Morning Joe has become totally unwatchable

[Atman]

I know, I know, there will be several replies saying "It was always unwatchable!" and "I'm better than you because I only watch Bill Press!" Until recently I've somewhat defended the show because of its political depth, and lack of cooking and fashion segments.

I began switching over to Soledad O'Brien when Joe did their 8:00 am rerun segment, or during their insufferable soccer segments. Surprisingly, I found Soledad to be a refreshing change. Actual news, tough interviews, but the best thing is the variety of guests and subject matters.

I tried to watch Joe again this morning, and couldn't take it. It could have been a rerun of any given MoJo; the same four or five wealthy old men, mostly white, all Republican (with the token pretty, rich Democratic female), spewing the exact same tired "Entitlement reform" screed, over and over and over. Every day. Even after having Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman on debunking the austerity notion, they just laugh and go back to saying how austerity is the only way. It has become nothing but a 3-hour Austerity/Tax Cut/Entitlement Reform dis-infomercial for MSNBC's corporate masters.

No more. Soledad might occasionally veer off into the land of pop culture more than I care for, but her CNN morning show has evolved into a smart, well-paced, varied alternative to the horrible Joe Scab. Of course, the rest of CNN still largely sucks.

[tavernier]

1. Ok, you convinced me.

I tune in to mourning joe more from a matter of habit... my finger has muscle memory that hits the msnbc button routinely... and when Joe isn't there, the show is pretty interesting. People get to actually talk and the subject matter is varied. But sadly, he always returns, and then it is unwatchable.

People have posted that Soledad's show is a much better alternative (I can't get Press), and Joe has finally worn me down for the reasons you state.

So, Tanks!!

[PADemD]

23. You can listen to Bill Press Live

http://www.billpressshow.com/listen-live/

While you read DU!

[One of the 99]

2. Just to set the record straight

Mika may be a democrat but she's a very conservative pro-life democrat.

I love Soledad too. But her show is as unwatchable as Morning Joke when she has Will Cain on, which is almost everyday.

[bama_blue_dot]

8. Mika is pro-life?

She is always talking about the empowerment of women, and wrote a damn book about it, but she is pro-life?? Do you know where you may have heard that? I would like to see it..

[annabanana]

22. "pro-life" is a misnomer. I think you mean anti-abortion, or

"pro-forced gestation"

[SoCalDem]

54. Old World Catholic

and obstinate

[One of the 99]

58. I heard it from her own mouth

She spoke about it on the show several years ago. Mika is a phoney. She's not a liberal. She's as conservative as Joe. The whole "Mika is a liberal" thing is just make it seem as if the show is balanced. And to give crediblity to Joe's rants, so he can say 'Even a liberal like Mika agrees with me'. It's all a con job.

[RKP5637]

3. The show is sooo much better when Joe Jerk is not there. n/t

[MrYikes]

4. Why is it that we can not get a Democratic channel?

Don't we buy Pepsi and hemorrhoid stuff too?

[greiner3]

16. "Don't we buy...hemorrhoid stuff too?"

Ya think this is a reason for the ailment?

[Fuddnik]

19. DirecTV carries Free Speech TV.

Democracy Now, Thom Hartman, etc....

Link TV is even more left.

[MrYikes]

28. Yes I watch them as much as I can,

but we are the intelligent party. Those programs need more intelligence.
In that there needs more humor and light hearted parts to the shows. A person gets dragged down without that.
I fell in love with Amy years ago and tried to watch daily and went to truthdig to see her articles there. But after awhile I drifted away and now have to force myself to stay for the entire program. She needs to be silly some times. Thom puts me to sleep.
bottom line: I want a democratic lean in a morning show where I can get some political news so that I don't have to watch tv all day to understand what's going on.

I would even buy Pepsi and the other stuff to get that.

[Ninga]

5. I wrote to Current TV as soon as it started broadcasting that early

morning drive time was begging for paradigm breaking programming.

And it still is.

[Coolest Ranger]

6. It's taken you this long to figure this out :)

[Atman]

11. "Has become" are the operative words

I've complained about the show for a long time. But, for a political junkie, it's been the only choice for coffee-sippin' time. I can't stomach two minutes of the broadcast network morning shows, with their smiling bubble heads talking about The Katdashians and the latest fad diet. Fox? Seriously? That leaves CNN or MSNBC, and until recently CNN was as bad as The Today Show. But Soledad's 'new' show is pretty good, comparitively.

