Bret Baier of Fox News unmasked himself completely during the worst hour of his career as a television broadcaster. Certainly, he lost all claim to calling himself a journalist, but the Washington, DC, clique of access-based transactional information brokers who celebrate their part in America’s decay at the White House Correspondents Association dinners each April will no doubt continue to honor him as one of their own. It makes sense because he is. He is part of a vast commercial enterprise that preys on fear, stokes division, stifles rational conversation and coddles extremism.
It is time to stand and be counted. Silence = complicity . “It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” - Frederick Douglass
Ryan is so impressive. Cool and unflappable as he speaks truth to madness in the face of hostility. Vance wishes he could buy an ounce of Ryan's dignity with Peter Thiel's money, but sad for him - honor and statesmanship can't be bought.
Just as in 2004 when I called my wife into the living room to point out a minor politician from Illinois finishing one of the usually forgettable underticket speeches at John Kerry’s DNC coronation in Boston to face W, motioned to the screeen and said “this man will be our next President in 2008”, yesterday I spotted the Democratic candidate for President in 2024 on, of all places- Fox News.
Tim Ryan will be the 47th President of these United States.
I love Joe Biden and supported him in ‘88 and was thrilled when BO picked him as running mate in 2008. Joe Biden IS America, warts and all in the way that almost no politician is anymore. So is Tim Ryan.
I am somewhat embarrassed that I didn’t see this in Ryan in 2016 and 2020 when he was ready to jack up the Democratic Party that had let the middle class disintegrate in the cauldron of Laffer-curve, trickle-down globalization. Then again I don’t think those were his moments. Like last week’s SNL skit, we fled the terror of the thought of Joe Biden in ‘24 only to return to the realization that he will be our best hope to hold democracy together. No longer.
Tim Ryan understands what it means to be a second tier (maybe 3rd?) in a party that you believe is the only savior of democracy, the middle class and the necessity to bridge race as a dividing measure early in the 21st century. And that party didn’t want him making uncomfortable noises that upset their relationships with Wall Street. 
As the President said last night - in what I thought was the speech of HIS life - the American Dream is not a zero-sum race where if I get mine you can’t have yours (he was channeling Steve). It is the greatness of America that we can continue to build and expand and create a strong and essential middle class that invents and makes and supplies the world. It is not for nothing that “The American Century” was THE century of the American Middle Class.
This dream got lost because we then decided the race was to the bottom, that the “Free Trade” of Reagan’s teachers and disciples was the same as the “Fair Trade” required to build a great American Middle Class and that we would sacrifice our prosperity to bring along those poorer countries that were a drag on global growth until we reach worldwide economic utopia.
But in this cause we allowed American corporations and profiteers to stop paying taxes, and stop paying for the infrastructure that made America great. Today we have a physically crumbling society whose despair can be traced in a direct line from a loss of real jobs, to crumbling neighborhoods , disintegrating highways and the abandonment of urban mass transit. The result is fentanyl and a hunt for something that dulls the pain when the hurt becomes too much.
In the 1990s I used to pass that bridge lit up with “Trenton Makes, The World Takes“ and think: “not anymore” and wonder why. I oppose coal - but who takes care of those next generations who had the promise of a better life? Where is our fourth generation of autoworkers? Thanks to the never-proven orthodoxy of the so-called “Austrian School “ of economics, they are where they should be: in Mexico where there is no medical costs, environmental controls or real taxes. That’s your “Free Trade”. Killing American jobs and American families as we relieve American corporations of their obligations to the country that has made them great.
Tim Ryan is the person who not only understands all of this, who has lived it, who has been a second tier quarterback, struggling for his piece of the action, Tim Ryan, is the man who can bring together just enough of us to save democracy one more time.
Make sure Tim wins on Tuesday and then let’s all get to work like we did for Barack Obama and raise up the great middle-class of America, who has been abused, neglected and stolen from for so long.
