The Harris/Walz ticket is riding high right now, and the chattering classes seem to think the Democratic National Convention, which starts today, is going to keep the positive vibes flowing. I’m too old to think a Democratic convention in Chicago is likely to go without a hitch. Indeed, the media should be counted on to dwell at great length on whatever protests occur. The city has beefed up security, which, given the history of Chicago policing, isn’t much guarantee that protests will remain peaceful.
The reason Kamala Harris should avoid saying anything detailed about anything should be obvious. After bashing her for vagueness on the economy, the media pounced all over every specific, rather than taking a big-picture view: She’s confronting corporate price-gouging. They prefer to ape the GOP line that it’s all the fault of Democrats, because they refuse to cast their source of funding in an unfavorable light. Always remember this – I’m going to shout, because it’s important: THE MEDIA IS IN IT FOR THE MONEY.
Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo often highlights reader emails, and this one makes an important point: The media is covering Trump’s public display of mental incapacity as if it were a failure of campaign tactics instead of what it is, prima facie evidence that’s he unfit for any office, let alone the presidency. If he can’t stay on topic for 10 minutes in a presser, it should be treated as a fatal flaw rather than a personality quirk. FWIW, I’ve yet to see an MSM outlet report the obvious – that Trump’s idea of campaigning is just insulting people and using buzzwords like “Marxist” that he couldn’t begin to understand. If reporters were worth anything, one would ask him to define a Marxist. For extra fun, ask him which brother was his favorite.
While polls continue to show a close presidential race, the signs from actual voting results continue to show a different story. This Daily Kos diarist in Wisconsin points out that two GOP ballot initiatives designed to strip power from the Democratic governor expected to pass easily instead went down in decisive defeat. They would have lost even eliminating the votes from Milwaukee and Madison, the state’s Democratic strongholds. Trumpists are demoralized. Democrats are not, and they’re now motivated by more than just the desire to defeat our fascistic foes.
The floor’s yours.