What liberal media? That Sioux Falls paper just endorsed the complete Republican slate for District 9 Senate and House. That includes Deb Peters, who appears to be dodging debates and thinks the right way to keep families from open enrolling out of her school district is to throw up legislative barriers to school choice; Bob Deelstra, who has a speech impediment online; and, in the greatest sign of the apocalypse, Pastor Steve Hickey, who will ban abortion entirely if he gets the chance.
Now I'll admit, of the various fundagelicals with whom I've locked blog horns, Pastor Hickey has come across as more capable of reasoned debate and practical political action than some others of his ilk. But that the largest newspaper in our state would pick him and his Republican colleagues over Trudi Hatch, Mark Anderson, and Rob Wilson—three relatively sober and serious Democrats, not wild radicals like me—reduces to absurdity any suggestion that the South Dakota media has a liberal bias.
Then again, Pastor Hickey does support reparations for Native Americans, including at least a conversation about some eventual land settlement. Maybe he's a liberal after all....
I about spewed coffee and fell out of my chair when I caught this earlier in the day.
ReplyDeleteThe print media are struggling to survive and need to move product. I wonder if these endorsements are a recognition (don't shoot me, now) that the populace (aka potential customers) are center-right?
Not sure how they plan to move more product. I've spoken to 3 people who plan to cancel their subscriptions after seeing Hickey's endorsement.
ReplyDeleteCarmen - that's an interesting point. I serve in the Episcopal Church, a denomination that threw its traditional members under the bus to court "today's people." Epic fail by every measure - the traditional base bailed and "today's people" weren't interested.
ReplyDeleteSo I can see the same thing playing out if an ostensibly progressive publication tries to court GOP readers.
District 9?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the Prawn were allowed to vote.
Sorry - couldn't resist a movie reference.