James Carville To Conservative Bloggers: My Secret Strategy Sessions With White House Don’t Exist
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Conservative bloggers have managed to create a big stink over this Politico story reporting that White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel privately talks with media figures James Carville, Paul Begala, and George Stephanopoulos on a regular basis.
The bloggers are charging that these calls amount to “secret strategy sessions” that prove liberal media collusion with the Obama administration.
There’s only one problem: These secret strategy sessions don’t appear to exist.
Because of these calls — which seem to be just bull sessions between longtime Washington power players, some of whom have crossed from politics into media — CNN is being called on to fire Carville and Begala, and ABC is being pressured to do the same to Stephanopoulos.
The argument is that the calls show that the networks are supposedly allowing their employees to be “co-opted by the White House,” as the right-wing Red State put it.
“[T]he networks should tell their employees to cease and desist with these secret planning sessions with the White House and issue apologies to the viewers for not informing them of this secret pipeline to power,” one Red State blogger argued.
But there don’t appear to be any secret planning sessions.
That’s what Carville just argued to me moments ago. “They’re not conference calls,” Carville said, denying that any planning or scheming of any kind goes on. He said the conversations were casual banter among friends, and that they weren’t organized: “Since 1992, the four of us have all kind of talked to each other at some point on an almost daily basis.” He dismissed the conservatives’ argument as “absurd” and “humorous.”
“I’ve spoken to George this morning. Later today Rahm will probably call me. I should be fired because I talk to people who have been my friends for 16 years?” Carville continued, adding that all he can do is “laugh at” the criticism.
It should be noted that the original Politico story doesn’t even say that there are secret strategy sessions. It just said that these guys call each other to shoot the bull on a regular basis. And ABC is denying, on Stephanopoulos’ behalf, that there are any secret strategy sessions, too, as is the original author of the Politico piece.
What’s more, Carville and Begala aren’t even reporters. They’re in the opinion biz, and are open Democratic partisans.
Nonetheless, the networks’ switchboards are apparently getting deluged by complaints about this.
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Whaaaaaaaa????
Stephanfechit and Carville the Manbeast have known each other for years and years and years…they worked on Clinton’s campaigns together, as everyone knows. I can’t stand either one of them and I’ll betcha they are lucky to have each other, given how repugnant both are.
This is so stupid. Winger bloggers keep going down this same path and they will fall over the edge marked: “the ability to take you seriously ends here.”
yep, they were on the same campaign, as the war room amply documented.
…well, those winger bloggers who weren’t already operating from the province of The Ability to Take you Seriously Ended Before you Got Started.
Gotta love those rightwing nutcases… I’m only surprised that no one has suggested a good ‘ole fashion lynching.
I’m only surprised that no one has suggested a good ‘ole fashion lynching.
Dude – give em time. It’s coming, if history is any indication and it usually is.
Remember that hot tranny mess, Ann Coulter, saying about Clinton: “the only remaining question is impeachment or assassination?”
That’s our lovable rightwing.
Not a word came from these same people over the relationship between FOX News and the Bush White House, which truly was disgusting. Fox would just read Republican talking points all day.
And when is the media going to expose all those secret meetings between Carville and Mary Matalin? I hear it’s been going on for so long, they have kids together. Just sayin’.
All I have to say is that as a liberal, I’d prefer Carville NOT assume to speak for me EVER. In fact, both he and his Neocon troll wife should quit polluting our political landscape. Hacks. The both of them.
Notice something here though. Isn’t it telling that RedState “bloggers” are taken seriously by the Village when they advocate all kinds of bullsh*t like sending silly putty or balls to someone’s house but let anybody from the Great Orange Satan call in to the Village and they dismiss them out of hand. Just goes to show that framing matters.
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I predict that the networks will capitulate just like they did with Dan Rather. Don’t be surprised when it happens.
These people who are calling the networks must belong to the 20 something per cent of people who still think Bush was doing a good job. With all of the secrets and lies of the Bush administration and their “marriage” to Fox News, it’s really funny that they are complaining about old buddies talking on the phone. They still don’t get what most of the country does – Bush and his criminal buddies are losers, and they have ruined America.
