A very disturbed Dan Rather took to Facebook Sunday morning, reacting to Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway's defense of Sean Spicer's blatant falsehoods as "alternative facts,' while criticizing the press secretary for fleeing reporters without taking any questions.
According to Rather, "These are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."
The legendary CBS newsman extended some advice to journalists now tasked with covering an administration that got off to a rough start after Spicer bullied reporters Saturday night before fleeing the White House press room.
"You have a spokesperson for the president of the United States wrap up a lie in the Orwellian phrase 'alternative facts,'" Rather wrote. "You have a press secretary in his first appearance before the White House reporters threaten, bully, lie, and then walk out of the briefing room without the cajones to answer a single question. When you have a President stand before the stars of the fallen CIA agents and boast about the size of his crowds (lies) and how great his authoritarian inaugural speech was."
"The press has never seen anything like this before. The public has never seen anything like this before. And the political leaders of both parties have never seen anything like this before," he continued. "What can we do? We can all step up and say simply and without equivocation, 'A lie, is a lie, is a lie!'"
"So here is what I think everyone in the press must do," Rather wrote. "If you are interviewing a Paul Ryan, a Mitch McConnell, or any other GOP elected official, the first question must be 'what will you do to combat the lying from the White House?' If they dodge and weave, keep with the follow ups. And if they refuse to give a satisfactory answer, end the interview."
"Facts and the truth are not partisan. They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with them, with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question," he concluded.
