Names:

Steve Benen started a post with this:

LAMAR ON RECONCILIATION.... Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) of Tennessee was on Fox News yesterday, and weighed in on the possibility of Democrats using reconciliation to pass health care reform.

"Thumbing their nose at the American people by ramming through a partisan bill would be the same thing as going to war without asking Congress' permission," he said. "You might technically be able to do it, but you'd pay a terrible price in the next election."

There was no follow-up on this during the interview -- it's Fox News, after all -- so let's go ahead and note why this is very foolish.

And he continued for 6 paragraphs about reconciliation and the Republicans prior use it. It's as if Benen is taking seriously the notion that Fox News is a real news outfit. But consider the following way of presenting the story:

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) of Tennessee was on the Republican Propaganda Network yesterday, and weighed in on the possibility of Democrats using reconciliation to pass health care reform.

"Thumbing their nose at the American people by ramming through a partisan bill would be the same thing as going to war without asking Congress' permission," he said. "You might technically be able to do it, but you'd pay a terrible price in the next election."

There was no follow-up on this during the interview -- it's the Republican Propaganda Network, after all

See? There's no call to get involved and counter what Alexander said because it's obvious what's going on. Alexander was not speaking in a forum where he would be challenged. He might just as well have been speaking at a workshop at the How To Take Back America conference. Nobody cares about those events. Similarly, no one should care about what's said on the Republican Propaganda Network. At least not care about the substance of what's being peddled there.


posted by Quiddity at 9/07/2009 12:46:00 PM