Not the odds, but the stakes.
That's my shorthand for the organizing principle we most need in journalists covering the 2024 campaign. Not who has what chances of winning, but the consequences for American democracy. Not the odds, but the stakes.
This report from the Washington Post is getting there. Have a read of it and tell me if you see what I mean. https://wapo.st/41yXOmI [Gift link, no paywall]
The headline gets an A in "not the odds, but the stakes."
The story a C-minus.
Trump's ideas are described as conservative, but different from Reagan's small-government vision.
The word "authoritarian" appears twice, once describing people Trump admires, once in a quote where someone mentions "Trump and authoritarian populists like him." It's never used to describe his authoritarian ideas. Neither are any synonyms, unless you consider "conservative" a synonym for authoritarian, which I pretty much do, but I don't think the writers do.
We could take conservatives at their word that conservatism is useless and outdated.
@kingkaufman @jayrosen_nyu the article almost makes his (well, not really his - rather his advisors) vision sound appealing. Who doesn’t want “something” done about homelessness and gangs?
But focusing strictly on policy differences and not on how the policies are administered is a mistake. It’s not always the what; it’s the how and by whom.
@jayrosen_nyu hed, dek, lede, absolutely. But the rest of the story? He’s so unorthodox! Experts are mildly worried he might get shit done that isn’t currently legal! He probably won’t create a national police force… right?
Nothing about the damage he’s done to everyday Americans or democratic institutions or how that damage could be extended in real terms. Those are the stakes.
I want reporting on the moneyed individuals funding fascism.
Corporations are not people. They shouldn't get to select a despot.
Money is not speech. It shouldn't get to select a despot.
Democracy is "We the People" not "might makes right".
Reproductive rights
Voting Rights
Gun safety
Tax reform
Campaign finance transparency
Election security
Climate action
The GOP billionaire donors funding a global anti-democracy movement:
Koch. Murdoch. Griffin. Uihlein. Schwarzman. Ellison. Thiel. Yass. Musk. Mercer. Putin. Mohammed bin Salman. Schwab. Buckley. DeVos. Petterffy. Kelcy Warren. Jim Haslam. Harlan Crow. Barre Seid. Bradley. Hendricks. Fancelli. Lauder. Scaife. Mellon. Tim Dunn. Farris Wilks. Fancelli. Wynn. Adelson. Ricketts. McMahon. Warren Stephens. Patrick Ryan. Alwaleed bin Talal. Prigozhin. Prince. Murrin. Adelson.
1/2
2/2
Since there are inadequate transparency laws for campaign finance & a lack of regulatory oversight for disclosure on nonprofits, even this list is incomplete.
Questions go unanswered.
AT&T funded the launch of OAN.
Which individual decided that?
Slator.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-oneamerica-att/
Chris Ruddy launched Newsmax. How?
Why isn't the financing of conservative media outlets that hemorrhage money for years, then "suddenly" get rich, examined when Trump arrives on scene?
When you're too wimpy to explicitly state "I will seek to suspend the Constitution."
@jayrosen_nyu "The Stakes" for conservatives are things like gun seizures, destroying Christianity, baby murder, the emasculation of Good White Men, grooming and more.
Saying that journalists need to focus on the stakes still leaves plenty of room for manipulative shenanigans.
“As with so many things Trump, it’ll be sticky to sort out where what he’s proposing is literally unlawful, which some things would be, and where what he’s proposing would fly in the face of well-established and deeply principled norms,” said Steve Vladeck, an expert on constitutional and national security law"
#GiftArticle #GiftLink :
https://wapo.st/41yXOmI
#Trump #Authoritarian #Authoritarianism #Fascism #GOP #Republicans
"Trump’s emerging platform marks a sharp departure from traditional conservative orthodoxy emphasizing small government...
In articulating a vision of a more coercive right-wing government, Trump is finding common ground with his leading rival for the 2024 Republican nomination, Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor has laid out his own doctrine of asserting more government power"
#GiftArticle #GiftLink :
https://wapo.st/41yXOmI
#Trump #DeSantis #Authoritarianism #GOP #Florida #USPolitics #News
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