Even by the Bezos Post’s low, low standards (and almost nonexistent coverage of Virginia politics, elimination of the Metro section, etc.), this VA11 Dems candidate questionnaire turned out to be a complete cluster-you-know-what. So let’s start with how it ended – as Adam Zuckerman (a consultant to the Amy Roma for VA11 campaign) correctly points out, below, the WaPo has admitted that “something went seriously wrong with the process” in their candidate questionnaire, so they’ve “taken down the candidate responses” after initially posting them this morning (note: see below for screenshots of those q’s and a’s I took this morning, before I had any idea they’d be taking them down).
So, according to the Bezos Post, the problem is that “the questions lacked nuance,” being “yes or no questions that some candidates opted not to answer.” Which is absolutely true – several of these questions were phrased in utterly absurd, ridiculous, oversimplified ways. For instance, “should the U.S. increase its domestic oil production to meet the country’s immediate needs” is FUBAR on multiple levels (e.g., no mention that U.S. oil production hit record highs in the Biden administration; no mention of the climate crisis; no mention of economics), but regardless, it does NOT merit a simple yes-or-no response, because IT IS A COMPLICATED TOPIC! Or how about “Should the United States provide unconditional military aid to Israel?” Again, that’s a thorny, complex issue that shouldn’t be boiled down to a yes/no, but should have the candidates explain their policy positions in depth, detail, etc. Those are just two examples, but they illustrate the problem with the Post’s questionnaire.
Also, I’d add several other problems with their questionnaire: 1) the questions were very strange, in the sense that the Post actually thinks that two “inside baseball”-style questions about term limits and mandatory Congressional retirement age are actually some of the most important issues facing our country right now (as opposed to the climate crisis, democracy, immigration, healthcare, etc, etc.); 2) the trans women playing in women’s college sports question sounds like something Sinclair would ask, and in fact DID ask at the Virginia Democratic Lt. Governor debate a few weeks ago (and again, why is this even being asked, given that miniscule number of trans women playing on women’s college sports teams probably is only considered one of the most important issues facing America if you are a rabid consumer of right-wing media); 3) the Post waited until after three days of early voting, and just the day before the “firehouse primary,” to publish this; 4) not surprisingly, given how poorly thought-out and carried-out this questionnaire was, a bunch of candidates (wisely!) chose not to respond at all.
Anyway, bottom line: the WaPo/Bezos Post is a hot mess, particularly when it comes to their coverage of DC Metro area (certainly including Virginia) politics. And no, this fiasco is NOT an isolated case; also see crap like this and this…and many many more examples. Is this part of the reason why their local circulation numbers have plummeted 90% since 2005?
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