I, along with five and a half million Americans, watched the “great debate” between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom with great anticipation. OK, maybe that’s overstating it a bit – it was a political debate, not the premier of a movie I’d been looking forward to all year – but I was mildly excited. And it was justified. While Newsom wouldn’t answer a single question directly, at least he showed up to a place you wouldn’t normally expect a Democrat to show up to, so for that, he should get some credit. More than that, every other politician who wouldn’t should get scorn. These people seek power over us; they should be willing to go wherever “we” are, regardless of whether or not it’s a safe space for them. Debates and questioning by people who disagree with people seeking or holding political office should be the rule, not the exception.
Why is it acceptable for politicians to only face questions from “reporters” and television hosts who agree with them? I get that they don’t think they’d get a “fair shake” from some people, but that shouldn’t matter. I wouldn’t have voted for Joe Biden for anything, but he’s still the President of the United States, and as such, he is my President, too. Not my choice, but my President. Is he not responsible to me, too?
I know the left pioneered the stupid idea of a President not being “my President” under George W. Bush, but they pioneered so many stupid ideas we don’t embrace; why have we accepted this one?
While he occasionally fields a question from Peter Doocy, Joe Biden’s handlers won’t let him be in the same time zone as a possible sit-down severe interview. The safe space of a Scott Pelley lovefest on 60 Minutes is acceptable; the non-hostile but also non-sycophantic Special Report conversation is a bridge too far. Anyone unwilling to help him through his fumbling, foggy answers is a threat.
The closest the President comes to addressing the half of the country who didn’t vote for him is when he builds a strawman in a speech and sets it on fire, provided he’s able to read the teleprompter before whatever drugs they’re pumping him full of to help him focus wear off.
It’s sad and pathetic. But it wasn’t always this way.
Not long ago, Barack Obama would appear on Fox with Bill O’Reilly during the Super Bowl. Donald Trump would sit down with almost anyone – as President, honestly, he gave too many interviews to hostile outlets like the New York Times while ignoring conservative outlets.
But at least they were talking to everyone. Not anymore.
When did you last see Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Fox? Is there any Republican not named Liz Cheney or some random backbencher on MSNBC? They don’t do it.
Fox actually invites leading Democrats on, and MSNBC stopped trying for Republicans, finding it more appealing to their audience to talk about them, not to them. Even CNN caught hell for having a town hall with Trump, even though the “moderator” did nothing but interrupt and argue with him.
Sometimes, when the host is like that CNN boob or a conspiracy theorist incapable of intellectual honesty like Rachel Maddow, it’s not worth talking to the media. But in most others, it is.
Newsom knew where Sean Hannity was coming from; he went anyway. And to Hannity’s credit, he cited and sourced the data he used. Newsom didn’t answer any of the questions, resorting to name-calling and evasion, but he was there. When DeSantis pulled out the map of San Francisco that was completely brown because it gave the location of every reported pile of human feces, Newsom’s defeat was complete.
DeSantis answered questions effectively and swatted away Newsom’s attacks. But Newsom showed up. Is there any other Democrat who would? DeSantis also goes into hostile media when they have the nerve to invite him – having recently done Morning Joe and Bill Maher. Would Joe Biden and Donald Trump cross over?
Trump might, but Biden never would. Most Members of the House wouldn’t; neither would Senators.
Social media has allowed us to create insulated worlds where we agree with more than we’re informed. It’s fun, but it’s also counter-productive. Suppose you only hear what you agree with and don’t like dismissed. In that case, you can be surprised by a “red wave” that didn’t happen or believe polling a year before an election is somehow indicative of something, even though polling has been consistently wrong for a decade.
It somehow became acceptable for politicians and those who aspired to be to preach only to the choir. We need to demand more from our politicians because whether we like them or not, they impact our lives and represent us in office, even if we can’t stand what they stand for.
We need more of these DeSantis/Newsom debates, and we need Trump and Biden to have the courage to show up to primary debates, if only so they can’t use it as part of an argument against debating each other should they end up being the nominees.
We shouldn’t live in bubbles but we must insist our politicians don’t. Every single one of them needs to be confronted regularly by their own version of the poop map. Otherwise, we will end up in a world of just that more than we already are.
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.
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