The Corporate Media is Stealing My Joy, Or: How Not to Cover a Historic Political Event
They love the word “unprecedented.” They bemoan our “polarized politics” & reminisce about the days when politicians reached “across the aisles.” Then, when it happens, the media barely notices.
On Thursday, we witnessed a historic and heart-lifting moment, when two brilliant, dynamic women leaders—one a white, conversative Republican, the other a Center Left Democrat of Black/Indian heritage—stood together and honored each other and their shared commitment to making sure Donald Trump never steps inside the White House again.
They stirred my worn-down spirit and filled me with pride for them and all the passionate, brilliant, women warriors who preceded them.
A major theme of their dual message: This moment demands that we unite across our differences in our shared love and hope for the future of our country. And, while the danger of Trump was emphasized, Cheney’s and Harris’ praise of and respect for each other wasn’t done grudgingly but wholeheartedly. (The New York Times could take some schooling from Liz Cheney about what a real endorsement looks like.)
And then, in the after-rally commentary, the excitement of that moment and its message was buried as Joy Reid and Juanita Tolliver almost immediately shifted to a discussion of how the Democrats had lost a huge number of Arab-American voters because they’d not allowed a speaker sponsored by “Uncommitted” to give a speech at the DNC. Now, there’s a lot that can be said about that controversy, but at just that moment?? And is there a better example of exactly what Liz Cheney and Kamala Harris were arguing against than refusing to vote because your speaker didn’t get the stage at the DNC?1
Then, the morning after, I woke up to the Morning Joe group talking about the Firefighter’s Union not endorsing either Kamala or Trump, the appeal of young men to J.D. Vance, and how Kamala had better start “reaching out” to working-class men. It’s just her failing, you see, not a systemic obstacle—despite the fact that the same thing happened when other powerful women like Stacey Abrams have run for office.
The day did include Bruce Springsteen’s twangy, enthusiastic endorsement in a Jersey diner. And I managed to distract myself from my chronic irritation with the “mainstream” media by spending some time on the exercise bike with a new thriller with James MacElvoy.
But afterward, because it’s my job to keep track of these things, I went back to MSNBC to catch up on what they were doing. It was Chris Jansing going on and on, virtually harassing Michael Steele and Basil Smikle—two men whose wisdom and experience exceeds Jansing’s by 15 miles—about the fact that Kamala hadn’t done enough interviews, press conferences, etc. Yes, that one again, and I’ve rarely seen Chris dig in the way she did. It’s so annoying, isn’t it Chris, when a candidate would prefer to talk directly to voters than satisfy the media’s craving for “breaking news” and gotchas.
I had MSNBC on all day and hardly heard a word about that unprecedented, potentially transformative moment when two women stood on a stage together in Wisconsin and showed their parties and constituent groups—many of them who have still not understood what the stakes of this election are and what “unifying” around a common goal means.
Charlie Sykes understands. In the Joy Reid segment which jumped the rails onto Reid’s preferred topic, he tried to get things back on track. Interesting, isn’t it, that it’s the renegade Republicans who seem to always come through?
The text of Charlie’s comments, as they appeared in published form:
On Thursday, I was in Ripon, Wisconsin — known as the birthplace of the Republican Party — to witness a truly important moment in American politics. Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, put country above party and joined Kamala Harris on the campaign trail for the first time.
“I am proudly casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” Cheney told the crowd.
You cannot overlook the symbolism of having this campaign event in Ripon. In 1854, it was the place where a group of Americans came together to form a new political party and fight against the spread of slavery. It was a moment of real moral clarity in our country. And on Thursday, as I stood in that crowd, I felt like this was another one of those moments.
I got to speak to Harris and Liz Cheney before the event, and they were both very aware of the symbolic significance and the weight of this moment. When you step back, it’s rather extraordinary to think about what we are seeing from the Democrats and the Harris campaign and their willingness to create a big tent. They’re not relitigating things that happened in the past. Instead, they’re coming together with those on the other side of the aisle around a common cause: our democracy.
This is not a choice between right or left, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. It is a moral decision about our constitutional order and about whether or not we’re going to put country over party.
When they took to the stage together, Harris and Cheney embraced that message. They essentially said, let’s set aside our political and ideological differences because our country is in survival mode. American democracy is facing a five-alarm fire. We must rise to the occasion and not let traditional ideological differences get in the way of recognizing the importance of this moment, because in November it’s all on the line.
This is the 12th edition of the BordoLines’ series on the 2024 election. For new readers of BordoLines and for the convenience of those who’d enjoy looking through the previous “Election Watch” stacks, I’ve collected them here for you, from the first to the most recent (before this one):
The Salesman and the Trickster
This is the week 11 edition of BordoLines’ “Election Watch.” I hope you’ll consider subscribing—and sharing—and “liking”!!
If you watch the video clip accompanying Sykes’ piece, you won’t see this whole discussion, only Juanita Tolliver’s initial comment on the issue. In the original broadcast, the discussion goes on longer, with Joy supporting Tolliver, and putting up charts showing the numbers of Arab-American voters who report that they won’t vote because of the DNC. Perhaps the editors of the show’s clips realized the segue was…let’s say, off-topic?
Again, much of mainstream media is trying to frame this election around historical norms, and it just isn't normal. As you indicated, most media outlets are more interested in a scoop than in recognizing what this unusual alliance symbolizes about unity. It's not much different from what motivates Fox News: viewership and advertising dollars. "Give them cake!" Seeing Harris and Cheney joining forces was inspiring. I sincerely hope it's enough to win the day.
Thanks for posting this, Susan. Watching the Liz Cheney clip again makes me soar in a way I *never* would have expected under different circumstances before this election or Cheney's Jan. 6 hearings. Susan Faludi, another astute feminist observer, also makes a terrific case in a current NYT opinion piece for Kamala Harris as a "civic warrior" akin to FDR with a commonsense approach to policy, a frame much of the media keeps ignoring or undercutting in some benighted attempt at "balance": https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/06/opinion/kamala-harris-donald-trump-security.html