I have thought, based on nothing but conventional wisdom, that both conservatives and liberals were making frequent reference to the nation being bitterly divided. It occurred to me two weeks ago that this might only be coming from one side, and my observations since that time - a limited sample set, to be sure - would confirm that it is liberals who keep saying this. I should refine that further and say that it is liberal media members saying it. I have not heard liberal politicians make reference to it, only writers for websites and on-air journalists at the networks. People on all sides do speak about how wrong they think those on the other side are, and how opposed they are to them, implying a divide. Yet the general idea of "those people are making this terrible disunity worse" does not seem even-up.
I have to believe there are at least some who use that in their arguments from Fox News, or Town Hall, or PJ Media or whatever, but I have not seen that. The most likely answer is that they use a different phrasing or a somewhat-related concept that I am not picking up, because sometimes I get these great ideas that don't pan out. But still...
Do you think it is true? Have you got any data? If true, what does it mean?
"Bitterly divided" is the mirror image of "the US is ungovernable" when a Democrat inhabits the Oval Office and can't get anything through a Republican Congress. It just means that the Democrats are unable to do anything from their position of as either a full or partial minority in the legislature.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the Liberal media-driven message is that the country is divided - that is, the citizenry is at loggerheads, not speaking to each other, at loggerheads. It also seems to me that the conservative-driven message is that the division exists at a higher level, with our political leaders. It's all about the elite, who hate us, and their minions who operate at the citizenry level, executing directives. I don't see messaging that it's a Civil War, brother against brother.
ReplyDeleteIf the "bitterly divided" is a pundit/media phrase, then presumably more leftists will use the phrase since more of the media are leftists. I hear very little conservative talk radio, but what I have heard assumes a great divide. Religious radio seems to assume it too, for fairly obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe Left is bitter because they lost the last election, and they were supposed to WIN it!!!!1111!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think Aggie hits the mark well. Both sides talk about a divide but from my reading of conservative blogs and FB posts, there's much more talk about the 'Uniparty' and elite vs deplorables on the Right, except maybe for the Bernie Bros on the left. Left vs right is remarked on but more in sorrow than in anger, exception made for SJWs in that case. The SJWs seem to return the favor, and I think they are overrepresented in the media.
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