A startling revelation over the weekend that a majority of Americans think the Democratic Party stands primarily for its opposition to Donald Trump instead of anything else raised some eyebrows, but the most alarming thing about this is how it was reported: the Washington Post buried this detail in its coverage while highlighting a decline of public support for the president since April.
The newspaper also focused more on the perceived Russian interference and influence on the election.
According to the poll, support for how Trump is doing his job has declined from 42 percent to 36 percent overall. Among Republicans, the decline has only been from 84 to 82 percent, while among Democrats it has dropped from 13 percent to 11 percent. Among independents, the decline has gone from 38 percent to 32 percent.
These details were right up front in the newspaper’s story. Buried in the second-to-the-last paragraph, however, is this detail:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
“Whatever Trump’s struggles, the poll shows clear risks of Democrats’ opposition to Trump. Some 37 percent say the party currently stands for something, while 52 percent say it mainly stands against Trump. Even among Democrats, over one-quarter say their party primarily stands in opposition to Trump rather than for their own agenda.”
As ABC News’ Jonathan Karl noted on Good Morning, America, this public perception is “a majority of the country believe Democrats stand for nothing more than opposing Donald Trump, and barely a third believe they have their own plan. That’s a problem for Democrats; they have to stand for something beyond simply opposing the president.”
So, why was this interesting survey result not mentioned until almost the final paragraph of the story? Does that suggest another problem, namely media bias?
Earlier this month in the New York Post, writer Karol Markowicz wrote about why Democrats are “still losing the war of ideas.” She noted that the president’s travel ban from six “predominantly Muslim countries revealed a somewhat surprising discovery: 60 percent of voters agreed with Trump’s proposed ban. That includes 56 percent of independents and even 41 percent of Democrats.”
“The plan,” she wrote, “has a distinct advantage: It’s the only idea on the table. What’s the alternative to the ban from the left? What’s the pan to stop terrorist attacks? Literally nothing.”
She later observed, “Democrats’ entire reason for being has become ‘We are not Trump.’ They remain wrapped up in an election that happened eight months ago, convinced it was stolen from them by Russian hackers and unable to let go.”
There are those who have hinted that it is important for Democrats and liberals to cling to the notion that Russian hackers are responsible for Hillary Clinton’s loss, rather than acknowledge that their candidate blew it by taking the election for granted and being a mediocre candidate whose only vision was to be the first female president and cater to the special interests that got her there. Declaring war on gun owners and the Second Amendment didn’t help, either.
