A Democrat erupts at Josh Hawley, and a 'loudness' gap is revealed

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:


Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Such a big moment: Sen. Brian Schatz erupted at Josh Hawley on the floor, delivering a brutal takedown of Hawley's bad faith.

I talked to Schatz about why Dems need to do this more often, to alert voters.

“Democrats need to make more noise," he told me:

washingtonpost.com
Opinion | A Democrat erupts at Josh Hawley, and a ‘loudness’ gap is revealed
A showdown on the Senate floor points to a vast imbalance between the parties.
8:40 AM · Apr 8, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/08/brian-schatz-josh-hawley-ukraine-loudness-gap/

No paywall
https://archive.ph/TUiex


“Democrats need to make more noise,” Sen. Brian Schatz told me. “We have to scream from the rooftops, because this is a battle for the free world now.”
I contacted the Hawaii Democrat to talk about his extraordinary eruption at Sen. Josh Hawley on the Senate floor Thursday night. Schatz ripped his Missouri Republican colleague over his hold on a senior staffing nominee to the Defense Department, even as the U.S. is calibrating its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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But that was the superficial cause of the eruption. The deeper catalyst was how Hawley is doing this, a stance that’s saturated in almost bottomless levels of bad faith. That’s the real topic of Schatz’s tirade, and you should watch all of it:

https://archive.ph/o/TUiex/

Link to tweet

This raises some questions: Why don’t Democrats create moments like this more often? Are there other ways of getting loud, as Schatz did here, that don’t degrade our politics and are substantively and politically productive?

What sparked Schatz’s ire is Hawley’s justification for his hold on President Biden’s nominees, particularly Hawley’s claim that Biden isn’t delivering sufficient military aid to Ukraine fast enough. Schatz also blasted Hawley’s demand that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin resign over the Afghanistan withdrawal to get his holds lifted.

*snip*

[ck4829]

1. K&R

[TheRealNorth]

2. To answer the question of why more Democrata won't do this more often.....

Is because Faux or some other right-wing scribbler will label this as "extremist" or "uncivil" and the MSM will run with that framing.

[Nevilledog]

3. Fox viewers are irrelevant. We need to be loud for everyone else.

[JohnSJ]

5. Exactly

[SoonerPride]

7. +1

louder for the people in the back!!

[TheRealNorth]

24. True, but as I said the MSM will run with how Faux frames it...

Which has been a continuing problem.

[2naSalit]

32. Or

Because they are alotted a finite amount of time to speak and/or question someone and they feel they have more to gain by using their time on the topic at hand. Often there is a bit of coordination as to who asks what and who makes statements thus sharing their time getting their points across.

The antagonists know this and use their time to goad their opponents into wasting their time rebutting or defending their point against their outrageous bullshit.

Many see it as a game, it's not, but that's how they roll.

[Hekate]

4. KnR

[Ferrets are Cool]

6. The absolutely need to do it more often.

The louder the better. It will make the news.

[certainot]

20. 1500 coordinated radio stations will always be louder as long as dem leaders ignore it

fox, like social media and facebook, are part of the free speech spectrum with free easy alts a click away. not RW radio.

[oldsoftie]

34. Why is radio less "free" than TV?

If TV is free speech how is radio not the same?

[certainot]

44. it's a 95% monopoly. and all the blowhards are protected by call screeners that can eliminate

challenge and correction. in most parts of the country there are no free easy alts a click away.

many people believe the rw talking point that the monopoly is based on 'demand' but it's bullshit

that's saying 95% of americans who would listen to talk radio believe there is no global warming, or racism, and COVID is a hoax....

[oldsoftie]

54. regardless of the nonsense broadcast, they have the same rights as TV.

I've never been anywhere that didnt have AM options. AM travels a good distance.
We have so many billionaires who donate to the party I don't know why they can't "donate" by buying some stations to broadcast shows WE want to hear regardless of the ratings. The more its out there the more people get exposed to it
But if no one wants to do it, then thats just tough. I've never understood why they WONT. A donation doesnt bring a ROI, so why not.

[certainot]

60. "your sister's a whore, your brother's a thief, and your ideas are treasonous" said 300 racist assho

holes on 1500 radio stations. waiting for a billionaire to buy it?

30 yrs ago they put racist assholes on every corner and stump in the country and dems just walk on by with their fingers in their ears

options? are you kidding? how many rw radio stations you found have liberal political talk on the same dial?

it doesn't happen. in most parts of the country, about 95%, there are no alternatives.

all the DCCC or some other progressive org has to do to destroy the GOP is use the MIT model for using AI to automatically record, transcribe, and analyze rw radio in the US. same with all the other countries the kremlin's been using it to push fascism, like india, brazil, mexico, central america, and probably a bunch in europe and africa.

ignoring rw radio because the limbaughs told everyone 95% was a market response is the biggest political mistake in history

[oldsoftie]

61. So we buy some stations. The others are on because they get listeners. Buy some for us.

Or start new ones. I'm sorry, but I'm not in favor of forcing stations to carry programming they don't want to carry just because I don't like the programs that ARE on. Thats what Putin & people like him do.
I'm not saying I've heard liberal talk radio, no. I'm saying there are the stations who carried Limbaugh but many OTHER stations in the same areas who didnt. So why not pay those stations? Or buy them? Everyone has a price; its a business. Where I live I can listen to BIN; the Black Information Network. or I can listen to whoever replaced Limbaugh
We have plenty of super rich Democrats that could do this & likely have the know how. If not, they'd know WHO to hire to get it done. But if democrats won't listen to the programs, then thats our own fault.

