The corporate media coverage of the attack on Paul Pelosi has been responsible and what you might anticipate when a high ranking government official has endured an assassination attempt. They aren’t roundly describing it as such but that was the intention of the person who broke in to the Pelosi home and maimed her husband with a hammer.
Democratic leadership has for the most part has been subdued in their response, allowing it to naturally seep in to the consciousness of voters, giving the story time to percolate. Their reserve is born of an understanding that some events carry such significant weight that it doesn’t need a rhetorical push. Democratic voters don’t respond the same way as their Republican counterparts to hyperbolic outrage. If this was a Republican official, there would be a press conference on the steps of the capital and the Fox broadcast building would burst in to flames from the incendiary rhetoric and assignment of blame to every living breathing Democrat.
In this instance the connection between election lies is so evident that even the most consistent GOP voter who hasn’t succumbed fully in to the misinformation black hole will at least consider the link between election denial language and what happened to Paul Pelosi. In the coming days it will become more evident as the San Francisco police make the motives clearer.
In an election this close it only takes a tiny number of reasonable people, those who may not have previously fully grasped the ramifications of sending election deniers in to public office, to at least think about it. There is a likelihood in my opinion that enough reliable Republican voters will assess how their vote might matter in the bigger picture and alter some races.
The average person might not understand tax policy and geopolitics, everyone can relate to the horror of being physically attacked in their home by a politically enraged madman who acted because they believed a lie. I suspect it’s enough to give a fraction of Republican voters pause, to think about their choice. A third of Republicans don’t buy in the stolen election narrative. Out of this group some won’t be as inclined to reflexively check the box for an election denier. Again, it doesn’t have to be a lot of them, possibly only thousands will be the margin of victory in many races.
Finally, don’t underestimate the outrage following this incident that will be ignited in casual voters who sometimes sit out midterms. Independents and disengaged Democrats who need to feel the passion to stand in line at the polls are going to be mobilized by this incident. In a close election it could be enough in the final week to hold AZ, PA and GA in the Senate at the very least.
Wandering In The Desert Profile: Media & communication consultant who writes books and essays that sometimes venture in to how the social zeitgeist impacts political trends.