UPDATED: CBS News premise: What if Democrats lose next week? (Politico, too)
October 30, 2009 11:00 am ET by Eric Boehlert
CBS ponders the implications of next week's off-year elections in NJ, NY and VA. But CBS only ponders the implications of Republicans winning. Seems odd.
From CBS News blog [emphasis added]:
If both Christie in New Jersey and McDonnell in Virginia win, expect vocal celebrations from the Republican Party and maybe some swagger suggesting that the Democrats are slipping.
Former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove suggested the worst for Democrats in his Wall Street Journal column Thursday: "Tuesday's election will provide the most tangible evidence so far of how strong a backlash is building—and just how frightened centrist Democrats should be of 2010. For Republicans, it looks as if hope and change are on the way."
In reality, while Republicans will undoubtedly be energized, Democrats still have a year to fire up their voters to prevent Republican gains in 2010.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with looking at the possibility of Democrats losing all three elections next week. And I guess there's nothing wrong with quoting uber-partisan Karl Rove giving his doomsday scenario for Dems.
However, there is something wrong with the fact that the CBS article never imagines the flip side. It never ponders the implications of Dems doing well next week by retaining the NJ governorship and pulling off an upset in the Upstate New York Congressional race, both of which, according to recent polling, remain a real possibility.
Next week's elections are already being framed as bad news for Democrats and a boon for the GOP. Might be nice if the press considered that the opposite remains a possibility as well.
UPDATED: Right on cue, Mike Allen at the GOP bulletin board (i.e. Politico) publishes this gem today:
COULD DEMS GET BLOWN OUT ON TUESDAY?
Keep in mind that the headline is for an item about how the NJ race is too close to call. Y'know, the race in which the GOP candidate enjoyed a double-digit lead just a few months ago and his now fading in the polls to Dem. John Corzine. But Allen only has one question: Will Dems will get "blown out."
UPDATED: More Allen idiocy:
New Poll Shows Corzine Could Lose
This kind of one-sided reporting was resurrected by FOX Propaganda, CBS News. Watch out.
Riiiiight ... by losing 3 elections after taking the majority and the presidency AWAY from the GOP the last 2 election cycles ...
It's all just tabloid fun & games at America's "political" news sites. No actual perspective needed.
When the Dems win, it has to be because of vote stealing by ACORN.
(only being "slightly" sarcastic)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
That said, all I've been celebrating this last year now is the end of Bush/Cheney. There is still a great deal of legacy damage to deal with, but at least no further damage is being done at the moment.
I want a strong conservative movement and a strong progressive movement in this country. I want a plurality of voices, so that when policy is debated, the best possible solution can be found to benefit ALL of America. With just one party, it becomes endless bickering and in-fighting, which helps no one.
If you were honest, you would admit that it was not a Democrat, but a Republican who spoke dreamily of the possibility of a permanent Republican majority in this country, and bent and twisted the Justice Department to that dark end.
Everyone I know votes for the candidate and not what hidden message their vote will be seen as.
Deeds is a terrible candidate and if anything, it is a knock down of the Virginia democrats who chose him! duh.
For a news story to fail to bring up that potential outcome and the effects is obscene and very inadequate reporting.
Liberal-leaning MSM my butt.
Here's more evidence of how "nonsense" getting too much credibility taints the information the public receives! We need to stop that from happening. That's why the White House slammed FoxNews for not being a credible news organization. When Karl Rove can lead the news media by the nose with talking points like this, that's wrong. It poisons the news our nation gets, and doesn't let the reading and viewing public talk about the things that really need to be discussed. It hurts our nation.