AN OCTOBER GUT PUNCH
Keith Boag
There is almost no time left. The days before the US election are now numbered in single digits. America is at an historic crossroads. Yet one of its great newspapers, The Washington Post, has abandoned its decades long practice of signalling the way forward with a presidential endorsement.
It’s tempting to brush off the story as “inside baseball” for journalists, who can be overly-fussy about the traditions of their craft. Don’t.
Readers of The Post — as well as many people who never read it — understand that the newspaper was aggressive and probing in its coverage of the first Trump administration and that it continued that commitment through his two subsequent presidential campaigns.
It’s not shy about its opinions: In the 2020 presidential race, The Post endorsed the then former Vice President Joe Biden. Earlier this month it endorsed a Maryland candidate for the US Senate.
An endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris had reportedly already been drafted, but the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, intervened at the last minute to spike it. Friday the paper announced instead that it was “returning to our roots” and would no longer make any endorsements.
None of this is typical of Bezos’s reputation as a newspaper owner.
As one of the world’s richest people, he rescued The Post financially, invested in, and supported, its editorial direction. In his memoir, Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos and The Washington Post, the legendary Executive Editor of the paper, Marty Baron, extolled Bezos praising both his leadership and his newly discovered aptitude for the newspaper business.
This weekend, on social media, Baron called the decision to not endorse a candidate “cowardice with democracy as its casualty” and warned “@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further intimidate owner @jeffbezos (and others).”
That sounds about right.
There’s no interest like self-interest and Bezo’s vast array of self interests could easily be vulnerable under a second Trump administration. He knows it, Trump knows it.
Bezos is making it clear to Trump that he’s not looking for trouble. He is willingly self censoring and relinquishing his freedom to speak. His timidity, and what it portends for the future if Trump is returned to the White House, is worrisome.
The Yale history scholar Timothy Snyder has written extensively about 20th century Europe’s descent into fascist and communist authoritarianism. His book On Tyranny draws 20 lessons from that period and presents them as a resistor's checklist: Number one on the checklist: Do Not Obey in Advance.
He explains:
Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
Bezos is now such a citizen. He has taught Trump that bullying works to the extent that he won’t even wait to be bullied before surrendering.
Snyder emailed a video Saturday morning that took direct aim at Bezos, noting that the multi-billionaire has the means to insulate himself from whatever is inflicted on the rest of us. He poked at The Washington Post slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness”: What people like Bezos really think is that “when democracy dies in darkness, I’m going to enjoy the shadows,” said Snyder.
Predictably, in the hours after The Post’s decision, readers began cancelling their subscriptions. That contradicts Snyder’s second lesson for resisting tyranny: Defend Institutions. Take the side of an institution you care about — such as a newspaper.
It’s precisely at times like these that journalism needs the vigorous support of its audiences. But it’s also typical of Trump to force terrible choices on us.
The context for all of this is a grimmer outlook for Democrats as next week’s election bears down on us. Everything that was so exhilarating and infectious for Democrats when Harris began her campaign at the end of the summer now exists only as a flickering memory.
Bezos sees it. He’s not the only one.
“My gut says it’s going to be Donald Trump,” wrote Nate Silver unhelpfully, disappointing anyone who’d hoped that his vaunted fluency with statistical probability might lead to something more encouraging — or at least more science-y.
Polling averages indicate Harris still leads nationally, but Trump has a slight edge in the battleground states that will decide the presidency.
Doubtless many will choose to flip the channel on the whole catastrophe and, for the next week or so, watch the exceptionally entertaining World Series, read a novel or binge watch a series — a "text me when it’s over” approach
But you could take a quick spin through the shrewd mind of political operative James Carville instead. The legendary “Rajun Cajun” who famously steered Bill Clinton into the White House with the blunt reminder “It’s the economy stupid”, wrote in The New York Times a few days ago about the three reasons he thinks Harris will win the presidency.
One: Trump is a loser who has led Republicans to under-perform in every election since 2016 and has still made no effort to expand his base.
Two: the Harris campaign has more money than Trump and a better political machine to get out the vote.
Three: His gut says it’s going to be Harris.
. . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Keith Boag - The US presidential ticket is set: Trump + Vance versus Harris + Waltz. And to cover that election, we're bringing our readers and listeners a brilliant journalistic mind and political correspondent legend, Keith Boag! Keith was with the CBC for more than 30 years, including as Chief Political Correspondent. His career included work for many years in Washington, D.C., and as Ottawa Bureau Chief. Keith covered seven federal elections in Canada, ten party leadership campaigns, as well as several US elections. Keith will regularly offer his written analysis via "QUOTES" at Air Quotes Media.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Air Quotes Media. Read more opinion contributions via QUOTES from Air Quotes Media.