On Friday's The 11th Hour, for about 30 seconds, Brian Williams did something that is rare for him and other journalists to do as he admitted that the national news media live in a liberal bubble, mostly interact with others who are in the same bubble, and are therefore out of touch with a mostly red country.
Williams made his analysis as he hinted that Republicans many be on the verge of winning the upcoming elections in Virginia based largely on local school issues. After reading from an article in Politico which informed readers that many Virginia voters are concerned about issues of race and transgenderism in schools, Williams recalled past instances when the liberal press have been shocked as he correctly diagnosed a problem in his industry:
I have always believed we should be more critical of ourselves. The press corps -- the people we read and the people we see all day long on cable news -- tend to live in blue dots. No fault of their own -- it's where their employers are located. But it helps explain why the press corps largely was shocked at the rise of the Tea Party, shocked at the election of Donald Trump.
The liberal former NBC Nightly News anchor then added: "Out beyond the last exit for a Whole Foods, people have been listening to Steve Bannon, and Trumpers have been running for town and city council, and boards of ed, and this is happening in town after town across what is still a very red country."
After liberal author and frequent guest Baratunde Thurston responded by portraying Republican voters as voting the way they do because they feel fear on racial issues, Williams never got around to proposing that anything be done to deal with the problem he acknowledged exists in journalism.
In the fact, on that very night, his own show displayed multiple examples of the blue-centered bias in his field. Not only did an earlier segment feature a disgruntled former Republican accusing Republicans of being fascists, with Williams describing the GOP as acting like "killers," but just minutes earlier, one of the network's Republican contributors, Susan del Percio, cheered for Democrats to win the next election.
The MSNBC bizarro world frequently features disaffected Republicans who attack their own party instead of providing balance against Democrats touting liberal views. Del Percio -- who was described on screen as a "Republican strategist" -- condemned Supreme Court conservatives for not blocking the Texas abortion ban and urged Democrats to run on the issue:
...they (the U.S. Supreme Court) are literally causing so much pain and problems for women today by not putting a stay on that. And these women are confronted with real life problems that are going to cost -- affect them for the rest of their lives. Ten days is not soon enough, and we know they're not going to give a decision after they hear the discussion.
So, hopefully, the Democrats will use this, among other things, including voting rights, as saying we must fight for the rule of law. That's it. Full stop. Go to the streets, get people registered to vote because turnout will be the thing that causes the Democrats to lose the House and the Senate.
Williams also frequently uses the last couple of minutes of his show to highlight some sort of attack on Republicans that might thrill his liberal audience, sometimes playing entire ads released by anti-Republican groups.
This episode of The 11th Hour with Brian Williams was sponsored in part by Alka Seltzer. Their contact information is linked.
Transcript follows:
MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
October 22, 2021
11:38 p.m. Eastern
SUSAN DEL PERCIO, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Democrats have never gotten their act together as far as using the courts as a way of voter turnout. This should certainly do it. If the courts rule against Roe v. Wade, it should make the Women's March that we have seen look like a picnic and like a small turnout. There should be millions upon millions of women and men calling out that the courts and saying we need to have representation and follow the rule of law.
Every one of the nominees that got confirmed under Trump said, "Yes, precedent is important, and that is what Roe v. Wade is, and I wouldn't want to overturn it," basically, without saying the "overturn" part. And here they are, and they are literally causing so much pain and problems for women today by not putting a stay on that. And these women are confronted with real life problems that are going to cost -- affect them for the rest of their lives. Ten days is not soon enough, and we know they're not going to give a decision after they hear the discussion. So, hopefully, the Democrats will use this, among other things, including voting rights, as saying we must fight for the rule of law. That's it. Full stop. Go to the streets, get people registered to vote because turnout will be the thing that causes the Democrats to lose the House and the Senate.
(...)
11:44 p.m. Eastern
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Baratunde, I want to talk about the Virginia governor's race as a springboard into a related conversation. Here's the quote from Politico. "Glenn Youngkin is betting on parents' anger with local school boards to help him edge out a victory in the governor's race against Terry McAuliffe. And if it works, it could be a playbook for Republicans to seize on frustrations over COVID school closures paired with culture war fights over how race is taught in schools and the rights of transgender children to recapture suburban voters, potentially rocketing fights over education to the top of campaigns across the country -- across the country.
Baratunde, there's a larger issue here. I have always believed we should be more critical of ourselves. The press corps -- the people we read and the people we see all day long on cable news -- tend to live in blue dots. No fault of their own -- it's where their employers are located. But it helps explain why the press corps largely was shocked at the rise of the Tea Party, shocked at the election of Donald Trump.
Out beyond the last exit for a Whole Foods, people have been listening to Steve Bannon, and Trumpers have been running for town and city council, and boards of ed, and this is happening in town after town across what is still a very red country.
BARATUNDE THURSTON: I will just acknowledge your analysis there, Brian. There wasn't a question, but I will share some thoughts. I think that a lot of people are afraid. I think people have been sold a path to power through grievance. I think folks are feeling a little lonely and a lot scared when power shifts. And make no mistake, power is shifting. Virginia was the capital of the confederacy, and now they are taking down confederate flags.
And the racial makeup of that state is changing -- the politics of that state have changed. It's become a younger -- it's become a browner and all kinds of colors that aren't white. And that makes certain people feel afraid.
