In case you wonder why I have so little regard for mainstream media…
…take a look at this headline and selected excerpts from Rebecca Picciotto’s article for CNBC – and know that, based on my scanning the articles, the seriousness she gave this “win” is echoed by many, many other so-called news sources as well:
Biden nets landslide victory in South Carolina Democratic Primary, winning 96% of votes
- President Joe Biden won a landslide victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary, capturing 96% of the votes cast.
- The results signal that Democratic voters have no interest in backing a primary challenger to the incumbent president.
- Biden’s massive win could inject fresh momentum into his reelection campaign, which has not yet had the chance to notch a blowout victory.
President Joe Biden won a landslide victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary Saturday, where voters sent a clear message that they are ready for Biden to pivot to the November election.
As of 12:00 a.m. ET, Biden had won 96.2% of the ballots cast, with 97% of the total votes tallied.
The other two Democrats on the ballot, House Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and self-help author and 2020 Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson each won around 2% of ballots.
The win injects fresh momentum into Biden’s reelection campaign, and it offers a compelling rebuttal to the narrative that Democratic voters are ambivalent — or worse — about their party’s standard bearer.
Biden’s overwhelming margin of victory left no question about who Democratic voters want to be on the ballot in November.
But it came amid reports of lower than expected turnout, potentially a sign of weakened enthusiasm for Biden among Democrats.
This, folks, is a case study in journalistic (take your pick) stupidity, ignorance or intentional bias.
Why do I say this? How about the fact – which Ms. Picciotto and her editors decided not to favor readers with – that the two people Biden ran against not only are not major candidates, but almost no one even knows who they are.
OF COURSE Joe Biden got almost all the votes; he was running against etc. and etc.
Here’s a question for you: what if Biden had been running against, say, Joe Manchin – a Senator with some name recognition and, presumably, sufficient funding to actually mount an opposition campaign? Do you in any way believe Manchin would have gotten only 2% or 4% of the primary vote?
And then there is that tossed-in line about voter turnout being lower than expected.
OF COURSE turnout was low. Given the minimal name recognition of Williamson and Phillips, in most people’s minds Biden was running unopposed. So, with the result a foregone conclusion, why make any special effort to get out and vote?
Bottom line: This article was written in a way that tried – unsuccessfully for me, but probably successfully for a good many others – to elevate a 100% obvious/100% predictable primary result into some great victory that proves Biden is the people’s choice.
Point of order: this is from Shauneen Miranda’s article for axios.com, from last September:
The big picture: Unfavorable opinions of Biden are rising among his own party, as its voters hesitate about the 80-year-old’s age and ability to handle another term in office.
Zoom in: When Democrats and Democratic-leaning independent voters were asked who the party should nominate as its 2024 presidential candidate, only 33% chose Biden, according to the poll conducted by SSRS.
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- 67% said they wanted a different candidate as the party’s nominee.
Yes, but: When those respondents were asked who the party’s 2024 nominee should be, no other person polled above 3%.
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- The overwhelming majority of Democrat-leaning voters who said they were against a 2nd term for Biden — 82% — said they want “just someone besides Joe Biden.”
That’s pretty telling, isn’t it? Two thirds of his own party didn’t want him to be the candidate. And it’s not like they have some other favorite; they don’t. Anyone but Biden would be just fine with them.
Assuming (as I do) that their attitude has not changed appreciably since then (and, if it did, I would not be surprised to find he fares even worse now, not better)…
…maybe Rebecca Picciotto and some of her likeminded “journalist” friends should have taken this into consideration when they wrote about what a great victory Biden had in South Carolina.
