The Un-Democratic Nature of US Political Reporting

On January 20, 2021, Joseph Robinette Biden took the oath of office for the Presidency of the United States and in that moment became indirectly responsible for 330 million Americans regardless of who they voted for.  Like every President before him, he swore to uphold the law and protect all Americans. The question he likely asks himself now is How do I protect democracy from the very industry that has turned it into a mash up of polling points, societal  trends, and party loyalty? 

Today's media (social, advertising, print, radio, and television) needs to be "schooled" in what democracy is and how democracy works. Here are a few things they might have missed in their Civics class. 

What is Democracy?

First off, democracy is not about the individual but about a nation that chooses to live under one set of rules for the benefit of everyone. Presidential approval ratings are selfish reminders of what has divided this country. It is not whether people like Biden but whether they see improvement at the end of his four-year term. Shows like The View , Meet the Press and other opinion based talk shows encourage viewers to take a short term, me-me-me view of political problems that cannot be fixed with simple legislation.  Today's media should educate and explain while leaving personal preferences to what takes place in the voting booth.

Next, democracy is not about voting rights or filibusters but about how many people are on the the ballot. Coming from a monarchy, the founding fathers thought having any choice was a luxury. What good does it do to register more voters and make voting easier when there is only one name on the ballot?  No one is reminding Bernie Sanders that he pledged to start a grass roots organization dedicated to preparing candidates to take on the role of elected officials. The Obamas are not working to educate younger voters about how to evaluate candidates. Both parties sow party loyalty based on hot-button topics and push a leftover agenda from past administrations. As if time is stuck in some strange moment that long ago ceased to exist, Congress attacks problems with the same solutions that have been used for over 200 years. Not learning from the past, today's media worships the well meaning but untrained and clueless candidate. These overnight breakout successes like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kamala Harris and yes, Donald Trump, are better news stories than seasoned professionals that have worked their way up from local government.  What message does that send to voters, and is it really all that surprising that these STARS of the campaign trail fail to do anything more than make headlines? How does it feel to gaslight the public with a constant diet of celebrity-style hype and soft-ball questions?

Finally, democracy is not a popularity contest but about making informed choices without fear, peer pressure or manipulation.  Contrary to VP Harris's take on this country's standing as a free society, our simplistic form of government pales in comparison to some democracies.  While our government declares a winner and sets up a combative environment which rarely achieves much, other countries open the ballot to multiple parties and require the majority party to come to a consensus BEFORE the election is certified. Failure to do so nullifies the election and it begins again. As mass media focuses on the best news story and the most supportive advertisers, they fail to grasp how they warp the voting process in a way that is far more dangerous than requiring a picture ID or limiting voting hours. Their focus on an ever changing future robs the public of the present by distracting them from what is important in the here and now. That isn't democracy. That's propaganda. 

A Bit of History

President Biden is not the only president to be concerned about the integrity of the American election process.  

In March of 2001, just three months after Al Gore lost his final 2000 election challenge, former President Jimmy Carter received the first Jonathan Myrick Daniels '61 Humanitarian Award, at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington VA.  

For a small town reporter, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event.  As Carter explained his work establishing democratic governments around the world, he made a simple but blunt statement about the condition of American elections.  Whether it was part of his acceptance speech or the questions he answered following the ceremony, I do not remember but he very clearly stated his organization would not take on the American political process because it failed to meet the high standards that his group had for democratic leadership. It was such an unexpected and confusing comment that many compared notes before reporting it to readers.  I have no way of knowing if he changed his assessment of this situation or not.

Twenty years and five national elections later, the United States has failed to make any meaningful changes in the political process-- a process that benefits the few and subjugates  the many. Carter, in being a single term president, knew, all too well, the role that television and political reporting had in putting a Hollywood actor named Ronald Reagan in the White House. The same frenetic focus on poise and photo-ops overshadows today's political reporting. Carter brought peace to a region of the World, even for just a short time. Reagan took a global energy crisis and inflation and turned it into a massive change in the tax code that the country has yet to recover from. Which was better?

If journalists want to champion democracy instead of damage it, they need to change their focus from agency ratings, high dollar salaries, Twitter followers and website clicks and begin doing the hard work of report the ugly reality of the election system. Here are a few questions they might begin to ask. 

1. Why is the United States one of the few countries that allows political organizations and fund raising to be considered non-profit or charitable organizations?

2. What percentage of PAC funding goes into supporting the candidate, family and staff? (Remember John Edwards and his hair cuts?)

3.  Is the minimum support rule required to enter debates a form of voter suppression because these events choose to squash the viewpoints of people who mainstream media doesn't give the time of day?

