This needs to be repeated until someone there gets it. Their bread and butter are white collar people in multiple industries who will read a long form article because they want more than 10 second factoids.
Just like a business forgetting their niche and trying to do something they’re not equipped to do.
It’s already happening but I’m convinced that “unbiased” or just facts reporting continues and will continue to die. Already a lot of people get their news from very partisan websites and I can’t always even keep track of how biased some sites are or what. I don’t even try to anymore. Some sites you can tell when every single thing is fuck Republicans or fuck Democrats. Some not so much.
In the world of the internet it just isn’t that important. What is important are clicks. Clicks generate revenue, clicks keep you in business. So headlines need to be catchy and scary. And if you’re 100% right wing that’s a dedicated base of people who may want to just consume information that confirms their bias. Same thing with the left wing. Trump supporters don’t want to read anti-Trump shit. Someone who loves AOC doesn’t want to read stuff against the far left. These people want websites which will feed them what they want.
The most popular people in these spheres are typically very partisan, the Hannitty’s, Limbaugh’s, Maddow’s.
Unbiased reporting, unbiased radio, unbiased TV news we might say on here we want, but it isn’t backed up really in the real world. If people on T-Nation wanted to start a political website to cover things and make money trying to be unbiased and center may be the most risky thing to do.
This is one more among 1000 reasons that we desperately need the ability to critically reason and think. Everyone. Everywhere.
Unfortunately it’s also reason 1001 that it’s not going to happen and less people than ever will be able to think critically.
I was talking to a friend about this recently. I told him my default mode when I hear or read anything that seems a bit off is that’s bullshit. And then I look it up and try to see. Often with the internet you can find out pictures, memes, quotes, etc are complete bullshit in a matter of seconds. I’ve been posting here way too long and a ton of times I’ve simply looked up something someone had posted that sounded weird and been able to share with them yeah that’s actually not true. On subjects I don’t know anything about at all and just look it up real quick and discover it’s shit.
But a lot of people are the opposite of me. It’s like they are wired to buy into conspiracy theories, read something strange and not question it but present it as fact. And I don’t know why that is. I’m naturally skeptical and especially of anything that just sounds/looks like it’s probably not true. The recent Wayfair thing comes to mind. People saw that and really ran with the idea that it might be true and/or probably was. That’s absolutely insane to me.
And I’m sure at times I’ve been on the wrong end and me jumping to the skeptical conclusion shows that I was wrong on it when I haven’t done enough looking into something. But most of the time we’re talking about something you can do within 30 seconds to determine it’s bullshit. We have by far the most information and the quickest access to it and yet still we have people who think you know I bet Sandy Hook was child actors. Can’t remember who posted the image with the Obama confederate flag button. Didn’t seem right so I looked it up 30 seconds later pure bullshit from a right wing group.
I do not know if this is innate or developed or what as I have friends who buy into some of the milder stuff naturally that I never do.
Poor Jeffy Sessions…
He was the first to not only endorse the King when he decided to run for POTUS…he kissed the ring, and even bent over and provided the lube while the King berated him incessantly in Public…
What did it get him?
As they say in the South, “…not even a Pot to Piss in…”
Sessions lost in his GOP Senate Run-off Election to former Auburn Football Coach, Tommy Tuberville.
Now granted…the Ex-Auburn Football Coach was the second highest paid and second most popular Public Employee in the State (guess who was and is number one?)…and he IS the only Auburn Coach to beat The Tide six consecutive times…but make no mistake about it…Sessions lost because the King backed Tuberville…and Tweet-Smacked Sessions almost daily and without mercy…
It was not pretty.
Long Live the King…!
On a bit more serious note…where does this myth come from about Trump’s “legendary” loyalty?
If there is anything that is utter bullshit, it’s this…
The clever editing of The Apprentice and parasocial bonds.
Absolutely true. People run off headlines.
