Nothing But Calamity
I’m definitely an MSNBC guy. It’s the “soundtrack” of my life, on in the background most of the time at home. Even in the car (with modern technology) I’m following what’s going on through the Sirius Radio app. Some would say that kind of immersion would “warp” my mind, building a silo to block outside information. But I do check other media sources, including even (deep breath) Fox News. I don’t stay for too long.
But NBC seems to stand for “Nothing But Calamity”, at least for the past several months. First, to be honest, MSNBC was instrumental in “mainstreaming” Donald Trump back in 2015. Their shows, particularly the now four-hour long “Morning Joe” show, gave Trump millions of dollars of free air time in the pivotal period when he was transitioning from NBC television “star” known for a single line (“You’re Fired”) to political candidate. Now, every morning when the dogs demand I get out of bed, I make a little “bet” with myself. It’s thirty seconds: that’s how long it takes to turn on “Morning Joe” and hear the name Donald Trump. I seldom lose.
Old is Old
And recently, NBC broke “big news”; the results of their polling. They made the “amazing” discovery through their shrewd questioning: over 80% of Democratic voters think that eighty years-old is too old to be President! (Oh, this just breaking – NBC found that almost 60% of all voters think both Trump and Biden are too old – it took them an extra three days to let that little secret out).
No kidding. I’m a Democrat and I think that eighty years-old is too old to be President too. But what NBC failed to ask (or at least publicize) is the next question: will you vote for Joseph R. Biden in 2024, anyway. And the answer for this Democrat, and I’m sure the vast majority of my Democratic compatriots, is yes.
Look, the Democratic “bench” is incredibly rich. Not only is there the obvious “next-in-line”, Vice President Kamala Harris. There’s the Senators: Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Chris Murphy, and more. Then there’s the Governors: Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, and Wes Moore. And don’t forget Pete Buttigieg serving in the cabinet. And I’m sure there’s more I haven’t thought of. If 2024 is an existential threat to democracy, 2028 should be a lot of fun.
Cancelling Out
But there is no question: Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee. If it were anyone else, Joe Biden is the absolute wrong candidate. But with Trump as the MAGA-Republican, Biden is the right answer.
It’s all about that mathematics: the concept of “cancelling out”. Biden is eighty-one, but Trump is seventy-seven. That issue cancels. Biden can’t remember names, Trump can’t remember the current President, or the former Speaker of the House; cancels. Biden presides over the greatest economic miracle in modern history, Trump the greatest collapse; more than cancels. And most importantly, Biden ran in 2018 on the basis that Trump was a danger to our democracy. Trump continues to prove that Biden was right then, and right now.
No other Democrat brings those credentials to the table.
Fair and Balanced, Ain’t
So what’s the deal with my “friends” at MSNBC? Why is the “progressive” news channel seeming to lead the way in finding critical anti-Biden information? I think there are a couple “for sure” reasons, and some speculations. For sure, MSNBC (and the New York Times) are falling into the same trap that snared them in 2016. With so much negative news about Trump (trial, trial, trial; botched speech, trial, trial) there is the tendency to try to “balance” the news to make it “fair”.
But there’s nothing “fair” about Trump. Has actions, and his problems are unprecedented. “Fair and Balanced”, the old (and abandoned) Fox News slogan, can’t apply. If forces those media sources to literally create negative news about Biden, to “balance” Trump. And that’s not fair.
And, for sure, progressive MSNBC is troubled by what really is a moderate Biden. The consensus builder (in a world that doesn’t “do” consensus anymore) still is trying to put together coalitions in Congress, and the Nation. That seems to require compromises that my fellow “progressives” can’t tolerate.
Progressive Choices
And, speculating only, it seems that there’s a major ideological crisis at MSNBC over the Israeli/Hamas War. Some commentators are more Israel oriented, some more Palestinian oriented (none are Hamas supporters). That internal conflict spills out into their support or opposition to the Biden Administration. Or at least, that’s how it looks to me.
We tried to watch more CNN, just to “flavor” our mornings. But the problem with CNN, political switch or not, is that it’s still, just, boring. And distracting – I struggle paying attention to what folks are saying, and what’s “crawling” across the bottom of the screen. So it’s still MSNBC.
Except for long drives in the afternoon. I re-discovered a different “media” choice; music. Yesterday’s playlist on the road to Cincinnati: Grateful Dead, Sublime, Crosby-Stills and Nash (of course) and Billy Joel. Now that’s a “progressive” spread!
