No one can replace Eric Boehlert. His tragic death last week leaves an irreplaceable gap in the thin ranks of media critics. And it comes at a time when critics are desperately needed. For example, CBS had no problem hiring Mick Mulvaney, a co-conspirator in the worst of the Trump administration, including overseeing the OMB in withholding aid to Ukraine in the 2019 scheme and minimizing COVID in February 2020. Mulvaney’s hiring legitimizes renegade conduct.
There are other excellent media critics, including Media Matters, Jay Rosen’s PressThink, and the unmatched shortform version, New York Times Pitchbot (Sample: “Opinion | Liberals say they support racial justice. So how come they want to tax Black billionaires?”) But without Boehlert, there is a void.
With humility, I propose we at Daily Kos do what we can to partially fill the void with media critiques bearing the tag, #Eric’s Legacy.* I’ll begin with with a seeming self-parody from the New York Times from last week:
Jackson Confirmation Aside, G.O.P. Sees an Opening With Black Voters
The headline alone recalls the old joke “Aside from that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?” What sources does the Times use to support this dubious headline after the shockingly over-the-top racist, Q-anon-inflected questioning by Republicans? Well — among others, the notorious Paris Dennard. But I’ll get to him later.
The Times starts with Wesley Hunt, a Black Republican running in a deep-red Texas district and Jennifer-Ruth Green, a Black Republican runnning in Indiana. Neither thinks the assault on Justice Brown Jackson will cost them votes. Shocking.
Then, they found an “average voter” in Gary Indiana, Roshaun Knowles, an African-American. Ms. Knowles was indeed troubled by the white Republican Senators’ questioning, finding it “did not sit well” and she even “felt despair.” Nonetheless, she is leaning toward voting Republican. Why? Because she refused to get vaccinated and lost her job, which required it. Also, Biden “hasn’t doesn’t done anything.” Then we get the punchline — she voted for Trump in 2020.
Maybe the Times headline should have been “Jackson Confirmation Aside, GOP sees an opening with Anti-Vax Trump Voting Black Republicans.”
The article also stated: “Even Black voters who watched the hearings attentively were surprisingly forgiving of her Republican inquisitors.” Their support for this? One guy who said she was not treated fairly, but today “that’s expected.” They also found another African American who said Biden was being “escorted through office” (but expressed no opinion about the Jackson hearings).
The article quotes a Democratic pollster and a Republican pollster and a DCCC spokesperson, but then turned to hapless, discredited Republican apologist suspended by CNN because of past sexual assault allegations, Paris Dennard (a/k/a the Black Jeffrey Lord), who boasted that Republicans had set up eight centers nationwide to engage Black voters. Eight!! Then back to three more Black Republicans, one of whom said the hearings show “nothing that Republicans needed to apologize for.” Not even Cotton’s “she would have defended Nazis at Nuremberg?” Really?
Eric Boehlert repeatedly showed how the Times and other media often relied almost entirely on Republican sources. What’s the tally here?
Six Black Republican candidates and officeholders.
Zero Democratic candidates and officeholders.
Three “average Black voters:” One who happened to be anti-vax and was a 2020 Trump voter, one who doesn’t like Biden, and one whose statement provided the sole basis for the article’s disingenuous conclusion that Blacks are “surprisingly forgiving” of the out of control Republican questioning.
Two Pollsters — one Democratic and one Republican
One DCCC member.
Oh — and One Black Republican (Dennard) suspended from CNN for concealing sexual assault allegations and now is largely confined to the likes of Newsmax and OAN.
Shame on the Times for running this piece, especially on the day after Justice Brown Jackson’s historic confirmation.
Don’t forget to do what it takes to encourage massive youth voting, including efforts by Civic Influencers to help college voter activism and with The Civics Center for high school students.
*I’m open to suggestions other than “Eric’s Legacy.” Please put them in the comments if you have them.