If you follow my social media feeds, or the feeds of people like Mark Jacob (“Ex-editor at Chicago Tribune & Sun-Times”), Jennifer Schulze (“journalist talking journalism”), Jay Rosen (“I teach journalism at NYU, critique the press, try to suggest reforms”), Margaret Sullivan (former media columnist for the WaPo, former public editor of the NY Times), James Fallows (former national correspondent for The Atlantic, former editor of US News & World Report), etc, etc., you have a pretty good idea where I’m coming from on the massive failure of the U.S. political media to report fairly, accurately and adequately to the rise of an objectively dangerious, anti-democratic, even fascistic movement in this country.
Instead, we mostly get a torrent of “sanewashing” (making the batsh*** crazy seem “sane” or “normal”), whitewashing, “both sides” false equivalence, relentless negativity towards any/all Democratic achievements, double standards (it’s almost ALWAYS ok if you’re a Republican, but almost NEVER ok if you’re a Democrat), etc, etc.
So yesterday, here in Virginia, we had a CLASSIC example of the political media’s failures, with the VA02 debate between Republican incumbent Rep. Jen Kiggans (R) and her Democratic challenger, Missy Cotter Smasal. See below for video of the debate, during which Kiggans spewed out a FIREHOSE of lies, misstatements, distortions, b.s. right-wing talking points and nonsense, while Smasal was reality-and-fact-based, whether you agreed with her positions or not. So how did the Virginia political media report on this debate, given that ACCURATE reporting would have noted clearly, in the headlines and “lede,” that Kiggans spewed out lies while Smasal DID NOT DO THAT? Take one guess. That’s right, here are the headlines from this morning’s papers:
- WTKR: “Kiggans, Cotter Smasal trade jabs on economic, abortion policies during 1st and only debate”
- WAVY: “Rep. Kiggans, Smasal to face off in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional debate”
- WaPo: “Kiggans and Cotter Smasal clash in Virginia Beach congressional debate”
- 13NewsNow: “Race for Virginia’s Second Congressional District: Kiggans, Smasal clash in first and only debate ahead of Election Day”
- Virginian-Pilot: “Jen Kiggans, Missy Cotter Smasal debate hot button issues in race for Virginia’s 2nd District seat”
- WHRO: “Second congressional district candidates debate economy, reproductive rights”
Getting the picture? That’s right, the political media reported on this debate in a “neutral,” false equivalence/”both sides” way, *completely failing* to let readers/viewers/listeners know, right up front in the headlines (or even in the articles themselves!), that Kiggans lied through her teeth from start to finish. Don’t believe me? Then watch the debate for yourselves, below. Also, here are just a few of the many MANY lies, distortions, etc. spewed out by Kiggans during her 90 minutes on stage yesterday.
- “We have a wide open border; illegal immigration hit all-time highs and our tax dollars are being spent to house and feed illegal immigrants” (False on every level. As NPR reported recently in a fact check on Trump’s false rhetoric about immigration: “the border is not ‘open’. In fact, it is arguably more reinforced than ever. The federal government has added more sections of the U.S. Southern border walls, and there have been more military operations at the border. The administration has also increased the number of expedited removals.”)
- “Crime is too high” (Of course, any crime is always bad, but right now violent crime rates are near their lowest point in decades, also down from where they were during the Trump administration.)
- “We’ve accomplished much in two years with our three-seat majority we passed important bills to lower prices by restoring our energy independence; we passed the strongest border security bill in history to finish the wall and support our border patrol…But this administration and the Democrat [sic] Senate consistently oppose these common sense solutions they’ve consistently failed to make our security a priority.” (Well that was quite the torrent of bullsh** right there from Jen Kiggans! In fact, thanks to the Republican-led House, this Congress is “on track to become one of the least productive in U.S. history.” Also note that Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked one of the toughest border security bills EVER in order to “campaign on border chaos,” per Donald Trump’s orders. And that’s exactly what Kiggans is doing – not that you’d ever know that from reading the Virginia political media’s “reporting” on the debate…ugh.)
- “Republicans have put measures in place that have
tried to decrease the spending, that is one thing that we saw overarching just excessive spending coming out of the Biden-Harris Administration, trillions of dollars before the Republicans took the House majority; our national debt is higher now than ever.” (Fact check: the vast majority of spending is on Social Security, Medicare, the U.S. military and interest on the debt. So which of those does Kiggans want to cut? As for the debt, in fact Donald Trump increased the national debt by a massive 33% in just one term, in large part thanks to Republicans’ tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations. So…yeah, Kiggans is yet again completely full of it.) - “We also have to restore energy Independence for our great nation…” (Fact check: currently, under the Biden-Harris admninistration, the U.S. is a net energy EXPORTER with energy production of nearly every type at the highest levels EVER, in U.S. history! See all the statistics here, at the US Energy Information Administration’s website, and just laugh at Kiggans and her lies.)
- “If you look at the policy positions that the Democrats are bringing to the table, the president and vice president Harris have proposed a $5 trillion tax increase” (Reality: that’s over a DECADE, and “No one making less than $400,000 a year would see their taxes go up under the plan. Instead, Ms. Harris is seeking to significantly raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and large corporations.” So Kiggans claims she wants to cut the debt/deficit, but refuses to raise revenues, which of course means she’d need to slash Social Security, Medicare and U.S. military spending. Of course, she won’t tell you that…)
- “Democrats think that your money belongs to the government, whereas Republicans and our House majority we think that the money belongs to you.” (Smasal nailed it in her response to this garbage: “Actually, I think Republicans like Jen Kiggans think that your money belongs in the pockets of the wealthiest and of large corporations…she continues to vote to support tax welfare for the extreme wealthy and then when it comes to us, there’s not no money left.”)
