Atlantic: Biden has undermined faith in our elections

[Takket]

No... the title of this thread is not a typo...... I find this so disheartening. About a month or two ago I posted an Atlantic article here about the insurrection. It was well thought out, very long, contained quotes and data from many experts and publications as to why people attacked the capital and why drumpf WANTED it attacked. I hailed it as a fantastic piece of journalism in a modern age where such articles are few and far between.

that is why I was so heartbroken reading this today, not just because of what it says, but because it came from the Atlantic. The same publication that put out a piece of deeply researched investigative journalism, today put out this piece of shit. A right wing hit piece the blames Biden, denies the existence of voter suppression, promotes the McConnell talking point that fixing the Electoral Count Act is what is REALLY needed, and throws in a nod to the absurdity of the AZ fraudit at the end to try and give itself some kind of air of legitimacy.

Other than some links to NY vs GA voting laws, it contains no research. No quotes from election experts as to the impact of voter suppression laws. No data on how many people that benefited from no-excuse absentee voting and drop boxes will now lose the ability to vote for lack of time, no analysis of how stricter laws are already leading to legitimate voters having absentee applications rejected.......

The entire Fourth Estate is rolling over in it's grave.

Here is the article about the insurrection that was so good, if you missed it:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/january-6-insurrection-trump-coup-2024-election/620843/

and here is today's disgrace, which may as well have been written by Tucker Carlson:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/biden-election-comments-undermine-faith-democracy/621398/

Joe Biden, who ran for president promising to restore trust in American democracy, recently undermined it. It’s not what he was elected to do, and he needs to repair the damage.

During his marathon press conference last week, Biden was asked whether the failure of voting-rights legislation in Congress would render this year’s elections illegitimate.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be legit, as the increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is a direct proportion to us not being able to get these reforms passed,” Biden responded. Because the reforms didn’t pass, by implication the midterm elections later this year may indeed be illegitimate.

The White House tried to clean up the president’s comments on the legitimacy of our elections. Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted out a statement saying “@potus was not casting doubt on the legitimacy of the 2022 election.” But the harm was done.

[vanlassie]

1. I don't want to click. Who wrote that screed?

[Takket]

4. someone named Peter Wehner

of the Ethics and Public Policy Center... which i guess is some right wing BS merchant. Which begs the question of why they were allowed opinion space in the Atlantic.

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=XmyTEFnM0JlhxwZl_MHcLQ

[uponit7771]

7. Ah, I scanned the article and it should've never been allowed in the Atlantic or some 9th grade eng

... comp class.

This was poor for the Atlantic

[smirkymonkey]

17. Pay him no mind.

"Peter Hermann Wehner (born February 10, 1961) is an American writer and former speechwriter for the administrations of three U.S. presidents. He is a vice president and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), a conservative think tank, and a fellow at the Trinity Forum, a nonprofit Christian organization. Wehner is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, and the author of The Death of Politics."

"According to the Institute for Policy Studies, Wehner's work usually centers on "domestic policy and Christian ethics", although he is "a reliable hawk on foreign affairs and he tends to view foreign policy through the prism of moralism".[6] Wehner rejects the idea of pacifism and believes that "self-defense and violence in response to attack—violence even in an effort to promote justice and human dignity and human flourishing—can be justified".

Wehner opposes abortion.

Wehner supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, but later criticized the subsequent U.S. war strategy."

I just wonder why The Atlantic is giving him a voice.

[vanlassie]

20. The best part:

“ He opposes the view that "the Sermon on the Mount is a political philosophy" and says that "often Christians make the mistake of assuming the words of Christ and the individual commands, or commands that apply to individuals, apply to governments as well".[9]”
HOW’S THAT for a Get Out Of Jail Free card? Excuse me while I puke.

[Takket]

24. thanks for the info

i find it disgraceful that the media is allowed to publish things like that without at the VERY LEAST disclosing who is writing them and their background. There is absolutely nothing to indicate Werner's background in the piece. At the end they say he's in the "Ethics and Public Policy Center" but without googling it the average person would have no idea what that is. There should be laws that opinion pieces contain at least a link to some sort of bio on the author. People have a right to know these things.

[crickets]

32. The Ethics & Public Policy Center is an arm of the Koch Propaganda machine.

First of three in the thread:

Link to tweet

https://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ethics_and_Public_Policy_Center

The Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, "is one of several [organizations] devoted to improving public appreciation of the role of business in what it terms a 'moral society.' It was founded by Ernest Lefever, who expressed his concern that 'U.S. domestic and multinational firms find themselves increasingly under siege at home and abroad. They are accused of producing shoddy and unsafe products, fouling the environment, robbing future generations, wielding enormous power, repressing peoples in the third world, and generally being insensitive to human needs. We as a small and ethnically oriented center are in a position to respond more directly to ideological critics who insist the corporation is fundamentally unjust.'"[1]

According to the EPPC website the organisation was "established in 1976 to clarify and reinforce the bond between the Judeo-Christian moral tradition and the public debate over domestic and foreign policy issues." [2] [snip]

Charles Koch is the right-wing billionaire owner of Koch Industries. As one of the richest people in the world, he is a key funder of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN).

As to why the Atlantic is giving Whelan a voice, that's a very good question. I thought better of them. It's disappointing to see this level of blatant dreck coming from the Atlantic.

[dalton99a]

28. +1

[Poiuyt]

31. Peter Wehner is an anti-Trump Republican

I've seen him several times on TV bashing Trump. But he is a conservative.

