The MSNBC party
Today’s diary begins with a tweet from MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid. For that I apologize. But with the midterms looming, and Democrats getting nervous, one of her hyperbolic missives was notably typical of left-wing frustration: “It’s terrifying how many Americans will choose literal fascism, female serfdom, climate collapse and the reversal of everything from Social Security & Medicare to student loan relief bc they think giving Republicans the power to investigate Hunter Biden will bring down gas prices.”
These are the ramblings of someone living in a hyper-partisan bubble. They exaggerate and demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of, or even curiosity about, their ideological opponents’ appeal. Now, they are also the words of a shock jock doing her job. MSNBC pays Joy-Ann Reid to whip up a small group of ideologically homogenous news junkies into a frothing rage. It may not be working — Reid, like the channel more generally, is hemorrhaging viewers — but it is the business model.
Compare Reid’s characterization of the midterms with the nationwide messaging of the president and his party. Reid is a little more hyperbolic. A little shoutier, perhaps. After all, the president draws the line at “semi-fascist.” But the basic message is the same: abortion extremists and “ultra MAGA” Republicans are coming for your basic rights, democracy will die and the Statue of Liberty will be underwater unless you vote for us. Oh, and the economy? It’s doing fine actually.
There are lots of problems with this message. Not least the fact that a lot of it just isn’t true. It also takes no account of the reality of voters’ complicated views on abortion. It asks ordinary Americans to put abstract, partisan talking points ahead of their pocketbook. And it is contemptuous of anyone who takes a dissenting line.
But perhaps the neatest illustration of the problem with the way the Democrats have chosen to fight this election lies not in any of these reasonable objections, but in the uncomfortable closeness between the party’s message and the core message of MSNBC talking heads. If your account of this race is indistinguishable from that pushed by liberal hardliners paid to preach to the choir, it’s probably not a winning message. You can be the MSNBC Party or you can be a successful party. You can’t be both.
And, as with cable news, most people can see through to the cynicism that lies behind it. They know they shouldn’t take warnings about the death of democracy seriously when the people issuing those warnings paid to boost those same candidates they now claim are threats to the Republic.
The miscalculation is becoming clear. Hence desperate last-minute recalibration that leads to absurd arguments such as the pro-choice claim made by Stacey Abrams this morning that “having children is why you are worried about the price of gas.” These are the words of someone losing the argument and likely to lose her second gubernatorial bid in Georgia next month. Appropriately enough, they were also words she uttered on MSNBC.
Is anyone listening to Blinken’s Taiwan warning?
Is the Biden administration listening to its own warnings on China? In many ways, this president has continued the work of his predecessor in recognizing China as America’s main geopolitical adversary. He has also acted on that realization. Most recently, Biden has declared war on China’s chip industry. Yet one is still left wondering if this administration’s actions are sufficient given the stark message they themselves have delivered about the China threat.
This week, Antony Blinken said China has made a decision to seize Taiwan on a “much faster timeline.” Speaking at an event at Stanford, he said that “there has been a change in the approach from Beijing toward China in recent years.” The analysis would be alarming enough were it coming from an academic China-watcher. But the claim comes from America’s top diplomat.
Consider Blinken’s warning alongside Biden’s increasingly straightforward public statements about America’s willingness to defend the island in the case of Chinese invasion. Then ask whether the US is ready to honor that commitment. It is not a reassuring hypothetical. And it gets less hypothetical by the day.
Fetterman releases doctor’s note
John Fetterman’s campaign is not going well. Polls show his lead in the all-important Pennsylvania race narrowing as the question of his fitness for office refuses to go away. Fetterman’s health has gone from being the elephant in the room to perhaps the main story in the race. The Democratic Senate candidate’s campaign is desperate to talk about anything other than the consequences of the stroke he suffered earlier this year. But, with calls for greater transparency about his health refusing to go away, Fetterman this morning released a letter from his doctor.
According to the letter, “the Lt Governor is recovering well from his stroke and his health has continued to improve.” Dr. Clifford Chen says that while he “continues to exhibit symptoms of auditory processing disorder which can come across as hearing difficulty… his communication is significantly improved compared to his first visit” and says Fetterman “has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”
The letter may not be quite the release of medical records called for by his opponent Mehmet Oz as well as numerous local and national newspapers, but it’s a step towards transparency that his campaign hopes will allay enough voters’ worries in what is set to be a nail-biter.
Read this
Amber Athey: Catholic medical school pushes hormone therapy for minors
Matt McDonald: Carnage meets courtesy at the Georgia debates
Grayson Quay: What I saw at the Restoring a Nation conference
Allysia Finley, Wall Street Journal: Can Lanhee Chan invigorate the ‘slightly alive’ California GOP?
Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution: Classical liberalism versus the new right
Bari Weiss, Common Sense: Kanye West’s dark, twisted fantasy
Poll watch
President Biden job approval
Approve: 43.1 percent
Disapprove: 54.3 percent
Net approval: -11.2 (RCP Average)
Arizona governor’s race
Kari Lake (R): 49 percent
Katie Hobbs (D): 46 percent (Trafalgar)