- “The [dock workers] strike was delayed uh in my opinion it was a election year gimmick that we simply pushed back the the start date…” (Actually, the dock workers won a major victory, thanks to the most pro-labor administration in U.S. history. In stark contrast, Kiggans and her party are virulently anti-worker, pro-corporate…just appalling.)
- “I steer you back to the Democratic policies that that have squashed our energy independence and that have just spent trillions of dollars and made inflation that was that was skyrocketing and we have less money now than in our pockets” (See above for the fact check on Kiggans LIES about U.S. energy production. As for Democratic policies supposedly fueling inflation, that’s just flat-out false; in fact, inflation was a WORLDWIDE phenomenon coming out of the COVID pandemic, a combination of supply-chain issues and pent-up demand, economic recovery, government aid to individuals and businesses, etc., etc. And much of that was either signed into law by Trump and/or supported by Republicans AND Democrats. Plus, the Biden-Harris administration has helped get inflation back down to 2.4%, with unemployment near decades-long lows. So…WTF is Kiggans blathering about???)
- “We have passed bills to cut wasteful spending…they refuse to be taken up by the Democrat [sic] Senate entertained in the Democrat [sic] White House” (Complete horseshit. Not even going to waste my time with this one, it’s so ridiculous and false – just Google it.)
- “I will say here again that we were protective of Social Security, Medicare and veteran benefits those things were not touched those things will not be touched” (Hahahahahahaha. Republicans protective of Social Security and Medicare??? In fact, “Project 2025’s Medicare Changes Would Restrict Older Americans’ Access to Care and Imperil the Program’s Financial Health.” Also, see FACT SHEET: 80% of House Republicans Release Plan Targeting Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act, Raising Costs, and Cutting Taxes for the Wealthy)
- “The Democrats have spent trillions of dollars and it has led to our country to a debt that now our children and our grandchildren inherit and it’s led to economic instability” (This is just ridiculous; again, the vast majority of “spending” is on Social Security, Medicare, the U.S. military and interest on the debt. None of this has “led to economic instability” in any way/shape/form. Is Kiggans completely ignorant or is she just flat-out lying? Or both?)
- “Just briefly to clarify my stance on abortion since my opponent continues to bring it up, I’ve never supported a federal ban on abortion, I’ve always supported those exceptions for rape incest in life of the mother it’s a issue that needs to be treated with more compassion common sense and consensus it’s also an issue that needs to be legislated and debated at the state level and I stand by that” (Smasal’s response was excellent: “Jen Kiggans just told you that she thinks politicians should have control over your body…she is telling you that she believes politicians know better than women, as women across our country are dying in extreme medical situations because of policies that extremists like [Kiggans] have put into place. She supports a Speaker who calls for a national abortion ban and she has proven to us over and over again that she will fall in line with whatever her party tells her to do but on this. I think she truly believes it – she wants to restrict your reproductive rights. I won’t let her turn Virginia into Alabama“)
- “Are you better off today than you were four years ago the answer is the answer is no” (In fact, if you look at almost ANY METRIC – economic, COVID deaths, etc. – we are FAR better off than we were in October 2020!)
- “I bring honesty to politics, common sense conservatism” (What’s amazing is that Kiggans can say stuff like this with a straight face. In reality, of course, Kiggans and her party are right-wing ideologues who are the antithesis of “common sense.” And, as pointed out above, they are also the antithesis of “honesty to politics”)
- “We’re faced with Democrats that have crushed natural gas” (Per the US Energy Information Administration, U.S. natural gas production and exports are now the HIGHEST IN HISTORY. Again, Kiggans just flat-out lies and the media fails to call her on it!)
- Smasal nailed it: “Kiggans has voted to take funds away from FEMA and she stands with extreme MAGA Republicans in her party like Marjorie Taylor Greene that spread conspiracy theories and dangerous misinformation when we should be helping people right now.” In her “rebuttal,” Kiggans if anything doubled down on that “dangerous misinformation.” Check it out!
- “We’ve passed multiple border bills since then all of which have not been taken up by the Democrat [sic] Senate…We continue to pass strong border legislation that the Democrats do not entertain and do not take up…Democrats do not take this issue up and do not let us vote on it.” (Again, it was Senate REPUBLICANS who killed one of the toughest border security bills EVER, in U.S. history!)
- “The Biden-Harris Administration has not [supported Israel]” (In fact, Joe Biden traveled to Israel to show his support after the 10/7/23 Hamas terrorist attack/massacre. Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled House delayed aid to Israel, as well as to Ukraine, for many months last year, for absolutely no good reason other than Donald Trump’s hostility to Ukraine and warmth towards war criminal Vladimir Putin!)
- “All of that divisive rhetoric is being really used in a very negative way impacting our country in a negative way we are we need to be more unified now more than ever…it’s time to be unified, it’s time to cut it out with the divisive rhetoric it’s not helpful for unifying our great country” (Smasal’s response nailed it: “Jen Kiggans has a record… two years of chaos and dysfunction of a Congress that refuses to pass budgets on time, a Congress that threatens government shutdowns that harm our local economy and a Congress that attacks women’s rights at every turn. Jen Kiggans has failed to deliver for you, but she has voted 13 times to restrict your bodily autonomy”)
And with that, we’ll leave it there, other than to remind everyone that the Virginia political media COULD HAVE done fact checks like that – but chose not to! Instead, they gave us lazy, irresponsible, pathetic, “both sides,” false equivalence garbage about how the two candidates “sparred,” “clashed,” “traded jabs,” blah blah blah. The question is, why does the public put up with this massive failure by the “mainstream media” to hold pathological liars like Jen Kiggans accountable??? It’s so infuriating that they are allowed to get away with this.
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