Joe Biden did America the greatest service possible At exactly the right time we needed him. We should be forevermore grateful that he saved democracy from tipping into the abyss. We now need someone to carry us forward and bring American innovation , creativity and yes - immigration - back to our own shores.
We have seen the future and it is Tim Ryan for President in 2024! 
What is toughness? Tim Ryan, "I'm not afraid to have this conversation.", "I don't care what your politics are, but Americans should say 'No', they have to say no to that." This is true leadership.
Fox News. That is settled. Not entertainment. Not at all. All I can add is that the best man will win. The applause coming from Americans was cleansing like the sounds of water rushing down a stream. Luminous as is Representative Liz Cheney's endorsement of her colleague in Congress. Fearless. Character-driven. Finally I was able to see and listen to the complete Tim Ryan response to the initial booing. Finally I know that the booing was coming from a fraction of the audience. And your description of the hosts was one who observed it close by. I never would have known otherwise, since I do not watch Fox News. What I will never do again is write Fox without the News that entrenches it in the world of communication in America. But I will never attach to it a descriptor such as "competent," because it is not. It is a news outlet that just can not handle the truth.
Adam Kinzinger said it best, what he and Liz are doing on the January 6th committee is not courageous. It only looks courageous because they are surrounded by cowards. Tim Ryan's words and actions calling out JD Vance is not courageous, however, it is commendable and the right thing to say and believe. Truth is under attack from a once Grand Ol' Party which is now led by charlatans and grifters. The GOP no longer runs on a platform to inspire their base. No, they have no solutions to ease the suffering in today's society. Their only goal is power and they do not care or honor our Constitution. Laws are meant to be judicated fairly and honestly not to be used as weapon to eliminate opposition.
The Republican Party relies on lies and propaganda to reach a base who have been misled so often they have lost their way. They use the Christian Cross as a symbol of hate, not peace. They recite Bible verses and pervert the words to mislead and confuse their followers.
Tim Ryan is not courageous. He is a righteousness person who is highly qualified for the office he is seeking. His opponent is a snake oil salesman who is a coward which makes it look like Tim Ryan is being courageous.
That was great! I think what made it so special explains what has been missed in the media in the aftermath of 1/6. Ryan didn’t mention Trump once. He stuck to the facts of what happened and built a personal connection between himself and the true victims of the insurrection, the capitol police. The media is so fixated on Trump that 1/6 was made to be all about him, turning it into the usual red/blue narrative that will never be solved. If they had stuck to the facts of the day, like Ryan did, maybe we could have begun healing what is hurting our democracy rather than fuel the fire of the reality show we have been forced to watch.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what you have been writing about the media. I want to give a shout out to CBS. Margaret Brennan does exactly what you say needs to be done each week, to people on both sides of the aisle. She destroyed a Republican congressman from Minnesota by pointing out his hypocrisy last Sunday. Then Scott Pelley called out Arizona election deniers later that day on 60 Minutes. Robert Costa is great, too.
We need to quit talking about Trump all the time. We need to focus on the events that happen every day and challenge them for what they are. Confronted with facts, people will do the right thing. If, however, we push everything into the tired my side against your side debate, we will never solve anything.
If only the Democratic Party leadership had invested more money and time in this race. Tim Ryan is exactly the kind of person this whole country (not to mention the State of Ohio) needs in the Senate.
As Warren Buffet once said of the characteristics he looks for when picking a leader: "I look for brains, energy and integrity, but if they are missing the latter, and you hire them, you've just hired a real problem."
It's simple. Strength wins. Ryan fought back. He did so reminding people that he sits of the committee that works with the Capitol police officers, and the officers are his friends. Simple language. Authenticity. Strength. Candidates like Ryan are the future of the DEM party if DEMS want to win light blue, purple, and light red states.
As per your usual-- wry well said. When people ask me about what 3 people (alive or dead) I would like to have dinner and conversation with--I always include You!
