There are many examples of the 2016 election breaking some people more than others. For progressives, the Democratic Party chose Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, so defeat was not a shocker. Clinton wasn’t left wing enough; that’s why she lost, according to them. For liberal Democrats, however, it was a serious punch to the gut. To this day, there are liberals who simply cannot believe that Donald J. Trump is president of the United States. In the news media, that sentiment couldn’t be more truthful. It’s become so bad that even veteran reporter Bob Woodward said that some journalists have become “emotionally unhinged.” Enter The New York Times’ former executive editor Jill Abramson, who wrote that she carries an Obama doll in her purse to help her cope in the Trump era (via The Guardian):
It’s easy to look at what’s happening in Washington DC and despair. That’s why I carry a little plastic Obama doll in my purse. I pull him out every now and then to remind myself that the United States had a progressive, African American president until very recently. Some people find this strange, but you have to take comfort where you can find it in Donald Trump’s America.
Yeah, this is yet another example of liberal media bias, a list whose length could probably circle the Earth multiple times. I know you know you know this; this is more for the liberal pundits who think that journalists don’t take sides.
Abramson wrote about a coming wave, specifically focusing on Texas:
With new Democratic voters racing to the polls in big numbers in Tuesday’s primaries, Texas is looking purple rather than Republican red. That’s big news, especially on the heels of Democrats winning recently in Alabama, where Doug Jones beat Roy Moore, and Virginia, where Democrat Ralph Northam was elected governor.
Texas primary: Democratic turnout soars as Republicans stand their ground
Though their optimism may be premature, national Democrats think Ted Cruz can be defeated in November by a well-funded liberal House member from El Paso with the name of Beto O’Rourke, who just won his state’s Democratic Senate nomination.
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Then there are the new statewide victors, Alabama’s Doug Jones in the Senate, who defeated Moore last fall and Ralph Northam, who took office as governor of Virginia in January. They were carried to victory on the strength of black and women voters.
Texas has had the longest Democratic dry spell of any state. The last time a Democrat was elected statewide was in 1994. That’s why there is so much pent-up passion for Beto, who is emblematic of the Democratic new wave, unabashedly liberal and well-financed.
The El Paso Democrat is 45 and has a background every bit as interesting as his name. Beto is a nickname for Roberto (his first and middle names are Robert Francis) and his surname is Irish. He’s fluent in Spanish and represents a Texas district that is 75% Hispanic (Texas is 28% Hispanic). He is dead set against Trump’s border wall.
Roy Moore was a tainted candidate. Virginia was a state that Hillary Clinton won in 2016. I’m not seeing how this is evidence of a wave. Any candidate, but Roy Moore, would have beaten Doug Jones—and Jones will be defeated when he’s up in 2020 if a solid Republican candidate is selected. That shouldn’t be hard. And what about Texas? Oh yeah, Republicans cast over 500,000 more votes than Democrats in the gubernatorial primary. Beto O’Rourke won Austin (not a shocker), but didn’t perform so hot in other parts of the state. Should Ted Cruz be concerned? You should always be worried about upsets, but I think he’s still the heavy favorite. The whole notion of Texas turning blue was shot to hell last Tuesday. It was certainly better than the last couple of midterm cycles, but the GOP still have a solid hold on the state. The solid jobs report—313,000 jobs created in February—the booming stock market, the pervasive dividends handed down to workers because of the tax law, the Democrats doubling down on gun control, and more importantly the internal strife within the Democratic Party could kill their 2018 plans. Is a wave possible? Yes—but the Democratic Party is hardly a united one. A handful of Democratic primaries in Texas are now heading for a runoff, some of which, like the one for Texas’ seventh congressional district, have become nasty. It’s a sign that the establishment/ Bernie-ite split is still rather raw.
And I don’t think that Obama doll has magic powers, just a reminder that liberals have become, well, more unhinged as Trump remains in the Oval Office.