I've always considered it worthwhile to seek out opposing opinions, not just dogma. Joe used to be good for that, from back when he used to pretend he was not a Republican. Now, he doesn't hide his love of the GOP, only occasionally slipping into a convenient anti-Tea Bagger rant before returning to his usual tax cut/entitlement cut ideology. And he's clearly run out of guests and panelists (never mind things to talk about).

The show has changed over the years, for the worse. Meanwhile, someone at CNN has been paying attention and at least attempting to fill the void between Today Show pap and MoJo GOP love fest.

[CanSocDem]

17. Agree completely.

Soledad has the smarts to control the "Will Cains" she has on the show. Nobody shuts down DI Joe. They only get to smirk....we get to change channels.

.

[Atman]

35. That's the key. Soledad will shut them down.

She'll ask for proof to back up their bullshit, or offer the proof herself. Joe just talks over everyone, and once he's yelled for five minutes, all the old rich men just say "Please sir, may I have some more."

Once MoJo put the wall of waving American flags behind him, I knew the show was dead. It started with one flag...now there are three. And with each passing day, Joe looks (and sounds) more and more like the cranky old man from the animated movie "UP."

Soledad has some insight, because of her heritage. Joe's insight comes from being raised in one of the most racist, Republican corners of the country, being groomed for a role in BushCo, getting away with murder, and white privilege. He is just a dick.

[badhair77]

7. I agree.

I used to tune in because there were smart guests and interesting discussions, when Joe let others talk. Now he just runs on and on and he's incredibly loud, as if that gives him more validity. I don't need an angry male voice in my kitchen each morning. Why would anyone want that?

I can't handle CNN either. The Will Cain factor determines that.

[Volaris]

21. "...smart guests and interesting discussions..."

do the following. DVR Chris Hays on sat and sun morning. Then, instead of watching Joe for an hour everyday, run an hours worth of UP M-Th, and take Friday off.

4 hours of Chris MORE than makes up for 5 hours of Idiot and Crew. It's MUCH better for your Blood Pressure, I PROMISE lol.

[Atman]

37. Hard to argue with that. But the downside to Chris Hayes/MHP is...

...I can easily waste half my Saturdays/Sundays watching both of their shows. Fascinating TV. Probably why MSNBC relegates it to the morning weekend hours. They're hoping most people will be actually be watching their standard GOP love fests on the broadcast channels.

[Alkene]

9. I totally agree with the OP title...

but that's because I can't afford to pay for cable as a result of all the austerity imposed on me.

[AnnieK401]

10. Press was off today for the holiday

and I doubt he and Stephanie will be at Current much longer. I switched to an unadvertised, bottom of the like package with Dish (called the Welcome package) which does not even include CNN and (thankfully) FOX. They do offer Current ala carte, but I might be dropping that soon. Anyway I did tune in to MJ for about 2 minutes this morning, which was all I could take. Not sure what I will do when Bill and Stephanie are gone. Maybe stream whatever CNN shows that I am able to.

[Botany]

12. both press and steph are on today ....

..... current is not. You can stream their shows out of Madison, WI

http://www.iheart.com/live/2665/?autoplay=true

[Atman]

14. SeriusXM offers a couple of decent alternatives

Can't "watch," of course, but much cheaper than cable, and a good variety of programming.

[mountain grammy]

36. "iheart" radio, where I listened to Steph before I had Current.

Since switching to Direct, we now have Current, Link, and what was that third one? oops.

[CTyankee]

13. Joe was still on his entitlement rant today but has curiously stopped pissing on Krugman...

some people were probably telling him that he was getting a bit whiny and his attack seemed personal. He didn't mention Krugman today but Sorkin alluded to a discussion about Krugman at the break (off camera). The producers probably told Joe to turn off the Krugman spew as it was getting obvious that he has a grudge...most likely because Joe didn't have HIS head photoshopped on George Clooney's body the way a Krugman admirer did...

[Gidney N Cloyd]

31. I think Joe found his own Econ prof to quote

[CTyankee]

44. Economists in academia disagree??? Shocking!

[Gidney N Cloyd]

46. they say if you laid a million economists end to end they'd never reach a conclusion.

I just thought it was funny how scar seemed proud to have found an Econ professor who took the opposite position of Krugman. I didn't hear him mention whether the guy was a nobel winner or not...

[CTyankee]

47. Well, Paul as Joe Stiglitz to agree (by and large) with him...

[The Wizard]

15. Morning Jerkoff (NT)

[lordsummerisle]

18. I'm also

_really_ tired of hearing about the halcyon years back in the 90s when he was in Congress and how he almost single-handedly saved the country (with some help from Bill Clinton)...

