"NO, NO, NO!": Melissa Harris-Perry stops GOP operative Robert Traynham's lie in its track

[kpete]

Melissa Harris-Perry did something that many Liberal talking heads on TV rarely do. She called out a lie immediately.

"Melissa back in November eight in ten voters said that the economic situation that they currently find themselves in or that they feel they are in is the number one issue as to why they're voting for whatever members of congress that they voted for," said Robert Traynham. "We now know that the vast majority obviously voted for Republicans. This moment that we are in reminds of ...."

Melissa Harris-Perry immediately interrupted Robert Traynham. She did not wait for the lie to metastasize.

"No! No! No! Back up That's not quite right," Melissa Harris-Perry said. "So there are more Republicans who won not because there was a vast majority more Americans who voted for them but rather because of the way that districts are measured."



MORE:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/24/1359960/-Melissa-Harris-Perry-stops-GOP-operative-Robert-Traynham-s-lie-in-its-track#

[Hekate]

1. Go Melissa!!!! >>> What? 16 Recs and no Kicks? I'm Reccing this.

[stage left]

2. K&Rnt

[vanlassie]

3. Kick for MHP!

[Raine1967]

4. ANOTHER K&R

We need to start celebrating when good people do the right thing in journalism!
This needs to be on the front page.

[Cha]

5. Shocking! Thank you, Melissa H-Perry! thanks kpete~

[TeamPooka]

6. Bravo MHP! nt

[malaise]

7. Melissa has a very good program

She's thorough - has great topics for her segments and invites excellent guests.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

58. She pushes just enough to stay on corporate media and still say shit that needs said

[trueblue2007]

8. INTELLIGENT & BRAVE LADY

[HipChick]

9. Melissa runs a great show

Does not get half of the recognition she needs

[CTyankee]

10. I LOVE melissa! She's great!

[rurallib]

11. Can she do something to infect the rest of the talking heads

hearing truth on TV would really blow some heads up.

[Panich52]

26. Perry & Maddow my favs

Melissa and Rachel Maddow both regularly counter the lies - and usually provide proof. Chris Hayes has also had some interesting 'matches' (and loud discussions) w/ those spreading RW myths. Lawrence O'Donnel usually does this in his 'Rewrite,' but occas directly.

Melissa & Rachel make having dvr worth it.

[2naSalit]

12. Good on her!!

I like her a lot, just don't have a lot of time to watch her show. Just goes to show how blatantly arrogant the GOP operatives and their bullet points are... trying to spew that crap at Melissa was a big faux pas!

[BlueCaliDem]

13. ALL Liberals should do this each and every time Republicans try to pass that false narrative that

"the majority of American people overwhelmingly voted for Republicans" in last election. What? He didn't get the memo that last midterm had the LOWEST turnout since 1942.

[Panich52]

27. Dems actually got more votes

I tweet at least once a week the fact that Dems got 20 million more votes, but gerrymandering canceled them. Combine that w/ low turnout generally, and the myth if a Repub 'mandate' is debunked.

Their other major myth is that they're going to follow "the will of the people." They blew that one out of the water in week 1...

[SunSeeker]

34. The Senate is a horrifically undemocratic body.

Democrats received 20 million more votes in the Senate than Republicans in 2014, yet Republicans won big.

Because of low turnout, voter ID/voter and gerrymandering, Republicans in the House actually managed about 1 million more votes than Dems in the House in 2014, and the GOP won huge.

Yet in 2012, when House Democrats out-earned their Republican counterparts by 1.17 million votes, they won just 46.21 percent of seats, leaving the Republicans with 234 seats and Democrats with 201.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

41. I would check those numbers

I don't believe that there was a 20M vote advantage for Senate Democrats in 2014.

[SunSeeker]

46. The 20M number is correct. It reflects the vote totals of each Senator.

The numbers are from the OP's DailyKos link. And that link relies on the following:

In all, Americans cast 202.5 million votes to elect the current Senate, spread across three election cycles in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Of these, 49% were cast for Democratic candidates and 46.6% for Republicans.
...
In the aggregate, Democratic voters are underrepresented in the Senate and Republican voters are overrepresented compared to their respective strengths in the electorate, although Democrats outperformed their raw vote totals in two of the past four individual elections. 

The 46 Democratic caucus members in the 114th Congress received a total of 67.8 million votes in winning their seats, while the 54 Republican caucus members received 47.1 million votes. This is in part a reflection of differences in turnout across elections and partly a reflection of the slight tendency for small states to elect Republicans and large states to elect Democrats. 

http://www.fairvoteblog.com/2014/12/with-louisianas-senate-runoff-election.html?m=1

[SickOfTheOnePct]

47. Your own source

says 20M across three cycles (2010, 2012, 2014). That is very different than 20M in one election.

