Randy isn’t suggesting indirectly that lefties think the left will save us, Don. IMO, he IS something of a lefty, though he would probably disagree. He’s also an American citizen. He and I have our disagreements, but at least he has a personal stake in these matters. Non residents are free to weigh in of course, but it might be best to refrain from any appearance of scolding.
Bob Corker and Jeff Flake can give whatever reasons they like for choosing not to run for re-election. What the rest of us see is that they have scant chance of being chosen by the voters of their respective states (Tennessee, Arizona). Corker (among many other things) essentially told the president to mind his own business regarding tax reform. During the health care debate, the president stood back, promoting but not attempting to guide the legislators. He was bitterly criticized for not involving himself in what he sees as the job of the legislators. So this time, he is being more proactive. He is being bitterly criticized (often by the same people) for involving himself. It truly does not matter what he does; SOMEONE will use it to try to hang him.
Neither Corker nor Flake have been fans of the president (while nevertheless voting for most of his agenda items). They haven’t been shy about proclaiming their disapproval. Jeff Flake even wrote a negative book (which I’m given to understand was a real scorcher) about Trump while never having met or spoken to him–before the election. Conventional opinion says that this anti-Trump sentiment is the reason these senators’ popularity in their home states has waned so drastically.
I swear–I believe so many people just uncritically accept and believe anything they hear on the news that they agree with–that pleases them. Fox shows complete uncensored interviews, complete (within reason) legislative speeches. They don’t ALWAYS play clips in context, but in most cases I have at one time or another seen the context. I have yet to catch them spinning by deceptive editing. I don’t absolutely trust them, but I feel that they, and perhaps some of the smaller internet media outlets are more honest than the legacy media.
Here is a link to the Harvard Study of media coverage of the Trump presidency: shorensteincenter.org/news-coverage-donald-trumps-first-100-days/
Sorry for posting a link–but I feel it is more honest to allow you access to the entire article. I will summarize briefly by news outlet the tone of the coverage. Many other parameters are covered in the linked article.
Domestic News Outlets
CNN: 93% negative
NBC 93% negative
CBS 91% negative
New York Times 87% negative
Washington Post 83% negative
Wall Street Journal 70% negative
Fox 52% negative
European News Outlets
ARD 98% negative
Financial Times 84% negative
BBC 74% negative