When Political Action, or Inaction Has Consequences – “The Sunday Political Brunch”

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™

 

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PHOTO: Andy Feliciotti, Unsplash

Sometimes the world of politics makes little sense. Lawmakers take action or a vote, only to have it blow up in their faces. Or they do little or nothing in a situation, and thereby make it even worse. It’s the old, “You can’t win for losing!” And it includes media companies heavily invested in the political landscape. Let’s “brunch” on that this week.

 

“TV Network gets ‘Outfoxed’” – This week Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million dollars in an out-of-court settlement in a defamation case, just as the trial was about to begin. Fox asserted in at least twenty newscasts that somehow Dominion rigged some of its voting machines to tip the 2020 election in favor of now President Joe Biden. Not only was that not true, but people at Fox knew it was not true, but continued to press the storyline anyway. That’s critical in any libel suit. Fox, “acknowledge[s] the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false,” the network said in a statement. Dominion had sought $1.6 billion in damages.

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“The Fallout” – Successful lawsuits against the media are rare. News outlets make mistakes, and misstate facts because news organizations are run by humans. To successfully win a suit, you have to prove more than just the fact that they made a mistake. You have to prove they knew the information was harmful and erroneous, and then you have to prove they willfully published it anyway, knowing it to be wrong, incorrect, or malicious. Company emails were subpoenaed and revealed that several senior staffers called the accusation of fraud against Dominion to be “dangerously reckless,” “kooky,” and “mind-blowingly nuts.” Those statements were the “smoking gun.” Even Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch said he did not believe the election claims, but some of his top anchors continued to promote them anyway.

 

“Truth and Accuracy Still Matter” – Embattled Rep. George Santos (R) New York announced this week he will seek a second term. After he won in November, it was revealed that Santos fabricated parts of his resume concerning his education and job history. There are also allegations of misspending and improper accounting of campaign funds. Several Republican lawmakers have called on Santos to resign, or at least not run for reelection. “If he's not in jail next summer, I'll be fully campaigning for his Republican primary opponent,” said Nick LaLota (R) New York. But Santos has dug in his heels. “Look, nobody’s immune to making mistakes in life. I’ve owned up to them,” he said in a statement. We’ll see to what extent voters are forgiving.

 

“Grabbing for the Tail of Trump’s Comet” – The 2024 Election is still a year-and-a-half away, but people are already elbowing to get on the “Trump train.” I got a number of emails to that extent this week. Rep. Michael Waltz (R) Florida came out Thursday and endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid. It’s interesting to note that Waltz represents the same Congressional seat once held by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Florida. Waltz, once a DeSantis backer, apparently thinks Trump has a better shot at being elected president, than DeSantis, who has yet to formally declare. Meanwhile, Rep. Alex Mooney (R) West Virginia reissued a statement about his previous endorsement of Trump. Mooney is running for U.S. Senate, but Trump family-friend Gov. Jim Justice (R) West Virginia plans to challenge Mooney in the Senate primary. Everyone in the race wants to be Trump’s pal! The goal is to defeat Sen. Joe Manchin (D) West Virginia and win back the Senate majority.

 

“Democrat’s Dilemma” – Republicans aren’t the only ones having some internal struggles. Democrats are trying to substitute in a new member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That’s because Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) California, has been out ill for six weeks, and Republicans have objected to replacing her on the Judiciary Committee. That has effectively deadlocked that committee from approving President Biden’s nominees for federal judgeships, and other offices. At 89, Feinstein is the eldest member of Congress. She has already announced she will not run for reelection next year. Now, even some Democrats are calling on her to resign from office due to failing health. That would give Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) California the ability to pick her replacement. He could even nominate himself, giving him a national profile for a potential White House bid in 2024 or 2028. This situation is quite fluid.

 

“Republican Rehabbing” – Sen. Feinstein was not the only member of the “Club of 100” on the mend. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) Kentucky – Minority Leader, returned after a bad fall that put him in the hospital for weeks. Watch for McConnell to be challenged for his leadership post, even if Republicans seize the majority in 2024. Many in the GOP blame McConnell and Trump for not seizing the majority in the 2022 midterms, so that may come back to haunt them. Sen. Rick Scott (R) Florida and Sen. Tim Scott (R) South Carolina are known to have an interest in the top job.

 

“Coming Attractions” – Various sources say President Biden will launch his reelection bid on Tuesday and that his son Hunter’s legal team will meet at the Justice Department to discuss possible criminal charges. Should be a crazy week!

 

“The Shifting Media Landscape” – Fox wasn’t the only news outlet making negative headlines this week. BuzzFeed News is going out of business. The parent company BuzzFeed will stay in business, and its politically-focused Huffington Post, will remain an active operation. But the Pulitzer Prize-winning BuzzFeed News could not sustain itself financially and will go dark. I’ve wondered of late if there is an over-saturation of news outlets. Cable alone has CNN, Fox, MSNBC, News Nation, Headline News, CNBC, and more. That’s in addition to ABC, NBC, and CBS. Can each make enough revenue to stay in business? Court documents in the Fox settlement of $787 million dollars, say that total is eight-times greater than its annual revenue in 2021. Now Fox won’t fold, because it has a solid core audience, but that kind of financial hit can really hurt staffing and resources. Media outlets on tighter margins would never survive.

Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is Chief Political Reporter for the seven Nexstar Media TV stations serving West Virginia, its five neighboring states and the entire Washington, DC media market. He is also a MINDSETTER™ contributing political writer and analyst for www.GoLocalProv.com and its affiliates.


 

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