[certainot]

62. it's been a rw monopoly for 30 years. walmart vs mom and pop. heavy blue areas are dominated by

overlapping duplicate rw radio stations.

it's total rw bullshit to say it's just market demand that the loudest talk stations in every state are serving audiences that want to hear pro russian pro trump liars telling us smoking doesn't cause cancer, global warming and COVID are liberal hoaxes, environmentalists and kneeling athletes are unamerican, there is no racism, fracking and clearcutting are good, hunter biden is a chinese agent, and so on

[ck4829]

47. Yep

[mahina]

8. That video missed the beginning.

The context that was cut out is really important to his argument.


Also, yelling alone isn't going to help but that's not what this. It was perfectly in the moment and right from the heart sincere and true with facts to back it up. It was righteous anger but we don’t need to be yelling all the time. They’d love nothing better.
Brian is right though, we do need to make more noise in the sense that objecting to their bullshit that happened regularly.

[llmart]

10. Whoa!

That is how you do it folks. Well said Senator Schatz. The hypocrites need to be called out at every turn for the traitors that they are.

[JanMichael]

33. Damn. He hit point after point. Most people can't keep track of so many horrible acts.

He methodically ticked them off one by one. And it wasn't yelling to me, it was impassioned accurate speech.

I wonder what that lizard senator Hawley heard? Probably "wa wa wa waaa waa waa..."

[XacerbatedDem]

39. The point that got me the most is that he's damaging the Department of Defense.

And at a time when the world is struggling with this abhorrent war in Ukraine. HEE-HAWley is just an a-hole trying to score political points at the expense of the nation's security. One sick puppy! Or rather, I smell a rat!

[eppur_se_muova]

42. No no ... more like this ....

?w=640

[oldsoftie]

35. He's not even really yelling. he's being passionate & assertive.

I'm Italian; I'm not yelling at you I'm just passionate!

[mahina]

38. Lol. I read you hundred percent

I had that conversation with a loved one one day. I’m not fighting with you, we’re just having a conversation.

[BeyondGeography]

9. It's about damn time

Putin Republicans only understand strength.

More friggin cowbell, please.

[OldBaldy1701E]

36. Bah, they wouldn't know strength if it came up and smacked them.

They only understand money. That is all they want and it is what they re destroying our country over. They assume that our uber-capitalistic culture has corrupted the entire planet enough so that they can buy their way into any other country once they destroy this one. Strength is what we see in the clip. The strength to deny those greedy seditious bastards in every way we can, which includes taking control of the narrative.

[BeyondGeography]

40. Which we have manifestly failed to do since Clinton

Going high when they go low, “that’s not who we are” (a phrase which should be permanently banned from political discourse because every time it’s used you can bet that’s who we are), and any number of other bad rhetorical habits our often aged leaders have fallen into over the decades.

Schatz had the balance right. Hawley is hurting our national security with his power play. (By the way, it’s power they want first and foremost; money follows power, not the reverse). Then he did what Democrats so often fail to do which is close the sale by demolishing Hawley’s credibility.

A more politically adept party would take the baton from Schatz and launch a concerted anti-Hawley campaign, which would dovetail nicely with the headway Biden has made approval-ratings wise via national security. I won’t be holding my breath on that one.

[OldBaldy1701E]

41. Neither will I.

However, in this country at least, there is no power without money. They cannot claim any power without what the population agrees is the root of that power. And, in this country, that root is money. I have yet to see a powerful political or social person in the US who was not financially well off to start with. That is where the 'power' they have comes from.

[Pepsidog]

55. Exactly right.

[ck4829]

48. Indeed

[CBHagman]

11. Bumping this thread to ensure people see it...

...and respond to the questions in the OP.

[LakeArenal]

12. The squeaky wheel always gets the media.

And Donkeys Bray!!!! Let ‘em know.

https://m.

[Baked Potato]

13. Should've called hawley an un-American brutal dictator sympathizer. Nt

[FoxNewsSucks]

14. All Democrats need to respond exactly like that, every time.

Every single time a fucking republicon lies or smears, that needs to be the response they get.

It's sad that far too many Dems are the "Aw gee, our dear friends on the other side of the aisle are just expressing their deeply held belief" type. I'm so sick of hearing that tepid mewling crap. I love seeing a Democrat give a well-deserved ass-kicking instead of being afraid to simply tell the truth.

[ck4829]

49. Yep

[GB_RN]

15. Democrats Still Act Like They're Going To A Dinner Party...

And bring their best silverware to a gun fight, whereas the GOPQ ditched those civilized rules years ago.

