magazine, not a bastion of liberal thought, has a snarky video up.
Perhaps she is just off in Sweden somewhere mourning the tragic victims of the Bowling Green massacre.
Maybe she was embarrassed enough about the Flynn debacle that she decided on her own to lie low for a while (instead of just lying).
Or maybe she was “counseled” more than we know, and someone in the DJT administration purchased enough of a clue to decide on their end she was not a good person to put in front of the cameras right now.
I’m sure when she resurfaces she will have some crap to spew about her wonderful boss allowing her to go on a winter vacay because he was so concerned about her stress level.
In all seriousness I hope she is taking a long weekend and getting some rest. In her last few “interviews” she looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks.
Before I forget, today is my blogiversary!
13 years of wasting countless hours i mean engaging in lively and productive political discourse
And if I could have one blogwish for my blogiversary, it would be this:
I want KAC’s absence from the airwaves to be permanent.
Not only that, I want all of her spokesbot clones off the air as well.
I want all of them to be forced to get real work.
I want the last 45 years of Republicon media training to go down the drain to the sewer where it belongs.
This is bigger than KAC. This is about a style of political spin I have despised since the Watergate dirty trickster days when Chuck Colson, Lee Atwater and their young protege Karl Rove were just beginning their careers in high stakes GOPropaganda.
As time went on they refined their skills and began training young people to follow in their footsteps, with particular attention to telegenic blondes for Roger Ailes to fantasize about, and smug-faced bow-tied preppies (I assume someone somewhere also fantasizes about them).
I’ve watched them enough that I know exactly what they do and how they do it. Colbert found humor in showing us how it was done, but was too intelligent to parrot their word salad exactly for more than a brief segment at a time.
As each successive generation of spokesbots graduates from media training to take their turn in the spotlight, I marvel at how easy it seems for them. How eager they are to sell their souls to the Dark Side of the Red Team, each one imagining that s/he will beat the odds and have the staying power of the Frumious Coultersnatch, instead of ending up cast aside and forgotten after a year or so, just another clump of cannon fodder in the cultural wars. What are the odds anyone will remember Tomi Lahren in 2020? Either she will be replaced by someone younger and blonder, or we will manage to break the back of that whole style of punditry.
And the black ones. Oh my God, don’t start me. What in the world is their motivation? Why they do it? Just to be contrary? Because it is a fast track to television exposure? To rub elbows with powerful politicians? Or use it as a springboard to running for office someday? For the money? The money can’t be that good. They get chewed up and spit out even more quickly. When will they realize the Rcon party is just using them? Katrina Pierson used to be everywhere. Did she get the reward of a high profile job in the DJT administration? Maybe if they get desperate enough to replace Scary Spice they’ll give her a shot in the press room.
And Paris Dennard just makes me hang my head in disbelieving wonder. He’s certainly well practiced at all the tricks of the media manipulation trade. Ask him a question it glances off, he obfuscates he dances, he repeats all the right talking points even when backed into a corner (Don Lemon tried very hard to push back here, but to no avail.) But why in the world would he do it? Is there anything the Republicon party could do to do to show its utter contempt for black people and gay people that would make him realize that whatever talents he has are best used serving some other master?
More than once in desperate financial times I have wondered how much money I could make on the wingnut welfare gravy train. But then my self-respect and integrity get in the way. Darn.
So, for anyone who wants to help make my blogiversary wish come true, I have an action item (hat tip to DSC on the Plateau for giving me the idea).
Please watch this excellent Carlos Maza video on Vox: “Kellyanne Conway’s Interview Tricks, Explained”
Then tweet a link to this piece to the next person who “interviews” KAC.
In fact, let’s tweet a link to this video anytime any of the spokesbots give that kind of interview from now on.
Until Rs start sending people on news shows who will actually answer questions and stop playing this ridiculous pivot game they’ve all been taught.
Or the shows can be all Democrats for a while, and Rcons will have to go to Fakes News to see these people just as they used to have to do before the MSM agreed to start treating them as if they were respectable.
Yes I know the Blue Team has spin doctors too. But seriously, can you name ANYONE on our side who plays that game in the same consistently deceitful gaslighting sort of way?
As I said, I am not the only one speculating that this period of lying low is the beginning of the end of KAC’s political career.
I also dare to hope her 15 minutes are up, and by overreaching she will help the whole consensus reality empire come crashing down.
But even if it is not ready to topple of its own weight, reality-based newscasters can at least stop being polite enough to cooperate with it.
Listen up, media. DJT called you the enemy. He did that in part because he thinks you are toothless and unable to fight back. But you do have one weapon in your arsenal that he can’t fight against. Stop helping him get out his message.
You KNOW it’s a farce. I can’t imagine what you gain by cooperating with it. Just stop. Stop catering to the needs of the 23% (or less) who think DJT has the right to define reality. We outnumber them. Think of the audience you could get if you programmed for us instead. Think of the positive impact on the entire country if you focused on reality based news between now and 2018.
Just stop booking their spokesbots. Starting with KAC. If Morning Joe can do it, you all can.
By doing so you will cut them all off at the knees. They need you more than you need them.
Make them all get real jobs.
And if all they know how to do is lie for a living, then they need to move to East Nowhere Middle America and do minimum wage public relations for some climate change denying pal of James Inhofe promoting fracking in Stillwater Oklahoma instead of taking up space on national television flacking for the President* of the United States.
Previous TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Feb 19: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: Blue Ribbon Winners—Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: Blue Ribbon Winners: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: Blue Ribbon Winners: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: Blue Ribbon Winners: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense
