To answer the most obvious question, no I am not drunk.
Now my fellow former newspaperman, Robert Stacy McCain, eviscerated my former Charleston Daily Mail colleague, Chris Stirewalt, for the bizarre Election Night coverage of Fox News in which it became a cheerleader for Joe Biden instead of being fair and balanced.
Viewers noticed and have switched channels. The network went from an Election Night audience of 14 million to a Saturday Night prime-time audience under 3 million -- a night that CNN led all of TV with 9 million viewers and MSNBC drew just under 6 million.
Saturday night was the night Democrats celebrated Hillary's re-election. Instead of showing its trio of conservative pleasing hosts -- Gutfield, Watters, and Judge Jeanine -- Fox reveled in the revelry.
Conservatives have had enough.
After a couple of decades of enjoying audiences the size of CNN and MSNBC combined, Fox is pummeled in the ratings, much to the delight of liberals and the disinterest among conservatives who have beefed up the audiences of Newsmax TV and OANN.
McCain wrote, "Millions of Republicans have stopped watching Fox News after the Election Night debacle in which the network’s Decision Desk (i.e., a Democrat named Aaron Mishkin) called Arizona for Joe Biden at a time when they were still claiming that Ohio and Texas were 'too close to call.'"
Arizona is still too close to call a week after the polls closed, while President Donald John Trump romped in Ohio and Texas.
So the network trotted out Chris to explain. And by explain, I mean, take the abuse.
McCain wrote, "Stirewalt stared dumbly into the camera and defended the Decision Desk, saying, 'Ohio is close. Obviously we see the president has an advantage and he’s had an advantage in polling in Ohio, in the same way he has in Iowa for the closing stretch of the election. I would point out, pre-election polls in this cycle have so far turned out to be really, really good.'"
The polls were off and awful to the point where they are offal.
That 7-point lead the pollsters gave Biden nationally was not in the margin of error. It was not even close. When you take 12 polls of 1,000 people each (and some polled more than that) and average them out, the margin of error falls to 1%.
Each poll may have a margin of 4%, but together that margin gets pencil thin, which is why you do the average because you do not want to be led astray by one poll. You are combining all those polls into one big poll -- and that one big poll is a great huge propaganda mess.
Arizona was and is too close to call.
Donald Trump blew Sleepy Joe away Ohio and Texas by 8 and 6 points respectively.
McCain wrote, "Chris Stirewalt stacked his credibility into a large pile on Election Night, doused it in gasoline, and tossed a match at it. Any news organization that would employ Chris Stirewalt is not trustworthy."
Wrong.
He's got a job for life.
Accuracy no longer matters. Saying what the boss wants to hear is all that matters. With his Brian Stelter-sized head, Stirewalt projects an expertise he may or many not have.
Now for my defense of Chris Stirewalt.
I have none.
What did I say in the first paragraph? I am not drunk.
This was a stupid, stupid mistake that likely will land him a greater role as the once firebrand network goes CNN lite.
Yep. Deleted fox news app from my phone and we're not watching Fox anymore. Now have CFP and news max.
ReplyDeleteZipped right past the front section (including editorials) of the physical NY Post this morning, right to the sports section. The "New York Quisling Post" is my new name for the newspaper.
DeleteWhat's the deal with the NY Post? I didn't hear the story on them.
DeleteThey're owned by FOX (phony accounting tricks = "Independent" or some such lardboil). And they acquiesced in the surrender of the election.
DeleteStirewalt left the Charleston Daily Mail for Fox News. Surber fired from Daily Mail for blog land. Somehow I don't think Stirewalt is all that concerned about you Don.
DeleteSplendid! And now, to replace the first comment that "vanished" after I clicked on the "Notify me" box --- thank you.
ReplyDeleteI would have to take some accountability on my part for emailing Don the other night about an erroneous report that RCP had changed it’s call in Arizona so publicly Don was gracious enough by reminding us the next day with a soft rap on the head. However, there is still a point that RCP has not called Arizona when a lot of others have. Additionally, a call out to Vets today. I served 26 1/2 years in the Navy and did six deployments, four of those to the Persian Gulf. I would not have been able to do that without the love and support of my family so I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the families of those who served.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ken.
DeleteThanks for your service Ken and thanks for your tip even if it did not work out.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThank you Ken, Don and all of the other vets here. And yes, thank you to all of the military spouses and kids.
DeleteThank You, sir; thanks to Mr. Don Surber, and all those who served our Country, and for those who continue to do so. I lost my Service Academy brother this Summer past, while a relatively young man...As I spoke his eulogy, I couldn't help to remark to those in attendance, of his displayed cadet photo, that this young man, who looked no more than a boy when he graduated, was given his Lieutenant's bars to lead other young men, who were no more than boys either, to defend Our Shores here, and on foreign lands. He was more civilian at heart, and took an early out, as peace broke out in the '90's decade, and the evil Soviet Empire went away.
DeleteHe did my Dad proud, who was a Korean War vet, who got in six weeks before the War unofficially ended in '54, and left basic training to serve a few years in the infantry, and raise seven kids on his G.I. Bill medical degree. My grandfather served his adopted Country in WWI, and watched his adopted Country fight his former homeland in WWII, and proudly watched his son (my Dad's brother) serve, and survive the fight on a ship in combat, in the Pacific Theater.
My hope is not to have all these souls to have served and are serving, to have their votes mean something, and not locked uncounted in a State Election office somewhere, only to be counted when the votes are deemed close.
A Blessing to the men at Flanders, and Valley Forge, and Normandy, and Okinawa (I have a container of sand from the Beach there, sent by my nephew, at my request).
Bless You and all. ZB
I would have to take some accountability on my part for emailing Don the other night about an erroneous report that RCP had changed it’s call in Arizona so publicly Don was gracious enough by reminding us the next day with a soft rap on the head. However, there is still a point that RCP has not called Arizona when a lot of others have. Additionally, a call out to Vets today. I served 26 1/2 years in the Navy and did six deployments, four of those to the Persian Gulf. I would not have been able to do that without the love and support of my family so I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the families of those who served.
ReplyDeleteOpps!
DeleteI would have to take some accountability on my part for emailing Don the other night about an erroneous report that RCP had changed it’s call in Arizona so publicly Don was gracious enough by reminding us the next day with a soft rap on the head. However, there is still a point that RCP has not called Arizona when a lot of others have. Additionally, a call out to Vets today. I served 26 1/2 years in the Navy and did six deployments, four of those to the Persian Gulf. I would not have been able to do that without the love and support of my family so I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the families of those who served.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm not the only one who has had trouble with these gosh-derned new-fangled contraptions this morning.
DeleteMy life-time reign as "The All-Thumbs Computer Half-Wit King" is, apparently. undergoing a minor challenge.
Not to worry. I'll inadvertently do something that will remove all doubt as to who is truly The Klutz of The Keyboard.
When I would use DuckDuckGo to comment, my comment would double or triple. Now I have to switch to Chrome if I want to post.
DeleteI almost spit coffee at the key board Don Reed! LOL
DeleteWheeze ruins more keybroads dat way.
DeletePlease delete your duplicate posts.
DeleteAlso watching Steve Bannon right now and I have a question if anyone can answer it. If Georgia does a recount does it include recounts for all down ballot votes? And if it does, and the two Republican senators are then declared the winner, does that negate the run off in January?
ReplyDeleteThere's no reason why they wouldn't recount down-ballot races. They're on the same ballot. The senators have to win more than 50% to avoid a runoff. Perdue might get there in a recount but other senator only one like 45% so she came nowhere close.
DeleteOne of my questions exactly - and it's going to be a HAND recount.
DeleteGetting the top of the ticket fixed is crucial, but getting the down-ballot stuff fixed as well is also crucial - you have to remove ALL of the fraud, not just part of it. And there's no doubt that the "delays" (sic) in the "counting" (sic) in GA included ginning up enough fraud to toss the Senate races into runoffs. Do a complete, fraud-free count, and those runoffs go away.
FWIW, Gov. Kemp surfaced yesterday and said that they were going to count only legal ballots and not illegal ones. Hopefully the differences can be ascertained.
No. It's just for prezzie. If they find errors, expect every candidate who lost to demand a hand count.
DeleteUnless the vote is within the recount margin (1% or less), they cannot get a recount.
DeleteWe have the worst election system in the free world and the press is part of it. Many countries ban polling in the days before the election because they know fake polls can be used for voter suppression. That would include allowing networks to "call" states until the votes are counted. If we want to talk about the electoral college-- fine, get rid of a frankly archaic system and go to a national popular vote but make the voting rules sane: In-person, 2 forms of ID (voter ID and driver's license for example). Votes counted on that very night. No absentee or mail-in ballots or weeks of early voting or electronic voting. No same day registration.
ReplyDeleteLook at how smoothly Britain or Australia (or even India!) does its elections and then compare it to our embarrassing sh-t show. I absolutely believe center-right ideology would win the national popular vote if it was actually fair. But it isn't.
Toughest part about getting proper reform is... the present system benefits one side so greatly, as we've recently seen.
DeleteMany places do much better than we do (to our embarrassment). Personally, I like the way many places release NO results until EVERYTHING is counted EVERYWHERE - then it all comes out in one big dump at the appointed hour. No chance for influencing more-westerly states where voting is still open, and no chance for "manufacturing" votes to override the conscientious places that reported early.
We'd have to wait until polls closed on Kauai and in the Aleutians, followed by the counting being completed - but so what? These are supposed be elections, not sporting events.
You'd need amendments to the Constitution so it's really just a fantasy on my part, though individual states could adopt those rules. As for the "voter suppression" argument that the left always puts forward to prevent reasonable election laws, most of these other countries consistently have higher turnout than the US.
DeleteGreat. Get rid of the electoral college and the west coast states, NY, NJ and New England states will elect a DEM president every time.
DeleteJereseyJim
Jersey Jim-- Not if you adopt the above rules I highlighted. Plus the E.C. gives no incentive for a Republican to actually campaign in NY or California or New Jersey. So, you either didn't actually read or understand what I wrote.
DeleteThe reason we have the electoral college is the founders feared that, at the time, VA and NY would control the presidency forever. Now it is CA and NY. The college gives small states a say in the election and in modern times forces candidates to campaign in most states. I have wanted for decades for not having the release of vote totals until all polls in all states are closed. Because of Hawaii, it would mean an almost 1 day delay. Fine with me. People tend to follow the crowd and the results in the east means many will vote for the candidate who is winning initially.
Deleteamr-
DeleteI know precisely the historical purpose of the EC; I'm not dumb. It also know it was partially based on a calcified, declining, broken 18th century Dutch Republic. Small states would still be over-represented through the Senate. You and Jersey Jim are not listening. If there was a national popular vote, a Republican candidate would then campaign and dedicate resources in California, NY, and NJ. There's no reason why we should be losing California 65% to 35%. Campaigning there would actually bump it up to 60-40, 55-45 or whatever. There's really no justifiable reason why a citizen's vote in South Dakota should count more than one in California (other than it helps us!). Once again, I would entertain the idea of doing away with the EC so long as the other safeguards I outlined above. We would win a fair national popular vote. I think we DID win it in 2020 without the B.S. votes.
Naes does not understand the point of the Electoral College. It's not just to protect the small states from the hegemony of the large ones.
DeleteThe fact is that our Federal Republic is made up of 50 states (and a few territories we have stupidly given congresscritters and electoral votes). The way the Constitution is written, the STATES elect the President. NOT the people. Except that from nearly the beginning this has been misunderstood and the President, rather than simply being the Chief Magistrate and Commander-in-Chief envisioned by the Framers, has become more like a king. Part of this misunderstanding is because the states have chosen to hold popular elections to determine how their electors are slated.
There is nothing wrong with the Electoral College; it was a fantastic compromise that made our nation possible. But there is a lot wrong with how the people of this nation today perceive what the Electoral College is about, and what its role in the Federal Republic is.
I'll say it again: The STATES elect the president. NOT the people. And that's fine with me.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteFuzzy--
DeleteYes you are correct that the states elect the president. However, as a practical matter they all either do the statewide popular vote or the congressional districts (Nebraska and Maine). Despite Don's fantasies, no legislature is going to overrule the popular within the state. Senators used to be chosen by the states but the 17th amendment changed that. We can debate until the cows come home if that was a good idea. I would make a distinction between a national executive and senators who are supposed to only represent their individual states' interests. Obviously changing the EC would require an amendment which won't happen but I can still hope some of the states will adopt some of the rules outlined in my original post. 18th century compromises, as wise as they were, are not necessarily sacrosanct like the 10 commandments. Allowing 50 different sets of election laws in federal elections is ripe for fraud as we've witnessed more than once. I could care less about NY or California's rules for local elections.
Naes, the direct election of senators is what has destroyed state's rights. We need to get that back, and end this system where they serve big money instead of the states.
DeleteWe the People have the House. The states losing their representation did nothing for us.
Yeah, let's repeal the 17th first and then worry about the EC after that
DeleteGet rid of the electors, not the electoral college system. The president is of the United States, not the United People. President is selected by the states. Keep it so.
DeleteBTW, same solution would fix some of the brokenest states. Make the state legislatures bicameral (some are not). A popular representative chamber (House of Reps) and a regional chamber (every county) Senate. Two chambers popularly elected provides no checks or balances. Illinois for example, and probably Chicago as well, would benefit having something besides a Chicago machine proxy in Springfield rubberstamping the city's excesses at the state's expense. The question is whether 33 states would be willing to ratify such an Constitutional amendment to force it on the brokenest states?
J in StL
For the left it isn't a flaw, it's a feature.
DeleteNotice the Democrats oppose voter ID, using racist claims that their voters are unable to get ID, despite the fact that you can't buy liquor in most states without an ID.
The left knows they can boost their fraud efforts if IDs are not required in elections. The mail in push was also by design a means of creating massive fraud.
Obama had a big fraud machine, it went to work for Hillary, but Trump was far more popular than they gave him credit for and despite her fraud it wasn't enough to overcome the totals for Trump. Remember the recounting being pushed by that Green party which shut down when it started coming out that there was discovery of fraud in favor of Hillary.
This time they were ready. Except they weren't. So they had to go nuclear level fraud.
The left do not want to fix elections to be fair, they only want to keep on cheating effectively. It's how they got the House with such a large amount in 2018.
Polls predicted a Democrat House gain of something like 15 seats. They will lose about 13. Case closed.
ReplyDeleteThat happens when fraud bots only for for president. LOL.
DeleteJust amazing that the Barbie Doll (Dana Perrino)and the Mr Potato Head of the GOP establishment get to make tons of money from playing the roles of the Vichie French for Democrat Fascists' propaganda wing.
ReplyDeleteI saw the tag line and said "Whattt the heck". Stirewalt's best days were when he was polishing Megyn Kelly's apple. BTW what ever happened to that red nailed bleachbit blond? Anyway the I am not drunk line reminded me of what I tell my adult children. Do you know the difference between me and crazy people? I am not crazy!
ReplyDeleteKelly went to the First National Bank of NBC, handed the teller a note and walked away with $67,000,000. She is now an Independent Banshee.
Delete"Any news organization that would employ Chris Stirewalt is not trustworthy."
ReplyDeleteMcCain left out the word legitimate.
Well, what about illegitimate ones, would they be trustworthy?
Delete.
.
.
Nope.
I have another question. If a pollster does a poll on the question of whether you believe polls and a majority say they don't, do you believe it?
ReplyDeletebwahahahaha
DeleteNo, you don't believe it, because the pollster then announces the results of the poll;:
Delete"A majority of those polled said that they DO believe polls."
We have now reached the point where we are figuring out how many polls can dance on the head of a pin.
And if Schiff would just sit long enough for us to be able to count them, an answer will be forthcoming.
Check
DeleteBig D, as a college hoops fanatic and historian, I see that you are employing a tactic used by Paul Westhead during his days at Loyola Marymount in the 90s: The best defense is NO DEFENSE.
ReplyDeleteStirewalt reminds me a lot of a chubbier Kevin Spacey yelling “All is well” in Animal House. Same “please don’t trample me” facial expression.
ReplyDeleteKevin Bacon.
DeleteGood grief. Yes, of course. No idea how I managed to type that.
DeleteA spacey mistake!
DeleteFWIW the Peacock called AK and NC.
ReplyDeleteArizona was and is too close to call.
AZ is recounting and Trump, last I heard, was doing pretty well.
PS Stirewalt looks a lot more like Flounder.
Spongebob Squarepants left out of the sunlight non-stop for the last seven years, You could pass off that skin as under-cooked pasta. From now on, we call him "Mr. Manicotti" (he's doin' the FOX-Quisling Mambo!)
DeleteFox News è morto per me.
ReplyDeleteSi!
DeleteI thought at first that was Stelter. Now I see that he has competition as the model for the new Mr. Potatohead.
ReplyDeleteFox has gone to pot..atoes.
Mr. Surber, you are a stinker with your slight of hand. Your wit and wisdom keeps us all coming back for more.
ReplyDelete"After a couple of decades of enjoying audiences the size of CNN and MSNBC combined, Fox is pummeled in the ratings, much to the delight of liberals and the disinterest among conservatives who have beefed up the audiences of Newsmax TV and OANN."
ReplyDeleteCouldna happen to nicer guys, but then they ain't "nice".
Anonasam
And like all good, self-serving rubbish, out they go.
DeleteI suggest that they abdicate from Sixth Avenue and en masse move up to Chappaqua NY to set up the Hillary Clinton Cable TV station for the Cuomo Donut-IQ market.
Seriously, the Fox-Quislings will return, slinking in the back door AT 2 a.m. like the collaborating King of Belgium Leopold III in 1950, and like the Belgians who bounced him out in 1951, we won't have them.
"OUT! And take Neville Stelter-Stirewalt-Chamberlain with you!"
Let's see haw many Fox mainstays are poached by Newsmax and OANN.
ReplyDeleteListened to and watched fox for long long Time. Never again. Lots of other choices. They made a calculation and figured they didn’t need the old guys and gals watching. Bye bye fox. Don’t let door hit you in the @#$ on the way out.
ReplyDeleteI hope to God that I never hear of another Jimmy Carter mission to observe and verify voting in some 3rd world 2 bit dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteHell, I laughed out loud. Hard.
ReplyDeleteThe buildup was terrific.
“Now for my defense of Chris Stirewalt.”
“I HAVE NONE.”
So good...it’s priceless.
Glad you liked it, Susie
DeleteFat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.
ReplyDelete"Stirewalt stared dumbly into the camera"
ReplyDeleteThat is, by far, the most accurate statement any journalist has written since the election.
And now the Faux network has hired a crisis management team to figure out how to fix the mess they created.
ReplyDeleteI don't see it being fixed.
I guess that liberal wife of Murdock's son was right, "We Did It", only I doubt she thought she was talking about the suicide of Faux News.