Will Rogers once said, "I don't belong to an organized political party, I'm a Democrat." Sometimes it feels as though Rogers was guilty of the understatement of the century. I've said this before and it bears repeating: these people could screw up a sunset.
Case in point, the DNC's decision to bar Fox News from hosting any of the twelve Democratic debates. I personally don't care what you think of Rupert Murdoch's love child, this decision is asinine for the following reason: it unnecessarily gives Trump a talking point. And believe me Trump needs a talking point the way an alcoholic needs a drink.
That's right, people, the man who has spent his entire administration calling the main-stream media the enemy of the people, now gets to stand up in front of the entire country and say, "Look at those Democrats, they're hypocrites. They accuse me of bad-mouthing the media and now look what they're doing to Fox News."
Trump even tweeted the following: "Democrats just blocked @FoxNews from holding a debate. Good, then I think I’ll do the same thing with the Fake News Networks and the Radical Left Democrats in the General Election debates!"
This might be the one and only time you'll hear me say these words: Trump is right. Yep, the man who lies about as often as the average person takes in a breath of air, came off looking like an adult, while the people who thought they were sending a message to the conservative media came off looking like the spoiled brats they are. Talk about your role reversal.
The one thing I detest more than anything else is unforced errors, and the DNC just made a beaut. I'm not sure who's responsible for this boner. Rumor has it, Tom Perez was all set to include Fox News as one of the hosts for its debates, but buckled under pressure from the progressive website Daily Kos. It's founder, Markos Moulitsas, issued a statement that said the following:
The DNC is giving Fox News and the conservative movement a giant credibility boost by even considering granting them a debate. At a time when activists have worked so hard to convince advertisers to abandon that den of racism, bigotry and misogyny, here comes Tom Perez like a jackass undermining all that work.Translation, Democrats can't handle tough questions from journalists who don't agree with their philosophical leanings. At least that's how it will look to the electorate. Think about this for a moment: One of these candidates is going to become the Democratic nominee, and that nominee could well become the next president of the United States. What is that president going to do the first time a reporter from Fox News asks a question he or she doesn't like? Bar the reporter from the White House press briefing room, like Trump barred CNN's Jim Acosta?
Because that's the only conclusion you can draw if you buy the DNC's convoluted logic here. And I, for one, think it's terribly short sighted and small minded. Fox News, despite its over-the-top praise of Trump, is also home to some pretty good journalists, such as Chris Wallace. I've been a fan of Wallace's Sunday morning show on Fox for years. Like his father, Mike, he's a tough, but fair interviewer who doesn't pull any punches. It would've done Democrats some good to have a moderator like Wallace at one of their debates. Now they and the country will be deprived of that.
One can only hope that Perez will reconsider this ill-advised decision. The progressive wing of the party may have all the energy behind it, but by no means does it represent the majority of Americans. Millions of people will take to the polls next year to decide the 2020 presidential election. And you can bet the ranch on one thing: they aren't going to vote for a candidate who can't take a little heat. I swear to God, if Democrats blow the chance to make Trump a one-term president they will never live it down as a party.
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