However, I do have a few political articles planned this week, and one of them is tangentially-related to that pet peeve topic. I have been reading so frequently about the presidential races of 2016 and the midterm elections of 2014, and I think it's time we call out a few pieces of lazy cliche that have been thrown around with great enthusiasm. Journalism and political discourse are not supposed to constantly be rehashing the same tired lines and pablum, and yet that's a lot of what I keep seeing on the campaign trail. Therefore, I think it's time we retire the following four tropes for good.
1. The Republican Presidential Field is Wide Open
I am so sick-and-tired of reading about how the Republican field is "wide open." The Washington Post cannot make it through a single day without one of their political blogs writing about how this is anyone's game. You know why it's anyone's game? It's a year before anyone will actually start running. It's sickening that this sort of "journalism" has been out there since President Obama won re-election over a year and a half ago. It's quite frankly, despicable. We should be focusing on the upcoming elections or on the actual day-to-day business of the country, not on who is running in 2016.
And even if we are focusing on 2016, saying the field is wide open is also a bit of a misnomer. The field is largely set with most of the Republicans already known. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Paul Ryan, and Marco Rubio all seem certain to enter the presidential race, with Jeb Bush and Sarah Palin the wild cards (other names will pop up, but one of those eight people will surely be the nominee). That's fairly wide open, but it's not really since we know the tiers (Paul/Bush/Christie on top, the rest fighting for the social conservative mantle that is left open). Plus, since there will be no serious development in the race before the Midterms, everything that can be said about this field (barring another Bridgegate scandal) has been said and we should let it lie.
2. This is the Worst Congress Ever
I have read it everywhere-the most unpopular, the worst, the least productive-anything that could be said about this Congress has been said. And yet, the worst part about this cliche isn't that it's true (it is), it's that political journalists act as if it's a surprise whenever a poll comes out showing Americans don't approve of Congress. No one likes Congress right now, primarily because, thanks to gerrymandering and lazy political journalism (we'll get there), nothing is going to get done that either side of the aisle wants.
Perhaps a better use of the journalists time would be asking real questions about why nothing is getting done instead of focusing on the 2016 presidential field. Just saying.
3. Lies on the Campaign Trail
We discussed the nastiness going on with the Julie Boonstra issue, but here's a place where journalists could actually make some headway. You get to interview members of both sides all the time-why not ask and press for legitimate answers to questions that the American people want to know. The Affordable Care Act, for example, has now exceeded four million people who have signed up for coverage-why is no one asking Republicans what that means for their attempts to overturn the legislation? Why is no one asking Paul Ryan hard questions about his lie on the campaign trail? Why is no one asking Terri Lynn Land her opinions on the Julie Boonstra scandal? Why is it that these things are reported on, but no one ever follows up on them? It bugs the crap out of me, particularly since the media still has a role to play for candidates (they need interviews for publicity), so why not use that little stick of power and do some journalistic good?
4. Stop Bringing Up Ronald Reagan
I was going to turn this one into a full article, but it wasn't quite long enough, but I want to give the Republicans a friendly piece of advice: stop bringing up Ronald Reagan. Unless you're Nancy or someone who worked in the administration or it's the anniversary of something significant in his life, it's just not appropriate anymore, primarily because it makes you sound like the party of the past when you already have an image problem in that vein with Gen X/Y.
I'll speak as someone who was born during the Reagan years-everything I know about him I learned through history books. To put it in blunter terms, the youngest person to have voted for Ronald Reagan turns 48 this year. That means that there's thirty years worth of voters who were too young (or not even born yet) who couldn't vote for the man. I know that G.W. Bush or John McCain or Mitt Romney aren't names you really want to trot out, particularly since Reagan's legacy is far more intact than these men's, but it's time to give up the Gipper if you don't want people to think you're running to bring America into the past.
Those are the ones bugging me today, but surely you have some-what cliches/tropes do you think need to be retired? Share in the comments!
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