Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Media to Trump: “Don’t Exploit Louisiana for Political Purposes”
Donald Trump went down to New Orleans with his running mate to check on things and hand out relief supplies. And the Democrat Media Complex has the nerve to caution him against “seeming craven, using crises for political gain.”
As GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump heads to Louisiana on Friday to survey the aftermath of deadly flooding, it’s worth remembering that disasters — whether natural or man-made — present a unique challenge for politicians. The goal is to appear statesman-like without seeming craven, using crises for political gain.
Trump can look to a recent history of Republican nominees making similar moves with mixed results.
I think the key word in that paragraph is “Republican.” Democrats will never be called out for exploiting crises for political gain; which they do all the freaking time. And when there isn’t a crisis to exploit, they make one up, e.g., the “Health Care Crisis,” or the nonexistent “Epidemic of Gun Violence.”
“When the people of New Orleans and Gulf Coast extended their hand for help, help was not there. When people looked up from the rooftops, for too long they saw an empty sky. When the winds blew and the flood waters came, we learned for all of our wealth and our power, something wasn’t right with America. We can talk about what happened for a few days in 2005, and we should. We can talk about levies that couldn’t hold, about a FEMA that seem not just incompetent but paralyzed and powerless, about a president who only saw the people from a window on an airplane instead of down here on the ground, trying to provide comfort and aid.”
But, they are warning Donald Trump, “You better be careful not to make it look like you’re exploiting this disaster for political gain.”
Published in Politics
Whether someone is a Trump fan or not media duplicitousness really is something to behold. It’s not even really “bias” these days, just outright activism.
He’s killing them this week and they know it.
Luckily, this is just the sort of ‘advise’ most GOP candidates would take, they’d curl up in the fetal and promise not to do that again.
It will be interesting to see what he does.
That’s not all. There are also other issues that it is wrong for Trump to exploit for political gain:
Am I missing any?
@The Reticulator don’t forget Benghazi. The parents of those killed there were exploited at the Republican Convention. Whereas the parents of black men killed by police were finally allowed to share their case at the Democratic convention.
That one, too. It’s good to have a complete list in order to save the Donald from himself. Otherwise he is likely to put his foot in it again.
People without affordable healthcare due to the Affordable Care Act would be another.
If he wins I hope he acts as his own press secretary so he can curb stomp them every single day of his Presidency.
“Don’t exploit women for political purposes. That’s Bill’s job.”
They certainly didn’t have a problem when then-Senator Obama exploited Hurricane Katrina for political gain.
Payback for this…
Two days ago the Baton Rouge newspaper printed an editorial in which they chided President Obama for vacationing and not visiting Louisiana.:
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_f1ce22ee-64b4-11e6-b11a-a393ff25161d.html
Not only did he go there, but he also took a huge truckload full of food, water, blankets and diapers. The media was barely paying attention to the horrible conditions caused by the floods in Louisiana. If Trump gained credibility by pointing it out as the tv cameras followed him, thereby forcing America’s attention on the desperation down there, it’s a win win for all, especially the flood victims. How, in the world, can anyone object?
It makes me sick and just that much more determined to support Trump.
Heaven forbid that a politician would exploit a disaster for political gain. When has that ever happened in the world of politics? I just went to Google to see the stories about Trump. 18 out of the 20 on the front page about him were negative. The press bias is just ridiculous.
After November these cagey media watchdogs will go back to licking whatever bone the potus throws them (don’t do it Pseude )and occasionally tilting at a conservative windmill.
