By Dustin Rowles | Politics | October 24, 2018 |
By Dustin Rowles | Politics | October 24, 2018 |
I have never disliked the media more than I do right now. After the 2016 election, it felt like it had turned a corner, maybe, and took a little responsibility for their role in electing a goddamn madman into the White House. And for a year and a half, they did a pretty OK job reporting on the failings of the Trump Administration.
Take for example the governor’s race in Florida between Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis. DeSantis, you might remember, is the guy who — after winning the nomination — said that Gillum (who is Black) would “monkey up” the economy. He’s the guy who took money from a Republican activist who called Obama a “F—— MUSLIM N——” on Twitter, and didn’t give the money back. He’s the guy who was an administrator for a racist Facebook page.
And it’s not that those stories haven’t been reported, it’s just that, do you know how many times I have seen this story in the last day?
Undercover FBI agent provided "Hamilton" ticket for Andrew Gillum, Florida gubernatorial candidate, text messages say https://t.co/HwLshulqRX
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 24, 2018
I am by no means suggesting that accepting a Hamilton ticket from an FBI agent is OK, but the fact this is the only thing they can dig up on Gillum, and that this story is getting as much play as all the racist shit that DeSantis has been involved with is absurd.
I mean, you’ve got Don Jr. — who lied about his meeting with Russians, whose father committed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax fraud, assaulted 19 women, and both sides’d the Nazis, and whose Trump Tower received $150 million from Republican events since the Presidency began — busting Gillum for … a Hamilton ticket.
You can’t make this stuff up.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 24, 2018
FL GOV RACE: Andrew Gillum Gets Busted For Lies About Hamilton Tickets Related To FBI Corruption Probe
Florida you are experiencing a great economic run why ruin that with failed socialist policies and apparent corruption? https://t.co/BcmKFqg1RP
But her emails!
Or how about this Trump’s promise of a middle-class tax cut before the midterms:
President Trump: "Republicans passed the biggest tax cut and reform in history with massive tax cuts for the middle class. And now we're adding ten percent to those numbers." https://t.co/CacXXtbpoB pic.twitter.com/TFjB7ezJqp
— The Hill (@thehill) October 24, 2018
Trump says ‘major tax cut’ on the way for middle class https://t.co/KLlwoE57Xl
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) October 23, 2018
Just before the midterm elections, President Trump claims he'll propose cutting middle class taxes 10 percent https://t.co/iVdKA1Oypj pic.twitter.com/iZ955lyXF0
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 24, 2018
CONGRESS ISN’T EVEN IN SESSION. A tax cut like that is impossible. Why are you even repeating it? And if you DO insist on repeating it, why isn’t it IN THE HEADLINE that Congress can’t do anything about this until mid-November because IT IS NOT IN SESSION. Same thing here:
Trump Defers to Congress on U.S. Response to Khashoggi Death - Bloomberg https://t.co/tGnzLfNtFR
— Michael Hinsley (@chezmichel7) October 24, 2018
And what about the midterms and that horserace? This is good, right?
The 2018 midterms could have the largest gender gap since 1958. Women’s voices are being listened to in a way that they haven’t been before.
— Axios (@axios) October 24, 2018
And it's not just women candidates: It's women voters and women activists at all levels. https://t.co/px4SpM6GCo
And this is good, right?
“A lot of people think of Kansas as this very red state, but it’s just not as red as many people think." https://t.co/4xwAeVFrHK
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) October 24, 2018
But also:
Republican enthusiasm is surging across GOP strongholds, and leading Democrats now fear the battle for the House majority will be decided by just a handful of seats. https://t.co/IRr55ouNnc
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) October 24, 2018
And:
— Sam Litzinger (@SamLitzinger) October 24, 2018
And then there is this:
In the two months since his son, Mason, shot and killed a neighbor’s cow in early September, Anthony Sparrow said, their lives have been destroyed.They’ve received death threats and have had to put their start-up automobile delivery business on hold. Anthony Sparrow painted his car and changed his license plates to prevent people from going after him. Their reputations are ruined.
Oh, sorry. Maine story. As you can see, we’re dealing with some serious problems up here.
Point is: The Democrats had a solid advantage until the last few weeks until the media decided, “Oh sh*t! No one’s going to click our articles if there’s a blowout. Let’s make this a race! Every time Donald Trump mentions “Caravan,” let’s report. He’s trying to stoke fears among his base. LET’S HELP HIM. This is not a national race; it’s local. LET’S MAKE IT NATIONAL. LET’S MAKE IT ABOUT TRUMP. And when we mention CARAVAN, let’s NOT mention that Democrats and Obama also don’t want people illegally entering the country, and let’s ALSO not mention that the caravan is 38 days away from the border if they walked 10 hours a day, and if they can somehow maintain the resources necessary to feed and water 7500 people walking through Mexico. Let’s also not mention that these caravans have happened several times before and that they more or less dematerialize.
Whatever. This is my Bible. This is what I return to day in and day out. The numbers have barely changed in the last 6 weeks, and after scanning Twitter for 20 minutes and freaking the hell out, I go here, and I calm myself with cold, hard statistics. Dems are probably going to take the House. Republicans are probably going to take the Senate.
And Trump’s approval/disapproval has remained steady.
(And yes, I know Nate Silver was wrong about the 2016 election, but he also wasn’t wrong. He was right about the polls, but the Republicans won the Electoral College in spite of the popular vote).
We’ve never needed you more, Kate Beckinsale. Serenity now.