I sent emails to Joe and Mika. I feel I can’t just sit and bit$$ about things that I don’t like. I’m writing and calling my congressional reps every week now as well as others who I believe need to hear from us citizens. I read your words about Joe and Mika and fear. While I am always grateful for your words, I am not sure I agree totally. Ok. They fear retribution. Or, do they fear losing their salaries? I worked for Head Start for many years. Project 2025 calls for abolishing Head Start. Low income families will suffer. The children will suffer. They have something to fear really. Im 76. I don’t know what Oz will do to Medicare but I’m betting it won’t be good. We have real fears but unlike Joe and Mika, we don’t have millions in our bank accounts to help assuage our fears. We don’t have big bank accounts that will carry us forward. They do. I have no respect for them, I believe they have zero integrity. I respect you because I think you have real concerns about you and your family’s safety and well being, but you are “feeling the fear and doing it anyway”! That takes courage and integrity. And I thank you sincerely. My husband and I have real fears about the future of our beloved country. We are not sure things will get better while we are alive. But I know I will stand with you, Steve, and others like you and I will not be silenced. We must unite. I’m not sure how we will do it but I know we can.
Steve, on a slightly different topic. Carl Selfe published on his substack (Hotbottons), a recipe of sorts, for creating a fascistic state. It seems they may start small and slow, to sort of hoodwink a lot of people. Then as they pick up steam, atroticies to civil liberty start happening faster. Do you think the Trvmp/acolytes have the intelligence to orchestrate this or will they be failures once again. How much assistance will they get from Musk? Pvtin? Should we be burying them with lawsuits to slow them down?
I was feeling like giving up until I read Steve's posts this past couple of days. I am not moving out of the country, and probably not out of rural Montana. When the going gets tough, the tough get going! That is my bottom line-I will never back down. Together we stand. We WILL pick up the flag and keep going! XO
Joe and Mika are not journalists. They are “personalities”. They’re free to do whatever they like in the pursuit of ratings or personal enrichment, and we are free not to watch them because they have not got much to contribute in these fraught times.
“Despite the baseless nature of the conspiracy theory, Joe and Mika “are petrified of retribution and of Gaetz opening an investigation into Joe and the intern,” one source with knowledge of their concerns said. “That’s what this was about. It has nothing to do with ratings or Comcast. It’s all about fear of retribution and investigation.”
This is the scary part, they are afraid of retribution. The same reason the Washington Post, NYT’s, LA Times and others all capitulated before the election. The fear is definitely real, and it’s causing a domino effect that should send chills down everyone’s spine!
In a nutshell, people and companies aren’t reacting to actual retribution, but the fear that they will be on the menu! And this is what separates the men from the boys. People like Scarborough and Mika have too much too loose. Their $10 million annual salaries aside, they also have assets that can be confiscated, which is the point.
Ironically, after Trump won the election, our good friends at a media publication that shall not be named, but their credo is “democracy dies in darkness,”’posted, “that they are ready to combat Trump’s second term.” Huh?
The bottom line is this: the MSM is essential to fighting corruption and authoritarianism. However, our MSM is compromised by corporate entities, and billionaires with business before Congress.
Looking at the collapse of Hungary’s democracy, it was always about an impotent and decapitated free press. I believe our best option is to allow the corporate media to fail, but support independent journalism. As more and more people support independent journalism, we will see the best and brightest journalists leave places like WaPPo and the NYT’s in droves, allowing place like Substack to thrive. This could be the new fourth estate, will and army of dedicated and informed citizenry ready and able to fight back! IMHO!..:)
Well said, Robert! Joe and Mika, though, are models to the rest of the media and the corporate world that it is ok to 'obey in advance'. They should have just quit and taken their millions and figured out safety for themselves, not capitulated to a rotten misogynist criminal Fascist with Musk and Putin's intense involvement with destroying Democracy. Put yourselves on the line, folks, for Democracy! -speak truth to power or get out of the media spot light. No time for games! No time for capitulation to a Fascist! Buck Up!!
