Mark my words, this is not going to end well for the GOP. In a brilliant A-Block segment last night, Rachel Maddow on MSNBC laid out that while conservative media has always been powerful in this country, it has a problem. It doesn’t get people elected. Instead it stirs the pot for extremist positions in the GOP.
She pointed out that back in 1935, Father Charles Coughlin had a weekly audience of 30 million people, when radio was all most people had. recently departed Mother Tucker is lucky to draw 3 million a night, and they’re the same people every night. Rachel went on to point out that while Coughlin drew a crowd of some 100,000 to Chicago in 1935 for a rally for his pet candidate, the candidate didn’t even garner 2% of the popular vote. Those people weren’t there for the schmuck running for office, they were there for Coughlin.
And that’s the problem with any conservative media, whether FUX News, NewsMax or OAN. They are all driven by the lowest message to the lowest common denominator base. The object is to stoke fear, hatred, and white grievance. because that’s what drives ratings and brings in advertising revenue. The problem becomes that in the delivery of that message, the messenger becomes the message. GOP MAGAt’s flock to FUX News for approval and support, but the audience isn’t interested in the MAGAt’s, they’re there for the host.
And we already see the problem coming into focus right now. Rachel showed a board of all of the things that far right media and far right GOP incumbents in the state are pushing. Six week abortion bans with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. Criminalizing crossing state lines to obtain an abortion where it’s legal, and then returning to the state. Criminalizing even assisting a woman crossing state lines to obtain an abortion where it’s legal.
That sh*t may play as well as a monster truck rally marathon in a deeply gerrymandered safe state House seat. But when you move out to a statewide seat, or God forbid a national race, it’s as toxic as drinking bleach. Bt that doesn’t matter to conservative media. Because that open sewage drives ratings and brings in advertising. Never lose track of this one simple principle, the goal of conservative media isn’t to elect Republicans, its sole purpose is to drive ratings and bring in advertising revenue. Everything else is superfluous.
Did you see any of of Nikki Haley’s campaign speech in Virginia today? She spoke specifically about abortion, making the issuer her own. And in her speech, she specifically stressed commonality, finding common ground. She said I believe that we can all agree that allowing abortion up to the moment of birth is a bridge too far. But I also believe that to ban abortion under reasonable circumstances when rape, incest, or the life of the mother is an untenable position as well. We must come to a reasonable compromise.
If you watched, Haley was trying to run around raindrops so quickly that she looked like a freakin’ Usain Bolt. Personally, I applaud Haley for trying to be the adult in the room,. She was trying to play to the moderate GOP base she’s trying to ride to victory. The problem for Haley is that it isn’t the base that shows up to vote in the primaries. The MAGA base that shows up to vote in the primaries want a freakin’ death penalty for women who get an abortion.
And don’t look to any of the other moderate conservatives running for President in 2024 to take a stand. And i9ts not like the media isn’t trying. Some are easy. For instance, Florida Governor Ron ShrimpSantis has already locked himself into a six week ban, with no exceptions. Traitor Tot is running from the issue like another civil lawsuit. But ask anybody else, and it’s like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. because the topic is toxic, and they don’t want to be anywhere near it.
But they’re going to have to touch it. Because as I predicted more than a month ago, the abortion issue is going to be alive and a live wire all the way up to election day of 2024. It is now official.
The Supreme Court ruled last Friday to put a stay on the lower court ruling of the dime store GOP cow county judge ordering the FDA to pull the abortion pill from the shelves pending appeals. The 5th Judicial Circuit /court of Appeals has set May 17th as the date for oral arguments on the lower court case. Even with expedited deliberations, you’re talking about 2-45 weeks for a decision.
Which sucks for the GOP. Because the Supreme Court starts its summer hiatus in the 2nd week of June. There’s no time to hear and rule on that case. Which means that they’ll have to give it a slot somewhere on the fall docket, which begins in the 3rd week of September. And depending on which time slot the case lands in, and how long the deliberations are, you’re talking about a SCOTUS ruling anywhere from March-June of 2024. Right as the national conventions are about to be held, and the general election campaign begins.
History rhymes yet again. And once again, as much at the SCOTUS may hate the timing, their ruling is going to be one of the overriding issues going into November.
And the national GOP has no idea of how to deal with the issue, and that includes the 2024 GOP Presidential candidates. But they’re going to have to deal with it. They’re going to have to deal with it during the primaries while they have no idea of what the SCOTUS is going to decide, and then they’re going to have to deal with the fallout of whatever the decision is. And right now they’re like a bunch of kittens in a sack on the way to the river. Don’t touch that dial.
