Some pundits are clued up; many others are anything but. Some are able to admit they messed up; others merely carry on, or pretend it never happened. And some have the cojones to up sticks and leave when they find their paper has abandoned its journalistic principles and fallen into the gutter, while others cling on to their berths, and their obscenely generous paycheques, while keeping their heads down and saying nothing.
He's desperate, Dan
In the “others” category in all three of those examples is the Mail on Sunday’s not even slightly celebrated blues artiste Whinging Dan Hodges, question mark omitter supreme and floor crosser of no known principle. Desperate Dan is clueless, fouls things up and never looks back, and is so desperate to hang on to his regular paycheque that he will not raise a finger in protest at the MoS’ rapidly becoming a rogue newspaper.
Hodges has demonstrated his lack of political acumen by pontificating on the move, now headed off by the Labour leadership, to remove the party’s Deputy Leader role, at present occupied by Tom Watson. “Jeremy Corbyn really is serious about rescuing Boris isn’t he … I'm genuinely starting to wonder if Momentum have been established and funded by the Tory party. They are their greatest asset”. Usual Dan. Customary cluelessness.
On he droned. “Reports Corbyn didn't know about Watson move. John McDonnell reportedly trying to head off Watson move. Shadow Cabinet going insane over Watson move. Which raises the question - who is actually running the Labour party?” That’s for you to figure, Dan. But do go on. “Incredible. The Corbynite plot against Watson has blown up in their faces. Corbyn forced to back down. Watson emerges stronger than ever”.
He does? “Corbyn's office will currently be like a scene from the Death of Stalin. Without the laughs”. It will? "Claim Corbyn didn't know about the move. It was debated and voted on with him in the room last night. So if he didn't want it to happen, why didn't he speak out about it then”. Because he’d left by the time it was tabled, Dan. Next.
“Hang on. People now claiming it was done after Corbyn left the meeting”. Told you. “Just remember. If Jeremy Corbyn wins the next election the people behind all this will be in charge of your schools, hospitals, police, armed forces and security services”. And?
Then came word from Nick Eardley at the BBC. “Understand Momentum withdrawing motion to get rid of Tom Watson position”. Cue creative Hodges reverse ferret. “Labour insider: ‘John Lansman is going to become the Lee Harvey Oswald of the Watson Plot. Corbyn's office are going to try and set him up as the patsy. The lone nut who was behind it all’”. Except Lansman is supporting Corbyn’s intervention.
A more straightforward and sensible analysis came from Peter Oborne: “The deformation professionelle of political journalism, and I am guilty as anyone, is to convert every argument into an existential crisis. Isn't the real story that Jeremy Corbyn has intervened calmly and expeditiously to sort things out?” Indeed. And there was worse for Hodges.
Jolyon Maugham has told “Just received notification from the Mail on Sunday that, in a week in which I have received death threats, they are tomorrow going to publish my private address”. That’s on top of a Byline Times revelation that the MoS is secretly using the services of disgraced ex-Murdoch wide boy Mazher Mahmood.
Maz, aka the Fake Sheikh, is now too toxic for the Murdoch mafiosi. They had little alternative but to sack him after he was caught lying to the judge in the so-called Tulisa Trial - and then convicted of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
Northcliffe House's little helper
Well, Dan Hodges, he’s working behind the scenes at your paper. Deniably, of course. But still working away. And your paper is about to Doxx Jolyon Maugham, for the heinous crime of being opposed to Britain leaving the EU in a No Deal exit.
Anyone so clueless and unrepentant would at least have stopped and thought for a minute. And anyone finding out their paper was in the sewer, and rapidly becoming a successor to the late and not at all lamented Screws, might consider their position. But Dan Hodges will do neither. He’ll disregard the misbehaviour and keep his head down.
Behold the impeccable morals and high principles of our free and fearless press. Or not.
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7 comments:
Let's help the knobhead out.
We KNOW who's running the tories: it's the Canary Wharf/Wall street axis of bankers, hedge fund spivs, racists, arms sellers, environment poisoners and corner shop fruitloops.
Go on, Dan...Go after those. If you have the guts - which everyone knows you haven't, probably including yourself. After all, you wouldn't want to end up in an East End bedsit would you? Not while Rothermere can subsidise you for cowardice.
How typical that the MSM are pushing this failed coup line and how disastrous it is for the Labour party at this crucial time as opposed to simply reporting that it is simply a motion tabled at conference y'know, like conferences are actually all about.
What's galling about the whole thing is that it is always reported as if Momentum and the left of the Labour party are undermining things. This is nonsense. The real undermining is being done by the likes of Watson, and it's really tiring to watch his attempts to subvert the democratically decided ideological direction.
The timing may not be right to table such a motion, but it never will be. Keeping Watson in, a man who - so I've heard - hasn't attended an NEC meeting since March, seems notably missing from the front bench most weeks and only ever appears to contradict and undermine the good work that has been done (as we witnessed with his contradictory 2nd referendum now speech) means the party will never be harmonious or strong because, as we have seen, he will upset the applecart time and time again. It really frustrates me that the people who recognise that - the Corbynistas, Momentum, party faithful or the left whatever you want to call them - are the ones who ultimately take the blame.
I smell many corporate media rats. Funny this should "happen" on the eve of the Labour Party conference. A coincidence I'm sure.
If you want to see corporate media rats in action watch a rerun of tonight's C4 "News", especially a segment by someone called "Paul McNamara, 'political correspondent'". He's obviously one of the "new breed" media right wingers bent on a hatchet job. A truly grubby little shit likely to end up working for Murdoch/Rothermere.
The decline of that programme has been almost vertical.
Hope not hate have a useful list of advertisers due to appear in tomorrow's Mail on Sunday on their Twitter page.
The MoS is now not publishing the information about Jo Maugham and have asked for tweets to be deleted. Too late.
This disgraceful rag has gone too far.
I do wonder if that certain subsection of Corbynites will demand Jeremy Corbyn stop his 'blind loyalty!' to Tom Watson just as they demand of anyone who remotely shows loyalty to him. Somehow I doubt it.
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