The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Why Do Republicans Hate ‘Joy’?

Posted on | August 12, 2024 | Comments Off on Why Do Republicans Hate ‘Joy’?

One of the most familiar (and most annoying) games played by what Andrew Breitbart dubbed the Democrat-Media Complex is to engage in some kind of deliberate provocation, then to react with feigned shock and outrage when Republicans react to the aforesaid provocation. Republicans “pounce” or “seize” or “attack,” the headlines tell us, intending to shift our gaze away from whatever it is that Democrats have said or done, and toward the (allegedly unjustified) Republican reaction.

Consider, for example, the way the media purposefully repeat verbatim the talking points handed to them by Democrats. They know that we see what they’re doing, and they don’t care, because if we dare complain about the (allegedly objective) news media engaging in blatant partisan propaganda, then our complaints become the story.

At Harris Rally in Philadelphia,
the Return of “Joy”
— Mother Jones, August 6

‘Bringing back the joy’:
Walz’s first day keeps
Democrats’ buzz going
— Washington Post, August 6

Harris, Walz and Democrats’ Joyful Campaign
— New York Times, August 7

Harris and Walz seize on joyful message
in contrast to darker Trump themes
— Washington Post, August 8

Harris Used to Worry About Laughing.
Now Joy Is Fueling Her Campaign.
— New York Times, August 9

Harris and Walz reintroduce joy
to Democrats their first week
on the campaign trail
— NPR, August 11

Et cetera, et cetera. You see what they’re doing, right? And you know why they’re doing it — it’s all about hyping up this bizarre and unprecedented candidate-switch by Democrats as something to celebrate. Never before in modern American history has a major party forced its own incumbent president to quit his re-election campaign after he’s been nominated as the candidate in his own party primary and then, by a “virtual roll call,” appoint the vice president as the candidate instead. Barely six weeks ago — up until Joe Biden’s June 27 debate performance — the media were unanimously assuring us that Biden was sharp as a tack, full of vigorous youthful energy, and anyone who suggested otherwise was denounced as some kind of far-right conspiracy theorist. Quite suddenly, however, the same media were declaring that Biden must quit the race, and when he finally did, they praised his “selfless” courage in doing so.

As I say, all this is without historical precedent, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s illegal or even wrong, but shouldn’t Democratic primary voters feel they’ve been cheated in this transaction? If Biden would have had the decency to announce a year ago that he would not seek reelection, there could have been an open primary, giving Democats a chance to choose their own chandidate. Instead, they got Kamala Harris dumped in their lap, and told they had no choice in the matter, and their reaction to this crude swindle? JOY! JOY! JOY! Or so the media wish us to believe.

Evidently, Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself) believe that Kamala can surf her way to the White House on a tidal wave of bullshit. As previously noted (“Issues? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Issues!” July 29), the media coverage is all about the “energy” and “momentum” of the Harris campaign, and as to her position on issues — well, who needs “positions” or “issues,” when they’ve got so much joy?

Journalists are actively defending Harris from any consideration of issues. Ed Morrissey smacks around a writer for The Atlantic:

What does Harris have? She’s been vice president for almost four years. Her party anointed her as the nominee three weeks ago. Kamala Harris ran on a progressive platform in California for the Senate and in 2019 for the presidential nomination, so she’s had years to develop her positions on all of the issues in play. Is she such an empty suit that she couldn’t put together a platform within the first couple of days of the campaign? If so, why did Democrats rush to anoint her?
Why aren’t reporters asking these questions, rather than just observing the “seizing”? Because the answer to why Harris is hard to pin down isn’t Republicans who pounce — it’s reporters and media outlets who refuse to do their jobs. 
That’s why mainstream media never tires of reporting the “seizing” and the “pouncing” when it comes to Republican criticism of Democrats. Republicans are doing the job the media refuses to do, and the media is embarrassed by it. There isn’t a single word in [David] Graham’s essay that pins the issue of “ambiguity” on the media that has cooperated in her strategy of silence. We know, for instance, that the pool reporters on her campaign have agreed to off-the-record bull sessions with Harris in order for them to report on the campaign messaging without fingerprints, thanks to a Politico newsletter item last week.
Want to know why no one knows Kamala’s politics of the moment? Maybe it’s because the people whose job it is to report it aren’t asking. The American establishment media have allowed Harris to run as the anointed presidential nominee of a major party for three weeks now without a platform, without a press conference, and without even an interview in which she could be pressed to answer this question.
And the biggest criticism Graham can muster for this sorry state of affairs is … to smirk at Republicans for pointing it out and slough it off as “seizing,” the hoariest cliché in political reporting.

(Hat-tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.) No policies. No issues. Just nothing but “joy.” And, the media will surely ask, why do you hate joy?



 

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Category: Kamala Harris, Media Bias

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