[Stellar]

30. You got that right...

Geeeez! I couldn't have said it better.

[whathehell]

20. Absolutely. He's always been tough to watch, but when he started

his daily attacks on "entitlements" ( I sense a directive from upstairs)

then characterized Nancy Pelosi's opposing sentiments as "reflecting

her 'extremist' constituency", I'd really had enough.

No more Joe Loudmouth with his bubble of rich, mostly old and white republicans,

I've had it. The statement on Pelosi was the last straw, especially given polls that

consistently show 70 to 80% of Americans across the political spectrum waning

to leave Medicare and Social UNTOUCHED.

[libdude]

24. Morning Joe and Joscar

I also have grown tired of the Morning Joe lack of objective content when it comes to issues important to the American people. MSNBC has a reasonably good evening line up of programs that objectively address the political issues, perhaps the network could switch Joscar and his merry band to the late evening, possibly midnight?
I am fortunate to receive Current TV on sat and can DVR programs which I tend to watch in the AM, Particuarily The Young Turks.
The CNN route is just not appealling as a viable alternative, once was a cutting edge network.
MSNBC had the opportunity to do better.

[SCVDem]

25. Politics is like drinking.

I try to wait until at least noon!

It's easy to burn out. I can't stand much Tweety. I'm okay once we get to Ed, Rachel and LO'D

[LittleGirl]

26. I can't turn the tv on until prime time

by choice. I have no idea how people turn on the tv first thing in the morning and leave it on all day until they go to bed. I turn on the radio, sometimes satellite radio and listen to music all day. It keeps me calm and I don't have to stop and listen to some jackass spout off on talk shows or morning/evening news programs. It's amazing to me how Americans are addicted to their televisions. I can't stand all of the prescription drug commercials and the faux outrage that these talk shows spew. I've been like this most of my life so it's just something I do to keep my blood pressure in check. Life is too short to get sucked into these shows. I try not to miss Rachel but even so, have only seen two full shows in the past month. I never miss Jon Stewart and I read the news from various sources.
/rant off

[Atman]

41. We do coffee/prep for work time tv in the morning...

The cable remote has been programmed to start up to MSNBC for a few years now...it's makes it easy in the morning fog as you're making the coffee. It's not on all day, and I also have satellite and internet radio wifi'd throughout the house, which is what is on most of the day. We might watch Chris Matthews in the evening, and I occasionally leave the box on during the day when I'm at home, but mostly it's morning coffee time, and in the evenings when there is nothing else on but re-runs of Big Bang and Swamp Guy Dudes.

[LittleGirl]

43. we love Big Bang

there are only a couple - literally two shows that I watch and big bang is one of them. Hubby and I are complete nerds so that show just makes us laugh out loud.

I have a couple of siblings that turn that box on and have it on all day long everyday, every year. I don't get it. I can't believe we grew up in the same household. Totally different lifestyles.

[WinkyDink]

27. That's why I don't watch. :-)

[aikoaiko]

29. No that long ago, several DUers were giving Soledad a lot of grief

I always liked her and like her even more now.

Joe and Mika never did it for me.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

32. I like her

Last edited Mon Feb 18, 2013, 01:02 PM - Edit history (1)

and that was quite an outfit she had on this morning...

[Atman]

39. I was one of them!

A thorough DU search will find many posts of mine referring to her as "Sosobad O'Brien." But it seems clear she was operating under the BushCo War Hysteria Department operatives. Hell, maybe she's just operating under the "Obama Leads In The Polls" department operatives now. But at least now she is asking questions, being tough, calling out the obstructionists...

Oh, and yes, she's way hotter than Mika! (Sorry).

[gussmith]

33. Yes, It is Painful

At times I tune into Morning Joe hoping for some riveting insight. More and more their conversation is snarky under tone but over talking each other with less and less attempt at organized and respectful interaction. My dissatisfaction with cable is fueled by the incessant and insipid commercials, one after the other. Remember when having cable paid for commercial- free shows.

[Trajan]

34. Cable and Network News became unwatchable

Right around election time, 2000 ...

The obvious whoring of conservative pap became unbearable ...

I watch when current events warrant, but those channels are only for temporary use ...

TV news can go to hell ... I refuse to help them maintain viewership numbers ...