[SunSeeker]

48. Like I said, it represents the vote totals FOR EACH SENATOR, not just the 33 open seats in 2014.

The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, not just the 33 that were up for election in 2014.

http://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_elections,_2014

To say those numbers are wrong or "very different" for that reason is like suggesting that since Obama got no votes in 2014, he should not be President.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

49. Problem is, that isn't what you said

Democrats received 20 million more votes in the Senate than Republicans in 2014, yet Republicans won big.

It may have been what you meant to say, but it certainly isn't what you said.

[SunSeeker]

51. Ok, to clarify, IN THE 2014 SENATE.

Happy now?

[SickOfTheOnePct]

53. I wasn't unhappy

Just making a correction.

[SunSeeker]

55. There was nothing to correct. nt

[SickOfTheOnePct]

56. Except for your factual error n/t

[SunSeeker]

57. I and the OP made no factual error. The numbers are correct, as you appear to concede.

Neither I nor the OP said those numbers were just limited to open seats. We were talking about the Senate in 2014. You made the incorrect assumption that we were talking just about open seats. It was you who made the error.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

60. When you state that 20 million more people voted

for Democrats than Republicans in 2014, that is a factual error. It may not have been what you meant, but it's certainly what you said.

Own your mistake.

[SunSeeker]

61. You are mischaracterizing what I said.

Own your mistake.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

63. Nice try

Democrats received 20 million more votes in the Senate than Republicans in 2014, yet Republicans won big.

No mischaracterization at all - these are your words from your post. If you meant 20m across 2010, 2012 & 2014, why didn't you say that instead of saying "in 2014"?

Don't blame me for your imprecise writing.

[SunSeeker]

65. The OP and I were talking about the entire Senate in 2014, not just open seats.

That was the whole point of this thread: to call the GOP on their lie that the vast majority of Americans vote for Republicans and thus the GOP has the mandate of the people. That is simply not true. The vast majority of Americans vote for Democrats, especially in the Senate, and the policies that Democrats espouse (getting rid of tax loopholes for the rich, keeping social security, raising minimum wage, gun control, etc.) is what the vast majority of Americans support.

Why you felt compelled to shit on this thread, not just on the numbers issue but suggesting that Dem voters, as opposed to GOP voters, are too lazy to get off the couch, is beyond me.

[Panich52]

67. Exactly. And it.s not a new phenom...

House Democrats got 54301095 votes while House Republicans got 53822442. ... By Ezra Klein November 9, 2012 ...

http://tinyurl.com/csaqr2k

And if you think Klein is biased:

Library of Congress:
REPUBLICANS WIN FEWER VOTES, BUT MORE SEATS THAN DEMOCRATS

http://library.cqpress.com/elections/document.php?id=rcookltr-1527-84193-2523552

This has long been a pattern. Election reform is obviously needed, esp when losers win and call It a mandate.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

70. I took no issue whatsoeve with the OP

The OP was 100% correct and on point. I took issue with you putting out blatantly incorrect information as fact.

[SunSeeker]

71. Oh jeez. The 20M number (re the Senate) is straight from the OP's link.

Which you said is "100% and on point." I only added information about the House numbers...which you did not quibble with. Stop wasting my time.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

72. If you feel you're wasting your time

That's on you, not me. No one is forcing you to respond.

But here's a hint: If you mean a range of years, then say that instead of saying one year. Saying one thing while meaning something completely different is not helpful to those of us that aren't mind readers.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

59. I wonder how many americans are represented by repub senators vs democratic

for instance states with very low population and republican senators vs states like CA both who are Dem senators

without doing the math I bet Dem senators represent WAY WAY more of us than repubs

anybody have that figure?

same is true in the house, maybe not by as drastic a number, but true nonetheless

[SunSeeker]

62. You are very correct, NoJusticeNoPeace. CA vs WY is a glaring example.

California Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, for example, won over 13 million votes combined to win their seats, while Wyoming Republicans Mike Enzi and John Barrasso combined for just over 300,000 (2.3% of the California delegation’s total). 

...

Thirty-four states with a combined population of 191.8 million are represented by at least one Republican Senator, compared to 30 states and 213.1 million represented by at least one Democratic Senator. 

http://www.fairvoteblog.com/2014/12/with-louisianas-senate-runoff-election.html?m=1

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

64. And if you allocated population to each repub sen and to each dem senator, as in half for each in

states that have one of each, isnt the number higher?

[SunSeeker]

66. The Dem minority in the Senate represents 53% of the US population.

This Huffpo story gives more info:

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6104926

[BlueCaliDem]

14. Oh, and KICK and rec'd! eom

[japple]

15. Too bad Slick Lips Megyn Kelly can't think this fast.

N/t

[Overseas]

16. Yes please MHP!! Quash that Republican revisionism. Hope others will watch for that talking pt.

[gwheezie]

17. MHP has one of the best shows on cable

I hope they keep her in that time slot. I used to love Chris Hayes when he had his weekend show but I think when they go to the shorter format during the week the show loses the momentum of the theme and jumps from topic to topic
MHP can carry the topic of her show through several points of view because she has more time. She's brilliant and her producers are top notch.

