Whose Fault Was It? Right Wing Media Desperate to Place Blame for Red Wave That Wasn’t
By Kevin Howley, November 16, 2022
Everybody’s talking about last night’s big news, and I’m as horrified as anyone about The Donald’s plans to star in Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue II. But I am also still reveling in the near-total humiliation of the GOP last week.
Turns out “Sleepy Joe” was the only one unsurprised by Democrats’ history-defying success in the 2022 midterm elections.
Speaking at a press conference in the White House’s State Dining Room – site of many a despoiled Happy Meal during the twice-impeached former president’s reign of error – President Biden offered this assessment of the much-anticipated red wave that failed to materialize on Election Day.
“It was a good day, I think, for democracy. And I think it was a good day for America.”
Equal parts sly and gracious, Biden’s post-election analysis offers a stark contrast to the denialism, scapegoating, and MAGA machinations in right wing media’s response to what CNBC charitably describes as the GOP’s “lackluster” showing.
Like a petulant man-child throwing his lunch against the wall, conservative media are working overtime tossing out excuses to see what sticks in the wake of an unambiguous repudiation of the Republican-led assault on reproductive rights, election integrity, and the rule of law.
“It’s Not Over Until the Democrats Say It’s Over”
Over the weekend, Gateway Pundit lamented yet another “stolen” election and chided Republican leaders for their silence in the wake of massive voter fraud. “The world is watching in amazement as corrupt election officials and politicians across the country can’t seem to finalize the results of an election five days ago.”
Citing huge GOP victories in former swing states like Iowa and Florida, Joe Hoft claims, without evidence, naturally, that “in other states with known corrupt actors and politicians and fraudulent elections, the GOP failed. They failed to protect their elections.” Funny, I thought they were our elections.
Pronoun trouble aside, the doomsday rhetoric reveals MAGA country’s deep-seated resentment toward Republican leaders. Rendered in bold type, this Sunday morning screed asks: “Where is the GOP leadership as the Democrats slowly steal the US House? Where’s McCarthy? Where’s McDaniel? Where was McConnell in the Senate races?”
Tell you where they ain’t. They’ve come out, for the time being at any rate, from the shadow of Trump’s Big Lie.
“Where Did It All Go Wrong?”
Townhall is a bit less hysterical in a remarkably brief and decidedly unbowed bit of conservative introspection on the red wave that wasn’t. Consider this right wing nut rant from out of left field.
“With the Left’s constant radical messaging of pushing sexualization on kids, driving gas prices up, draining Americans’ wallets, and being soft on crime, it should have been obvious that voters would go another route in this year’s midterm elections.”
Noting Republicans’ disappointment with the outcome, Townhall turns to the Sage of the Sunshine State, US Senator Rick Scott, for his thoughts. “I think we’ve got to reflect now. What didn’t happen? … I think we didn’t have enough of a positive message.” Notwithstanding his remarkable gift for understatement, you have to wonder if Scott knows who he’s talking to when he speaks with the likes of Townhall.
Then again, he was one of the few politicians from Florida who wasn’t making headlines in mainstream media during post-election news coverage, so any press is good press, I suppose.
“Are Lonely Karens Ruining Our Country?”
That’s the headline for some “premium” content courtesy of The Daily Caller. I’ll spare you the misogynistic details, but the gist of the piece is this: exit polls make clear that “childless cat ladies” take out their angsty rage at poor life choices against well-meaning, which is to say god-fearing, gun-toting, Social Security-cutting Republicans. Tsk tsk.
While The Daily Caller blame game targets older women, Fox News analyst and part-time matchmaker, Jesse Watters, casts young women as the foil to the Republicans’ midterm faceplant.
In a tweet that’s since gone viral, for all the wrong reasons, Watters tells viewers that “single women and voters under 40 have been captured by the Democrats. So we need these ladies to get married.”
Watters wraps up his midterm analysis cum love advice column with this guidance for MAGA men: “Guys, go put a ring on it.” Seems like a winning 2024 campaign slogan … if you’re Beyoncé.
“Killing The King”
The Donald had this Election Day prediction on the GOP’s midterm fortunes for NewsNation’s Markie Martin: “Well, I think if they win, I should get all the credit, and if they lose, I should not be blamed at all. OK, but it’ll probably be just the opposite.”
Does the man know how to hedge his bets, or what? And not without good reason. In recent days, two high-profile Rupert Murdoch owned outlets, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, pinned the Republicans’ ignominious midterm performance squarely on Trump.
That’s the hot take from GOP elites. But last Thursday evening over at Newsmax, Rob Schmitt took Murdoch and Republican leaders to task with a MAGA-inspired head beating.
Citing the likes of Fox News pundits and former House leader, Paul Ryan, who claimed that Trump “was a drag on the ticket,” Schmitt hit back. “Rupert Murdoch and his allies, running the world’s most powerful conservative media empire, have just four more days to destroy Donald Trump before he announces a 2024 run for president.” Schmitt continued, “So an all-out assault to kill the MAGA King is upon us. We knew it was coming.”
As the Election Day dust settles, expect a dust up of epic proportions on the heels of Trump’s announcement from an insecure and widely disclosed location: Mar-a-Lago.
Kevin Howley is a writer and educator whose work has appeared in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, Social Movement Studies, and Interactions: Studies in Communication and Culture. His most recent book is Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination.
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Conservative media outlets are working overtime tossing out excuses to see what sticks in the wake of an unambiguous repudiation of the Republican-led assault on reproductive rights, election integrity, and the rule of law. (Image: Pixabay)