Let’s start with a basic truth that too many people have never realized WAS the truth – so-called Reality TV isn’t reality! It’s scripted! There’s a ton of unused footage that if it all were aired would usually paint a very different picture. And not nearly as entertaining as what gets put on TV. So it’s carefully edited AND producers script events to promote drama. But it’s sure as hell not reality.
I saw Maddow’s show and agree with what she had to say. However something was missing and reading your article it hit me. It’s true that whomever the RWNJ messenger is they never get elected themselves, even though a few have tried to run or allowed others to promote them as candidates. I do think, especially in the TV age they can bring out voters, at least hard core base voters. That matters, especially in primaries. But it’s a very different matter in general elections.
Trump was a unique case and I use that word for a reason. By definition unique means one of a kind. Despite additives to the term such as “very” or “extremely” unique they are superfluous. Something is either unique or it isn’t. Trump and his candidacy was unique because of that extensive TV coverage of his rallies, along with entire segments of news talking about what he said on twitter. BILLIONS of dollars in free advertising. The Trump TV show aired on every network almost daily and even more so on cable news outlets!
The Trump TV Show.
And Trump himself was literally in his element. He had a well-known personae as a “Reality TV star” with his very own show. Complete with a signature line (You’re fired) that any and everyone knew and associated with him. What made him and his candidacy unique was his “Reality” TV experience (and regrettable success in that type of crap programming) and his innate racist attitudes. It didn’t matter than he had no more concern for all those MAGA goobers cheering their few brain cells out than he had for black or brown people, or for anyone not of WHITE European ancestry that was at least very well off financially. Like a slick used car salesman selling a junker/lemon by giving it a good washing and polish Trump had the ability to take all that coded stuff conservatives had spent decades ingraining into small-town/rural and WHITE America, all that pent up grievance and inject it directly into the MAGA goober’s veins by plainly stating all the code-word stuff!
Trump had a lifetime’s worth of experience suckering smarter people than populate MAGA nation into doing business with him – and then turning right around and screwing them over. Winning the hearts and “minds” of the MAGAs was child’s play for him, just as it was for those charlatans Rachel Maddow spoke about.
It was political lightening in a bottle.
Now? It won’t be as easy this time. The media and that includes mainstream outlets WANT their goddamned horse race for their own ratings and revenue. If, like a boxer trying to make things look good that carries a badly outclassed opponent for a few round or so then so be it. I don’t think they will make the same mistake as 2016 or even 2020 (when Trump still got too much attention and slack from them) but they will in their own drive for ratings generated revenue do a helluva lot of damage to this country. They WANT Trump in the mix and for as long as possible! Don’t for a second believe otherwise.
Here’s why this is so effing dangerous. Red States, or pink ones and even a purple state or two (my state of NC is now one with a turncoat just having switched over to the GOP) with veto proof or near veto proof majorities can, even with a Democratic Governor rig the certification of votes and they are HARD at work making sure “legally” ignoring the actual will of the voters is something they will be able to do to deliver electoral votes. And if Trump is the GOP nominee they damned sure will do just that or risk their very lives and that of their loved ones. And their staffers and their loved ones.
Trump truly is unique. He’s got political game/heft (thirty to forty million will vote for him NO MATTER WHAT!) combined with that quality Maddow spoke about. And he’s increasingly wounded and cornered. That’s when any animal is most dangerous. Don’t anyone believe Trump has no chance next year. IF we are lucky he will implode or wind up in jail and won’t be able to even get on the ballot in important states even if he’s the nominee. I for one don’t want to count on luck.
In a fair fight it wouldn’t even be close – Trump’s loss in 2020 would look like a photo finish in fact. But as things stand it’s already set up to be anything but a fair fight. And conservatives are far from done with their efforts to rig things to be even MORE unfair.
In the end it will come down to how much oxygen the media gives Trump. As I said they want to milk his candidacy to fatten their own bank accounts. If they cut it too close we are in grave danger. Because Trump IS unique – both a candidate with tens of millions of voters ready, even eager to send him back to the WH AND that ability Maddown spoke of to mesmerize the masses.
Are any of the RWNJs ever going to catch on to a simple fact “Abortion up to time of birth” is a plain and simple Caesarean if it occurs late in the pragnancy.
So do they intend banning C Sections where the lives of mother and baby are at risk?
I’ll declare interest here in that I, personally, do not agree with abortion but it’s not my place to make decisions for others that are not mine to make. If you are a woman and don’t agree with abortion – then don’t have one. It’s really that simple – don’t impose your ideas on ‘sin’ on someone else. If it’s a ‘sin’ then it’s THEIR sin and that is between them and whatever deity they may worship.
Republicans, having painted themselves into a corner, keep right on painting.
By the way, the snake is not eating its tail. It is holding onto it so the snake can roll.