I have turned the tv off. I read some substacks and listen to a little Rachel Maddox, Nicole Wallace, Lawrence O'Donnel -youtube.The MSM was half the reason Trump was elected. Even now the MSM is normalizing a Trump Fascist presidency. Biden was modeling diplomacy while turning over an election to Trump, being way too nice to an insulting out of control Fascist who refuses to follow the ethics rules that go alone with taking over a presidency. He claims to have a 'mandate' to abuse American Institutions with Musk's and Putin's help. BS!! Steve Schmidt is a unifying force for resistance! I appreciate you and others here who have knowledge, experience, and see exactly what is happening...:-) We will unite and, together, will do our best to persevere. Thank you.
Lisa, I 100% agree with you. I wasn’t letting them off the hook. Every time someone like Mika and Joe bend a knee, it becomes a cascading effect.
And I stopped watching them as well; a soon as they made the announcement, I turned it off.
And thank you for your strength and great comments each week as well. We will win this. Hopefully before he can destroy our institutions and divide us further..:)
Just when I thought you couldn't get any braver Steve Schmidt you amaze me once again!! Which encourages all of us so much!! Thank you just doesnt seem adequate but I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
While I have some sympathy for Joe and Mika I don't have much empathy. If they're afraid with everything they have, that's very scary. So much for the common good of their "journalism". SMH.
I'm just going to keep fighting. Like Steve says, "A good American doesn't quit." ❤️🇺🇸💙
I don't question their fear, which may be justified, but if they can no longer do the job with integrity, they should step down, not become part of the propaganda team. Easy for me to say, as I don't have millions at stake, but it does expose the shallowness of their convictions. While not yet overtly threatening violence, how would we know if this is prelude to a Night of the Long Knives?
For Joe and Mika to head to Mar-a-largo to capitulate sets a bad example for all others. Shame on them. They need to protect their valuable millions, get safe, & get lost -soon! We have no time for double talk or BS. We need stand-up Americans who speak truth to power like Steve Schmidt! No more Media BS or normalizing Fascism. No More!
There seems to be a lot going on these days and none of it is good. The news this morning reports plans by various groups to disrupt and end abortion pill access next year. And, for the most part, people are getting elected who want to return the United States to the 19th century. When I look around, I am out of step with the majority.
There’s a part of me that hopes they limit access to birth control pills. Maybe young women who voted for a rapist to lead America need a BIG wake up call. And maybe some young men, too.
Why do you hope they limit birth control pills? To get the women's backlash that is due?
I have not been watching tv, but I expect a back lash from women who have been slapped down by 60 percent of white males who voted against women's bodily autonomy, women's rights, and for a rapist, misogynist, felon Trump, demented horrible person who already put our country through hell, over a smart, qualified, caring, hard-working woman has not gone unnoticed in families, social circles, communities. Fight!! We've had ENOUGH!
My granddaughter got married recently. She had 4 bridesmaids, young professional women, all trump supporters. They have no idea how their right to birth control came from. When I was married in the 60’s, women who were married could get birth control pills. This restriction has been lifted and every sexually active female can get the pill. I don’t want unwanted babies but I would like these women to understand the rights and privileges they have now were not granted because men wanted it. They have rights and privileges because their grandmothers fought for them. Electing a convicted felon rapist will not help them keep those rights. Learning lessons after the fact can be dangerous to your health.
Not the majority in terms of policy, but it appears to be a majority of voters who are low information, easily misled, and not endowed with great critical thinking skills. It's deadly.
When I look at a good many of the State Legislators in North Carolina, I say to myself that they would have made good slave owners. And yet they are getting elected in a majority year after year.
It seems this has been the Christian Nationalist's long game for what, 40 years? MSM should have been explaining project 2025 instead of following every nutty thing Trump said and did to DISTRACT from a well-orchestrated plan to set our country back, a hundred, two hundred years?! J.D. Vance wrote the preface to project 2025! So many people on Trump's team wrote that extensive document explaining exactly what they would do!Wake up MSM; Wake up USA!
