Jeff Flake Slams Trump’s Attacks On Press As Stalinist

[Auburn85 432]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeff-flake-trump-stalin_us_5a5b8f22e4b03c4189669f1a?utm_hp_ref=donald-trump

 

 

Quote

 

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) says President Donald Trump’s attacks against the press are reminiscent of similar tactics employed by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

During his first year in office, Trump has repeatedly blasted the nation’s news media as “fake” and dishonest, even going so far as to call it “the enemy of the American people” last year. 

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔@realDonaldTrump

 

The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!

3:48 PM - Feb 17, 2017

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Appearing on ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday, Flake, a frequent critic of the president, said he planned to give a speech Wednesday about the president’s behavior.

“When you reflexively refer to the press as the enemy of the people or fake news, that has real damage,” Flake said on Sunday to ABC host George Stephanopoulos. “It has real damage to our standing in the world. And I noted how bad it is for a president to take what was popularized by Joseph Stalin, the enemy of the people, to refer to the press.”

Stalin infamously used the phrase “enemies of the people” to consolidate power during the early years of the Soviet Union, sending critics and detractors to suffer in labor camps.

Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday is also expected to announce the winners of something he dubbed as the “The Fake News Awards.” The prizes, he said, will go to “the most corrupt and biased” news organizations.

 

Trump over the weekend disputed The Wall Street Journal’s account of an interview he did with the paper last week in which he was quoted as saying he probably has a very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump claimed on Twitter that he actually said “I’d have a good relationship with” the authoritarian leader, a distinction he called a “big difference.”

The Wall Street Journal, however, posted audio of the interview on Sunday and said it stood by its reporting.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article said that Flake’s Sunday quote was an excerpt from an advanced copy of his speech.

 

 

 

 

[Auburn85 432]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/01/17/our-democracy-will-not-last-jeff-flakes-speech-comparing-trump-to-stalin-annotated/?utm_term=.d2829ebda2dc

 

‘Our democracy will not last’: Jeff Flake’s speech comparing Trump to Stalin, annotated

[Grumps 3,704]

It would be great if Flake and others would criticize Trump and others without comparing them to Hitler or Stalin, et al.

[homersapien 11,369]

2 hours ago, Grumps said:

It would be great if Flake and others would criticize Trump and others without comparing them to Hitler or Stalin, et al.

If you can defend it with specific examples, what's the problem?

 

[japantiger 4,051]

2 hours ago, Grumps said:

It would be great if Flake and others would criticize Trump and others without comparing them to Hitler or Stalin, et al.

Come on Grumps, admit, other than there not being a single common trait, Trump is just like Stalin....remember when Trump murdered 20 million people; most his own citizens?  invaded and brutally enslaved Eastern Europe?   threatened the peace loving West with nuclear distruction?   Conducted a coup to come to power?    Ran forced labor camps for the political opposition?  murdered his political enemies?  See, they're just alike!  I don't get how you can't see that.  I mean, no other President has ever openly criticized the Press have they?  https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/obama-says-fox-news-promotes-destructive-viewpoint/

When you're a wilting-hot-house-flower and have no argument, you call the opposition Racist, a leftist dictator (at least he said Stalin and not Hitler; I guess he tried to be different) or "pick-a-phobic"....that's the only thing in the playbook....and I am just loving it....another swamp dweller headed home...

[homersapien 11,369]

22 minutes ago, japantiger said:

Come on Grumps, admit, other than there not being a single common trait, Trump is just like Stalin....remember when Trump murdered 20 million people; most his own citizens?  invaded and brutally enslaved Eastern Europe?   threatened the peace loving West with nuclear distruction?   Conducted a coup to come to power?    Ran forced labor camps for the political opposition?  murdered his political enemies?  See, they're just alike!  I don't get how you can't see that.  I mean, no other President has ever openly criticized the Press have they?  https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/obama-says-fox-news-promotes-destructive-viewpoint/

When you're a wilting-hot-house-flower and have no argument, you call the opposition Racist, a leftist dictator (at least he said Stalin and not Hitler; I guess he tried to be different) or "pick-a-phobic"....that's the only thing in the playbook....and I am just loving it....another swamp dweller headed home...

