In a piece on AlterNet "Why the Political Press Totally Didn't See Donald Trump's Surge Coming" examing why the media is now so surprised by the seeming success of Donald Trump - is there anyone more pathetic than this individual? - as front-runner amongst Republicans (and what does that tell you about the GOP?), some very useful background to the state of play in US politics, including the insidious nature of Fox News.
"But is Trump’s run really that surprising? It shouldn’t be if you’ve been paying attention to the radical, obstructionist turn both Republican politics and the right-wing media have taken over the last six-plus years. Yet during most of that span, the D.C. media stoically pretended the GOP hadn’t taken an ugly, radical turn. And that’s why so many seem baffled by Trump’s rise.
Increasingly, Trump represents Fox News’ Republican Party. He’s holding up a mirror. But many journalists seem slow, or unwilling, to acknowledge that.
Some Beltway analysts blame the press for Trump’s rise, insisting it’s only because he’s generating so much media attention that Republican voters are selecting him as their top choice. But that premise only works if you assume Trump doesn’t connect with a certain group of voters. The fact is, most of Trump’s coverage over the last month has been highly unflattering, as journalists and pundits detail his seemingly endless string of outrageous statements. (Minus Fox News, of course, where several hosts continue to fawn over him.) Yet Trump’s favorable rating among Republican voters has been on the rise, suggesting that he is, in fact, connecting with the GOP base.
The idea that Trump’s appeal isn’t genuine or that the press has lured Republicans into supporting him is likely more comforting than acknowledging the truth: Trump, an ignorant, nativist birther, is appealing to an often-ugly streak within the conservative movement. He’s winning over the illogical, demagoguery wing of the Republican Party that’s been feasting off far-right media hate rhetoric for years.
It’s the coalition that cheered when Glenn Beck called the president of the United States a “racist,” and agrees with right-wing commentators that Obama is a tyrant who needs to be impeached.
This was the “grassroots” political movement that was so freaked out by Obama’s ascension to power that it reached for the Nazi analogies just months into the president’s first term, before he’d barely even finished filling out his cabinet positions. This is a wing of the party that views Obama as a monster of historic proportions who’s committed to stripping citizens of their liberties and getting them addicted to government dependencies, like a drug dealer.
Is anyone surprised that Trump has the backing of Rush Limbaugh, even after the billionaire attacked McCain’s war record? It’s the same Limbaugh who claimed that if Obama weren’t black he’d be working as a tour guide in Hawaii, not sitting in the Oval Office. The same Limbaugh who decried Obama as some sort of black Manchurian Candidate who ran for office because he resents white America and wants to garnish somepayback. (Obama also thought Americans deserved to become infected with Ebola, according to Limbaugh."
"But is Trump’s run really that surprising? It shouldn’t be if you’ve been paying attention to the radical, obstructionist turn both Republican politics and the right-wing media have taken over the last six-plus years. Yet during most of that span, the D.C. media stoically pretended the GOP hadn’t taken an ugly, radical turn. And that’s why so many seem baffled by Trump’s rise.
Increasingly, Trump represents Fox News’ Republican Party. He’s holding up a mirror. But many journalists seem slow, or unwilling, to acknowledge that.
Some Beltway analysts blame the press for Trump’s rise, insisting it’s only because he’s generating so much media attention that Republican voters are selecting him as their top choice. But that premise only works if you assume Trump doesn’t connect with a certain group of voters. The fact is, most of Trump’s coverage over the last month has been highly unflattering, as journalists and pundits detail his seemingly endless string of outrageous statements. (Minus Fox News, of course, where several hosts continue to fawn over him.) Yet Trump’s favorable rating among Republican voters has been on the rise, suggesting that he is, in fact, connecting with the GOP base.
The idea that Trump’s appeal isn’t genuine or that the press has lured Republicans into supporting him is likely more comforting than acknowledging the truth: Trump, an ignorant, nativist birther, is appealing to an often-ugly streak within the conservative movement. He’s winning over the illogical, demagoguery wing of the Republican Party that’s been feasting off far-right media hate rhetoric for years.
It’s the coalition that cheered when Glenn Beck called the president of the United States a “racist,” and agrees with right-wing commentators that Obama is a tyrant who needs to be impeached.
This was the “grassroots” political movement that was so freaked out by Obama’s ascension to power that it reached for the Nazi analogies just months into the president’s first term, before he’d barely even finished filling out his cabinet positions. This is a wing of the party that views Obama as a monster of historic proportions who’s committed to stripping citizens of their liberties and getting them addicted to government dependencies, like a drug dealer.
Is anyone surprised that Trump has the backing of Rush Limbaugh, even after the billionaire attacked McCain’s war record? It’s the same Limbaugh who claimed that if Obama weren’t black he’d be working as a tour guide in Hawaii, not sitting in the Oval Office. The same Limbaugh who decried Obama as some sort of black Manchurian Candidate who ran for office because he resents white America and wants to garnish somepayback. (Obama also thought Americans deserved to become infected with Ebola, according to Limbaugh."
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