I haven't read the article, but I'm surprised that The Atlantic would publish anything like that.

[Scrivener7]

2. The press is such a joke.

[2Gingersnaps]

3. "The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi"

or the dedicated communist,

[uponit7771]

5. Whole article based off one inconsistent statement, didn't think Atlantic did click bait

[underpants]

10. I can't believe they are following the Fox News spin

Wow.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. The Atlantic, which makes both-sideserism sound smart?

[dsc]

8. among other things he misreprsents what the state laws do

In GA, for instance, the law does the very thing (alter who counts the votes) that the author agrees is a threat to Democracy.

[highplainsdem]

9. I'm stunned that the Atlantic would publish a travesty like that.

[gulliver]

11. It was "arguably" a bad move on Biden's part in a generally brilliant performance

What people never seem to get is that it's very often a good idea to say something and then take it back. The media especially doesn't get that. That makes them pawns for that particular move.

I would love for Biden to just keep doing two-hour press conferences. He was masterful in this last one, imo, although, of course, the usual dull tacks were dully critical.

[MichMan]

15. The problem becomes when the President says something that is seen & replayed to millions of voters

and the White House Press Secretary is the one that later tries to take it back, when only a fraction are watching and paying attention. Same thing with the statement regarding a minor incursion by Russia into Ukraine.

What one do you think will carry more weight ?

[gulliver]

25. That's why we need a lot more two-hour press conferences

Biden can flood the media with truth and leadership if he does that. His press conference was, as I say, brilliant. Repetition is a great thing, so I'd like to see him repeat these press conferences over and over.

Both "mistakes," (election legitimacy and Ukraine incursion) aren't necessarily mistakes. It doesn't necessarily hurt to "put out there" that the Republicans are trying to make elections less legitimate. It doesn't necessarily hurt to imply that a minor incursion into Ukraine might be dealt with proportionally. You can say those things and take them back, either personally or via spokesperson, but they're not "really" taken back. They're out there

The Ukraine incursion mention by Biden got a response from Ukranian President Zelensky that he wouldn't tolerate any incursion. It was characterized by the media as a "rebuke" to Biden's statement, but that's just conventional media superficial melodrama. For Zelensky it was a chance to take center stage. And it was a chance for Biden and other allies to reiterate support.

On election legitimacy, it's sad but true that Republicans are doing things to reduce election legitimacy. Look what they tried to do in 2020 with fake electors and pressuring state election officers and the DOJ. There's nothing wrong with talking about the possibility that election legitimacy can be sabotaged when acts of sabotage have been committed by Republicans. It's a two-edged sword obviously, because it gives the impression that Dems are prepared to have our own "concerns" about election integrity.

It needs to be out there though, imo. It's just reality. It's important that we make sure the media doesn't "equivalence" it with Republican "concerns," however. A concern about potential mugging risk in an unlit store parking lot is different when expressed by the mugger (the Republicans) and the potential muggee (the Dems).

[crickets]

33. +1

[2Gingersnaps]

12. "The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi

or the dedicated communist, but for people whom the destinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists." -Hannah Arendt, "The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951)

Yes, a stupid man can destroy a nation. It wasn't his rhetoric, or his brilliance, it was his absolute corruption like drops of water on a rock.

[ShazamIam]

13. They couldn't think of a nastier way to write that Republicans have blocked voting

rights in Congress while their home state Republican legislators are busy making illegal voting restrictions.

[Irish_Dem]

14. The US media was bought off a long time ago.

[LENNY0229]

16. PISS ON THESE IDIOTS!

[unblock]

18. Too many think "faith" in electoral integrity is more important than actual electoral integrity.

[blm]

19. Wehner is still a dyed-in-the-wool Republican.

No matter that he was a Trump critic, he still wants to believe his party is innocent of vote suppression.

[amaico]

21. Both Sides! Both Sides!

By doing Both Sides! The Atlantic proves it's a Very Serious Outlet™️
Next up in the Atlantic, Joe Biden undermines Roe v Wade because.... Both Sides!

[Bayard]

22. Joe speaks the truth

If rethuglicans are allowed to continue warping state elections with undemocratic new laws, 2022 election integrity is definitely in doubt.

[Backseat Driver]

23. Wow, I just renewed my subscription too!

Hadn't been there yet today. Although on their online Popular/Latest column(s) page, it seems to have pre-buried in an Archive folder. This may help to convey your thoughts to The Atlantic:

https://support.theatlantic.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011374674-Submit-a-Letter-To-The-Editor

[asiliveandbreathe]

26. Letter to Editor..sent..wish I had copied to share..but my

letter was pellucidly clear - nothing like shooting yourself in the foot - humiliating The Atlantic needs to stoop so low.. disgraceful, reckless, and without research..I blame the writer and the website's executive editor, Adrienne LaFrance, and the editor-in-chief is Jeffrey Goldberg (if they are still employed at The Atlantic).

Also noted, not sure about future subscribers..perhaps RWNJ (but then, do they read the Atlantic??..Those current subscribers,,not sure either?? Good Luck..

Takket - send your OP to the Atlantic...so powerful -

[EleanorR]

27. Marc Elias- "If you want to know just how wrong-headed this article is"

Very disappointed in The Atlantic for printing this drivel.

Link to tweet

[dalton99a]

29. Absolute garbage.

[Xoan]

30. Bullshit

Eom

[orleans]

34. WTF??? fuck this shit atlantic!

& fuck the rest with their doom and fucking gloom headlines.

fear sells apparently. especially if you're fucking republican douches that own these media outlets