Oh good grief.  

No one has suggested Donald Trump is morally or historically equivalent to Stalin.  What an absurd response.   

However, Trump (probably unwittingly) used the exact same terminology as Stalin regarding the free press. That's worth noting.  At the very least, it reveals someone without a basic understanding of the significance and importance of the first amendment, or at least someone who is willing to prostitute that founding value to serve himself.   

It's classic authoritarian thinking.

 

[SaltyTiger 7,795]

14 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Oh good grief.  

No one has suggested Donald Trump is morally or historically equivalent to Stalin.  What an absurd response.   

However, Trump (probably unwittingly) used the exact same terminology as Stalin regarding the free press. That's worth noting.  At the very least, it reveals someone without a basic understanding of the significance and importance of the first amendment, or at least someone who is willing to prostitute that founding value to serve himself.   

It's classic authoritarian thinking.

 

 Unbelievable, real things are question worthy. Some of you guys along with our media are obsessed. Probably? (weak weasel word)

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/01/16/white-house-doctor-peppered-with-questions-as-reporters-hunt-for-evidence-trump-illness.html

"But the president will eventually die, correct?"

 

[homersapien 11,369]

19 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

 Unbelievable, real things are question worthy. Some of you guys along with our media are obsessed. Probably? (weak weasel word)

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/01/16/white-house-doctor-peppered-with-questions-as-reporters-hunt-for-evidence-trump-illness.html

"But the president will eventually die, correct?"

 

I don't know what in hell you are talking about, but my meaning was to suggest Trump probably didn't know he was quoting Stalin when he said "the press is the enemy of the people".  (I don't think he's much of a reader.)

But if you prefer to think he was deliberately quoting Stalin, I won't argue.  (You do understand that would be worse than doing it unwittingly, don't you?)

[homersapien 11,369]

Mr. President, stop attacking the press

"......Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s attitude toward such behavior has been inconsistent at best and hypocritical at worst. While administration officials often condemn violence against reporters abroad, Trump continues his unrelenting attacks on the integrity of American journalists and news outlets. This has provided cover for repressive regimes to follow suit. The phrase “fake news” — granted legitimacy by an American president — is being used by autocrats to silence reporters, undermine political opponents, stave off media scrutiny and mislead citizens. CPJ documented 21 cases in 2017 in which journalists were jailed on “fake news” charges.

Trump’s attempts to undermine the free press also make it more difficult to hold repressive governments accountable. For decades, dissidents and human rights advocates have relied on independent investigations into government corruption to further their fight for freedom. But constant cries of “fake news” undercut this type of reporting and strip activists of one of their most powerful tools of dissent.

We cannot afford to abdicate America’s long-standing role as the defender of human rights and democratic principles throughout the world. Without strong leadership in the White House, Congress must commit to protecting independent journalism, preserving an open and free media environment, and defending the fundamental right to freedom of opinion and expression."

- John McCain 

Read the full piece at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-president-stop-attacking-the-press/2018/01/16/9438c0ac-faf0-11e7-a46b-a3614530bd87_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop&utm_term=.d89a6b09a49d

[japantiger 4,051]

29 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Oh good grief.  

No one has suggested Donald Trump is morally or historically equivalent to Stalin.  What an absurd response.   

However, Trump (probably unwittingly) used the exact same terminology as Stalin regarding the free press. That's worth noting.  At the very least, it reveals someone without a basic understanding of the significance and importance of the first amendment, or at least someone who is willing to prostitute that founding value to serve himself.   

It's classic authoritarian thinking.

 

No Homey, being pissed off at bystanders and the do-nothing chattering class is classic " do-er" response; not a totalitarian response.   No person that actually "does" things likes to listen to constant carping from a bunch of liberal arts majors; or as Obama's young genius described them as " The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns.....They literally know nothing.”.... they earn every bit of criticism they get; and especially in Trump's case.  There are probably a million other "intelligent' rebuttals that Flakey could have used; instead he is skulking out of DC and throwing his toys like a "swamp-rat-deranged-AUFAMILY-never-trumper" and went all Hitler/Stalin ....