It is time to stand and be counted. Silence = complicity . “It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” - Frederick Douglass
Ryan is so impressive. Cool and unflappable as he speaks truth to madness in the face of hostility. Vance wishes he could buy an ounce of Ryan's dignity with Peter Thiel's money, but sad for him - honor and statesmanship can't be bought.
Tim Ryan has run an excellent campaign & I hope to god he wins.
Just as in 2004 when I called my wife into the living room to point out a minor politician from Illinois finishing one of the usually forgettable underticket speeches at John Kerry’s DNC coronation in Boston to face W, motioned to the screeen and said “this man will be our next President in 2008”, yesterday I spotted the Democratic candidate for President in 2024 on, of all places- Fox News.
Tim Ryan will be the 47th President of these United States.
I love Joe Biden and supported him in ‘88 and was thrilled when BO picked him as running mate in 2008. Joe Biden IS America, warts and all in the way that almost no politician is anymore. So is Tim Ryan.
I am somewhat embarrassed that I didn’t see this in Ryan in 2016 and 2020 when he was ready to jack up the Democratic Party that had let the middle class disintegrate in the cauldron of Laffer-curve, trickle-down globalization. Then again I don’t think those were his moments. Like last week’s SNL skit, we fled the terror of the thought of Joe Biden in ‘24 only to return to the realization that he will be our best hope to hold democracy together. No longer.
Tim Ryan understands what it means to be a second tier (maybe 3rd?) in a party that you believe is the only savior of democracy, the middle class and the necessity to bridge race as a dividing measure early in the 21st century. And that party didn’t want him making uncomfortable noises that upset their relationships with Wall Street. 
As the President said last night - in what I thought was the speech of HIS life - the American Dream is not a zero-sum race where if I get mine you can’t have yours (he was channeling Steve). It is the greatness of America that we can continue to build and expand and create a strong and essential middle class that invents and makes and supplies the world. It is not for nothing that “The American Century” was THE century of the American Middle Class.
This dream got lost because we then decided the race was to the bottom, that the “Free Trade” of Reagan’s teachers and disciples was the same as the “Fair Trade” required to build a great American Middle Class and that we would sacrifice our prosperity to bring along those poorer countries that were a drag on global growth until we reach worldwide economic utopia.
But in this cause we allowed American corporations and profiteers to stop paying taxes, and stop paying for the infrastructure that made America great. Today we have a physically crumbling society whose despair can be traced in a direct line from a loss of real jobs, to crumbling neighborhoods , disintegrating highways and the abandonment of urban mass transit. The result is fentanyl and a hunt for something that dulls the pain when the hurt becomes too much.
In the 1990s I used to pass that bridge lit up with “Trenton Makes, The World Takes“ and think: “not anymore” and wonder why. I oppose coal - but who takes care of those next generations who had the promise of a better life? Where is our fourth generation of autoworkers? Thanks to the never-proven orthodoxy of the so-called “Austrian School “ of economics, they are where they should be: in Mexico where there is no medical costs, environmental controls or real taxes. That’s your “Free Trade”. Killing American jobs and American families as we relieve American corporations of their obligations to the country that has made them great.
Tim Ryan is the person who not only understands all of this, who has lived it, who has been a second tier quarterback, struggling for his piece of the action, Tim Ryan, is the man who can bring together just enough of us to save democracy one more time.
Make sure Tim wins on Tuesday and then let’s all get to work like we did for Barack Obama and raise up the great middle-class of America, who has been abused, neglected and stolen from for so long.
Joe Biden did America the greatest service possible At exactly the right time we needed him. We should be forevermore grateful that he saved democracy from tipping into the abyss. We now need someone to carry us forward and bring American innovation , creativity and yes - immigration - back to our own shores.
We have seen the future and it is Tim Ryan for President in 2024! 
What is toughness? Tim Ryan, "I'm not afraid to have this conversation.", "I don't care what your politics are, but Americans should say 'No', they have to say no to that." This is true leadership.