4.  Explain to the public the difference between the one vote-one person process that occurs on election day and the loosely monitored polling methods used through social media. There is no comparison and the results amount to misinformation and voter manipulation. Will agencies be embarrassed to admit they are not a fair representation of national demographics?

Before criticizing any elected officials, media has an obligation to make sure their findings are as objective and factual as possible. Like CEO who blames everyone else for the company's failures, Congress encourages mass media to distract the attention from their irresponsibility. Perhaps that is what voters should understand is the real form of voter suppression.  

Hey, Senator Romney: What's Wrong With "Transforming America"?

Because of host Chuck Todd's rather personal take on the three big news topics (Politics, Climate Change, and Covid-19), my direct knowledge of Meet the Press has dropped off dramatically during the pandemic. It seems I should have been watching on Sunday Morning (1/15/2022) as Senator Mitt Romney offered his insight into President Joe Biden's "bad year". 

Presumably feeling he could speak for the entire population, Romney commented to the show's viewers that Biden was not elected to "transform America".  With all due respect Senator, that is exactly what so many of us did expect and if the two political parties stopped thinking that elections were all about them, they would have realized that "transformation" is exactly what voters have wanted for three decades.  Normal is a dysfunctional group of 535 individuals that simply go from one election campaign to another.  Each time, the hope of America is that we have elected someone with the creativity and skill to ditch the jobs mindset from FDR's passe New Deal era. Biden understands that he needs to go big or go home.  It is our two party system that keep refuses to be creative enough to make that happen.

The "Crazies" Are Loose in Congress

From the perspective of a Washington outsider, each party has its share of "crazies" as you have tagged those who fail to adhere to the status quo.  Have you not realized that Nancy Pelosi has been like a woman possessed in her mission to do anything that would go against a Republican agenda. There is no civility, cooperation or even thought about anything but how to get back at the other side. That's not normal. That's pathetic.  

Americans Deserve More than "Normal"

This country achieved zero unemployment in the mid-1960s. Instead of shifting to higher wages, less production and fewer work hours to keep the numbers up, the country did what it had always done--opened the borders to immigrants willing to work for less.  The result was the same as it had been the 1800s. Racial unrest, political division and a working class that was hard pressed to develop wealth.  Biden repeated that pattern because his party insisted on it. It is not anymore popular with the public now than it was in the 1960s.

This oppressive jobs mindset is not new. Congress applauds companies who are innovative in their business models but refuses to make it part of the overall fabric of working America.  Unable to recognize that voters say they want jobs because that's all they know, elected officials prefer to secure their political positions and focus on wealth creation even though it only exacerbates the problem. 

What Might Transformation Look Like?

It is time for both parties to focus on their country instead of elections. Is winning or losing an election really all that important?  Consider being a responsible leader and work on the following. 

• Praise the States (Yes, all of them) - The Federal government has pushed their responsibilities onto the state and local government for years. It then criticized them for dealing with the challenge in their own way. The states got us through COVID, not the federal government. Change Congresses attitude and you might get more cooperation.
• Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment - The Federal government's focus on protecting tiny sectors of the population increases division. Both parties do it. Republicans protect religions, big business and gun rights. Democrats protect ethnic groups, poverty (yes poverty not those who are impoverished) and cities. No one protects the average citizen who does the work and keeps this country going. Congress created this divided public, they need to come together and signal that they will protect us all. 
  
• Fix the Immigration problem - Bringing in immigrants as a labor source to undermine the rest of the population was heinous a century and a half ago. It still is. Abusing them to keep profits high and labor costs low is not admirable. As for DACA, that is an easy fix if you would just do it (See DACA Citizenship: It Could Have Been So Easy )
• Regulate, Don't Legislate -  While Congress is spending time debating laws we don't need, the federal government fails to do what it was suppose to do--keep us honest.  Renaming mountains does not improve the environment. Recalling thousands of pounds of foods and drugs for a misprinted label does not make us safer. It makes us poorer--both in spirit and financially. Regulatory agencies long ago became instruments of economy growth. It now falls to citizens to  stand up for themselves against businesses Congress promoted.  Protect consumers instead of turning safety into an economic policy.
  
• Stand Up to the Climate Change Lobby- Climate change is a direct result of the World using the environment as a revenue stream.  The EPA has been more responsible for changes in the atmosphere than any carbon-based molecule (See  Air Pollution's the Answer: How Clean Air Policy Compromised the Planet and Public Health )
• Stop Worrying about the Stock Market- The Stock Market does not put food on the table or educate children to with real information.  Before the Stock Market became the ruler by which economic growth was measured, banking favored local depositors. Now they are almost an inconvenience.  Switch focuses and inflation will drop.  
  

If Republicans and Democrats were to come together and change their focus to lifestyle rather than wealth, America would be transformed. Biden has the negotiation skills. Are you and your fellow Republicans willing to be part of the process?