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The thing is, the journalists who demand the Pelosi find some way to outfox McConnell, to prove once and for all he's the baddie, is not because they don't know McConnell is the baddie.
It's because they feel they need cover to say so outright.
It's because they feel they need cover to say so outright.
Do Mitch McConnell and the Republicans support cash assistance to Americans in the pandemic? No. Not only will they say as much, but their platform and legislation for the last several decades make their position on such blatant, no-strings-attached welfare clear.
Have Republicans consistently supported another relief package since the CARES Act passed in March? No. McConnell went on the record saying 15-20 GOP Senators wouldn't support any bill at the end of July and in October said there was no appetite for it before the election.
In case you need citations:
15-20 GOP Senators won't support ANY relief bill in July: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/510094-mcconnell-15-20-gop-senators-will-not-vote-for-any-coronavirus-deal
GOP Senators don't want to pass a relief bill before the election: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mcconnell-signals-senate-republicans-don-t-want-bigger-covid-relief-n1244082
15-20 GOP Senators won't support ANY relief bill in July: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/510094-mcconnell-15-20-gop-senators-will-not-vote-for-any-coronavirus-deal
GOP Senators don't want to pass a relief bill before the election: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mcconnell-signals-senate-republicans-don-t-want-bigger-covid-relief-n1244082
Is there any indication McConnell and Senate Republicans would have considered passing a smaller, cash assistance only bill at any point prior to the election? No.
Every bill Republicans have put together has contained less cash assistance and less expansion of unemployment benefits and been loaded with giveaways to corporations and provisions that strip protections for workers. They knew Democrats wouldn't and couldn't vote for them.
Still, because the GOP made the effort of writing bills they knew would never fly and therefore could have most members of their party vote for without violating their position that there shouldn't be another stimulus, the press continues to give the GOP the benefit of the doubt.
Journalists know McConnell is operating in bad faith. They know the GOP had no intention of passing a bill before the election. But they can't say it unless and until Pelosi and Democrats pull out a "gotcha" so damning, journalists' objectivity can't be called into question.
It's the same reason so many journalists seemed to be allergic to calling blatant lies from the president and other Republicans over the last 5 years "lies." It's always "inaccurate" or "misleading" or "Democrats say..." instead.
But there's no way for Pelosi to do this, however much the armchair quarterbacks insist there's either a simple or 8-dimensional chess move she could pull out of her hat IF ONLY she were a more competent politician.
I explained why here: https://twitter.com/RomancingNope/status/1335001018162089987
I explained why here: https://twitter.com/RomancingNope/status/1335001018162089987
There's no way to outmaneuver a party that can succeed politically by doing absolutely nothing and who knows they will pay penalty neither with their base nor with the press for doing so, when your party's promise is sound, fair governance.
There's no way to prove conclusively the bad guy is the bad guy when the press will hear the words "15-20 of my guys won't support any relief bill" or "my folks would rather focus on winning elections than helping Americans" from the bad guy, and give them a pass.
But if Nancy Pelosi dares admit there were political realities which informed her decisions in October, she will be excoriated by the press.
This is partly because Democrats have high standards for themselves and thus are held to them by the press, while the GOP have none.
This is partly because Democrats have high standards for themselves and thus are held to them by the press, while the GOP have none.
At some point, though, you have to wonder why the press so gleefully runs with "Pelosi plays politics while Americans suffer" every time McConnell and the GOP float it, no matter how thin the justification.
They need cover to attack Mitch, but not Nancy. Why?
They need cover to attack Mitch, but not Nancy. Why?
I can't answer the question why. Maybe it's because she's a woman and the American press has a particularly extreme reaction to women in leadership positions. I don't know for sure, though, since the last male Democratic Speaker left office in 1995.
Maybe it's because most journalists' paychecks are cut by a dwindling number of major media corporations whose owners and executives lean conservative.
Maybe it's because they fear the fascist impulses of the right could put them out of existence if they don't walk on eggshells.
Maybe it's because they fear the fascist impulses of the right could put them out of existence if they don't walk on eggshells.
Maybe it's because it's just more entertaining (and thus better for their bottom line) when the press treats politics like a game, and the person who wins is the one who gets respect and adulation--no matter how lacking in morals, dirty the tricks, or damaging the results.
