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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAtlantic: Biden has undermined faith in our elections
No... the title of this thread is not a typo...... I find this so disheartening. About a month or two ago I posted an Atlantic article here about the insurrection. It was well thought out, very long, contained quotes and data from many experts and publications as to why people attacked the capital and why drumpf WANTED it attacked. I hailed it as a fantastic piece of journalism in a modern age where such articles are few and far between.
that is why I was so heartbroken reading this today, not just because of what it says, but because it came from the Atlantic. The same publication that put out a piece of deeply researched investigative journalism, today put out this piece of shit. A right wing hit piece the blames Biden, denies the existence of voter suppression, promotes the McConnell talking point that fixing the Electoral Count Act is what is REALLY needed, and throws in a nod to the absurdity of the AZ fraudit at the end to try and give itself some kind of air of legitimacy.
Other than some links to NY vs GA voting laws, it contains no research. No quotes from election experts as to the impact of voter suppression laws. No data on how many people that benefited from no-excuse absentee voting and drop boxes will now lose the ability to vote for lack of time, no analysis of how stricter laws are already leading to legitimate voters having absentee applications rejected.......
The entire Fourth Estate is rolling over in it's grave.
Here is the article about the insurrection that was so good, if you missed it:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/january-6-insurrection-trump-coup-2024-election/620843/
and here is today's disgrace, which may as well have been written by Tucker Carlson:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/biden-election-comments-undermine-faith-democracy/621398/
Joe Biden, who ran for president promising to restore trust in American democracy, recently undermined it. Its not what he was elected to do, and he needs to repair the damage.
During his marathon press conference last week, Biden was asked whether the failure of voting-rights legislation in Congress would render this years elections illegitimate.
Im not saying its going to be legit, as the increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is a direct proportion to us not being able to get these reforms passed, Biden responded. Because the reforms didnt pass, by implication the midterm elections later this year may indeed be illegitimate.
The White House tried to clean up the presidents comments on the legitimacy of our elections. Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted out a statement saying @potus was not casting doubt on the legitimacy of the 2022 election. But the harm was done.
vanlassie
(5,698 posts)Takket
(21,753 posts)of the Ethics and Public Policy Center... which i guess is some right wing BS merchant. Which begs the question of why they were allowed opinion space in the Atlantic.
Link to tweet
?s=20&t=XmyTEFnM0JlhxwZl_MHcLQ
uponit7771
(90,379 posts)... comp class.
This was poor for the Atlantic
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)"Peter Hermann Wehner (born February 10, 1961) is an American writer and former speechwriter for the administrations of three U.S. presidents. He is a vice president and senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), a conservative think tank, and a fellow at the Trinity Forum, a nonprofit Christian organization. Wehner is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, and the author of The Death of Politics."
"According to the Institute for Policy Studies, Wehner's work usually centers on "domestic policy and Christian ethics", although he is "a reliable hawk on foreign affairs and he tends to view foreign policy through the prism of moralism".[6] Wehner rejects the idea of pacifism and believes that "self-defense and violence in response to attackviolence even in an effort to promote justice and human dignity and human flourishingcan be justified".
Wehner opposes abortion.
Wehner supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, but later criticized the subsequent U.S. war strategy."
I just wonder why The Atlantic is giving him a voice.
vanlassie
(5,698 posts) He opposes the view that "the Sermon on the Mount is a political philosophy" and says that "often Christians make the mistake of assuming the words of Christ and the individual commands, or commands that apply to individuals, apply to governments as well".[9]
HOWS THAT for a Get Out Of Jail Free card? Excuse me while I puke.
Takket
(21,753 posts)i find it disgraceful that the media is allowed to publish things like that without at the VERY LEAST disclosing who is writing them and their background. There is absolutely nothing to indicate Werner's background in the piece. At the end they say he's in the "Ethics and Public Policy Center" but without googling it the average person would have no idea what that is. There should be laws that opinion pieces contain at least a link to some sort of bio on the author. People have a right to know these things.
crickets
(26,005 posts)First of three in the thread:
Link to tweet
https://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ethics_and_Public_Policy_Center
According to the EPPC website the organisation was "established in 1976 to clarify and reinforce the bond between the Judeo-Christian moral tradition and the public debate over domestic and foreign policy issues." [2] [snip]
Charles Koch is the right-wing billionaire owner of Koch Industries. As one of the richest people in the world, he is a key funder of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN).
As to why the Atlantic is giving Whelan a voice, that's a very good question. I thought better of them. It's disappointing to see this level of blatant dreck coming from the Atlantic.
Poiuyt
(18,140 posts)I've seen him several times on TV bashing Trump. But he is a conservative.
