Was there a falling out here? I was on the Town Hall w/Cenk Weds. night (12/27). The topic of his doing interviews with other media outlets came up. I asked if MR was going to interview him and I think the moderator immediately removed my question! I don’t watch MR everyday like I do TYT, but I did hear both Sam and Emma say that Cenk’s run for President was irrelevant because he wasn’t born in the US and wouldn’t get on the ballot. They’ve seemed to ignore him since then (unless I missed something). Anyone know what’s going on with the relationship between TYT and MR? Was it because of the argument between Cenk and Emma on Twitter? I do think Cenk was out of line, but Emma was on TYT after that.
I don’t wish to cause any offense to you but you forced me to get on to twitter and reddit to understand what you’re talking about. The major complaint with the Majority Report is that they tend to get lost in the minutiae the cost of glaringly obvious points. This could be an instance that birthing person the inclusive language due to dogmatic group think.
We’re not talking about the option of using birthing person. We’re talking about the reluctance or the refusal to use it. So now she is meant to be forced to use this language? If she doesn’t, then she’s not being inclusive? If not she needs to be excluded? The transcommunity has some elements that seem a bit too power hungry for their own good, and they may be corrupted to some extent. They may be coopted by elements that wish to see the left destroyed.
The majority report should have a level sophistication that would acknowledge this framing. They shouldn’t allow themselves to be seen as supporting this fracture, as well as cannibalizing content of other media entities within the same space. I think Cenk was rightfully upset and somehow we were supposed be upset Ana is being corrected by Emma? No thanks. Sam seems to have the such an obtuse take about this could allow one to think ambiguity could be veiled contempt.
Although I disagree with them here, I don’t think they should be excluded.
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No offense taken, and sorry, you must have seen this before I edited it (which I did about 5 minutes after I wrote it). I didn’t actually mean the trans issue, like I wrote originally, because I understand all that. (I think people should be called what they want to be called, and if Ana doesn’t want to be called a birthing person, I respect her choice–I wouldn’t want to be, either. Some others and I talked about this in an earlier thread here.) I meant to refer to this huge fight they had on Twitter, which I thought came after the trans issue. I honestly don’t remember what that fight was about (and, sorry, I don’t know how to find it w/o going back through all of Emma’s posts until I find it). I just remember thinking Cenk was publicly being harsh to a friend, but I was wondering if there’s a permanent rift among all the hosts of the two shows because MR seems to be completely ignoring Cenk as a Presidential candidate, which surprises me.
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I am not offended it was a bit of a crudely constructed joke. I really like Emma and haven’t followed her since she has left TYT. Sam seems cool but I never follow him due to the fact I was always found myself criticizing his lack of zeal. Little guess as to why I prefer Cenk, I suppose.
I hope they patch things up, if you really care for the cause you will not quibble over the fiddly bits.
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Not quibbling, just wondering, especially since it seemed my question asking if MR would interview him was immediately deleted from the chat in the Zoom townhall. It would be good if MR wouldn’t ignore him and would interview him. I watch TYT everyday. Only listen MR in podcast form maybe 2x week.
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Yeah that does seem a bit odd, I assume someone was worried about adding salt to the wound.
I believe your points are well taken. In fact a certain serendipity to you brining this up, I wouldn’t have been allowed to address this disagreement otherwise.
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Something to remember is that the townhalls are done by CenkForAmerica (his campaign) and not done by TYT. They have to make sure they keep the campaign separate from the network. It is also why he can’t even be on stage when TYT does a story about the Election/Primaries
I’ve been listening to every episode of both TYT and MR (as podcasts) since 2008 (and 2010ish when MR started) and there certainly seems to be a simmering cold war between the two shows. I’ve only really heard it even mentioned a few times on either program by Cenk and Emma. Ana just hints vaguely at other leftist shows being too doctrinaire or unhelpful to the cause, which I assume includes MR, among others.
As a fan of both entities, it bums me out that they seem to be taking their disagreements personally. Sam, Emma, and Matt Lech do get their hackles up when challenged. But for my part, I gotta side with MR on the subjects they’re beefing over. I’ve thought Cenk’s run for president was ridiculous from his first mention of it. Ana (and Cenk) have become obsessed with the supposed national crime wave they highlight incessantly to “prove” they’re right. (Waiting to hear if they’ll cover the recent evidence to the contrary that MR presented a week or two ago.) And Cenk’s over the top attacks on progressive electeds has been contrasted with much more nuance and sense of realpolitik on MR.
These are just a few examples of where I think TYT has gone off the rails. I get the sense that the relentless disappointments of being part of a left coalition that will always have less power and influence than the liberal establishment has gotten to Cenk and Ana, so they’re lashing out in unpredictable ways informed by motivated reasoning. Sam and the MR crew seem to have taken the setbacks more dispassionately, so they tend to have better takes on the politics of any given day.
Just my opinion as a listener and fan of both shows. Not looking to debate, I simply have thoughts on this topic and no one else to share them with.
My bottom line, this situation shouldn’t be surprising. The left is and always has been a fractured coalition prone to in-fighting and internecine conflicts. It’s part of the reason liberals retain power despite their glaring shortcomings. We lose in the public arena, then look for explanations and others to blame, and inevitably point fingers at one another. It helps then to remain as emotionally disengaged as possible. And given the temperaments of the hosts of the two shows, it’s clear to me which have been better able to maintain a dispassionate distance from the news.
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Thank you for this! It’s a good answer to what I’ve been sensing, but unable to explain.
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@cbickle I have no interest in a debate on this topic either, but I certainly don’t agree you. Cenk’s decision to start a presidential campaign has proven to be far more important than initially presented, considering that the DNC is actively preventing any primary challenges.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and especially thanks for continuing to support TYT!
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I have watched some more of the Majority Report and remember why I didn’t like it. He needs more legal minded hosts. This is a gap in his knowledge seems to attract him toward diluted arguments.
The funny part is I would levy this as a critique of TYT they often seem to have legal minded hosts at the cost of other disciplines. I haven watched Sam enough but he does seem even tempered. Every outlet is limited in what talent the can acquire and support.
That maybe the root of the conflict. You see the establishment uses the passion of the left against them by arguing they are not to be taken seriously due to their zeal. While the establishment might do this to defend some hellacious arguments Sam doesn’t. Sam seems to lean toward ambiguity as a modus operandi when he is in over his head.
If Sam is ambiguous and he is also lacking insight this creates a similar condition to that of the previously described dynamic. This may cause some to become upset. The rational is that these actions looks much like the tactic establishment uses against activist historically.
The establishment will actually cheat toward ambiguity with a well researched argument often nested in law. It is often part of a draconian strategy to harm progressives.
This dispassionate delivery is often part in parcel in their deliver. This gives them ancillary cover to aid their point of being a level head.
Don’t mistake this as some critique of the Majority Report if anything it is of the audience. We should do better.
This is a case of I think the audience should know the meta of these media operations that are in your preferred sphere. So TYT has strong legal representation amongst the hosts. Sure Majority Report seems to bring the cool heads will prevail attitude many stories they cover. These perspectives should just be inherent. If you repeat a story; be sure to add the meta of the entity that produced it when the audience isn’t familiar.