HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?

The Sunday "public affairs" shows are pro wrestling for nerds.

Last Sunday's cage match featured Chuck "Truculent Chipmunk" Todd with Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson, a businessman with enough F.U. money to win a Senate race, and it was the usual format with the Republican guest on a remote site.

Why would Republican appear on the "mainstream" Sunday shows? You could wonder after Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) was disgusted by moderator Chuck Todd's "very biased opening" segment on Meet the Press, and Todd openly fought with him and wouldn't let him finish a point as Johnson tried to tell him what he should ask John Brennan later in the show. Brennan received gooey sympathy.

Todd moaned and groaned and then said “I have no idea why Fox News conspiracy propaganda stuff is popping up on here. I have no idea why we’re going here." When Johnson said this is why people hate the media, "This is not about the media! Senator Johnson, please!!” As in "please stop criticizing the heroic press."

Once upon a time the Sunday shows might have been the way for the Permanent Bipartisan Government to set the boundaries of Acceptable Disagreement and work toward some kind of compromise. Fifty years of Failed Technocracy, though, isn't a good environment in which to hold a simulacrum of a public administration seminar.  The cage match draws the eyeballs.

But the Truculent Chipmunk is self-aware enough that from time to time he gives away the game.

Last Sunday, they again had Senator Johnson at a remote site, while a tame Democrat from Connecticut was in studio.

Todd turned to liberal Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy, who's used to softball interviews. Murphy was allowed to uncork long 180-word answers without Todd interjecting. Then Todd complained to Murphy, like they were teammates: "We have a major problem here. I mean, the-- the comfort level that the senator had to character assassinate the show and us-- in this-- in this bizarre, personal way I think shows you where we're headed. What do we do?"

As the Blogfather has it, just think of the main press as Democrat operatives with bylines, and you're not far wrong.  Mr Todd might be playing his role as a pro wrestling heavy, but his masters realize they have a problem.  When I hear the latest "Real News, real reporting" tagline from CBS or the similar slogan from the Peacock, I'm tempted to ask "who are you trying to convince?"

I also suspect that the Republicans are often on that remote set-up because they are doing something in their actual states, which are a few day's hard riding from the Swamp, as well as the remote set-up making misunderstandings or Don Lemon-style plug pulling easier.