Checking in with The NY Times today, I was alerted to a new section:
Democratic norms are facing a historic test: Many Americans doubt the results of the 2020 election, and extremism, global authoritarianism and disinformation are on the rise. The Times is examining this landscape of challenges through a range of coverage.
Here’s a screen cap of the front page digital edition for early 5/22/22 showing the relevant section:
Remember that saying about connecting the dots? Somebody at the New York Times seems to have come dangerously close to realizing that a pattern seems to be emerging. The earliest story here is dated January 9, 2021.
Now you might ask, why the events of January 6, 2021 didn’t trigger sooner a realization at the Gray Lady that a reappraisal of their both-sides approach to covering politics in this country might be in order. You might ask why The NY Times editorial board tackles this kind of stuff only sporadically. You might ask why The NY Times seems to prioritize story lines finding fault with Democrats on their failures and not so much on how Republicans are united in near total lock step on every issue in opposition. You might ask why The NY Times opinion section is always full of advice on what Democrats need to do, and so little that calling out what Republicans and the right wing are actually doing — and how many years back it goes.
The left hand — right hand reference is about a kind of institutional schizophrenia, where “It” is doing/knows things with one hand of which the other hand seems completely unaware. Perhaps that is finally starting to change? Or is it simply a matter of trying to maintain plausible deniability?
We are in a de facto state of war. The Republican Party has been working for decades to make democracy irrelevant in America. They have been undermining it at every level. It’s so outrageous, even people who should know better seem unable to encompass it — even when it is happening right before their eyes.
A vote for any Republican at any level is a vote to end democracy. This is no longer about Democrats versus Republicans; this is about Republicans against everyone else. If you are not with them, you are against them, as their mindset goes.
After January 6, 2021, no one should have been able to pretend the GOP and right wing media are still legitimate participants in American political discourse. The extremism is on full display. The revelations coming out of investigations into January 6 by Congress under a Democratic majority (which will end if Republicans regain control) are horrifying as it becomes clear how deep the rot goes.
The leaked Supreme Court draft overturning Roe V. Wade, and the other things the court may be about to overturn demonstrate the absolutism coming from the right. That seems to have been a belated wakeup call for some, but this has been coming for decades.
Every Republican president from Nixon down to Trump has been guilty of actions that have pushed things farther and farther down the road to Fascism. The frog is fully boiled at this point.
Ideally, the NY Times would make this new section a front-page, above the fold item every time a new story or analysis turned up that falls in this category. In practice?
Here’s a sampling of the articles at the link so far. (Sorry — I’m not going to be able to include links that penetrate the pay wall — there’s just too many stories.)
Think this shows a trend? /s
This article is right at the top of the entries in The NY Times compilation:
A New York Times analysis of 1,150 episodes reveals how Tucker Carlson pushes extremist ideas and conspiracy theories into millions of households, five nights a week.
May 15, 2022 By KAREN YOURISH, WEIYI CAI, LARRY BUCHANAN, AARON BYRD, BARBARA HARVEY, BLACKI MIGLIOZZI, RUMSEY TAYLOR, JOSH WILLIAMS and MICHAEL ZANDLO
These three are right next to the Carlson story:
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Replacement theory, espoused by the suspect in the Buffalo massacre, has been embraced by some right-wing politicians and commentators.
May 16, 2022By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and KAREN YOURISH
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The populist prime minister, a hero to many American conservatives, has changed voting rules and legalized ‘voter tourism’ as he stands for re-election
April 3, 2022By MATT APUZZO and BENJAMIN NOVAK
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March 17, 2022By CHARLES HOMANS
Here are the others:
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Seeing all this together at one time, it’s a bit staggering — but not as staggering as those who refuse to see the pattern and its implications. “When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross” as the prediction goes. It not only can happen here, it is happening here.
Note: the title was edited to add “notices democracy is in trouble”