If you read the comic strip Non Sequitur you are no doubt familiar with the Superhero who makes occasional appearances in the strip. Obviousman’s super power consists in the ability to spot the obvious. This may not seem like much of a superpower, but he’s got something over today’s media, that’s for sure. He could help them answer this question, which Media Matters tells us they’re all asking:
Here’s what Obviousman would tell them: If these guys (and the one gal) criticize Trump for racism, they run the risk of alienating the racist base to which they all want to appeal, albeit in somewhat subtler fashion than Trump. The McCain flap gives them safe ground from which to mount an attack on Trump; not because they despise his racism, but because he’s a threat to them. The base doesn’t particularly like McCain, but they won’t be offended by attacks against Trump on that ground.
The modern day Republican Party is the party of racism, the natural result of Nixon’s Southern Strategy from many years ago. At the present time it is death for any person seeking the Republican nomination to sincerely condemn racism. This is OBVIOUS, and if in fact the national media are unaware of this fact they are far stupider than they have any right to be. Indeed, their question might be turned on them: Why Not Now: Why doesn’t the media acknowledge the reality of the Republican Party instead of continuing to insist that both parties are equally to blame for what ails us? The fact is they are fully aware of this reality. They simply prefer not to mention it, as doing so would make their corporate masters uncomfortable.
Addendum: Paul Krugman makes some of the same points here. I love it when I can link to someone saying the same things as me after I’ve said it. Of course, in this case it’s not such a big deal, because it’s all so OBVIOUS.
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