The mainstream media is already trying to start its smear campaign against Harris and Walz.
Here are a few stories I heard today:
http://www.nj.com/…
www.yahoo.com/…
http://www.nytimes.com/…
http://www.theguardian.com/…
www.newsweek.com/…
http://www.nytimes.com/…
www.thedailybeast.com/…
It’s no secret that the mainstream media (and the New York Times in particular) has been targeting pretty much all Democrats for years, constantly fawning over Donald Trump and the RNC while simultaneously tearing the Democrats to pieces over every little issue that comes up, most of which are made up by Trump and the media themselves.
Trump can say that the crowd that gathered at his home on January 6 was larger than the crowd that stood outside the Capitol to hear Martin Luther King sing “I have a dream,” and the media won’t even bat an eyelid.
However, when Biden says the word “crosshairs” at the most inopportune moment in the world, the media just won’t let it go.
Heck, Biden himself was desperately trying to talk sense into the media, which he tried in vain to do in his interview with Lester Holt a few weeks ago (www.dailykos.com/…). This is the only clip I could find where Biden actually calls the media out on their omissions and double standards toward Trump:
And look at what the bastards titled the video. “Biden keeps freaking out.” Go to hell, NYP.
But don’t just take my word for it. If you think I and Biden were wrong, let me remind you again of Lawrence O’Donnell’s own condemnation of the mainstream media with this three-minute clip:
In addition, there is research data that shows that the mainstream media is also biased in favor of Donald Trump.
When Donald Trump declared that he would allow Putin to “do whatever he wants” with Europe and again threatened to disband NATO, the New York Times published a whopping ten articles on the subject. At the same time, the NYT published 26 articles about Biden’s age and how important it was for his presidential candidacy, while it only mentioned Trump’s age in one article. One against 26. css.seas.upenn.edu/…
I wrote back in February, and I wrote over and over, pleading, “Please don’t believe this garbage from the mainstream media – they are trying to deceive you and help Trump!” But it didn’t matter. The narrative that the Trump team spun and that the media repeated was absorbed and accepted by the public. I watched Democrats lose sight of the bigger picture as they give in to doubt and fear and question reality. Too many believe that Biden is somehow capable of being the most successful progressive president in modern history, but is simultaneously cognitively disturbed and demented. Too many worry about chasing shadows instead of focusing on the real threat: Donald Trump.
We are so lucky that President Biden himself realized he was no longer popular with the common people and decided to give up his re-election bid, giving Harris (and now Walz) a clean slate. This has turned the ageist narrative that Trump and the media had stoked on its head, and now Trump is the “old man.”
The transition to Harris as the DNC candidate went smoothly, and the Harris/Walz campaign is going extremely well so far – Thank God. In this respect, I am glad that the transition was not as bad as I and others had feared. Thank God.
However, I would like to say one thing:
I don’t want any of you to attack Harris or Walz the way so many of you have attacked Biden.
On paper, there was nothing wrong with Hillary Clinton’s campaign. By all standards, she should have won the 2016 election. In fact, many polls had said that she was well on her way to victory. But then Clinton was confronted with the Comey emails and – phew – that was it. Even Biden could have won the 2024 election by the same standards. That was something I and many others, including Allan Lichtman (www.houstonchronicle.com/…), firmly believed. Then, like Comey and Clinton, the first debate came and the self-fulfilling prophecy “Biden is too old” came true. Biden’s impressive list of accomplishments? Well, who cares? George Clooney and the media say he is old.
My point is that, mathematically, Harris has at least the same chance of winning as Biden. The economy didn’t change overnight when Biden swapped for Harris. Ukraine didn’t magically get better than it did under Biden. NATO didn’t get stronger when Harris received her delegates. The immigration issue didn’t change when Biden “passed the baton.” Trump wouldn’t have been able to hold rallies if Biden had stayed in the race (www.dailykos.com/…). Trump probably would have still done his phone interview with Musk, where he slurred and lisped (www.rawstory.com/…) and so on. All that changed was that the DNC solved its problem that its candidate was “too old.”
“Too old” is not a political problem. The issues of Trump and Project 2025 are no more or less dangerous with or without the age problem. “Too old” is a superficial problem.
The media’s and voters’ fixation on superficial issues nearly cost us 2024, and it also cost us the 2016 election.
If you think Trump and the media will just stand by and watch without blaming Harris or Walz for some other superficial problem, you’re dreaming.
That’s why these stories are currently circulating about Walz’s previous drunk driving case and Harris’s lack of a press conference. It doesn’t matter whether Biden is too old or not, whether Walz was charged with drunk driving (he was never convicted of drunk driving, by the way: time.com/…) or whatever. What matters is that Trump and the media are trying to figure something out – anything – that will stick, like Comey’s emails.
I believe that now, in August 2024, could It might be too late for the media to find something to attack Harris that would cost her the election—they, like Trump, don’t know how best to attack. That still leaves the door open for 2028, though… and three months seems like a lot of time for something crazy to happen, considering how crazy the last three weeks have been.
If and when the media finds something to attack Harris or Walz with that sticks, and if any of you give in to that garbage, I will be the first to point out your hypocrisy. “We solved the problem of Biden being too old, now what’s your problem?” I will tell you. I say this because I am sick of the double standards that simply be accepted when it comes to Donald Trump. Thank God we are in a good position at the moment, but not everything will always be rosy and perfect.
I know that I will be called a “Cassandra” for saying this – some will mock me for it, but I welcome it. I am sure that I will be told, “Sinai, shut up and stop spreading mischief.”
I have memory issues due to Long Covid, and I can remember the community here being almost homogenous in its excitement when Biden beat Trump at the debate. I can remember the near-unanimous agreement that Biden was going to win no matter what, as long as we all stuck together. I remember the excitement of going out and winning with Biden. And then the debate happened and everyone was running around screaming and setting things on fire.
The real danger – as it has been for nine years – comes from Trump and right-wing extremism.
Right now, things are going really well with Harris and Walz, and the enthusiasm is higher than I could have ever imagined. But I guarantee that our enemies will try to pull something off that will throw us off track. Things won’t always be so perfect. I don’t want to hear, “Oh, but she doesn’t do press conferences! Her stance on Israel! His drunk driving! His stolen bravery” or whatever the media throws at us.
The real danger – as it has been for nine years – comes from Trump and right-wing extremism.
We should all stick to the task, even in the rocky moments that are guaranteed to come.
