"At the elite level, political journalists have a basic contempt for Democrats.
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"At the elite level, political journalists have a basic contempt for Democrats. This continues despite the fact that most of the people I’m talking about, if they vote, probably vote for Democrats. They are socio-economically and culturally the peers of Democrats. These people are highly educated. They are affluent. They are the creatures of the major cities.
Are they secretly rooting for Donald Trump? Hardly. Trump is a tiger on the savanna, dangerous but also fascinating and above all alien. That’s why the notorious rustbelt diner interview stories were and are such a staple. They’re safaris."
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Jason Lefkowitzreplied to Jason Lefkowitz last edited by [email protected]
The only thing I would add to the above is that I don't really blame elite journalists for holding Democrats in contempt. Because most Democratic politicians invite contempt.
They act embarrassed about the principles they claim to hold, and abandon them at the first hint of pressure. They compromise pre-emptively, offering their opponents a win without even making them work for it. They refuse to stand up for themselves, even when personally attacked. They quail and cringe.
None of this projects confidence or integrity. It just makes them look weak. And people do not respect weakness in would-be leaders.
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@jalefkowit I call bullshit.
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@phaedral ... okay?
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Vincent :coffeecup:replied to Jason Lefkowitz last edited by
@jalefkowit Watching the Dems roll over and beg to W in the aftermath of 9/11 was the lowest point of politically tuned-in life.
Second lowest was when pre-compromised on the ACA and got the second-worst outcome possible.
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@jalefkowit Look, for instance, at the disconnect between "but, her emails!" and the Jack Smith stuff that was released recently. Nothing to do with "dems being weak," everything to do with "journalism" being captured by marketing and doing the bidding of the moneyed class.
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Jason Lefkowitzreplied to Vincent :coffeecup: last edited by
@vincent I have spent my whole life feeling like I was rooting for the Washington Generals
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@phaedral You're arguing that it's the job of journalists to do Democrats' campaigning for them.
The press coverage has been shitty, but shitty press coverage is a fact of life in politics. If your response is just to complain that we need better journalists, you may well be right, but you are going to lose.
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@jalefkowit while I agree with this in general, surely there are some exceptions to this description in your mind?
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Jason Lefkowitzreplied to Daniel Quinn last edited by
@danielquinn Sure. AOC is a good counter-example.