I think they tried. People don't pay attention and don't do nuance. When you can't even get women to vote for bodily autonomy, that's not a media problem, not on the "mainstream" side anyway. Trump tosses his fairy dust and it causes brain death.
Good morning, Steve You have written a very sobering post this morning. Thank You for being you !
Yes, Rachel Nicole and Chris are excellent for the fight we have on our hands. Rachel and Chris were talking about what to do in this time...how to fight this . Rachel said that they will have to keep doing what they are doing.. talk about what is going on. They will continue to speak truth to power . I want to turn away from this horror and hide my head in the sand but I won't I love my country too much. I will continue to find my way in this mess. I will show up when I can and contribute when I can.
My problem with Lawrence is that he makes absolutist pronouncements about what will or won't happen. He doesn't know any more than we do. As they say, never say never.
Are Joe and Mika on the same level of MSNBC journalism as Lawrence, Melber, Hayes, Reid, Wallace, or Ruhle? Not really. They are more or less “toast and coffee” people. They are entertainers! They are seekers of current trends and cultural phenomenas. No one should even take Joe or Mika seriously since you see who they visited last weekend! Want to be in the MIX? Talking out if both sides of their mouths? They are unserious!
Yep, sub-stack is it and whatever is replacing X, maybe "blue" something. Many people are going there now and letting go of X. Steve just joined. I'm not on social media, but good news!
I’ve been increasingly subscribing to the independent journalists to get my facts… it’s the dawn of a new era and I greatly appreciate your courage Steve. I viewed the Joe and Mika capitulation as completely self-serving (just like the 11th hour Bezos decision to pull the presidential endorsement ). We need courage and conviction now more than ever… thank you for yours Steve.
Thank you for this, Steve. MSNBC is the station I listen to to get the facts of the day. I listen to an hour or 2 of Morning Joe, cuz I'm up early... but it IS a coffee klatch affair, and Joe is a blowhard who likes the sound of his own voice. My favorites start with Nicole, Joy, Chris, Rachel, Lawrence, who have good reporting teams. My thoughts are with you and your family, including the doggies. Better to tell the truth and risk safety, than to be a coward -- else you end up with nothing in life.
Your essay is excellent…and haunting. I support you and your courage, Steve. Reading your posts every day grounds me, as do the posts of Heather Cox Richardson, Charlie Sykes, David Frum and several others. As I’ve heard it said, “our vacation from history is over”. I’m 72 and know that I will be haunted for the rest of my life.
I sent emails to Joe and Mika. I feel I can’t just sit and bit$$ about things that I don’t like. I’m writing and calling my congressional reps every week now as well as others who I believe need to hear from us citizens. I read your words about Joe and Mika and fear. While I am always grateful for your words, I am not sure I agree totally. Ok. They fear retribution. Or, do they fear losing their salaries? I worked for Head Start for many years. Project 2025 calls for abolishing Head Start. Low income families will suffer. The children will suffer. They have something to fear really. Im 76. I don’t know what Oz will do to Medicare but I’m betting it won’t be good. We have real fears but unlike Joe and Mika, we don’t have millions in our bank accounts to help assuage our fears. We don’t have big bank accounts that will carry us forward. They do. I have no respect for them, I believe they have zero integrity. I respect you because I think you have real concerns about you and your family’s safety and well being, but you are “feeling the fear and doing it anyway”! That takes courage and integrity. And I thank you sincerely. My husband and I have real fears about the future of our beloved country. We are not sure things will get better while we are alive. But I know I will stand with you, Steve, and others like you and I will not be silenced. We must unite. I’m not sure how we will do it but I know we can.
Sharon,
We must unite indeed!
Steve
Steve, on a slightly different topic. Carl Selfe published on his substack (Hotbottons), a recipe of sorts, for creating a fascistic state. It seems they may start small and slow, to sort of hoodwink a lot of people. Then as they pick up steam, atroticies to civil liberty start happening faster. Do you think the Trvmp/acolytes have the intelligence to orchestrate this or will they be failures once again. How much assistance will they get from Musk? Pvtin? Should we be burying them with lawsuits to slow them down?
