Gaslighting Now Standard Procedure in Politics and Media

The Hill, once a respected Beltway publication that has devolved into an attention-seeking rag that employs conspiracy theorists as “journalists,” asked a bunch of Republican senators — none of the asswipe fire-breathers, mind you, just the few excuses for “reasonable” ones — if they would work with Joe Biden should he be elected president. Guess how it went.

As hard as the Republicans are working to re-elect Trump, pussy-assed Democrats are working even harder to sell us on Biden, who’s cabinet full of flaws might be second only to Trump himself. Everyone with a brain that extends beyond the cerebellum has pointed out what a delusional, self-aggrandizing statement Biden is making when he says Republicans will “have an epiphany” once he defeats Trump, but the Democratic-media complex isn’t going to let that go unchallenged.

Hence this article, headlined with the grossly inaccurate statement, “Key Republicans say Biden can break Washington gridlock.” The problem, should anyone read the unnecessary stream of syllables beneath, is that nobody they talked to said any such thing. Only the author did. Such editorializing is getting to be a new feature with our slack-jawed media.

Here’s what Republican senators actually said.

Lindsey Graham: “I think Joe Biden has the ability to work across party lines, absolutely I do,” said Graham, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman who was one of the authors of the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill the Senate passed in 2013 but that later died in the House. …Graham said he’s “all in for Trump” but could see working with Biden “on a lot of things” if he winds up in the White House in 2021.

Lisa Murkowski: “Think about some of the initiatives Biden has worked with, whether it’s Leader McConnell or just worked on a bipartisan basis. The fact that he has legislative, congressional experience and had to work in a legislative body and then worked with President Obama as one within the administration working with a legislative body does give him a level of experience that’s useful.”

Chuck Grassley: “He did very definitely make a breakthrough. He and McConnell more or less negotiated not having a shutdown of government [in 2012]. And then you know what? The Democrats didn’t like him doing it and Obama didn’t let him do it anymore. So yes, he does have a track record.”

You get the picture. Nowhere in the article does a single Republican say that yes, their party would work with Biden on Democratic Party priorities. That’s because most of them would drink hemlock before they’d vote in favor of a progressive priority, because doing so would end their careers almost immediately. They’ll work with him only if it suits their purposes, and progressives fear — rightly so — that Biden would give Republicans what they want just so he could proclaim victory, much as Bill Clinton tended to do.

The only real question left to ask about political media is whether they’re stupid or they think we are.