As long-time readers should know, I can't stand Fox News. Excluding Shepard Smith and Chris Wallace, Fox News talking heads are notorious for spreading BS. There's a good reason why Fox News sounds so similar to fake news. Having said that, though, I don't understand the Democratic Party's reluctance on presenting town halls there.
One problem with the Democratic Party's electoral success at times has been their failure to reach out to rural, conservative-leaning Independent, and moderate Republican voters. No, it's not likely Elizabeth Warren could be part of a Fox News-hosted town hall and be able to win over many regular viewers of the channel, but it couldn't hurt.
Bernie Sanders, arguably the most liberal member of Congress, took part in a Fox News-hosted town hall not too long ago, and guess what? He received rave reviews. While I didn't hear any Fox News regulars yell out, "Bernie 2020!," I did hear several say something along the lines of, "You know what? I still don't agree with him on most things, but after seeing him and hearing what he has to say, he doesn't seem as bad as I had thought. He actually seems like a nice guy. I won't vote for him, but I won't be frightened if he gets elected."
That's the thing. Fox News has been brainwashing its viewers for nearly a quarter of a century. Their typical audience has bought into the nonsense they've spewed about the Democratic Party and specific members of it. Barack Obama? Oh, he was born in Kenya and is a Muslim. The Clintons? They killed Vince Foster. Bernie Sanders? He's a socialist through and through. This is what they hear on a daily basis. As the mere-exposure effect suggests, the more you hear something, regardless of its level of accuracy, the more likely you are to believe it. So how does the Democratic Party alter the caricature Fox News has presented them as over the past 23 years? Not by ignoring the channel completely. This will allow commentators to exacerbate the already distorted image they've presented to the public for 2+ decades. The only way they alter this distorted image and in a positive manner is by playing Fox News on their turf. Bernie Sanders did it and was largely successful. Why shouldn't other Democratic candidates follow suit? We can't change people's minds about our party and policy ideas if we ignore them. Fox News has demonized the Democratic Party and its members to the point where we're seen in a light similar to that of the devil by many conservative Republicans. According to regular Fox News viewers, Democrats: Encourage abortions; want guns stripped from law-abiding citizens; will double the income tax rate; have a dream to become the mirror image of Venezuela; hate law enforcement; etc. Of course none of these things are true, but the only way we'll be able to convince any Fox viewers of this is to outfox Fox.
The fact of the matter is a large majority of Americans believe in expanding background checks for firearm purchases; legalizing marijuana; Medicare for all (healthcare reform in general); criminal justice reform; increasing taxes for the wealthiest; etc. These policies are all regularly supported by Democrats. Just look at the Fox News Bernie Sanders town hall. When the crowd was asked about their private insurance and if they'd be willing to trade that for a government-run program like Medicare for all, a rather large majority applauded. Republican leaders often times misrepresent the Democratic Party via a fictional liberal they had nightmares about throughout the week. This provides GOPers with a very negative, yet very general image of the party. If we confront them and get into specifics, I think it could make a big difference, both in terms of perception and votes. Donald Trump largely won the 2016 election because he made forgotten voters feel relevant again. It's time the Democratic Party did similarly. Whether we win over a person's vote in the near-term or not, the first step is letting them know they're relevant and haven't been forgotten. One path to doing this is by turning the fake news reported by Fox News on its head and showing its audience that "fair and balanced" is more than just a deceptive slogan.
One problem with the Democratic Party's electoral success at times has been their failure to reach out to rural, conservative-leaning Independent, and moderate Republican voters. No, it's not likely Elizabeth Warren could be part of a Fox News-hosted town hall and be able to win over many regular viewers of the channel, but it couldn't hurt.
Bernie Sanders, arguably the most liberal member of Congress, took part in a Fox News-hosted town hall not too long ago, and guess what? He received rave reviews. While I didn't hear any Fox News regulars yell out, "Bernie 2020!," I did hear several say something along the lines of, "You know what? I still don't agree with him on most things, but after seeing him and hearing what he has to say, he doesn't seem as bad as I had thought. He actually seems like a nice guy. I won't vote for him, but I won't be frightened if he gets elected."
That's the thing. Fox News has been brainwashing its viewers for nearly a quarter of a century. Their typical audience has bought into the nonsense they've spewed about the Democratic Party and specific members of it. Barack Obama? Oh, he was born in Kenya and is a Muslim. The Clintons? They killed Vince Foster. Bernie Sanders? He's a socialist through and through. This is what they hear on a daily basis. As the mere-exposure effect suggests, the more you hear something, regardless of its level of accuracy, the more likely you are to believe it. So how does the Democratic Party alter the caricature Fox News has presented them as over the past 23 years? Not by ignoring the channel completely. This will allow commentators to exacerbate the already distorted image they've presented to the public for 2+ decades. The only way they alter this distorted image and in a positive manner is by playing Fox News on their turf. Bernie Sanders did it and was largely successful. Why shouldn't other Democratic candidates follow suit? We can't change people's minds about our party and policy ideas if we ignore them. Fox News has demonized the Democratic Party and its members to the point where we're seen in a light similar to that of the devil by many conservative Republicans. According to regular Fox News viewers, Democrats: Encourage abortions; want guns stripped from law-abiding citizens; will double the income tax rate; have a dream to become the mirror image of Venezuela; hate law enforcement; etc. Of course none of these things are true, but the only way we'll be able to convince any Fox viewers of this is to outfox Fox.
The fact of the matter is a large majority of Americans believe in expanding background checks for firearm purchases; legalizing marijuana; Medicare for all (healthcare reform in general); criminal justice reform; increasing taxes for the wealthiest; etc. These policies are all regularly supported by Democrats. Just look at the Fox News Bernie Sanders town hall. When the crowd was asked about their private insurance and if they'd be willing to trade that for a government-run program like Medicare for all, a rather large majority applauded. Republican leaders often times misrepresent the Democratic Party via a fictional liberal they had nightmares about throughout the week. This provides GOPers with a very negative, yet very general image of the party. If we confront them and get into specifics, I think it could make a big difference, both in terms of perception and votes. Donald Trump largely won the 2016 election because he made forgotten voters feel relevant again. It's time the Democratic Party did similarly. Whether we win over a person's vote in the near-term or not, the first step is letting them know they're relevant and haven't been forgotten. One path to doing this is by turning the fake news reported by Fox News on its head and showing its audience that "fair and balanced" is more than just a deceptive slogan.
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