“Liberal bias” press grades Republicans on a curve
Dan Pfeiffer is steamed over press coverage of Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s avoiding the ” first-ever default in U.S. history” and “a potential global financial collapse.” The press, Pfeiffer complains, is “treating the passage of this basic bill as a significant accomplishment for McCarthy.” He provides a few examples and responds:
Everyone, go take a cold shower. McCarthy did the bare minimum required and didn’t get fired (yet) in the process. If folks want to say McCarthy exceeded historically low expectations, fine; but treating him as some conquering hero or the second coming of Lyndon Baines Johnson is ridiculously over the top.
The way the media treats McCarthy is part of the broader and very annoying habit of grading Republicans on a curve. The GOP gets participation trophies from the press, while Democrats are often held to much higher standards.
It’s true. And that stance is not limited to the press. More-progressive-than-thou (MPTT) activists can be brutal in their denunications of Democratic allies when they feel disappointed. It’s “you always hurt the one you love” behavior. Having no expectations for Republicans, condemning them is de rigueur. MPTTs demand more from Democrats and condemn failure to fully live up to their potential as a jilting (or as evidence they are closet conservatives).
The press is not so reflexively critical of Democrats, but neither are reporters as quick to credit them as they are to spotlight not-awfulness on the right:
The McCarthy coverage is an egregious example of a trend in the political media. They grade Republicans on a curve while holding Democrats to a different, higher standard. Perhaps, you remember the many, many times during the Trump era when the press celebrated a newly disciplined or strategic Trump simply because he went ten days without committing a crime in public or tweeting hate speech. Other Republicans, like Mitch McConnell, received a Profiles in Courage award for being slightly less bad than Trump. Doing anything other than lighting the government on fire is seen as a substantive achievement.
Grading the GOP on a curve is endemic to longstanding journalistic cultural mores.
Press critic Dan Froomkin reminds us of that day after day.
Pfeiffer continues:
First, political media prizes balance over accuracy. They would rather be seen as “objective” and “non-partisan” than correctly detail what is happening in politics. In a world where the Republicans cavort with Nazis, enable Trump’s crimes, lie with impunity, and generally enjoy watching the world burn, the media has to go out of its way to say nice things about Republicans. In those instances, they tend to compensate to prove their bona fides as balanced reporters.
Second, the media has fully internalized the idea that the modern GOP is radical and reckless. Therefore, they price that assumption into the baseline when judging their conduct.
When Republicans act profanely and cruelly, it’s dog-bites-man. But, says Pfeiffer, “if a Democrat does something that might possibly be seen as uncivil or irresponsible, the press goes after them whole hog.”
The Senate passed H.R. 3746, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Thursday night. It goes now to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature. Republican arsonists will be teeing up their next opportunity to set the country on fire.