So by the infinate wisdow of the geniuses at Red State, any reporter that talks to someone in the White House is colluding and should be fired. Are these people mental. So when Karl Rove leaked all that information to Matt Cooper and Tim Russert et al about Valerie Plame, Karl Rove should have been fired. When Dick Cheney had his lackey Mary Maitlin on all the Sunday Shows after he shot the guy in the face, she should have been fired.
After 8 years of failure in the executive branch and the 6 years of failure in the legislative branch, the RW plays the victim card like no other. Absolutely pathetic
Are these people mental.
yes, they are.
The nuts that asking that these long and good friends be fired are just blowing smoke and wasting their time–it won’t happen and it shouldn’t happen. Fire FOX news and all of their republican propaganda cronies.
Conservative TV and Talk radio hosts frequently get talking points from the Bush White House and no call was made for their firing. Rush Hannity, Boortz and many others were regular visitors to meetings at the White House to discuss talking points.
I say we need to send these nuts some rope and stools.
Conservative TV and Talk radio hosts frequently get talking points from the Bush White House and no call was made for their firing.
How short is memory? The Bush White House was PAYING hacks to spread their propaganda – remember?
It will never cease to amaze me the hypocricy that manifests itself in social conservatives. These guys were friends when they were nobodies, just because Rahm now has a job in the White House makes this inappropriate. What about the when he was a leader in the Congress?
Plus none of these guys have said anything that even hits that they have inside knowledge.
And Fox News was the freakin bed-fellows of the Bush Administration.
Seems like the Reich Wingers only like this sort of thing when it involves Faux News and big fat payouts from big daddy gubment.
Right wingers are going to go berserk over every little thing that happens. Sure as the sun rises. The issue of interest is how CNN and ABC respond. Will they cave?
Yeah — what about the relationship between Rush and the Republican House and Senate members? Hmm — a skunk smells it’s own scent first. I thought this was a free country and we could talk to whoever we wanted to, whenever we wanted to?
The Re
The Republicans who are so intent on misreading the Second Amendment, seem to have completely skipped over the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exersise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceable to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Well, you have to admit the Republicans have a better case for a Carville/Begala/White House Conspiracy than they did for a Iraq/Al Qaeda/WMD connection–and look how far they got with that! Facts be damned.
So Greg, are you a partisan? If so, why aren’t you posting contact info for these networks so opposition can call them, too! I can’t find it anyplace. Yall need to be pro active. We should all be calling the media with the opposite message. GOP are still so much better organized. They even get a Dem gov to appoint a GOP and obstruct his own party.
And even if this were true, which appartently it is not, this would differ from Karl Rove, CNN, Cheney, FOX news staff, and assorted others talking on a regualar basis how? Bitter is such a bad color on most people but seems to be alot of folks wearing it lately.
so when are they going and how many employees of fox news will be fired for colusion with the bush white house? even if the story were true wouldn’t it be a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black?
I think 99% of the corporate media should be fired because they’re idiots.
Haters. All of you. Haters
I think the most disingenuous aspect about the conservative bloggers uproar, is their “lack of indignation” when the previous White House, under the direction of the Vice President’s office, systematically fed information to Judith Miller of the NY Times (who was later incarcerated for not revealing her source), as well as Matt Cooper, to use as their propaganda campaign in their selling of the war in Iraq. Over 4,000 soldiers have been killed and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens have also been killed, because of the past White Houses’ efforts to persuade and control the media.
Just wondering…. were any of the ‘Right Wing bloggers’ members of Fa ux news. I mean… they were the talking Heads for the last 8 years with somewhat ‘ exclusive’ access’ to make sure the Bush Noise message was delivered. Here we have 4 individuals compared to the whole Bushco Administration. I wonder if they blogged about how biased Faux was…?
everytime I want to puke I imagine Carville and Helen thomas having ***
Are you people nuts? Of course there are leaks! Of course the Pubs were in bed with Fox! Of course the Libs are in bed with most of MSM!! That’s politics! DUH!!
What’s there to be indignant about either one? MORONS!!