National

Mitch McConnell blocked Merrick Garland 8 months before election then confirmed Amy Coney Barrett 8 days before election when 65 million had already voted. AND YET - Democrats always lose elections (unless running against Trump) because they run on changing the tax rate by .00068% to encourage companies to do some inscrutable thing. We are blowing it once again.

Here are two HUGE conservative narratives that the media has fully internalized in-spite of the fact that they are pure bullshit: - The Courts are liberal, - The Media is liberal

One thing Republicans did for years, electeds and certainly the broader conservative moment, was to demonize portions of the judiciary. There was no 9th circuit, just THE LIBERAL 9TH CIRCUIT, and news reports generally reflected this, making all their rulings sound somehow illegitimate (The 9th circuit is no longer liberal).For whatever reasons, Dems don't do that, preferring to maintain happy illusions about an increasingly corrupt and illegitimate system. - via Eschaton

Isn't it strange how Democrats never push back in that nonsense? We are both too clean to take part in that dirty stuff and too busy speaking about the merits of bipartisanship at Notre Dame University.

All of yesterday's Open Thread stuff still holds so you can re-read that for today's news.  Just a couple of updates.  For example,  Joe Biden still won our 20 year war by leaving Afghanistan but now he is pushing back on dishonest wingnut critics who set the media narrative. Also..an arrest warrant for a MAGA-asshole and a little Social Security news.

Media narratives typically favor conservatives. (eg. "Biden Debacle!" Instead of "Biden Successfully Ends 20 Year War!" Eg. "Biden Fails to Reach Vax Goal!" Not "Conservatives Literally Killing Themselves to Frustrate Biden's Vax Goals!") Many Democrats allow the media narrative to influence their level of engagement. Republicans play Democratic "moderates" against the base to drive down engagement. Dem "Moderates" and campaign "consultants" propose timid and mostly useless tinkering with the tax code polices that appeal to conservatives but are impossible for Dems to run on. As Dem losses begin to appear likely, Democratic "moderates" take part in vilifying the Democratic base for not supporting the timid and mostly useless agenda. Republicans with no rational or popular policies, but a highly engaged base, win mid-term elections.

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