The National Association of Police Organizations formally endorsed President Trump. The organization backed President Obama for both of his terms and chose not to endorse anyone in 2016.
The critics will say it’s about the money. Maybe so, I don’t care, it’s about law & order.
I was talking to some very smart politically minded friends the other day, and they thought that the “Trump Strategy” for winning a second Term was actually brilliant…and that the Left is playing right into it.
Trump and GOP strategist understand that after locking in the base (which is all but a done deal)…Trump does not have to win large numbers of certain demographics…but as they called it; all Trump needs is “just enough” …
Just enough African Americans…
Just enough Suburban Woman/Soccer Moms…
Just enough College Educated Whites…
Just enough Liberals disenchanted with the hijacking going on by the extreme Left…
They went on to list a lot of these groups (and pointed out that Trump most likely has also locked in most of the military and law enforcement, which he needs to thank the radical Left for…)…and that actually Trump is grabbing his junk and giving the middle finger to many demographic groups mainly because he doesn’t “need” all of them…
What it all means is that this “just enough” strategy will mean…MAGA…four more years…
(Then add in a liked, but weak, Democratic Candidate…)
I thought that it was an amazing conversation that I wanted to being to the FAM…
What do you think, @thunderbolt23 and others?
Will “just enough” be enough for four more years?
My friends certainly had a VERY convincing argument.
With due respect, what you describe isn’t much of a strategy and what’s brilliant about it?
Every candidate has two conventional choices: 1) tack to the center and hope there’s “just enough” of the base to win, or 2) aim to motivate the base and hope there’s “just enough” of the other groups to win.
Giving Team Trump the benefit of the doubt that they have a strategy at this point, they’re going for Number 2. There’s nothing novel about it.
Team Trump’s problem is that voters in 2020 aren’t simply measuring ideology - too liberal/not liberal enough/too conservative/not conservative enough - they are measuring competence and performance. Biden has barely been out of the basement and a number of recent polls show Biden ahead of Trump in managing the economy and the pandemic response.
This idea that the Radical Left’s activity is large and moving voters is fiction - Trump baselings think it’s a huge deal because they’re consuming right-wing media that try to make it appear a Radical Left army is about to lay siege to DC. Most voters aren’t buying into that hysteria and are focused on obvious priorities like pandemic response and the unemploymenrate.
Hey, Brother @thunderbolt23…no “modifiers” needed! You know how I feel about the political knowledge you have brought to me (and others) over the years!
Maybe “strategy” is the wrong term here, because it implies some well thought out, measured and consistent plan?
I would certainly never apply those things to Trump and to that Band of Misfit Toys he has in the White House…as much as it is conceding and working with even ones weaknesses? (I am at a loss for a correct term).
They did also praise Biden for “laying low” and coming up only to respond to Trump’s latest Shit Storm…but that at some point he would have to face the “Master of Attack, Confuse and Conquer”. (They felt that much like Trump…the less Biden is allowed to talk and ramble…the better off he is…).
Thoughts?
Yeah I mean he just needs his base to show up and some others isn’t exactly grand thinking. I think Trumps chances of winning are still decent. We really don’t like to have one term Presidents. He has a base that isn’t huge but I think will turn out hell or high water. Most Presidents need their diehards and then those “just enough” you’re talking about. Especially in our system where those just enough a few times in battleground states win you the election.
The Democrats hanging themselves isn’t a grand strategy either and in 16 they may have ran the one person who could lose to someone as unpopular as he was at the time. Trump may very well win but it isn’t some type of strategy from him that will do it. It will be in spite of him essentially doing everything in his power to lose. Only idiots would think “see he suckered everyone in by getting horrible approval ratings during a hot economy…it was his strategy all along!”
In heads up matches you can make all the wrong plays and still win. If you go all in with aces and I have 2-7 off the “worst hand” in poker I beat you almost 12% of the time. Doesn’t make it grand strategy by me.
