Obstructionism, the thing to do ...

Yes, I'm a posting fool this morning because the Mrs. and my cousin are out shopping, professionals both, and I have some free time to get caught up on the blog world. Greenwald's post from yesterday is most enlightening:

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As Benen notes, the GOP has used the filibuster as a common tool on virtually every piece of significant legislation, all part of what Trent Lott described as their strategy: "The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail . . . and so far it's working for us."

But this extraordinary obstructionist behavior has hardly been highlighted at all by most journalists covering Congress. Part of the reason for that is the fault of Senate Democrats, who have, in essence, allowed Republicans to filibuster without forcing them actually to filibuster, thus removing the theatrical display of the obstructionism. But the obstructionism is the same, and it ought to be reported as such. But it isn't.

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I think the Dem leadership needs a remedial class in Civics 101.

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Whereas filibusters were previously used as an extraordinary tool to preserve minority rights in the Senate, and were routinely depicted as "obstructionist" by the press when wielded by Democrats, they have now become the standard course for Republicans. Yet [Washington Post reporter Paul] Kane, and most other Congressional reporters, simply refuse to point that objective fact out -- that Republicans are using this obstructionist tool on virtually every issue at a record rate -- because to point that out would be to violate the Sacred Law of Balance, even though it is true. [my ems]

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You can thank Josef Goebbels Rupert Murdoch and his gang of propagandists at Fox Noise for giving the term 'fair and balanced' the aberrant, bastardized meaning it has today. Most of the Washington press corpse wouldn't know either 'fair' or 'balanced' if it bit them in the ass.