[blackspade]

18. Sweet, well done.

[juajen]

19. K & R

She is very. very good. I know because my republican friends hate her

[dorkzilla]

20. Kick kick kick

If only this were a more common occurrence...

[femmocrat]

21. K & R

[daleanime]

22. Hell yea....

Nice job!

[alp227]

23. "something that many reporters on TV rarely do." Fixed it for the Kos.

Accommodating political lies is sadly the new fact of life for journalists that it is "NEWS" whenever Chuck Todd & company ever call out a lie to a politician's face!

[kelliekat44]

24. This is what we need more of. Well informed, fearless journalists. nt

[BlancheSplanchnik]

25. YES! Dammit YES! More calling them out!

[supercats]

28. Yes...That's True....

I am glad she stopped the lie in mid sentence. I wish ALL journalists would do the same....And that would mean that every time a republican was on TV they would only get out half a sentence, because the rest of their segment time would be allotted to factually correcting their lie....Which would be a good thing for the American people. It would eventually show that no republican was worthy of political office, because the facts would point out that every single elected republican politician has done everything in their power to hurt America and it's citizens. Everything that has benefited America and it's citizens was done by a Democrat.

[pacalo]

30. +1.

[The Wizard]

69. Republicans are well trained and versed

in the filibuster. Recall Condolizza Rice in front of the 9-11 Commission. She blathered about nothing, and when not blathering she lied under oath. They're really no better than fascist propagandists.
If I recognize Pox / Rove talking points in a conversation I end the conversation abruptly and just say I don't waste my valuable time discussing anything with anyone who watches Pox News.

[pacalo]

29. Bravo!

"No! No! No! Back up That's not quite right," Melissa Harris-Perry said. "So there are more Republicans who won not because there was a vast majority more Americans who voted for them but rather because of the way that districts are measured."

And, imo, that's just the tip of the iceberg that allowed the likes of Rick Scott, Scott Walker, Mitch McConnell to keep their jobs.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

40. How would the way Congressional districts are drawn

have anything to do with how Rick Scott, Scott Walker and Mitch McConnell kept their jobs?

[SunSeeker]

50. Republican gerrymandering and unprecedented "voter ID" law suppressed Dem votes.

In addition to Republicans making it harder than ever for the poor and students (mostly Dems) to vote, I believe many Dems think that their vote is futile because the Republican always wins in their district, so they don't even bother voting. Of course, this hurts other Dems on the ballott, particularly those running for statewide office.

Why do you think those three miscreants kept their jobs?

[SickOfTheOnePct]

52. Pretty easy

More people voted for them. We aren't at the point where we elect people based on how people would have voted if they had just gotten up off the couch and done so.

And people that user gerrymandering of Congressional districts to not vote in races that are unrelated to those districts, such as governor or Senator, are just ignorant.

[SunSeeker]

54. Thanks to GOP voter suppression laws, voting is not just a matter of "getting off the couch."

We have a modern day poll tax in this country. Voting costs money. Getting the now required voter ID means spending money and losing time from work. Voting itself means obtaining transportation, childcare and losing time from work.

[Hekate]

73. +1. And the Voting Rights Act was rolled back by the usual suspects on the SCOTUS.

[WhiteTara]

31. Go Melissa!

[tooeyeten]

32. Smart chick

Republicans don't get away with lying when she's in the room.

[Hubert Flottz]

33. She is one of the few on cable TV that I admire and

TRUST!

[Stardust]

35. K & R for my new hero!

[busterbrown]

36. Wow! Amazing that we see one of our own doing this..

It’s a rare event and the bigger story is that we rarely see it done..
I mean a whole thread dedicated to a one sentence stop with the bullshit?

The fact that it is not a commonplace event is sad...
We should be calling these liars out every moment of every day..

[mfcorey1]

37. She could teach Kornecki a thing or two since he now allows his

right wing guest to lie without challenge.

[SunSeeker]

38. K & R

[Ken Burch]

39. K&R n/t.

[heaven05]

42. THESE republicans

prove nothing to me except show me how easy anyone can and will sell their soul to the devil for money, fame or ...............who know what

[Enthusiast]

43. Most TV "discussions" include a lying Republican.

Usually they go unchallenged for their wildly dishonest assertions.

[lark]

44. K&R

Good for Melissa, showing what journalism should be!! Need to see MUCH more of this. Don't tolerate the lies, call them out, every time!!

[UCmeNdc]

45. kick

[Martin Eden]

68. 63.6% is the MOST SIGNIFICANT NUMBER from the election

Only 36.4% of eligible voters went to the polls in the 2014 mid term elections.
52% (18.9% of eligible voters) voted GOP for the House.
And of those, how many were manipulated by Faux News LIES and RW talk radio into voting against their own economic interests?
"Overwhelming majority" my ass.

[Cha]

74. KICK Again!

[treestar]

75. Kick

That was quick thinking!