Plus - less rage in my human soul is a definite plus ... I don't miss 24 hour news one bit

[brooklynite]

38. Here's betting that half the people complaining in this thread....

will be watching and complaining in the future. Just what MSNBC wants.

[DanTex]

40. I agree completetly.

It was never great, but it has become totally unwatchable recently. I used to watch it simply because it was the only real political morning show, but I stopped about a month ago. Joe is horrible and Mika just sits there making Zoolander faces at the camera. Someone needs to come up with an intelligent political morning show.

[John2]

42. I see right through

that propaganda on Morning Joe. Why don't he have the guts to have a real debate on these so called Entitlements and invite the supposedly crazy Left on his show? I dare him to invite someone like Krugman for a real debate instead of spitting out his rightwing propaganda. Social Security had nothing to do with the Debt. We pay into it, plain and simple. Ther moochers are people getting all those loopholes and tax credits from the Government and getting all those profits. They are getting all those profits and no jobs to show for it. Yet they complain about the Government squeezing them. Profits should be attached to performance. No jobs, you get no tax credits.

[CTyankee]

48. He had Paul on last week and then spent the entire week berating him.

John Heileman and Andrew Sorkin pushed back against Joe today. I was a bit surprised, but very pleasantly so. I think the movement is toward Krugman's observations, not Joe's ham handed and obvious attempt to destroy SS and Medicare...

[Atman]

49. I just can't fathom the denial

All the European countries which tried austerity are hurting worse than ever. Iceland, otoh, has largely recovered by doing what we should be doing -- holding the banksters accountable, and putting their money back into the public, not bailouts. Joe and his ilk are determined that we just need to leave the general public, the vast majority of the country, hanging out to dry while we pump more money into Wall Street and richy rich tax cuts. Krugman has shown that it DOES NOT WORK, but Joe just can't accept it...because he's rich now, and a Southern Republican, therefore he should pay no taxes and everyone else should shut the fuck up. "Oh, and I swear, I didn't kill that intern!"

[CTyankee]

59. It IS interesting that Joe is NOW saying "I'm not talking about austerity!" when he was one

who was crowing about how great the Cameron government was handling the crisis and then uh, oh, he had to change that tune! Ha! That guy is such a liar.

[City Lights]

45. I have not watched Mourning Jerk since March of 2008.

Don't miss it at all.

Glad you finally saw the light.

[RebelOne]

50. I never watch his show anyway. n/t

[UTUSN]

51. Yip, I went through this recoiling about 6 months ago, even had a dastardly period of reverting

to the Don sLimus crap (I'm over that now, too), and the key word was VARIETY. The O.P. nails the same ol' same ol' junk every day. But actually after the nailbiting of the election, I've tuned out just about ALL of the political yak shows, still occasionally glance at Tweety. We need a vacation from politics!!!!!!!!1

[Democrats_win]

52. I rejected conservative talk years ago.

We're all curious and end up listening to someone when we're young and innocent. Many Americans listened to Rush when he first came out around 1992. That station no longer "works" on my radio.

In my late 40s, it didn't take me long to reject Morning Joe. Now, I use my dvr to skip over the segments on UP with Chris Hayes that involve conservatives talking. I don't care what they say because if they're talking, they're lying. George W. Bush made them all liars by definition!

However, Bill Moyers is a little more reliable when it comes to conservative guests. Reality demands that we not ignore them completely. But sometimes we should just have fun watching Portlandia and laugh at our liberal selves.

[SoCalDem]

53. I record it & can watch it in 25 minutes or less

[Ikonoklast]

55. Kill your TV. Your IQ will go up. Really.

[OldDem2012]

56. Shocking....

[just1voice]

57. Awl, propaganda not good enough for ya anymore?

Welcome to reality.

[alp227]

60. I think MSNBC has the guy on to prove "See? We don't have a liberal bias!"

while FNC won't even have a liberal equivalent, i.e. giving Alan Colmes a full morning show (when Colmes was on Fox he co hosted an hourlong evening show with Sean Hannity).

[LWolf]

61. Yep. Here it is:

Almost all tv and radio political talk shows are unwatchable and unhearable. I can't figure out why anybody would want to tune in in the first place.

[Ino]

62. Joe "Dead Intern" Scarborough

... just because no Joe thread is complete without mention of Lori Klausutis, found dead in Joey's office in 2001.

Excellent article about the fishy death and coverup...

http://extremeliberal.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/scarboroughs-dead-intern-gets-markos-of-daily-kos-banned-from-msnbc/