.....and I'm still loving it...hows are your investments doing?  taxes? looked for a job (here's a clue, they are out there again), heard much from ISIS lately?  Nah...all you've heard is Flakey and poor Dicky Durban complain because Trump called a bunch of shitholes what they are....

[Grumps 3,704]

3 hours ago, homersapien said:

If you can defend it with specific examples, what's the problem?

 

It seems as silly as when Obama was bashed for using "Move Forward" as his campaign slogan. But hey, if you lefties thing it helps your cause then go for it!

[japantiger 4,051]

1 hour ago, homersapien said:

Mr. President, stop attacking the press

"......Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s attitude toward such behavior has been inconsistent at best and hypocritical at worst. While administration officials often condemn violence against reporters abroad, Trump continues his unrelenting attacks on the integrity of American journalists and news outlets. This has provided cover for repressive regimes to follow suit. The phrase “fake news” — granted legitimacy by an American president — is being used by autocrats to silence reporters, undermine political opponents, stave off media scrutiny and mislead citizens. CPJ documented 21 cases in 2017 in which journalists were jailed on “fake news” charges.

Trump’s attempts to undermine the free press also make it more difficult to hold repressive governments accountable. For decades, dissidents and human rights advocates have relied on independent investigations into government corruption to further their fight for freedom. But constant cries of “fake news” undercut this type of reporting and strip activists of one of their most powerful tools of dissent.

We cannot afford to abdicate America’s long-standing role as the defender of human rights and democratic principles throughout the world. Without strong leadership in the White House, Congress must commit to protecting independent journalism, preserving an open and free media environment, and defending the fundamental right to freedom of opinion and expression."

- John McCain 

Read the full piece at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-president-stop-attacking-the-press/2018/01/16/9438c0ac-faf0-11e7-a46b-a3614530bd87_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop&utm_term=.d89a6b09a49d

I'd say it's time to give John the cognitive test....his argument is a complete non-sequitor...somehow there's a connection between advocating against violence against reporters overseas (you know, the actual killing of reporters)  and Trump attacking the integrity of a group that generally has none ..... calling a liar a liar is like murder....sorry John, after this "F" grade opening for a middle school debate; I don't think I'll waste my time on the rest of this logical tour-de-force...

[homersapien 11,369]

13 hours ago, japantiger said:

I'd say it's time to give John the cognitive test....his argument is a complete non-sequitor...somehow there's a connection between advocating against violence against reporters overseas (you know, the actual killing of reporters)  and Trump attacking the integrity of a group that generally has none ..... calling a liar a liar is like murder....sorry John, after this "F" grade opening for a middle school debate; I don't think I'll waste my time on the rest of this logical tour-de-force...

Boy, that went straight over your head.  

Yes, when the POTUS declares "the press is the enemy of the people" is most certainly provides moral support to authoritarians everywhere around the world, particularly since it represents a complete rejection of what we - the U.S. - have always proclaimed as a foundational value for democracy and freedom itself, a free press.

How can we as a country protest outrages against the press when our own president declares the press is the enemy of the people?

 

 

 

[homersapien 11,369]

14 hours ago, Grumps said:

It seems as silly as when Obama was bashed for using "Move Forward" as his campaign slogan. But hey, if you lefties thing it helps your cause then go for it!

Not to me.

[homersapien 11,369]

15 hours ago, japantiger said:

No Homey, being pissed off at bystanders and the do-nothing chattering class is classic " do-er" response; not a totalitarian response.   No person that actually "does" things likes to listen to constant carping from a bunch of liberal arts majors; or as Obama's young genius described them as " The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns.....They literally know nothing.”.... they earn every bit of criticism they get; and especially in Trump's case.  There are probably a million other "intelligent' rebuttals that Flakey could have used; instead he is skulking out of DC and throwing his toys like a "swamp-rat-deranged-AUFAMILY-never-trumper" and went all Hitler/Stalin ....

.....and I'm still loving it...hows are your investments doing?  taxes? looked for a job (here's a clue, they are out there again), heard much from ISIS lately?  Nah...all you've heard is Flakey and poor Dicky Durban complain because Trump called a bunch of shitholes what they are....

OK, I'll try one more time.

Trump said "the press is the enemy of the people".  