[Bucky]

16. No, Democrats act like they're governing. You can't throw these tirades too often.

Less is more, when it comes to blowing a gasket. Do too much of this (satisfying as it is) and you give the Republicans exactly the tactical advantage they're seeking: a government of spectacle and distraction rather than a government of listening and service.

[GB_RN]

19. I Didn't Say Throw Tirades...

They can't let shit slide like they have for so long. Clinton had a "war room" to immediately respond to attacks. The Democrats haven't done that collectively since then.

We also need to adjust our messaging. The average American reads at a 6th grade level now, so lose the $100 Harvard vocabulary (KISS principle). Attention spans are short AF: If it doesn't fit on a bumper sticker, it's too long. Repukes keep things at a soundbite length for a reason. If we don't change tactics, all we're doing is preaching to the choir, not reaching out.

[FoxNewsSucks]

51. That was not a tirade.

Anyone who thinks that was a tirade should review an actual fact-free tirade, starting about 0:48

[ck4829]

50. Time to stop being nice.

[GB_RN]

53. And THIS Is My Point.

We have to hit back, blow for blow. Rebut their lies with the facts. Call out their hypocrisy instead of remaining silent.

Hire someone like Jen Psaki to do daily press briefings for the Party and call out Marjorie Traitor Gangrene, et al., as soon as they say stupid shit. Have a team to tweet back at them. The media aren't going to do their job, so we're literally going to have to do it for them.

[Joinfortmill]

17. 👍

[colorado_ufo]

18. Preach it, Brother, preach it!

Well said!

[Mysterian]

21. All Hawaiians and all Americans should be proud of Senator Schatz

Give 'em hell every day!

[Celerity]

22. great little speech! Fuck you Hawley, you traitor!!!

[Wild blueberry]

23. Thank you, Senator Schatz!

The turds should be called on their shittiness, and especially on their complete lack of public service.

[Emile]

25. Any damn politician that raises his fist in agreement with insurrectionists

needs to be expelled from the Senate. The SOB is be fucking traitor to our country!

[Rebl2]

26. The fact

that hawley was against helping Ukraine and then has the gall to turn around and say the Biden administration isn’t helping fast enough is so hypocritical. Per usual for him. He is an embarrassment to my state.

[Qutzupalotl]

27. When I say we should show emotion, this is what I mean.

Righteous anger is contagious, and winning.

We tend to come off as wonkish or robotic if we just rattle off policies, even if we're listing benefits. But if you show genuine emotion in in plain language, everyone will be influenced and tend to agree.

Talk radio and right wingers do this all the time. Tim Ryan can do it. Even Sen. Bennett can do it. More on our side should, and more often.

[Fritz Walter]

29. TLP is on-board

[Snoopy 7]

30. I hate the truth

I hate the truth is simply that the Democratic Party doesn't scream back because they want the screaming to STOP. I know if we scream back people listen but, why can't we start discussing instead of screaming? I know this used to be the way things were but I also know we can go back there again. Let's scream for now but let's also find our way back so we can solve problems not just scream...

[Meadowoak]

43. Butter knife to a gun fight.

[Snoopy 7]

31. I hate the truth

I hate the truth is simply that the Democratic Party doesn't scream back because they want the screaming to STOP. I know if we scream back people listen but, why can't we start discussing instead of screaming? I know this used to be the way things were but I also know we can go back there again. Let's scream for now but let's also find our way back so we can solve problems not just scream...

[yardwork]

37. The gap is with the media. They are not reporting on Republican bad faith.

Good for Democratic senators fur speaking up, but hardly anybody will see this. It won't be on CNN, MSNBC, certainly not on Fox.

[Maraya1969]

45. Remember how Pres. Obama called out some GQP idiocy but didn't mention their names and didn't have

to? I'm failing to recall what he said about who but everyone knew who he was talking about.

That being said - saying, "One member of the GOP" called the Capitol police, the ones she voted against honoring for their courageous work on 1/6, to report a comedian making a joke about her. This is what the Republican party has become.

And yea, leave out the slap part because that is what the GQP would do. Fuck them.

[Hotler]

46. This is what "stop playing nice" looks and sounds like, more please. nt

[flying_wahini]

52. Seems to me if the Dems DON'T make a lot of noise then we are as guilty as the silent ones.

We need to get our people riled up enough to show up at the polls and letting them control the
narrative is what’s killing us.


Schatz’s ire is needed by the bucket full. EVERY TIME.

[CrispyQ]

56. Awesome point-by-point takedown of a hollow, pathetic man. -nt

[stollen]

57. We'll see more of this Dem Rep behavior if we publicly express it ourselves

in writing. Dems must be sure they control the narrative in their local papers.

[NCjack]

58. Sen. Schumer (Majority Leader) must stop Hawley's abuse of the Senate rules.

If Hawley does not stop, then the rule must be deleted.

Hawley has a character flaw that prevents him from woking with others. He does not look presidential.

[Uncle Joe]

59. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Nevilledog.