Politico isn’t the friendliest publication, but they do have good writers and at times—they’re not afraid to simply tell it as it is regarding Democratic politics, namely how Barack Obama let state party apparatus totally atrophy and become overtaken by the Republican Party. They’ve recounted how the Beto O’Rourke 2020 campaign was a total train wreck and how Kamala Harris’ presidential bid came off the hinges too. Look, there are loonier lefty outlets out there. You have to read the other side. It’s healthy. The publication is known for their early morning newsletter called the Playbook, and this week they had a guest writer: conservative Ben Shapiro.
He’s not the most die-hard Trump supporter. In fact, he recently wrote something that many in this camp probably hated, but if there’s any consolation—he triggered the liberals at Politico immensely. I mean, we’re talking about a DEFCON ONE-level meltdown, which prompted a 200+ Zoom call of these whiny little babies just appalled that someone odious like Ben Shapiro was able to publish under their letterhead. The horror! To its credit, Politico’s executive staff held firm and didn’t disavow the move. While the headline is ridiculous, Daily Beast had a good summation of the Mount Vesuvius-like eruption of liberal tears that engulfed the office of the publication:
Over the past several weeks, Politico has filled the temporary editorial vacancy atop the Playbook by inviting high-profile political reporters and commentators to author the highly influential morning political newsletter and tip-sheet for Beltway insiders. The tipsheet in recent weeks has been authored by well-known TV hosts like MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, as well as reporters like CBS’s Weijia Jiang, PBS’s White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, and the Washington Free Beacon’s editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson. NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd is also expected to guest-author the Playbook in coming weeks.
But on Thursday, Politico turned the newsletter over to Shapiro, who used the space for a column making the case that the House Republicans who voted against impeaching Trump—despite his repeated lies about the 2020 election and his stoking of rioters who stormed the Capitol in his name last week—are right to feel aggrieved.
“If you supported Trump in any way, you were at least partially culpable, the argument goes. It’s not just Trump who deserves vitriol—it’s all 74 million people who voted for him,” Shapiro wrote, further claiming: “Opposition to impeachment comes from a deep and abiding conservative belief that members of the opposing political tribe want their destruction, not simply to punish Trump for his behavior.”
[…]
Internally at Politico, several staffers raised concerns about the decision to allow him to guest-write the key newsletter, even for a day. One staffer pointed out in a company-wide Slack channel that the right-wing pundit has a “long history of bigoted and incendiary commentary,” making it especially inappropriate to elevate him in the wake of last week’s violent attack on the Capitol by rioters who, critics say, have been radicalized for years by the fiery rhetoric of right-wing media stars like Shapiro.
“It has clearly generated a wave of negative attention, and I fear it’s already overshadowing a lot of great work being done by journalists across this newsroom,” the staffer added. The comment received several dozen upvotes from Politico colleagues.
“This is especially confusing given the newsroom’s welcome efforts over the last year to cover issues related to race in a more intentional, elevated, thoughtful way,” another staffer responded.
Recommended
Just chatted with a pair of @politico staffers who dissent from the prevailing outrage over the @benshapiro guest-hosting gig. They say they didn't speak up on the call because the sentiment is so heated and one-sided.
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) January 14, 2021
One staffer in today's meeting @politico over the @benshapiro guest-written Playbook argued that the decision to publish his thoughts complicates frequent conversations with Republicans and conservatives: pic.twitter.com/0nLcNANp9R
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) January 15, 2021
There are now upwards of 225 people on the @politico Zoom call convened to hash out the decision to invite @benshapiro to guest-write an edition of Playbook. People are very mad, I am hearing.
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) January 14, 2021
Politico has released a statement on the backlash against using @benshapiro as a guest-writer for Playbook. It says, "we rise above partisanship and ideological warfare." pic.twitter.com/NZ3HQQIMCr
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) January 14, 2021
Thoughts and prayers to the staff at Politico in this difficult time
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 14, 2021
JFC what a bunch of babies. https://t.co/2ly7OJE8bP
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 14, 2021
This meltdown over regular Trump critic @benshapiro in POLITICO is amazing & again proves the left wants 100 percent compliance and that their demands for one ideology go way beyond Trump.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) January 14, 2021
Also, I have news: There are more conservatives lined up to guest write Playbook this week
This is why the Left will never be able to successfully hurl the “snowflake” attack back at conservatives. Only we can do it because we don’t think differing opinions are acts of violence. We’re not that insane. Oh, for sure liberals try to hurl the snowflake attack but they fail miserably at it. A statue of Abraham Lincoln is defaced. Conservatives are outraged and liberals shout, “snowflake,” as if it’s popular to deface our greatest president. It’s nonsense. The erasure of our history is something to be outraged about. A conservative writing an opinion piece is hardly equivalent. It’s nothing more than the tantrums of the white liberal who after taking American Studies at some communist college, think they’re the ones who are entrusted with protecting so-called vulnerable communities, especially non-whites. The irony is that a) no one in these communities ask them for their help; b) they always overreach, and c) because of points “a” and “b,” it’s the grossest exercise in white privilege. It’s paternalistic as well. Who died and made you the BIPOC police?
This epic tantrum goes into the annals of the privileged white liberals and their plight, which is going to be a circus that lasts the next four years, isn’t it? Julio wrote that the Daily Wire, the publication that Ben Shapiro co-founded, will be delivering “leftist tears” tumblers to the Politico staff.
They’ve earned them.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member