Thank you for being the sherpa for so many.
I'm with you Sharon. I don't have much either but they'd have to kill me before I'd ever bow down to DJT!!!
Right On, Sister! We will stand strong in solitary and we will unite to RESIST. XO
I was feeling like giving up until I read Steve's posts this past couple of days. I am not moving out of the country, and probably not out of rural Montana. When the going gets tough, the tough get going! That is my bottom line-I will never back down. Together we stand. We WILL pick up the flag and keep going! XO
Facts
Well said, Sharon! Steve is a uniting force on The Warning when we need it most. I am IN!
Joe and Mika are not journalists. They are “personalities”. They’re free to do whatever they like in the pursuit of ratings or personal enrichment, and we are free not to watch them because they have not got much to contribute in these fraught times.
They have modeled for other media figures what 'obey in advance' looks like. Shame on them!
“Despite the baseless nature of the conspiracy theory, Joe and Mika “are petrified of retribution and of Gaetz opening an investigation into Joe and the intern,” one source with knowledge of their concerns said. “That’s what this was about. It has nothing to do with ratings or Comcast. It’s all about fear of retribution and investigation.”
This is the scary part, they are afraid of retribution. The same reason the Washington Post, NYT’s, LA Times and others all capitulated before the election. The fear is definitely real, and it’s causing a domino effect that should send chills down everyone’s spine!
In a nutshell, people and companies aren’t reacting to actual retribution, but the fear that they will be on the menu! And this is what separates the men from the boys. People like Scarborough and Mika have too much too loose. Their $10 million annual salaries aside, they also have assets that can be confiscated, which is the point.
Ironically, after Trump won the election, our good friends at a media publication that shall not be named, but their credo is “democracy dies in darkness,”’posted, “that they are ready to combat Trump’s second term.” Huh?
The bottom line is this: the MSM is essential to fighting corruption and authoritarianism. However, our MSM is compromised by corporate entities, and billionaires with business before Congress.
Looking at the collapse of Hungary’s democracy, it was always about an impotent and decapitated free press. I believe our best option is to allow the corporate media to fail, but support independent journalism. As more and more people support independent journalism, we will see the best and brightest journalists leave places like WaPPo and the NYT’s in droves, allowing place like Substack to thrive. This could be the new fourth estate, will and army of dedicated and informed citizenry ready and able to fight back! IMHO!..:)
Well said.
In today’s WaPo, Jennifer Rubin gave an impassioned endorsement of Propublica. I wonder what her bosses are thinking about that!
Well said, Robert! Joe and Mika, though, are models to the rest of the media and the corporate world that it is ok to 'obey in advance'. They should have just quit and taken their millions and figured out safety for themselves, not capitulated to a rotten misogynist criminal Fascist with Musk and Putin's intense involvement with destroying Democracy. Put yourselves on the line, folks, for Democracy! -speak truth to power or get out of the media spot light. No time for games! No time for capitulation to a Fascist! Buck Up!!
I have turned the tv off. I read some substacks and listen to a little Rachel Maddox, Nicole Wallace, Lawrence O'Donnel -youtube.The MSM was half the reason Trump was elected. Even now the MSM is normalizing a Trump Fascist presidency. Biden was modeling diplomacy while turning over an election to Trump, being way too nice to an insulting out of control Fascist who refuses to follow the ethics rules that go alone with taking over a presidency. He claims to have a 'mandate' to abuse American Institutions with Musk's and Putin's help. BS!! Steve Schmidt is a unifying force for resistance! I appreciate you and others here who have knowledge, experience, and see exactly what is happening...:-) We will unite and, together, will do our best to persevere. Thank you.
Lisa, I 100% agree with you. I wasn’t letting them off the hook. Every time someone like Mika and Joe bend a knee, it becomes a cascading effect.
And I stopped watching them as well; a soon as they made the announcement, I turned it off.
