Popping the GOP dis-reality bubble one gin and tonic at a time
This David Brooks editorial in the New York Times is getting some play because it is rather shocking that:
1) a DC beltway conservative admitted that he was wrong about something,
2) admitted that he sucks at his job, and
3) allowed that “accuracy” was a thing that ought to be pursued by journalists.
In his own words:
Trump voters are a coalition of the dispossessed. They have suffered lost jobs, lost wages, lost dreams. The American system is not working for them, so naturally they are looking for something else.
Moreover, many in the media, especially me, did not understand how they would express their alienation. We expected Trump to fizzle because we were not socially intermingled with his supporters and did not listen carefully enough. For me, it’s a lesson that I have to change the way I do my job if I’m going to report accurately on this country.
He expected Trump to fizzle because he was “not socially intermingled with his supporters.” And there you have it. The conservative DC dis-reality bubble has popped, for Brooks anyway. Trump supporters don’t go to the Georgetown cocktail parties that Brooks goes to, so in his mind, they didn’t really exist.
Does Brooksy’s epiphany mean that there will be a cascading acknowledgment among DC beltway types that their worldview is a little screwed by their pool of social interminglers? Does this mean that the press is going to head out in search of this crazy new thing…accuracy? I tend to doubt it.
Bill Kristol is still being paid good money to appear on TV and support the establishment’s dis-reality perspective. Most recently, Bill Kristol has turned from Rubio as messiah and has taken to peddling the fantasy that potential independent bid by “real” conservatives could stop Trump. Kristol is holding tight to the cocktail party orthodoxy that Trump isn’t real, and that his supporters are a mirage. Kristol chalks Trump’s primary wins up to “lucky” timing.
So, who does Kristol think would peel off from Trump to vote for a third party conservative? He doesn’t say, but he doesn’t get paid to get stuck in the weeds of reality. Rather, he keeps getting on MSNBC by claiming that an election by a third party conservative “would be tough to win, but not impossible.”
Which is what someone might say just before they say, “…another gin and tonic, please.”
No way, pundits and politicians rarely recant, admit they we’re wrong or stop lying long enough to catch a breath. As for gin & tonics it’s not summer yet so I’m staying with beer, wine on occasion.
What’s funny is, a Philadelphia Magazine writer conclusively established over ten years ago what Brooks has just admitted. The fact that he clearly just made things up about the “red” counties he wrote about did not seem to impact his stature in any way, so it’s unlikely he’ll change. As this writer alludes, it’s far more lucrative to peddle an inaccurate picture of the other half that matches your readers’ preconceived notions than it is to understand things and “intermingle.” It’s also, of course, a lot easier:
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/david-brooks-booboos-in-paradise/
For Brooks, Kristol and many other deep thinkers, being wrong never incurs a penalty. Kristol is wrong so regularly, and so profoundly that it has become part of his brand.
That is what is so surprising about this Brooks acknowledgment.
He expected Trump to fizzle because he was “not socially intermingled with his supporters.”
But he is socially intermingled with the party elite who have been at the spear tip of screwing over these folks.
“As for gin & tonics it’s not summer yet”
St Patricks weekend was effectively the season opening at the beach. In the spirit of spirits, I would like to recommend the new Chesapeake and Maine right next to Dogfish Head in Rehoboth. Do yourself a favor and try their gin and tonic made with Dogfish’s Compelling Gin or the Whole Leaf Gin. I prefer the Whole Leaf Gin but both are excellent.
As for the 4th Estate, truth and accuracy disappeared many years ago as the estate transitioned to the service of either the liberal or conservative philosophy they decided to adopt. In short when the media became party organs, truth and accuracy went by the wayside. Critical thinkers can still glean facts from the medias output, but they have to do much of their own research to flesh it out and make it coherent. Fortunately, we have the Internet where those who are capable can find real information. Those who are not capable usually wind up at Infowars or Newsmax.
“…accuracy disappeared many years ago as the estate transitioned to the service of either the liberal or conservative philosophy they decided to adopt.”
Please. Don’t embarrass yourself with this “both sides do it” bullshit. I think you’ve identified yourself as a quality contributor. This is below you.
“Both sides do it” is a tu quoque fallacy that excuses one based on similar/identical actions of another. I did not intend to make that argument. Since I was not excusing either the left or the right media, I was not committing a tu quoque fallacy.
I was asserting that, in general, the 4th Estate abdicated their responsibilities a long time ago through creeping partisanship in the service of whatever political philosophy they decided to follow.
If you want to argue that most or even some of the 4th Estate does not peddle or pander, then I’m all ears.