Desperate Lightweights

by digby

Did you know that the Democrats have to “root, root, root” for material to beat the Republicans? Via Peter Daou, The Note Says so:

“As is always the case with the out-of-power party, Democrats have to root root root for bad news. And no bad news source is better for the Democrats’ election prospects than the bad news from Iraq.”

It doesn’t seem to me as if the Dems have to do anything but sit on their asses and eat freedom fries; the bad news is falling from sky like rain. It’s everywhere you look. So why does the voice of DC conventional wisdom portray the political situation as the Democrats feverishly trying to dig up dirt?

Well, that would be the first step in framing the upcoming election as the Democrats unfairly smearing Republicans. It’s quite predictable, really. The derisive coverage of Democratic infighting, the constant refrain that the people will have to hold their noses to vote for Democrats, and now the cranking up of the trivia and tabloid machine, I think it’s quite clear that we are not going to have any easier ride with the mainstream media than we ever had.

No matter how much the GOP destroys the country, the media, for whatever reason, continues its assault on Democrats. We are going to have our hands full for the next two years — and if we win, for the forseeable future. Nothing has changed except for adding the “angry left” meme to the established narrative of Democratic triviality, mental instability and immorality.

Imagine how well this narrative will serve Republicans in the upcoming elections this fall and in 2008: Yes, the country has problems. Yes, they need fixing. But the Democrats are frivolous lightweights who will mire the nation in tabloid scandals and silly personality issues and aren’t we all sick of that? Do we need yet more of this tiring partisanship? (Pssst. By the way, did you hear about Russ Feingold’s divorce? Biden’s personality defects? No? Well, pull up a chair, Ken Mehlman faxed over this hilarious …)

By contrast John Mccain/Rudy Giuliani/George Allen/whomever are maverick GOP tough guy outsiders who will knock some heads together on both sides and get things done. The looney, scandalous Democrats simply aren’t serious enough to run things.

Reader Kay, in the comments below, puts it this way:

Whatever my problems with President Clinton pale in comparison with the insanity that stalked his presidency from the right using an apparently lobotomized national media and the malignant incompentence that has follwed it.

While the GOP masters of this slight-of-hand game never quite succeeded in stealing Clinton’s presidency and bringing him down personally, they did manage to make off with the 2000 election, the Congress, and any serious debate about issues that actually matter. You can make a pretty good case that the Ken Starr driven tabloidization of the Clinton presidency drowned out the discussion of terrorism that we ought to have had in the late 90’s.

But I agree completely that this is not about the Clintons. HillBill is their easiest target, sure. Because of the familiar “storyline,” Hillary can be attacked for all of Bill’s shortcomings while being simultaneously measured unfavorably against his talents and virtues. It’s a triple play when used against Hillary, distraction, personal attack and professional minimalization.

So it’s easier and it’s deadlier for her but this type of “concerned” investigation is part and parcel of a GOP meme that the media adores for its “entertainment” value.

It might be worse if Hillary really runs for president but even if she decides to stay home and bake cookies, this crap will not go away — we will just get some other form of tabloid political analysis shoved down our throats. Did John marry Theresa for love or money? Did you hear he shot himself to win one of those purple hearts? Did Murtha too? How embarassed was Tipper by that too mushy to be real kiss at the convention? (Remember? I know they do.) Did Al start embellishing the truth (you know… inventing the internet and all) to impress his remote, unloving dad? Did Elizabeth Edwards really beg John to stay home with their family in her trying time? (You know he ran off to politics just after another family crisis. Nudge, wink.)

If everything goes according to plan, some fledgling Joe Klein will write a “hip insider” novel explaining the psychological shortcomings of whomever (oops… entirely fictional person who just happens to resemble the nominee) the Democrats eventually nominate.

So just forget Hillary and pretend that the same article was written Feingold’s unmarried status or why Mrs. Dean stays in Vermont. This is really all an entirely different overly familiar storyline from the GOP called alternately “family values” or “character matters.” It is now, just as it once was, GOP-wingnut strategy writ large by a lazy and complicit media.

Democrats, you see, don’t really have families, marriages, true friends, career accomplishments or character. If they appear to have any of those things, there must be, say the wingnutters, a devious ruse that requires endless investigation and liberal doses of unsubstantiated “fun” gossip. If the press is slow on the uptake, they fill the air with innuendo and “everybody knows…” whispers until the press catches on.

All that “fun” stuff can distract us from tedious discussions about war, torture, health care, privacy rights, global warming, competent national security, and staggering budget deficits. God forbid that the right be held in an honest debate about any of that stuff — Joe six pack might get bored or (worse) learn something.

I suspect that if this is not challenged vociferously right now, the press will guide the public to listen to the serious political discussion that the serious Republicans will wage among themselves over the next two years. The Democrats, however, will be relegated to celebrity gossip and cheap armchair psychoanalysis — even if we win in the fall. The political debate will, once more, be between the right and the far right.

Update: This is sort of funny. I interpreted “root, root, root” to mean “dig” which is bad enough. But upon reflection, I see they clearly meant that Democrats are rooting for death and destruction in Iraq which is just outrageous.

I guess we can add incomprehensibly sadistic to our tabloid reputations. Good to know.

Update II: Check out Greg Sargent’s The Horse’s Mouth’s take on the Clinton NY Times Story. This blog is devoted to analyzing the press and Sargent is unsparing; it will be worth keeping an eye on.

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