Musing today that our great country would be in a much better place if we elected serious people and asked them to do serious things while insisting our reporters behave like a serious and vital part of a free people.
Instead, in this contest of slogans, apparently we need to make our country great again or defend democracy. Whichever goal we chase, it means eliminating – or at least silencing and non-personing – about half the country. It also means, in certain quarters, some bizarre virtue in not being personally informed. As if first-hand knowledge would somehow tarnish ideological purity. And nothing of substance makes the country great again or defends democracy – in fact a case can be made for the exact opposite outcome.
Who knows, but one must wonder if Vladimir Putin calculated that the stupid partisan wars are more important than say, humankind being eliminated in hours with nuclear weapons. Little doubt “news” rooms around the country probably debated how to position the obscene tragedy unfolding in The Ukraine with their preferred partisan narrative. “Trump backers invite warheads,” “Nuclear Annihilation preferred to Kamala Harris Presidency” or something equally nutty.
Democrats clearly see every issue through the lens of “Donald Trump caused this,” which is weird because his brief presidency hardly undid decades of follies from politicians of all stripes. But, to keep the base fired up, Dems are required to launch investigations ad nauseum. The sad thing is that the Democratic Party base never seems to tire of the charade. Like Charlie Brown racing to kick the football from Lucy Van Pelt’s hold, only to land on his back, the hardcore followers on the left are certain that this time, for sure, they have Trump.
It is painfully comical. Months of hyperventilating reporting about tax assessments on Trump properties being less than market appraisals of those same properties, the narrative dies with scarcely a whimper. Is it willful ignorance to imagine a world where municipalities don’t have property assessors and lenders don’t have appraisers? Who knows, but it must be ignorance or amnesia to avoid the fact that every homeowner in America wouldn’t sell their property for the figure on their tax bill. Even the New York Times finally admits, in paragraph 30 of a 46-paragraph story, that the entire nonsense about Mr. Trump not paying taxes or getting big bank loans comes down to these basic truths.
Republicans are building their hopes on the malignant misfires and policies of the Democrats since 2016. Whether or not Democrats pivot decisively from their past support of some crazy policies that imperiled personal safety and pocket-book issues remain to be seen, but the GOP’s Achilles heel remains one Donald J. Trump. Republicans hoping for a complete collapse of the current administration might be frustrated by President Biden demonstrating his foreign policy credentials in the Ukraine. Surely no thinking person is pining for the impatient Donald Trump in a delicate dance with literally the fate of humankind at stake. At a time when a steady hand, competent leadership and crisis management was needed, the entire world saw a self-centered president careening from sound bite to sound bite. Yet, many Republicans live in fear that they will offend this ex-president.
Where is the sober, balanced reporting featuring a factual framework of history, present circumstances, and facts as they emerge? If a governing party can repeatedly lie about contents of legislation and get the false caption around the internet in days, avoid the analysis of past policies and convict or acquit in the media without any accountability whatsoever, why would they change course and become serious? It is because too many people keep buying it. Yesterday I listened to a podcast that publicized how the episode would review a recently published book. The four hosts boasted about having never read the book, but that didn’t stop them from condemning the author and just making things up. So now the standard for law degrees and political commentary is less than a 7th grade book report.
So, if there is no commercial press that will do its job, its up to us. I don’t mean us as in The Common Bridge. Although, come to think of it, not one person ever said what we are doing on The Common Bridge is not necessary. Some 2 million engagement since inception is a drop in the bucket but still that is more than the audiences of some so-called mainstream outlets. However, I’ve had many tell me they listen, read or watch The Common Bridge without commenting because they fear being shunned by their affiliation group if they break from the narrative. As if independent thinking will cost them their friends.
Suppose for a moment that you, the reader, were to give advice to the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Yes, of course, the simple “grow the #$#! Up” would be solid guidance, but something a little more tangible.
Please allow me to offer a couple ideas
To the Democrats, simple guidance, “quit gaslighting America and start governing.”
To the Republicans, equally simple, “bid farewell to Donald Trump.”
Democrats should like this program because, let’s face it, the whole distraction program is basically out of gas. After the relentless pseudo scandals, the second-to-last nothing burger is January 6th. While I support a full and complete investigation and criminal referrals if warranted, the whole drama seems so familiar. Time does not permit the full roster of fake scandals beginning with Russiagate, the obviously lying Christine Blassey Ford, the non-existent whistleblower, Stormy & Avenetti, Michael Cohen, Matt Gaetz, Don McGahn, accounting procedures, etc. Just file them under “the story that will put Donald Trump behind bars.”
Democrats could get back to basics like honoring free speech (even with those whom they disagree), not using intelligence gathering & law enforcement as political weaponry, and maybe actually working for kids trapped in inner-city schools and workers who can’t afford a basic middle-class life.
Democrats won’t like this advice because they will have to endure some short-term pain. To get sincerely beyond the gaslighting program, they will have to admit to being on side of censors, may have to disclose the science they were relying on for lockdowns, will have to reveal what is in their legislation and will have to surrender the “conviction in the media” approach to issues. Revenues at MSNBC will plummet still further, but perhaps CNN, who announced a change in direction that includes reporting the news, may latch on to the story.
Republicans will like the advice to dump Donald Trump so that the entire party is not defined by his personality. Former president Trump has no chance of ever being elected to anything at any time. The lowlight reels of his presidency, refusal to leave the office, and inflammatory speech will be the best opposition marketing ever in the history of politics.
The GOP must clear the way so that the good governing that has and does occur can be seen. The championing of free speech, the handling of COVID crisis, and safety and bread-and-butter issues such as policing, local education, and economic growth are winners overshadowed by the former president.
Republicans won’t like this advice because it is going to hurt. Going to hurt a lot. That hurt should be short-lived. We’ve all seen the pattern. Donald Trump is going to act out, call names, vilify, pout, and then go hold a rally. So what? Let him. His attention span, mirroring that of some late-night hosts at Fox News, is extraordinarily short. Republicans will lose some of the vocal base, especially those inspired by culture wars, but maybe that opens a chance to battle on a policy-by-policy basis, like support to the broadly popular and sensible child tax credits.
Is this advice to the two major political parties absolute and fail safe? Probably not, but is it better or worse than what we have today? If better is defined as clearing the field for fierce policy debate that serves the electorate and worse is blue-vs-red civil war, then the answer is obvious.
Call me an optimist, but would serious people doing serious things reported by serious journalists be such a bad thing?
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Happy St. Urho’s Day!