Everything beyond that is peripheral.  You can focus on the reaction to it as a way of changing the subject all you want but he said what he said.  The greater question is do you agree with that as a general statement? 

Now you can obfuscate all you want, but that doesn't change the fact he said it.  Has modern "conservatism" abandoned freedom of the press as a necessity for our freedom? 

Or is it you just don't want to take Trump seriously, because, well, because he's Trump? 

[japantiger 4,051]

When the press ignores it's accountability to be free and impartial, it is the enemy of the people...the press is the only enemy that can threaten the press in the US.  When they get to 50/50 on this president...call me...

[SaltyTiger 7,795]

22 hours ago, homersapien said:

I don't know what in hell you are talking about, but my meaning was to suggest Trump probably didn't know he was quoting Stalin when he said "the press is the enemy of the people".  (I don't think he's much of a reader.)

But if you prefer to think he was deliberately quoting Stalin, I won't argue.  (You do understand that would be worse than doing it unwittingly, don't you?)

Homer you know very well President Trump was not quoting Stalin. No "probably" to it. We have Flake talking about Trumps attack on the press.

Hell, the leftist press and the left reaction to his election is much more frightening than anything President Trump could to do. He is a moron.

[homersapien 11,369]

44 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Homer you know very well President Trump was not quoting Stalin. No "probably" to it. We have Flake talking about Trumps attack on the press.

Hell, the leftist press and the left reaction to his election is much more frightening than anything President Trump could to do. He is a moron.

THAT WAS MY POINT, EXACTLY.  DUUUUUUUH!!!!

Do I need to parse every sentence I write for you?  I'll do so, but it would help if you asked for further clarification when needed.

And he said what he ******* said: 

"The press is the enemy of the people."

So what do you think about that?  Do you agree or do you just dismiss it as a "Trumpism"?

[SaltyTiger 7,795]

1 minute ago, homersapien said:

THAT WAS MY POINT.  EXACTLY.  DUUUUUUUH.

See you are not only mellowing.......You are warming up to Trump Brother Homer.

[homersapien 11,369]

2 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

See you are not only mellowing.......You are warming up to Trump Brother Homer.

I'm not here to obfuscate.  My offer to explain my post, sentence by sentence, still stands.

[SaltyTiger 7,795]

11 minutes ago, homersapien said:

THAT WAS MY POINT, EXACTLY.  DUUUUUUUH!!!!

Do I need to parse every sentence I write for you?  I'll do so, but it would help if you asked for further clarification when needed.

And he said what he ******* said: 

"The press is the enemy of the people."

So what do you think about that?  Do you agree or do you just dismiss it as a "Trumpism"?

I do dismiss it as anything like the absurd Stalinlike comment that Flakie made. glad to see that you understand why he could make such a statement in view of the outrageous constant attack he has endured from leftist media. 

[homersapien 11,369]

39 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

I do dismiss it as anything like the absurd Stalinlike comment that Flakie made. glad to see that you understand why he could make such a statement in view of the outrageous constant attack he has endured from leftist media. 

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean. 

Trump is the one who make the "Stalinlike" comment, not Flake. Nor do I understand the rest of your post either.  Please explain.

[SaltyTiger 7,795]

2 minutes ago, homersapien said:

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean. 

Trump is the one who make the "Stalinlike" comment, not Flake. Nor do I understand the rest of your post either.  Please explain.

It was absurd of Flakie to bring up "Stalinist" Homer. We all know that President Trump is at war with the leftist media. They declared war week 2, 2016. No need to tell you more. You paste and copy 75% of their BS.

[homersapien 11,369]

7 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

It was absurd of Flakie to bring up "Stalinist" Homer. We all know that President Trump is at war with the leftist media. They declared war week 2, 2016. No need to tell you more. You paste and copy 75% of their BS.

Simple question:  Did Trump say "the press is the enemy of the people" or not?

 

[Grumps 3,704]

1 hour ago, homersapien said:

Simple question:  Did Trump say "the press is the enemy of the people" or not?

 

I will answer! I am pretty sure that Trump said that the press is the enemy of the American people. So what is your point? I believe that the many members of the press are intentionally misleading the American people. It think it is fair to call someone who is intentionally misleading the American people their enemy. What do you think, Homer?