If you’re a political scientist anywhere in the country, yesterday’s election in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District was something to read in textbooks. Heck, even if you don’t consider politics your favorite profession and consider yourself a budding politician, the race between Republican Troy Balderson and relatively modern Democrat Danny O’Connor gave everyone what could be an essential prescient snapshot of what the November election could mean for President Trump’s agenda.
There’s no doubt that the Buckeye State was once again a defining event. The district in particular has been held by Republicans for decades, but it’s also been a swing presidential district in recent cycles — voters voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016. It had all the makings for a huge GOP upset and a grim outlook for the party later in the year, with many suspecting Trump’s party will go down in flames.
If you’ve watched cable news or read newspapers like the New York Times, you’ve seen mainstream media barely contain their glee at the possibility that this time, finally, a blow to Trump’s agenda has come through, and the man himself has knocked on the door. In the days leading up to the election, the polls weren’t looking good for Balderson. And Trump’s slow entry into the race and trip to the state had all the makings of a mighty blow in the teeth.
But as the dust settled this morning, all signs point to Republicans holding onto this seat until 2019. Today, at least, there is an ominous silence from the same mainstream press that so desperately wanted this victory.
I find it both amusing and ironic that the so-called independent news industry is visibly groaning with regret and sorrow that “their side” didn’t win last night. Not everyone in the mainstream media is a liberal Democrat. But they are ardent Trump haters, and that’s more risky.
We have seen time and again how this hatred of the president manifests itself not only in the biased reporting of these major news outlets but also in the personal attacks that journalists feel they can make against the president and others in his administration. Worse, I can sense how much these reporters allow themselves to become personally offended in the face of criticism from the podium in the White House billiard room.
Why the slender skin? Why the very obvious need to respond with equal venom? What do we gain by doing this? And how do we serve society with “all the news that’s fit to print” and unbiased, straightforward journalism?
No, the Ohio race was less about Republicans vs. Democrats and more about the press vs. Trump. And at least for another day, the president managed to keep his opponents at bay. That’s gloomy for democracy, because Americans deserve a free and fair press that reports the facts and leaves opinions (and emotions) to others.
