I blame the media...

 

I try to steer clear of politics here, but I can’t remain quiet after months of what has been the most degrading and disgusting early campaign season I can remember.

I’ll start by saying I am a Democrat, although I try to base my voting decisions on issues rather than party.

But what’s been happening on the Republican campaign trail has been a travesty… and I think the media has played a major role in what has been a circus sideshow that has to be making us look like fools in the eyes of the world.

I usually am a staunch defender of the media. A free and unfettered media is one of the things that allows a democracy like ours to flourish, by helping keep the public informed. But they’ve been doing a disservice in their coverage of the GOP presidential race.

Part of the problem lies with one of the candidates, who I’ve already gone on record as not liking because I consider him a pompous ass, a petulant bully who calls people names if they disagree with him and who has proven himself to be a blatant racist and misogynist. (By now, you have to know who I’m talking about. I just can’t bring myself to put his name on my 2 cents.)

Beyond his name-calling, public use of foul language not befitting a candidate and his constant reference to his TV ratings, he has said very little about how he would “make America great again.” He’s talked about walling off our southern border and having Mexico pay for it. He talks about carpet-bombing ISIS and preventing Muslims from entering this land of the free.

On just about everything else, when asked what he would do and how, he simply says “trust me.” 

Why should we trust this blowhard who started out with a silver spoon and has many times used bankruptcy laws and other loopholes (legal, but not ethical) to default on loans and hurt thousands of businesses and individuals along the way.

And here’s where I fault the media. Their coverage of his antics rather than putting the focus on real news has helped elevate him and give him the credibility that comes with coverage.

I’m not saying he should be ignored. He’s been a front-runner, so media have to cover him. But if he’s not saying anything of substance, then he shouldn’t get ink or airtime. Yes, say he had three rallies in Iowa or New Hampshire. But don’t take another 30 or 60 seconds of a 30-minute newscast to run a clip of him mugging or calling Jeb Bush a loser or Carly Fiorina ugly. That is not news.  His answer to unemployment -- "I'll be the best jobs president that God ever created."  That's news?  Strange, boastful and perhaps a bit sacriligious, but news?

If he says something about policy, then it’s news. And that’s what we need to hear or read so we can be an educated and informed electorate.

I’m amazed and distressed by how much one person with a big mouth can derail the campaign process. Other candidates should have ignored his bluster and outrageous taunts. And the media should have been taking him to task, asking him tough questions and not letting him off the hook with his non-responsive and insulting answers.

Yes, I understand there are many people who have become frustrated and disenfranchised with gridlock in D.C. – much of it created by leaders of the party that’s calling for change, ironically. But some of it is rooted in racism against our first black President. And some is based on fear of foreigners, be it terrorism or jobs that’s the real issue. But the way to fix it is not with name-calling and vapid trust-me promises.

Maybe the media and the thinking public will belatedly step up as the campaign cycle moves around the U.S. I hope so.    

Comments

[Bambe Levine]

Your 2cents article today on you-know-who is wonderful. So well written and true. Thanks for your expert insight and for writing this article.

[Shelly P]

Well said.

[Jeanne Byington]

David,

If a leaf falls in Central Park, the media rushes to ask the man you describe for his opinion and no other candidates on either side of the aisle. Much of the increasingly uneducated population seeing this coverage associates it with endorsement. Like you I fully blame the media for his place today.

If Hillary or Bernie answered, "I'll handle it when it happens and you'll know it will be the best solution in the world," they would be diced into tiny verbal pieces. Even the biggest media stars give him a pass when interviewing him. The spirit of Tim Russert, where are you?

As media empires merge, like banking and other key industries, the power of the owners has grown out of proportion. With so few jobs left in the media, reporters who need to feed families are reluctant to counter the boss's instructions, which may be part of the reason for their behavior. I don't imply that the old boy's club is at work here because I don't know. But crazy talk in Tweets and sound bytes makes for fun headlines and owners are pressed to add to audiences which translates to advertising.

The implications of this situation are more horrifying. The crucial fourth estate that has saved us from continuing scandalous behavior, theft and law-breaking at the highest levels by uncovering it, has lost its focus and purpose. Should the man you describe in your post become President, will it be similarly cowed? You see where I am going with this.

[Sheri Robbins]

Great piece! A great summation of the blowhard and the media's complicity in giving him the platform he doesn't deserve. My sentiments precisely. Since we can't hope he'll just go too far in his revolting ways, let's hope people eventually catch on to the emptiness of his boasts.
Stay warm!!

[Nancy A. Berlin]

You are so right!

[Yonit]

Last night, was beyond the Pale!

[Carol Shlossman]

Extremely well said, David. I found it hard to believe that the moderator[s] last night did not shut him off from his constant interruptions. Why does the media just sit back and let him do his thing, as vile, vulgar, and nasty as it is, not to mention incredibly immature. I don't know what they are afraid of - hurting his very thin skin?

[Elizabeth Duffy Vermette]

via Facebook ...

I like your blogs David. I understand Trump's initial appeal. He says what he thinks, doesn't back down and has done a job on the liberal, national media. But as you say he has become a side show. He reminds me a lot of Obama but instead of Hope and Change with no details he just talks about Making America Great again. It will be interesting to see what happens in the wake of Scalia's death. I've been surprised that the Court wasn't a bigger issue to begin with for conservatives. Am hoping people will start voting more responsibly now. P.S. I know probably hundreds of people who don't like Obama. It isn't the color of his skin that's the problem. It is the content of his character and his policies.

[Jeanne Byington]

via Facebook ...

Reply to Elizabeth Vermette's comment: Does he say what he thinks or what he knows will get him more attention? Speaking in the unfiltered way little children do--which is charming when they do--doesn't equate to honesty and in adults is off-putting. I also don't think that bullying people is the way to get what you want in the long run. They never forget.

[David Reich]

Thanks you all for your comments here.