October 3, 2013

The shutdown continues, and so does the media aid to the Republicans. Last night the ever-reliable Chuck Todd dramatically announced that Speaker Boehner emerged "frustrated" from a conference with the President. There followed a clip of Boehner complaining about the refusal of Democrats to "negotiate," i.e., to give in to the GOP demands to defund the health care act as the price of keeping the government open. After featuring that bit of propaganda, Todd said, "we also heard from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Ried," but we didn’t: a brief clip followed showing them at a microphone, but there was no sound. Instead, Todd, who had acknowledged that the only issue was health care, stated that Reid and Pelosi refused to negotiate "on any of those points." As if to confirm that Todd’s distortion is network policy, the caption of that report on the NBC Nightly News archives page is "Boehner frustrated Democrats won’t negotiate." And we wonder why people are confused.

The shutdown, absurd to begin with, has become so bizarre that even the Republicans don’t know what’s going on, but they need to press on, because backing down would be so humiliating: " ‘We're not going to be disrespected,’ Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told The Washington Examiner. ‘We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is.’ "[97]

Boehner is in the position of a nanny confronted with a bunch of brats. One can sympathize with his plight, but at some point, the adult has to take charge. He’s overdue.

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97. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/marlin-stutzman-government- shutdown_n_4034123.html?view