And thank you for your strength and great comments each week as well. We will win this. Hopefully before he can destroy our institutions and divide us further..:)
Right On! Thanks, Robert; enjoy your weekend....:-)
YESSSSSSSSS Lisa! "Obey in advance." You nailed it! I'm ALL IN.
Just when I thought you couldn't get any braver Steve Schmidt you amaze me once again!! Which encourages all of us so much!! Thank you just doesnt seem adequate but I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
While I have some sympathy for Joe and Mika I don't have much empathy. If they're afraid with everything they have, that's very scary. So much for the common good of their "journalism". SMH.
I'm just going to keep fighting. Like Steve says, "A good American doesn't quit." ❤️🇺🇸💙
I don't question their fear, which may be justified, but if they can no longer do the job with integrity, they should step down, not become part of the propaganda team. Easy for me to say, as I don't have millions at stake, but it does expose the shallowness of their convictions. While not yet overtly threatening violence, how would we know if this is prelude to a Night of the Long Knives?
For Joe and Mika to head to Mar-a-largo to capitulate sets a bad example for all others. Shame on them. They need to protect their valuable millions, get safe, & get lost -soon! We have no time for double talk or BS. We need stand-up Americans who speak truth to power like Steve Schmidt! No more Media BS or normalizing Fascism. No More!
Right On, Lisa! WE are the 'patriots'. We will fight on for freedom, together! ❤️🇺🇸💙
There seems to be a lot going on these days and none of it is good. The news this morning reports plans by various groups to disrupt and end abortion pill access next year. And, for the most part, people are getting elected who want to return the United States to the 19th century. When I look around, I am out of step with the majority.
There’s a part of me that hopes they limit access to birth control pills. Maybe young women who voted for a rapist to lead America need a BIG wake up call. And maybe some young men, too.
Why do you hope they limit birth control pills? To get the women's backlash that is due?
I have not been watching tv, but I expect a back lash from women who have been slapped down by 60 percent of white males who voted against women's bodily autonomy, women's rights, and for a rapist, misogynist, felon Trump, demented horrible person who already put our country through hell, over a smart, qualified, caring, hard-working woman has not gone unnoticed in families, social circles, communities. Fight!! We've had ENOUGH!
My granddaughter got married recently. She had 4 bridesmaids, young professional women, all trump supporters. They have no idea how their right to birth control came from. When I was married in the 60’s, women who were married could get birth control pills. This restriction has been lifted and every sexually active female can get the pill. I don’t want unwanted babies but I would like these women to understand the rights and privileges they have now were not granted because men wanted it. They have rights and privileges because their grandmothers fought for them. Electing a convicted felon rapist will not help them keep those rights. Learning lessons after the fact can be dangerous to your health.
Not the majority in terms of policy, but it appears to be a majority of voters who are low information, easily misled, and not endowed with great critical thinking skills. It's deadly.
When I look at a good many of the State Legislators in North Carolina, I say to myself that they would have made good slave owners. And yet they are getting elected in a majority year after year.
Extreme gerrymandering helps.
Without proper education in history, civics, and critical thinking skills, we're doomed :-(
It seems this has been the Christian Nationalist's long game for what, 40 years? MSM should have been explaining project 2025 instead of following every nutty thing Trump said and did to DISTRACT from a well-orchestrated plan to set our country back, a hundred, two hundred years?! J.D. Vance wrote the preface to project 2025! So many people on Trump's team wrote that extensive document explaining exactly what they would do!Wake up MSM; Wake up USA!
I think they tried. People don't pay attention and don't do nuance. When you can't even get women to vote for bodily autonomy, that's not a media problem, not on the "mainstream" side anyway. Trump tosses his fairy dust and it causes brain death.
Good morning, Steve You have written a very sobering post this morning. Thank You for being you !
Yes, Rachel Nicole and Chris are excellent for the fight we have on our hands. Rachel and Chris were talking about what to do in this time...how to fight this . Rachel said that they will have to keep doing what they are doing.. talk about what is going on. They will continue to speak truth to power . I want to turn away from this horror and hide my head in the sand but I won't I love my country too much. I will continue to find my way in this mess. I will show up when I can and contribute when I can.
