In the last post, I discussed a little bit about what’s at stake with an ideological realignment of the Democratic party.
So where does that leave the party’s elders? The pundits? The bundlers, PAC leaders, and think-tank executives?
Well, they’ll need to adapt really fast, build a new coalition overnight, or find a new line of work. Losing control of a bipartisan coalition and then losing control of each party will leave these 1990s relics as an anachronism in the 2020s.
https://www.undergroundpolitics.com/politics/bernie-and-the-2020-realignment/
In the two weeks since, MSNBC has decidedly staked out a position to Sander’s right and they’ve relentlessly attacked him on everything from being a secret Russian to scaremongering about some kind of authoritarian communism.
Chris Matthews, in particular, has not adapted well to the new political reality where Bernie Sanders is the main front-runner and likely opposition to Trump in 2020:
You heard that correctly: Chris Matthews is comparing Bernie’s Nevada caucus victory with a Nazi victory over French soldiers. He’s directly comparing a Jewish presidential candidate with the Nazi army… because??? Well, the “logic” here is missing because people like Chris Matthews have managed to live so long with such privileged lives that they cannot even begin to conceive of this loss of their power and influence over the Democratic party.
Even reporting the news brings out audible sighs from their field reporters:
MSNBC isn’t a particularly progressive or left wing network. Although they’ve often been painted that way by right wing opposition, they never set out to be an alternative version of Fox:
In fact, MSNBC is owned by Comcast – which is run by a billionaire who inherited his fortune. On balance, the Comcast corporation donates in a pattern that favors Republicans, with more conservative Democrats coming in second place.
So what role is MSNBC staking out in the realignment? Well, none. They’re still fighting to stop it, because they can’t even envision how they would survive if it does happen. I’m not sure I can, either!
How could a network credibly push the “Trump is the end of the world” narrative and then fail to support his opponent?
They probably can’t.