The Democratic Party Has an 'MSNBC Problem' [View all]

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http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/the-democratic-party-has-an-msnbc-problem.html

May 16, 2018 8:35 am
The Democratic Party Has an ‘MSNBC Problem’
By Eric Levitz


Leaning away from red America.

“The Democrats need to stop obsessing about Trump and Russia, and start talking about the bread-and-butter issues that matter to ordinary people.” Since Donald Trump took office, that sentiment has been a refrain for the party’s leading critics on both the left and right. It is also fundamentally unfair.

In truth, the Democratic Party is quite focused on promoting a progressive critique of the GOP’s positions on taxes, health care, and social spending, because it knows that Republicans are deeply vulnerable on those issues. MSNBC, CNN, and the broader mainstream media, however, are obsessed with the White House’s myriad scandals – because they know that a federal investigation into the American president’s potential ties to the Kremlin (and/or porn stars and/or white-collar crime) is ratings gold — while daily broadcasts reiterating the regressive implications of the GOP’s tax law and health-care plans would be anything but.

If you get your news from Democratic Twitter accounts, then you might well think that the biggest “scandal” in American politics right now is the Republican Party’s war on the middle class.

But if you get your news from cable television — or secondhand from friends and family who watch cable news — then you will think that “Russia-gate” is the Democratic Party’s central concern; because that is just about the only thing that cable news channels invite Democratic officeholders to go on television to discuss. As the Daily Beast reports:

Eager to move a message that focuses on things like minimum wage hikes and health care premiums, [Democrats] have been overtaken by a steady stream of stories of Russian meddling, porn star payoffs, and shady Trump-world figures. Ultimately, many offices and aides have come to the conclusion that they should simply give up on trying to break through on cable news at all.

“It’s impossible,” said one Senate aide, “unless you want to talk about Russia.”

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http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/the-democratic-party-has-an-msnbc-problem.html