MSNBC: Media Treat Elections as a Game, Democracy Dies if GOP Wins

November 2nd, 2022 11:02 PM

On Wednesday night's edition of The ReidOut on MSNBC, "Country Over Party" founder, and frequent MSNBC guest Matthew Dowd joined host Joy Reid in trashing Republicans and praising President Biden's speech on apparent threats to democracy that the Republican Party supposedly poses. Dowd expressed his concerns over what could happen if Republicans win in next Tuesday's midterm elections. Even going as far as to say that if things don't go well "we don't have democracy anymore." 

"They set up the narrative so if they lose, they’re going to say all the polls showed us winning overwhelmingly. How did we lose? It must have been fixed," Dowd predicted, referring to Republicans who he apparently believes will dispute the outcome of the election if they lose. 

Dowd then went on to unironically criticize the media's coverage of elections and complain that they don't take sides: "I'm continually concerned not by you but by some media coverage that treats this all as some game. That has these forecasts like here's the odds of this and Republicans could win here and Democrats could win there." 

 

 

He then likened the media to a "weather guy covering a hurricane and saying oh, by the way, a hurricane is gonna hit in three days. Good night and not telling you what damage it's gonna do, what you can do to prevent it." 

Complaining about "the gamification of politics," Dowd cried that the media are "not only gaming it through polls which the right has done but the media make treating this as some sort of game where it doesn't matter if A or B wins. Oh, we'll go on about our lives." 

Bringing the discussion back to Biden's speech on "democracy," Dowd fearmongered about the midterm elections: "there is a serious chance that if this doesn't go well, we don't have democracy anymore." 

This segment on MSNBC was made possible by Chase. Their information is linked.

To read the relevant transcript click "expand": 

MSNBC’s The ReidOut
11/2/2022
7:49:03 p.m. Eastern

MATTHEW DOWD: I'm concerned about two things. That very much so as David annunciated. I have to just say out loud David and Jen and I were on opposite sides. Never hated each other. Had great respect for each other and now we're all on the same side. Which I hope most Americans are. 

I’m concerned about that. They set up the narrative so if they lose, they’re going to say all the polls showed us winning overwhelmingly. How did we lose? It must have been fixed. That's one. Two, I'm continually concerned not by you but by some media coverage that treats this all as some game. That has these forecasts like here's the odds of this and Republicans could win here and Democrats could win there. 

It's like a weather guy covering a hurricane and saying oh, by the way, a hurricane is gonna hit in three days. Good night and not telling you what damage it's gonna do, what you can do to prevent it. And the gamification of politics. Not only gaming it through polls which the right has done but the media make treating this as some sort of game where it doesn't matter if A or B wins. 

Oh, we'll go on about our lives. I hope what the President said tonight is that there is a serious chance that if this doesn't go well, we don't have democracy anymore, and 15 minutes from now, the World Series is gonna be on. By the way, go Phillies. You know what’s more American than baseball? Democracy. And that's what's on the line here.