I haven't read the article, but I'm surprised that The Atlantic would publish anything like that.
Scrivener7
(51,105 posts)2Gingersnaps
(1,000 posts)or the dedicated communist,
uponit7771
(90,379 posts)underpants
(183,162 posts)Wow.
WhiskeyGrinder
(22,558 posts)dsc
(52,187 posts)In GA, for instance, the law does the very thing (alter who counts the votes) that the author agrees is a threat to Democracy.
highplainsdem
(49,172 posts)gulliver
(13,211 posts)What people never seem to get is that it's very often a good idea to say something and then take it back. The media especially doesn't get that. That makes them pawns for that particular move.
I would love for Biden to just keep doing two-hour press conferences. He was masterful in this last one, imo, although, of course, the usual dull tacks were dully critical.
MichMan
(12,018 posts)and the White House Press Secretary is the one that later tries to take it back, when only a fraction are watching and paying attention. Same thing with the statement regarding a minor incursion by Russia into Ukraine.
What one do you think will carry more weight ?
gulliver
(13,211 posts)Biden can flood the media with truth and leadership if he does that. His press conference was, as I say, brilliant. Repetition is a great thing, so I'd like to see him repeat these press conferences over and over.
Both "mistakes," (election legitimacy and Ukraine incursion) aren't necessarily mistakes. It doesn't necessarily hurt to "put out there" that the Republicans are trying to make elections less legitimate. It doesn't necessarily hurt to imply that a minor incursion into Ukraine might be dealt with proportionally. You can say those things and take them back, either personally or via spokesperson, but they're not "really" taken back. They're out there
The Ukraine incursion mention by Biden got a response from Ukranian President Zelensky that he wouldn't tolerate any incursion. It was characterized by the media as a "rebuke" to Biden's statement, but that's just conventional media superficial melodrama. For Zelensky it was a chance to take center stage. And it was a chance for Biden and other allies to reiterate support.
On election legitimacy, it's sad but true that Republicans are doing things to reduce election legitimacy. Look what they tried to do in 2020 with fake electors and pressuring state election officers and the DOJ. There's nothing wrong with talking about the possibility that election legitimacy can be sabotaged when acts of sabotage have been committed by Republicans. It's a two-edged sword obviously, because it gives the impression that Dems are prepared to have our own "concerns" about election integrity.
It needs to be out there though, imo. It's just reality. It's important that we make sure the media doesn't "equivalence" it with Republican "concerns," however. A concern about potential mugging risk in an unlit store parking lot is different when expressed by the mugger (the Republicans) and the potential muggee (the Dems).
2Gingersnaps
(1,000 posts)or the dedicated communist, but for people whom the destinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists." -Hannah Arendt, "The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951)
Yes, a stupid man can destroy a nation. It wasn't his rhetoric, or his brilliance, it was his absolute corruption like drops of water on a rock.
ShazamIam
(2,583 posts)rights in Congress while their home state Republican legislators are busy making illegal voting restrictions.
Irish_Dem
(48,670 posts)LENNY0229
(185 posts)unblock
(52,572 posts)blm
(113,157 posts)No matter that he was a Trump critic, he still wants to believe his party is innocent of vote suppression.
amaico
(42 posts)By doing Both Sides! The Atlantic proves it's a Very Serious Outlet️
Next up in the Atlantic, Joe Biden undermines Roe v Wade because.... Both Sides!
Bayard
(22,289 posts)If rethuglicans are allowed to continue warping state elections with undemocratic new laws, 2022 election integrity is definitely in doubt.
Backseat Driver
(4,410 posts)Hadn't been there yet today. Although on their online Popular/Latest column(s) page, it seems to have pre-buried in an Archive folder. This may help to convey your thoughts to The Atlantic:
https://support.theatlantic.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011374674-Submit-a-Letter-To-The-Editor
asiliveandbreathe
(8,203 posts)letter was pellucidly clear - nothing like shooting yourself in the foot - humiliating The Atlantic needs to stoop so low.. disgraceful, reckless, and without research..I blame the writer and the website's executive editor, Adrienne LaFrance, and the editor-in-chief is Jeffrey Goldberg (if they are still employed at The Atlantic).
Also noted, not sure about future subscribers..perhaps RWNJ (but then, do they read the Atlantic??..Those current subscribers,,not sure either?? Good Luck..
Takket - send your OP to the Atlantic...so powerful -
EleanorR
(2,400 posts)dalton99a
(81,730 posts)Xoan
(25,328 posts)Eom
orleans
(34,122 posts)& fuck the rest with their doom and fucking gloom headlines.
fear sells apparently. especially if you're fucking republican douches that own these media outlets
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