KAREN WHO? RIGHT-WING MEDIA IGNORES WINNING CANDIDATE WHILE FOCUSING ON GOP BRAND MANAGEMENT

(UPDATE: Thanks to Charlie Pierce for the link, though I think the post he meant to link is this one. I highly recommend his post, and not just because my name's in it.)


If you didn't know anything about the winning Republican candidate in yesterday's Georgia special election, good luck finding information on her at sites devoted to right-wing politics. The top story on the Breitbart home page right now is about the election, but it's not about the winner, Karen Handel, or the loser, Jon Ossoff. It's about the hated mainstream media:



Also amassing thousands of comments: "Hollywood Melts Down After Ossoff Loss: ‘Grouphug, Get In’" and "Hollywood Fail: Jon Ossoff Loses Georgia Congressional Election Despite Massive Celebrity Help." There's a relatively straightforward report on Handel's victory, but it has a small fraction of the comments amassed by the stories above. There's no profile of Handel and there's no story praising her campaign.

At the top of the Fox News front page, there's barely a mention of the race. Because it's Fox, where building the president's brand is Job #1, the only listed text story about the race is "Georgia Race: Trump Casts GOP Winning Streak as Rejection of Dem ‘Obstruction.’"

On the front page of the Daily Caller, you have to scroll through 42 stories before Handel's name even shows up. ("HANDELED: Republicans Beat Back National Democratic Effort In Georgia," reads the front-page headline for the story.) The race gets more prominent coverage on the front page, but it's all mockery of Democrats and the media: "GOP Rep Slams Dems Claiming 'Moral Victory' In Georgia--'Moral Victories Don't Get To Vote In Congress'"; "MSNBC Host Joy Ann Reid Spreads False Claim About Ga. Special Election"; "Joe Scarborough On Dem's GA Flop: 'Going Further Left Is Only Going To Lead To More Losses'"; "Dem Infighting Online Heats Up After Special Election Losses In Georgia And South Carolina"; "Dems Running Out Of Chances To Earn Symbolic Win Before Midterms"; "Brace Yourselves For Sad Photos Of Ossoff Supporters"; "Georgia Democrat Loses, Wealthy California Liberals Hardest Hit"; "Kellyanne Takes A Victory Lap After Ossoff Defeat"; "Dems Already Blaming Ossoff Loss On Hacks."

It's as if media Republicans (and their readers) don't even care about the party's candidates or the policies they'll espouse when they're in Washington. All that matters is bashing their enemies, and thus reinforcing their brand: We hate Hollywood. We hate the MSM. We savor the deliciousness of liberal tears.

At this point, voter support for the GOP is almost completely divorced from policy. It's all about sticking a thumb in the eye of Rosie O'Donnell, Joy Reid, and Nancy Pelosi. I guess this is why Republicans in Congress think they won't be penalized when they vote for a horrible health care bill.