Newenglanddeac
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 1, 2011
- Messages
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Let’s not buy the Republican spin on Brett Kavanaugh
Sure in deep-red states (Texas, North Dakota), Republican Senate candidates are gaining, but this may be nothing more than the normal phenomenon of voters returning to partisan alignment as the election draws near. (At any rate, Republicans remain out of contention in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania — all states Trump won in 2016.) Meanwhile, in House races, the gender divide is sinking GOP candidates.
It is no surprise that Trump and his GOP supporters wanted to spin Kavanaugh as an electoral winner; saying it is so, they dearly hoped, would lift Republican spirits. None of us should be surprised that Republicans — who referred to female sex-crime survivors as a “mob” and mocked Ford — would discount the reaction of women. It would, however, behoove the media to be somewhat more skeptical of Republicans’ self-serving spin and to understand the cultural phenomenon Republicans unleashed, prompting thousands of women to tell their most painful experiences for the first time.
In 2016 and beyond, we had an unending series of reports — often from Rust Belt diners — in which interviews featured white men expressing their resentment of cultural elites. We failed these folks somehow, overlooked them and didn’t show them sufficient respect, or so the narrative went. In fact, on average, Trump voters were wealthier than Hillary Clinton’s voters. Where’s the same level of coverage and willingness to give voice now to outraged women (white or nonwhite, college-educated or not)? I suspect we will see a whole bunch more of such coverage after next month’s midterms about the degree to which politicians have failed to serve women’s interests or respect their concerns. I hope the media asks Republican politicians and consultants how they so misjudged the impact Kavanaugh would have on voters, especially women. I suspect we’ll find that they just didn’t take women’s anger all that seriously.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amph..._term=.2e6686db28ce&__twitter_impression=true
Sure in deep-red states (Texas, North Dakota), Republican Senate candidates are gaining, but this may be nothing more than the normal phenomenon of voters returning to partisan alignment as the election draws near. (At any rate, Republicans remain out of contention in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania — all states Trump won in 2016.) Meanwhile, in House races, the gender divide is sinking GOP candidates.
It is no surprise that Trump and his GOP supporters wanted to spin Kavanaugh as an electoral winner; saying it is so, they dearly hoped, would lift Republican spirits. None of us should be surprised that Republicans — who referred to female sex-crime survivors as a “mob” and mocked Ford — would discount the reaction of women. It would, however, behoove the media to be somewhat more skeptical of Republicans’ self-serving spin and to understand the cultural phenomenon Republicans unleashed, prompting thousands of women to tell their most painful experiences for the first time.
In 2016 and beyond, we had an unending series of reports — often from Rust Belt diners — in which interviews featured white men expressing their resentment of cultural elites. We failed these folks somehow, overlooked them and didn’t show them sufficient respect, or so the narrative went. In fact, on average, Trump voters were wealthier than Hillary Clinton’s voters. Where’s the same level of coverage and willingness to give voice now to outraged women (white or nonwhite, college-educated or not)? I suspect we will see a whole bunch more of such coverage after next month’s midterms about the degree to which politicians have failed to serve women’s interests or respect their concerns. I hope the media asks Republican politicians and consultants how they so misjudged the impact Kavanaugh would have on voters, especially women. I suspect we’ll find that they just didn’t take women’s anger all that seriously.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amph..._term=.2e6686db28ce&__twitter_impression=true