Fox News. That is settled. Not entertainment. Not at all. All I can add is that the best man will win. The applause coming from Americans was cleansing like the sounds of water rushing down a stream. Luminous as is Representative Liz Cheney's endorsement of her colleague in Congress. Fearless. Character-driven. Finally I was able to see and listen to the complete Tim Ryan response to the initial booing. Finally I know that the booing was coming from a fraction of the audience. And your description of the hosts was one who observed it close by. I never would have known otherwise, since I do not watch Fox News. What I will never do again is write Fox without the News that entrenches it in the world of communication in America. But I will never attach to it a descriptor such as "competent," because it is not. It is a news outlet that just can not handle the truth.
Adam Kinzinger said it best, what he and Liz are doing on the January 6th committee is not courageous. It only looks courageous because they are surrounded by cowards. Tim Ryan's words and actions calling out JD Vance is not courageous, however, it is commendable and the right thing to say and believe. Truth is under attack from a once Grand Ol' Party which is now led by charlatans and grifters. The GOP no longer runs on a platform to inspire their base. No, they have no solutions to ease the suffering in today's society. Their only goal is power and they do not care or honor our Constitution. Laws are meant to be judicated fairly and honestly not to be used as weapon to eliminate opposition.
The Republican Party relies on lies and propaganda to reach a base who have been misled so often they have lost their way. They use the Christian Cross as a symbol of hate, not peace. They recite Bible verses and pervert the words to mislead and confuse their followers.
Tim Ryan is not courageous. He is a righteousness person who is highly qualified for the office he is seeking. His opponent is a snake oil salesman who is a coward which makes it look like Tim Ryan is being courageous.
That was great! I think what made it so special explains what has been missed in the media in the aftermath of 1/6. Ryan didn’t mention Trump once. He stuck to the facts of what happened and built a personal connection between himself and the true victims of the insurrection, the capitol police. The media is so fixated on Trump that 1/6 was made to be all about him, turning it into the usual red/blue narrative that will never be solved. If they had stuck to the facts of the day, like Ryan did, maybe we could have begun healing what is hurting our democracy rather than fuel the fire of the reality show we have been forced to watch.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what you have been writing about the media. I want to give a shout out to CBS. Margaret Brennan does exactly what you say needs to be done each week, to people on both sides of the aisle. She destroyed a Republican congressman from Minnesota by pointing out his hypocrisy last Sunday. Then Scott Pelley called out Arizona election deniers later that day on 60 Minutes. Robert Costa is great, too.
We need to quit talking about Trump all the time. We need to focus on the events that happen every day and challenge them for what they are. Confronted with facts, people will do the right thing. If, however, we push everything into the tired my side against your side debate, we will never solve anything.
I think we just saw and heard a future Democratic Presidential candidate! For the first time in a long time I feel a ray of hope.
If only the Democratic Party leadership had invested more money and time in this race. Tim Ryan is exactly the kind of person this whole country (not to mention the State of Ohio) needs in the Senate.
As Warren Buffet once said of the characteristics he looks for when picking a leader: "I look for brains, energy and integrity, but if they are missing the latter, and you hire them, you've just hired a real problem."
Ryan is the complete package.
Thank you for highlighting this pivotal moment in the election cycle Steve.
I was a young child when JFK was in office. When I listen to Tim Ryan speak, Jack Kennedy is exactly who I hear.
May the people of Ohio do the right thing to get the country back on the right path.
It's simple. Strength wins. Ryan fought back. He did so reminding people that he sits of the committee that works with the Capitol police officers, and the officers are his friends. Simple language. Authenticity. Strength. Candidates like Ryan are the future of the DEM party if DEMS want to win light blue, purple, and light red states.
Nailed it Steve.. this moment would have just faded into the abyss of madness had you not held it up for all to see. thanks.
Really like Tim Ryan. We need more like him across the political spectrum.
As per your usual-- wry well said. When people ask me about what 3 people (alive or dead) I would like to have dinner and conversation with--I always include You!