Don't forget Lawrence O'Donnell. Always a truth teller. Fearless, principled, a warrior for truth and justice. Just like Steve!
Yes, Lawrence is the best. Alex Wagner won me over, too. Rachel, smart and devoted!
My problem with Lawrence is that he makes absolutist pronouncements about what will or won't happen. He doesn't know any more than we do. As they say, never say never.
Lawrence was in government for some time. He is super honest, smart & devoted :-)
But not always right.
Are Joe and Mika on the same level of MSNBC journalism as Lawrence, Melber, Hayes, Reid, Wallace, or Ruhle? Not really. They are more or less “toast and coffee” people. They are entertainers! They are seekers of current trends and cultural phenomenas. No one should even take Joe or Mika seriously since you see who they visited last weekend! Want to be in the MIX? Talking out if both sides of their mouths? They are unserious!
Yes and he is a bully and she is unbearable ..
I could never listen to Joe Scarborough for 10 minutes without getting tired of his ego!
They belong on Fox.
Yes, they'll find another venue in order to keep their millions$. Total hipocrites :-(
And Lawrence, Ari and Joy Reid, and Ali Velshi
Yes, Lawrence, Ari, Joy Reid..Alex Wagner, too.She is smart and so gifted -humanitarian.
The Warning, this community, can be a good place to unite, to share, and to RESIST. Best, Lisa
yes!!!
Better to stop watching any billionaire-owned media. It’s all brain rot.
Yep, sub-stack is it and whatever is replacing X, maybe "blue" something. Many people are going there now and letting go of X. Steve just joined. I'm not on social media, but good news!
I’ve been increasingly subscribing to the independent journalists to get my facts… it’s the dawn of a new era and I greatly appreciate your courage Steve. I viewed the Joe and Mika capitulation as completely self-serving (just like the 11th hour Bezos decision to pull the presidential endorsement ). We need courage and conviction now more than ever… thank you for yours Steve.
Try BBC! Good news by fine serious journalists! No one trying to sell themselves! (Show is not named after themselves!)
BBC is a great recommendation! Thanks.
See my reply to Robert Jaffe about Propublica..
Ditto! Way to stay in the ring and fight like hell, Steve! Forever grateful!!
Thank you for this, Steve. MSNBC is the station I listen to to get the facts of the day. I listen to an hour or 2 of Morning Joe, cuz I'm up early... but it IS a coffee klatch affair, and Joe is a blowhard who likes the sound of his own voice. My favorites start with Nicole, Joy, Chris, Rachel, Lawrence, who have good reporting teams. My thoughts are with you and your family, including the doggies. Better to tell the truth and risk safety, than to be a coward -- else you end up with nothing in life.
Yes, all the Millions of $ and fame doesn't make you a person of integrity. Joe and Mike...:-( !!
Your essay is excellent…and haunting. I support you and your courage, Steve. Reading your posts every day grounds me, as do the posts of Heather Cox Richardson, Charlie Sykes, David Frum and several others. As I’ve heard it said, “our vacation from history is over”. I’m 72 and know that I will be haunted for the rest of my life.
Yes, I hear you Helen! Thank you Steve Schmidt! We will get through this together. XO
I have just forwarded this to family and friends. It is one of Steve’s best (all our great!) because
it takes American fascism out of the shadows. Bone chilling that those with the most are the
first to capitulate. What horrible examples of character, all of them. This forum is my only news.
Yes, Steve has inspired me to hang in there lately. This Is the Place to Resist -together! xo
Thank you Steve! Be strong and carry on for those of us with less powerful voices,
who live with fear in our hearts for this reversal of fortune for our country. We need your courage and your perspective! Gods bless America!
Right On, Karen -I'm right there with you on this! Thank you Steve.We will persevere, together.
Best article ever… stay strong Steve!
Thank you Steve Schmidt. True words.
I stopped watching Morning Joe in 2020. Nicole Wallace has always been trustworthy. It gave me such joy to see you on her show again!
She’s the best!
Steve
Thank you for your courage, Steve.