A few words on Tuesday and the press
Our short, holiday week began with the usual Sturm und Drang: Polls from the New York Times and CNN saying that President Joe Biden was the most unpopular politician since Millard Filmore and was doomed to defeat in 2024. Nobody likes him, everybody hates him, he may as well eat worms. And his unpopularity was dragging down Democrats; the only hope the party had was to jettison him—and his vice president—and select what amounted to a "generic Democrat". Because a divisive, late-run primary season would have no chaotic effect on the race, and of course the mass media would not in any way visit upon the new guy what it has visited upon Pres. Biden.
These same scryers and haruspices were convinced by their polling that Democrats were in for a tough night on Tuesday. Governor Glenn Youngkin would have the trifecta in Virginia, Governor Andy Beshear would lose re-election in Kentucky, and somehow the abortion referendum in Ohio would fail.
What happened instead? In Viriginia, Democrats not only held onto the Senate, but flipped the lower House of Delegates, making Youngkin a lame duck, unable to pass anything for the remaining two years of his term. Both abortion and recreational marijuana were legalized in Ohio. In Pennsylvania Democrats tightened their grip on the court system. Andy Beshear easily saw off Donald Trump-endorsed Daniel Cameron. Democrats also had a field day in New Jersey.
Anyone with any ounce of shame would have been chastened by being so wrong. Again. Instead, the "analysis" on Wednesday was, "Sure, Democrats had a great night, but everyone still hates Biden!"
It is inconceivable to the elite media that their manufactured polling showing Pres. Biden underwater does not match reality. Because the reality is that the Democratic Party is in pole position for November 2024. House Republicans have just over a week to avoid a government shutdown, and instead are passing bills reducing cabinet secretary salaries to $1 per annum. They're issuing subpoenas to private citizens—prime among them to Hunter Biden—in order to damage the president. In the Senate, Tommy Tuberville is still holding military readiness hostage to his petulant anti-abortion tirade, angering even his colleagues in the Republican caucus. And, of course, the once and future party standard-bearer will be spending more time in court than on the campaign trail.
But none of this matters. The media, ever fearful of being labeled "liberal", bends over backwards to stick daggers into Democrats. The Times poll had the farcical finding that Blacks, Latins, and young people are moving in droves to the GOP and Trump. Exit polling from Tuesday in Ohio showed the opposite, with all core Democratic groups voting heavily for both abortion rights and recreational marijuana. The media says this is inconsequential; these voters, they claim, will not show up next year. That they hold this position beggars belief, and betrays a lack of awareness of human behavior. People who voted to protect their rights are not going to, in a year's time, then turn around and not vote to protect those same rights again.
A broken clock is right twice a day. When Donald Trump called the press "the enemy of the people", many of us stood up to defend them. But the fact is that the political press does a disservice to the voters of this country day in and day out. The never-ending news cycle, instead of being filled with thoughtful programming and analysis, is instead filled with quick, easy, and cheap regurgitation of ephemera. Pres. Biden has done yeoman's work pulling this country out of the morass into which Trump put it; but you wouldn't know that from the reporting. The Fourth Estate is no different than the First and Second, seeking only to secure its position and prerogatives. As they cheer for a horserace which will drive ad revenue, they willfully ignore the fact that if Trump gets back into power their lives will be turned into hell, as he unleashes the Justice Department on the free press. Enlightened self-interest rarely works; these are elite economic actors, and they don't see that the writing is on the wall.
Ignore the polls. Treat outliers with the contempt they deserve. Donate, volunteer, work. The press and its billionaire owners do not have the preservation of democracy at heart. Act accordingly.
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