Not to be overly provincial about it, but Trump and Pence came to one of the cities hard hit by this nightmare of nature, Baton Rouge—NOT New Orleans. And, as a life long native of South Louisiana and mostly Baton Rouge, I can tell you that their visit – to quote a gentleman who lost EVERYTHING to the flood- “meant everything” to them. What is happening here is, in the true sense of the word, unimaginable, and if you are not on a cot in the Celtic Movie Studio complex or one of the many other shelters in the area , which, Praise God, our family is not as we were spared the invasion of those deadly waters, you cannot even BEGIN to imagine the insult we all felt at the image of the Thug-in-Chief at his (usual) golf outing while Trump and Spence actually came and “walked on the ground”, something apparently beneath the “dignity” ( in quotes as he has none) of [ ] Hussein Obama. And added to that, we had Her Royal Thighness “calling it in” to our Governor, asking “how’s it going down there” to show the real depth of her deep (as in floodwaters) concern, as she then takes another of her many long naps and rests. No, you really cannot imagine how indelibly the image of the Golfer in Chief’s image is forever embedded in the minds of my fellow Cajuns–but they all VOTE!
Boy howdy, did the Clinton Conglomerate blow this one. Obama isn’t running for anything anymore and he has a much-needed vacation to finish – as well as play strict daddy to a young lady who is apparently feeling her oats – so an appearance in Louisiana wasn’t in the cards but you would think some functioning brain cell in the Clinton Compound would have piped up and said, “Hey, we need to get Hillary down to Louisiana, pronto, if only to pretend to help unload a truck, or whatever.” Instead, Trump took the open shot and scored a biggie. I’m still not gonna vote for the guy but if he wins in November it will all be because of his sojourn down south. Well played, sir.
My lame local daily paper ran this editorial by Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. It is a response to the editorial from the Advocate of Baton Rouge. “Here’s Why President Obama Isn’t Stopping His Vacation to Visit the Louisiana Flooding”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/18/heres-why-president-obama-isnt-stopping-his-vacation-to-visit-the-louisiana-flooding/
So, Obama is too cool to go to Louisiana. He is too Presidential. He does his fabulous lightworking from wherever he is. If you want Obama to view the flood, move the flood to Obama.
You clearly don’t understand the difference between Bush and Obama. Bush flew over and didn’t land. That’s Bad and Uncaring. Obama completely ignored it, stayed away and played golf with celebs. That’s Good and Showing Empathy. Got it?
Bush also interfered with the rescue effort because when his plane flew overhead, everyone in the state apparently looked up and stopped rescuing people. Obama, showing his great wisdom, avoided that. It all seems obvious to me.
Trump did well. He needed to change the narrative and shaming Obama has done that.
The goal is to appear statesman-like without seeming craven, using crises for political gain.
Of course. And the media of this country has exposed itself over and over again with its biased coverage on all issues like this one. If a democrat is in office it is always “statesman-like” and if a Republican it is always “craven”. And if a Republican is too slow to appear or comment, it is always “heartless”. And if a democrat is on vacation and obviously uncaring, it just is ignored.
Like the media playbook on scandals … if a Republican, report on the scandal. If a democrat, report on how partisan and craven the Republicans are for making a big deal of a democrat scandal.
After having his hand forced, the president will probably be super-prickly when he gets there! We’ll probably get another version of this:
“If folks want to pop off and have opinions about what they think they would do, present a specific plan. If they think that somehow their advisors are better than the Chairman of my Joint Chiefs of Staff and the folks who are actually on the ground, I want to meet them. And we can have that debate. But what I’m not interested in doing is posing or pursuing some notion of American leadership or America winning, or whatever other slogans they come up with that has no relationship to what is actually going to work to protect the American people, and to protect people in the region who are getting killed, and to protect our allies and people like France. I’m too busy for that.”
And the 2016 Irony Award goes to…. for 50th time in a row – the Mainstream Media!!! (Handing out the award this year, as always – Dan Rather.)
Never forget, folks – the mainstream media is the enemy. We should never be surprised at their brazen choosing of sides, nor the falsehoods and half-truths. EVERYTHING they write is for political gain.
Of course, it was all right for Obama to exploit hurricane Sandy during the last Presidential election.
I wondered when someone would point that out.
Nobody in the mass media complained when Chris Christie exploited the same issue by stabbing other Republicans in the back, either.
My response to the WaPo.
Example: George W. Bush was warned by the MSM and the Democrats – but I repeat myself – not to exploit 9/11 during the 2004 campaign. So he didn’t.