Listen, I know I’m no Veronica Mars (she was really a great detective), but I wrote the following Twitter thread on January 31st:
THREAD: I keep thinking about the @KatyTur video of the Inaugural Parade... NO ONE WAS THERE. [1/13]
And we all know the crowd at the *actual* Inauguration was light in comparison to Presidents past. The #WomensMarch happened the next [2/13]
day in cities ALL OVER the country. Not just in California and New York— you know, the 'coastal elites’ cities— but in the south, all [3/13]
over the midwest, IN FUCKING ALASKA... It was the BIGGEST protest in US history. The #MuslimBan protests this past weekend were also [4/13]
far reaching. It's safe to say that the crowds at airports (and parks and court houses) in cities all over this country drew more than [5/13]
Trump's flimsy inauguration. Yes, when he won we were all referring to him as an 'illegitimate' President because he lost the popular [6/13]
vote by so much, but it seems like it's truly way beyond that. NOBODY (except for Nazis and those who get their 'news' from Infowars) [7/13]
likes this man. I don't buy that he won this election fairly. It makes no sense since it seems like the entire country is against him. [8/13]
(250,000 people attended the Inauguration and 290,000 people donated to the ACLU this weekend.) So please tell me how this man is in [9/13]
the White House? Remember Harry Reid and the Russian bombshell?! And what about the Russian spy (with ties to the “Golden Shower” [10/13]
dossier) who was just murdered?! What about Rex Tillerson?! And Trump lifting the sanctions for Putin?! It just doesn't add up. He DID [11/13]
NOT win this election fair and square. Why Senate Dems didn’t DEMAND an investigation into this is beyond me, but there is no mandate. [12/13]
This was a coup. And we should not allow this TRAITOR to pick a justice for OUR Supreme Court. #StopTheCoup #ReasonsToProtest [13/13]
[END THREAD]
And here we are… MONTHS later and we’re slowly starting to learn that *maybe* voting machines were tampered with in certain states.
(They were.)
Look, this isn’t some “I TOLD YOU SO” piece (I’m not a monster), but it’s been pretty obvious since Inauguration Day. Deduction is a thing. And back in January, I deduced that the election had been [QUOTE] rigged. Trump told us! (You all were just too busy picking on the lady to notice.)
But I connected the dots. I mean, that’s what Veronica Mars would’ve done, right? (Though truth be told, she would’ve cracked this case wide open by February.) And look, maybe I’m taking a little pleasure in knowing I’m not some crazy conspiracy theorist after all BECAUSE HILLARY CLINTON IS OUR RIGHTFUL PRESIDENT.
Republicans have proved time and time again that the only way they can win anything is by cheating. [SEE: Gerrymandering, voter suppression, disenfranchisement, Merrick Garland, RUSSIAN COLLUSION]
Had Hillary’s Inaugural Parade been a Ghost Town™ (coupled with a BARELY THERE™ inauguration), the media would’ve been theorizing “BUT, WHY?” as it was unfolding in real time. Let’s set misogyny and sexism aside for a second and focus on the fact that the rules for democrats and republicans just simply aren’t the same. This is an ENORMÉ problem and the media is full-blown complicit in this mess.
If there was even an INKLING that Hillary colluded with Russia, EVERY outlet would be covering it 24/7 (just like they covered her emails ad nauseam). We would’ve had a NEW election immediately and a NEW republican president installed — regardless of who controlled Congress! You know it, I know it… SO WHY DO REPUBLICANS GET TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT, WHENEVER THEY WANT WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE?! (Not a rhetorical question.)
This notion of a [QUOTE] liberal media is as infuriating as it is absurd. WHAT LIBERAL MEDIA?! (Seriously — someone tell me what the fuck that means because aside from Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell, I’m at a total loss. [Also, now is a good time to mention that Chris Hayes is unbelievably sexist, tone deaf, and he might as well change the name of his show to All In With Chris Hayes & Bernie Sanders.])
And by “mainstream media” you mean…the enablers?! (Because “mainstream” and “facts” are no longer synonymous.)
NOTE: Fox News doesn’t deserve inclusion because they’re neither foxes nor news. (Just racist, sexist, homophobic fortune cookies come to life.)
The New York Times is now a worthless garbage paper (liberal? OK… [INSERT “SURE, JAN” GIF]), and CNN is about as “mainstream” as your Uncle Rick rambling on and on about how “the blacks and the gays have destroyed America” at Thanksgiving dinner. The Washington Post changed their slogan in February to “Democracy Dies in Darkness” and while they’ve been the paper of 2017 — democracy is on life support and darkness is already upon us.
When did we become a country where facts are considered elitist?!
I mean, look at the presidential debates… Why do we allow candidates of any political party to spew lies and propaganda?! Why aren’t debates fact-checked live on-air?! Why doesn’t a buzzer sound when a candidate says something untrue?! Why aren’t we calling lies LIES?! Why are we tap-dancing around the word NAZI?! And why don’t candidates running for political office have to pass a basic civics test?! (Um…remember those cringe-worthy moments from Rick Perry and Ben Carson?! They’d both, without a doubt, fail a second grade American history quiz!)
Meanwhile, in related news, Paul Ryan couldn’t tell a reporter the current minimum wage in Wisconsin when asked two weeks ago.
Can you imagine the news BONANZA that would ensue if Maxine Waters didn’t know the minimum wage in California?! CNN would have a “BREAKING NEWS” banner, continuous coverage, and a countdown clock (of course there’d be no reason for a countdown clock, they just really, really love a countdown clock) — even though Trump colluded with Russia to steal an election, his entire administration is looting the country blind, they’re all using private email (oh, irony!), and people are literally dying in Puerto Rico as I type this.
SPOILER ALERT: News is supposed to be fact-based. News isn’t a posse of pundits screaming lobbyist’s talking points over one other. News isn’t opinion. News isn’t conjecture. News isn’t partisan. News is the truth. Period.
JOURNALISTS: Please get it together. I’d like to think you got into this profession because you wanted to report the news. Maybe you were inspired by Walter Cronkite or Diane Sawyer or Edward R. Murrow? INVESTIGATE. CONNECT THE DOTS. REPORT ACTUAL FACTS. YOU HAVE A PLATFORM. USE IT. SAVE THIS COUNTRY.
Our election was compromised. And simultaneous marches in various cities (while they’ve been extremely effective thus far) aren’t going to cut it anymore — we need to take over Washington, DC. (Like how South Koreans took to the streets in Seoul.)
WE ARE THE MAJORITY AND WE NEED TO FIGHT FOR OUR DEMOCRACY. We should be demanding a new election. (ANY OTHER CIVILIZED COUNTRY WOULD BE DOING THIS.) And we desperately need help from the media to achieve it. (Well, everyone but Fox News since they’re still consumed with Hillary’s emails [which, frankly, takes A LOT of nerve at this point], Lauren Duca’s tweets [GASP! THE HORROR!], and with The War on Christmas® right around the corner…they’re going to have their hands full [of hate].)
