That seems to be an unreasonable standard for a live conversation where it was an answer she clearly did not expect.
That may be true of the list-makers, but do you really think that’s Rehm’s thinking?
She told Sanders that he has dual citizenship. Sanders said no. She doubled down by saying she has a list and he’s on the list. He said no - again. Did Rehm stop then? No. She TRIPLED down by asking him whether any of his colleagues are double citizens. What do you think her motivation was in that?
I don’t think there was a sinister motivation; I think she fucked up. What do you think it was?
Anti-Semitism. There was no other reason for her to ask about the other people on “the list”. None.
It’s possible that Rehm isn’t anti-Semitic herself, but at the very least, she’s acting as a mouthpiece for anti-Semites and she’s also an idiot.
That’s just asinine. She fucked up, accepted something as fact she shouldn’t have, and sputtered in real-time when she got a response that contradicted what she understood to be factually true. I have no reason to believe that she didn’t act in good faith, and neither do you.
She’s not antisemitic. She’s been broadcasting for like 40 years and in fact her views come off as the opposite. She’s very Liberal.
Can you find any other thing she has said in those 4 decades that has even of whiff of being antisemitic?
She fucked up. Her source may have well been anti Semitic and she fell into a trap.
Not sure why you chose the present progressive tense there. I think it’s reasonable to say she acted (inadvertently) as a mouthpiece for anti-Semites. But I haven’t seen anything to suggest an on-going aspect to it.
Yes, she’s very liberal, as I said. Why do you think that means she’s not anti-Semitic?
I haven’t monitored Rehm’s programs, but AFAIU, Helen Thomas was not known for her anti-Semitism either before her outburst.
Nor after.
So you think she’s been working as a Liberal broadcaster for 40 years, much of it at NPR, carefully hiding the fact that indeed she’s a radical bigoted racist, and never, ever- until this one question- revealing the slightest hint of such bias? :rolleyes::dubious::rolleyes::dubious:
Dayum, she’s good then.
To be clear, are you saying that Helen Thomas never made statements you would consider anti-Semitic after she wound up being forced to resign for claiming that the Jews should get out of Israel and “go home”?
Or, are you trying to suggest she wasn’t being anti-Semitic when she demanded the Jews in Israel “go home”?
I really hope you’re not bringing up Thomas because she and Rehm are both Arab Americans.
They are both anti-Semites and both journalists.
No comment on Thomas, but Rehm is fairly clearly not an anti-Semite, as has been demonstrated repeatedly in this thread.
I think she was being stupid and unprofessional in the extreme but how is it “fairly clear” that “she’s not an anti-Semite” any more than its “fairly clear” that Bill O’Reilly “isn’t a racist”? I also haven’t seen anyone demonstrate she’s clearly not an anti-Semite.
BTW, why the “no comment” on Thomas?
Is it because you’re not familiar enough with the situation or her career to make a decision one way or another, that you think what she did didn’t amount to anti-Semitism or something else?
FTR, I think she clearly made a number of anti-Semitic statements, should have stepped down from her job years ago, and deserved to have the award in her honor discontinued, but she was also 90 years old when that happened and I tend to give people that old a pass so I’ll just ignore her rants about “the Zionists” controlling America.
In the spirit of “you can’t really know what’s in her heart”, feel free to translate that to, “the evidence for the proposition that Rehm is an anti-Semite is thin, despite multiple chances that you [Terr] have had to provide it.”
I don’t know jack-shit about her. I mean, I remember the controversy for a few years back, but my recollection is fuzzy and I don’t really recall anything the other data points you mention.
Josh Marshall at TPM: "Sorry Diane, that’s BS: [INDENT][INDENT]I think the only way you find yourself saying this is if you are totally oblivious to what you are saying and relying entirely on a researcher to feed you lines (the theory Sanders puts forward) or you have a worldview that makes these kind of anti-Semitic canards plausible. [/INDENT][/INDENT] As I see it this is either a Helen Thomas situation, where folks of a certain age voice certain indiscretions, or she had a clusterf*#k with her support staff.
Bernie Sanders: “I like Diane Rehm. She is a good radio interviewer. I suspect what happens is her staff gives her a list of questions and someone screwed up pretty bad.”
I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt -that this was a case of incompetence- unless somebody can at least come up with example number 2.
“MfM, you are a dual citizen with Russia.”
“What? No.”
“You’re on a list.”
“Oh, yeah: a crackpot list.”
“Forgive me, but…” <crosstalk>
“Forget it, Jake. It’s the internet.”
Even National Review does not consider Bernie Sanders to be a Socialist:
I thought Marshal’s post was extremely thoughtful and really well-written.
Now, she is almost 80 years old and listening to a recording of the exchange on youtube(I did to see if there was any evidence to support the contention she "apologized immediately) she sounded either like she was suffering from a medical condition or she was under heavy sedation.
It’s really sad that her best and most plausible defense is “I don’t hate Jews, I’m just senile!”.
Either way, whether her issue is anti-Semitism or incompetence, she has no business hosting a national public affairs show.