Frank's Musings

On election day 2022 Joe Scarborough chided Democratic candidates for not being more forceful in arguing their policies and qualifications in the face of the false claims of their Republican opponents.  He particularly criticized Katie Hobbs for being “afraid of her own shadow” by not responding assertively to her opponent, Kari Lake, in the Arizona gubernatorial contest.  He congratulated former president Obama for the clarity and passion of his campaign speeches on behalf of several Democratic candidates while lamenting the “weakness” of many other Democratic election campaigns in presenting their strengths compared to the MAGA Republicans

The combativeness of media stars like Scarborough is particularly notable during this time of repeated complaints about the polarization of American politics.  Some politicians seem to be taking to heart wishes for a more civil tone in the American democracy and reducing the temperature of their style of debate.  Meanwhile, they must, unfortunately, withstand criticism from pundits who don’t seem to realize the contradiction between their glorification of “Madisonian Democracy” and their reaching for explanations for the success of demagogic attacks on the kind of politicians that don’t engage in that sort of competition.  The “weak” candidates appear to be appealing to an electorate they judge to be tired of politics as gamesmanship.

As an alternative strategy, these same “weak” candidates have tried to rely on other popular voices to take direct aim at the falsehoods and mis-directions of their rivals.  In fact, some of them have left it up to respected endorsers, who have retired from government service or are outside government to wield biting charges against their MAGA opponents.

This is an appropriate use of surrogates in a campaign that promises the re-establishment of rational order in our national affairs.  Instead of castigating Democratic politicians for their ineptitude at pandering to the selfish interests of their constituents, liberal media personalities should be encouraging those candidates with audience-friendly presentations of the benefits that everyone gets from a government that tries to serve the common interest.

After all, media leaders are expert at finding ways to sell products and services through all our channels of communication.  They ought to be able to develop compelling presentations of liberal democratic ideals, as well.  The reliance of a large percentage of today's citizens on electronic media, particularly the Internet, for information and opinions has fomented their passive civility.  Passive Civility includes their belief that democracy is the natural state of affairs, which they have come to think is just a part of the atmosphere, without their own active participation,

Likewise, media executives have enshrined “freedom of the press” as a license to concentrate on its entertainment value at the expense of its essential purpose to invigorate the public’s continuing participation in shaping and perfecting the government.  A liberal democratic government is not a divine gift; it is a human creation that needs constant attention.  Freedom is not awarded to the press for its entertainment value.  The media have a civic responsibility to inspire its audience, members of a liberal democracy, to fulfill their obligation vigilantly to shape and monitor their elected designees to assure that the state serves the common welfare.  Performing that task requires more from media personalities than pointing fingers at passive citizens.  It requires that the press use its powerful influence to teach people how to make government serve everybody’s interests.