# Partisan Derangement Syndrome -- A Proposed Diagnostic Exam **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 8, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654 "2018-10-08T14:32:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/41 "2018-10-08T20:47:25Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Yes if you reduce three humans’ ideas to a bumper sticker statement, they can be very similar. High level analysis from you as usual. Great specifics. The “as usual” is what really makes this post. High five Will. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/42 "2018-10-08T20:48:29Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > Are you saying I’m a “party hack”? > > Why would you say that? There is no mention of party in my poll. Yes you so brilliantly camouflaged it, I must have a gift. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/43 "2018-10-08T20:53:39Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Haven’t we seen the end of D’Souza yet? He’s history. > [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > He’s pretty big on the right these days. It was supposed to be [a joke](https://www.amazon.com/End-History-Last-Man/dp/0743284550/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539031923&sr=8-2&keywords=the+end+of+history), but maybe it fell flat because I conflated him with Francis Fukuyama. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/44 "2018-10-08T20:54:56Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > The “as usual” is what really makes this post. High five Will. Please just keep the casual associations to your personal boogeymen coming. Hey, you’re just like my 10th grade English teacher. You’re a real nincompoop. So was she! Darn you guys. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/45 "2018-10-08T20:55:30Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Yes you so brilliantly camouflaged it, I must have a gift. Nope, no camouflage. My poll is so good that people answer it without even trying to. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/46 "2018-10-08T20:58:09Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > Nope, no camouflage. My poll is so good that people answer it without even trying to. Yes, I bask in the glow of Fox News daily, except I don’t and never have. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/47 "2018-10-08T20:59:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It was supposed to be [a joke](https://www.amazon.com/End-History-Last-Man/dp/0743284550/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539031923&sr=8-2&keywords=the+end+of+history), but maybe it fell flat because I conflated him with Francis Fukuyama. :smack: I sensed there was a joke in there, but I couldn’t quite parse it. (I quite like Fukuyama!) ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/48 "2018-10-08T21:06:55Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > They are not the same. Tucker Carlson is far worse. Nevertheless, if you think watching The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (or any other cable news infotainment) is a good way to learn about what’s going on in the world, then you are marginally likelier to have Partisan Derangement Syndrome. > > I’m sorry, but this is just what the science tells us. This test has been exhaustively developed using double-blind randomized controlled trials on twins, and not just totally pulled from my ass on a lark. Funny. But there are a thousand things not accounted for in reducing it to that. Here is my main one: How many carlson viewers scan all the networks to get other views vs how many O’Donnell viewers? How do RW and LW people stack up for trying to say informed? For me, I’m a Lawrence watcher, but I watch all the news channels, switching to the one that has the most “informational” value to me, involving not just the news, but the coverage approaches of them all. If there is one kind of story I will watch CNN more, for another, I need to hear what Fox is saying more. We are coming to a point where triangulation is the only way to get info from the media. If you do that you may be surprised at how much truth is in plain sight. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/49 "2018-10-08T21:09:51Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Yes, I bask in the glow of Fox News daily, except I don’t and never have. As I said before, no camouflage, no party. If true, please vote in November. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/50 "2018-10-08T21:10:34Z")
If you get any of your news from a cable TV channel, add 10 points and kick yourself in the neck. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/51 "2018-10-08T21:11:18Z")
Goddammit, you kids. I told you not to leave the gate open. Now we have **Warnaby** running around loose. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/52 "2018-10-08T21:16:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It was supposed to be [a joke](https://www.amazon.com/End-History-Last-Man/dp/0743284550/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539031923&sr=8-2&keywords=the+end+of+history), but maybe it fell flat because I conflated him with Francis Fukuyama. :smack: Glad I read to the end of the thread. I nearly corrected you myself. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/53 "2018-10-08T21:23:13Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > The degree to which people will go to exult in their status as party hack will never surprise me. I’m pretty sure you didn’t mean that to be as oxymoronic as it seems. And that irony is not in your wheelhouse, but wow. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/54 "2018-10-08T21:24:28Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Goddammit, you kids. I told you not to leave the gate open. Now we have **Warnaby** running around loose. I’ve noticed a cyclical pattern where he shows up, says a bunch of really stupid shit in a few different threads, and then disappears again for a while. If only he put as much effort into step 3 as he does step 2. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/55 "2018-10-08T22:05:33Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > , How many carlson viewers scan all the networks to get other views vs how many O’Donnell viewers? > > How do RW and LW people stack up for trying to say informed? > > For me, I’m a Lawrence watcher, but I watch all the news channels, switching to the one that has the most “informational” value to me, involving not just the news, but the coverage approaches of them all. … This seems to me to be a fair distinction. But I can see why the tiger chose Lawrence O’Donnell as the left-wing comparison to Tucker Carlson, in that O’Donnell is probably the most openly partisan of the prime-time MSNBC hosts. O’Donnell does present solid news, but the focus of his show is too often _can you believe how awful Trump is_? It’s a ratings-grabbing approach, and no doubt that’s why he does it. But perhaps it is not as respectable as are the more content-rich MSNBC shows of Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/56 "2018-10-08T22:09:44Z")