Trumps not nearly as far off as a lot of people think to me. Quite a ways out and typically battleground states tighten. And you don’t have to turn a whole bunch of those to win. I would be surprised by a Trump win and a big popular vote victory as well. I don’t see that reflected with the data we have now. But a popular vote loss electoral win again is certainly possible.
Good point, @H_factor.
(Emphasis added to “spite”…)
VERY possible.
What do you guys think about the idea that the Radical Left are literally almost “handing” Trump the White House…and have probably won Trump additional support from the Military and Police?
On it truly is. I can’t completely remember but since the start of the coronavirus there was that short time where Trump stopped doing the weekly pressers nonsense and his approval ratings went up for a bit. Biden’s going to have to come out and say more and that will put Biden at more risk. Because Biden talking (often loony) takes off the focus of when Trump talks (I would argue almost always loony but to each their own). The best strategy to beat Donald Trump even when the economy was good and coronavirus wasn’t a thing was to let Donald Trump be himself. Because on the whole people really don’t like that. It still is. Doesn’t mean he can’t win. You don’t have to be super popular in Ohio when it’s 1 v 1. Just gotta get a few more people to think you’re better than the opposition
I have zero doubt it’s helped Trump big time. It takes the focus off his horrific handling of the coronavirus and gives him an enemy. People talking about anything other than that is a huge win for him and now any increase in crime he can say is “expect this with Biden.” Doesn’t matter if it’s true it gives you an attack positioning.
To me it’s undeniable that it has helped him, but I may argue on the level of help. Right now with the only data we have it isn’t reflected that it’s sank Biden or anything. But I certainly don’t think it’s helping him. I even think the phrasing has been a huge win for Trump. Reform the police is something even Republicans have talked about for years. But defund the police (and then explaining that you mean reform) is very poor word choice for Dems. Because to some people defund means abolish. You can say you want school reform and everyone is with you. You say you want to defund schools and that’s another story. Even if you mean the same thing. Doesn’t matter. What you call things is incredibly important and police reform has bipartisan support. But you say defund and now people think it’s choose a side either you want all cops gone or you want more cops or whatever.
I agree. The hard Left is creating talking points with their police “defunding” nonsense. But it’s being exaggerated for effect by the Right because they need something to scare independents and moderates with. I live on the outskirts of a fairly large city (with a lot of Democrats running things) and the Radical Left stuff isn’t present or being talked about over other issues. State and national polling show that to be the case as well.
Biden has been smart to lay low. What’s the old rule? When your enemy is defeating himself, don’t get in his way?
But he will have to come out eventually - and Trump will try to attack (although he has been anyway). Biden has to show he can turn Trump’s broadsides into glancing blows and return some fire while appearing like he’s focused on the job, not mean-Tweeting a rival in junior high school - if Biden tries to out-Trump Trump in the schoolyard stuff, he’s making a mistake.
Trump is wounded, and he’s going to lash out hard. But Biden isn’t Hillary - Hillary was loathed and was an unsympathetic character.
And people care about performance. The question is - why does Trump deserve a second term? Trump has to make that case, regardless of how Biden “performs” after coming off the bench. Trump is not an insurgent promising to shake things up anymore, a candidacy made up of all promise and future hope - he’s an executive with a four year performance, and the grades are lousy.
This probably can’t be said enough. It’s not like Biden isn’t without weaknesses. He’s been in the game a while and even if he hadn’t he’s old and prone to saying stupid things. But HRC is one of the GOP’s oldest nemesis and she was incredibly unliked. No doubt a lot of people who weren’t huge Trump people voted for him because of her. Just not sure the same can be said on the whole for Biden. Trump is essentially the most unliked President and presidential candidate since we’ve had consistent polling. But Clinton was very close to just as unliked as he was in approval polls.
None of that sinks Trump but unless something happens to really change some things in a hurry Biden is going to go into November as a much more liked on the whole candidate than Clinton was.