The OP is pointless, because no true Doper would ever believe any of those options. Just in case, #1 should be amended to add: It’s high time my side stopped being so nice, and instead adopted the ruthless tactics of the other side. And #10 should include the following: The extremists on my side have no importance or influence, whereas the other side’s extremists have tons of supporters and are central to their ideology. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/57 "2018-10-08T22:24:43Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > This seems to me to be a fair distinction. > > But I can see why the tiger chose Lawrence O’Donnell as the left-wing comparison to Tucker Carlson, in that O’Donnell is probably the most openly partisan of the prime-time MSNBC hosts. O’Donnell does present solid news, but the focus of his show is too often _can you believe how awful Trump is_? > > It’s a ratings-grabbing approach, and no doubt that’s why he does it. But perhaps it is not as respectable as are the more content-rich MSNBC shows of Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow. Yes. But look, Chris Hayes himself would probably tell you that you shouldn’t rely on his show to educate you about the world. Like everyone else on cable, he is in a heated competition for certain commercially valuable eyeballs using a medium that is highly distorting. He is among the best in the business at minimizing the political antics and maximizing the solid journalism. But you would still be painfully ignorant about some of the most important things happening in the world, and have a highly polarized and simplified view of politics and policy if his show was 80% of your media diet—and he is a best case scenario! There is no substitute for long-form journalism and scholarship for understanding what is happening in the world. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > The OP is pointless, because no true Doper would ever believe any of those options. > > Just in case, #1 should be amended to add: It’s high time my side stopped being so nice, and instead adopted the ruthless tactics of the other side. > And #10 should include the following: The extremists on my side have no importance or influence, whereas the other side’s extremists have tons of supporters and are central to their ideology. Good additions. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/58 "2018-10-08T23:01:49Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Yes. > > But look, Chris Hayes himself would probably tell you that you shouldn’t rely on his show to educate you about the world. Like everyone else on cable, he is in a heated competition for certain commercially valuable eyeballs using a medium that is highly distorting. He is among the best in the business at minimizing the political antics and maximizing the solid journalism. But you would still be painfully ignorant about some of the most important things happening in the world, and have a highly polarized and simplified view of politics and policy if his show was 80% of your media diet—and he is a best case scenario! > > There is no substitute for long-form journalism and scholarship for understanding what is happening in the world. > > Good additions. I don’t think Hayes viewers are prone to using his show as a sole source of info, or as a cocoon against current events. But in the cases of all the fox hosts vs their competition, they are most certainly doing this every single show. Also, call me naive but I see Rachel Maddows show as long form journalism. She is on the Russia story. She gets stick for it. The libertarian/russian troll talking point on her is that she is the liberal glenn back etc. If she gets deep she’s glenn beck, if she doesn’t she’s shallow. She can’t win. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/59 "2018-10-08T23:02:54Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Yes. > > But look, Chris Hayes himself would probably tell you that you shouldn’t rely on his show to educate you about the world. Like everyone else on cable, he is in a heated competition for certain commercially valuable eyeballs using a medium that is highly distorting. He is among the best in the business at minimizing the political antics and maximizing the solid journalism. But you would still be painfully ignorant about some of the most important things happening in the world, and have a highly polarized and simplified view of politics and policy if his show was 80% of your media diet—and he is a best case scenario! > > There is no substitute for long-form journalism and scholarship for understanding what is happening in the world. … [https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/02/les-moonves-trump-cbs-220001](https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/02/les-moonves-trump-cbs-220001) Even with long-form journalism and scholarship it’s important to keep in mind the question ‘who is paying the bills to support this work?’ The answers will usually range from “a single corporation” to “a combination of grants, federal and state government support, and individual donors,” with all variations in between. Journalists may be utterly professional and may sincerely wish to adhere to the highest standards set for their line of work–and still find that their work is constrained or even directed in certain ways. The infamous February 2016 comment by then-chairman of CBS Les Moonves is a good reminder: > [@](#): > > Donald Trump’s candidacy might not be making America great, CBS Chairman Les Moonves said Monday, but it’s great for his company. > > “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS,” Moonves said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco But this is the system we have. “News” is expected to turn a profit. Is it profitable to promote partisan division? You betcha. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654/60 "2018-10-08T23:05:07Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > This seems to me to be a fair distinction. > > But I can see why the tiger chose Lawrence O’Donnell as the left-wing comparison to Tucker Carlson, in that O’Donnell is probably the most openly partisan of the prime-time MSNBC hosts. O’Donnell does present solid news, but the focus of his show is too often _can you believe how awful Trump is_? > > It’s a ratings-grabbing approach, and no doubt that’s why he does it. But perhaps it is not as respectable as are the more content-rich MSNBC shows of Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow. I understand why i’ts lawrence but I find the comparison lacks the one thing we need right now: We have to be able to distinguish between the missions of these organizations and not pretend they are the same thing. That’s another road to serfdom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partisan-derangement-syndrome-a-proposed-diagnostic-exam/822654.md?page=4)