Nevada Democratic Primary Results Reveal How Clueless Mainstream Media Is

Watching the guys on MSNBC freak out and go through the five stages of grief during Sander's Nevada win had me thinking about an old Media Matters story I saw (back when I read them regularly).

See, back in the 2004 election a guy named Matt Drudge was very influential in getting George W. Bush re-elected. A lot of this has to do with Drudge's claim to fame: being one of the first people to use the internet for posting info regarding the Starr Report. Basically he found stories that would align with his political beliefs and posted links using headers and pictures that reinforced those beliefs. Most of them were slanted stories anyway, but Drudge never met a smear he didn't like.

Drudge became the internet version of Rush Limbaugh for many Republicans and conservatives, even though he never provided any real analysis or confirmed sources or made retractions when he got stuff wrong. In short, he was perfect for the era of "Weapons of Mass Destruction." Fast-forward to  2007-2008 with the financial crisis, and Drudge found himself floundering. Why? Because with a Republican in the White House for 6+ years, a GOP Congress up until the 2006 mid-terms and no real understanding of economics, Drudge couldn't find a way to make the narrative work for him. It turns out that when Wall Street's on fire and people are being kicked out of their homes, no one really cares about what politician may have said or did during their off-hours, especially if it has nothing to do with fixing a financial crisis!

I say this to say that MSNBC found themselves in a similar position this past weekend. See, they failed to notice that Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi were ignoring the working class and progressive Democrats. I'm sure the fact that lobbyists met with freshmen congresspeople is not a big thing to them. They assumed that Bernie Sanders was some crazy fringe candidate, despite giving Hillary Clinton a run for her money in 2016. They theorized that Donald Trump won because of racism and sexism, despite the fact that:

• He got votes from people who voted for Barack Obama twice;
• He campaigned to the left of Clinton on trade and war;
• Clinton courted "never Trump"  and old school Republicans, which turned off some Democratic voters.

In short, MSNBC was clueless. They were convinced that identity politics was the pathway to victory for the Democratic Party, so the fall of Kamala Harris (woman of color) and Cory Booker (black man) and the sputtering campaigns of Pete Buttigeig (gay white man) and Amy Kloubuchar (white woman "from the Midwest") have them scratching their heads. The implosion of Joe Biden, former vice president to the last Democratic President, has them perplexed. Even the floundering of "progressive" Elizabeth Warren is making them question a lifetime of following politics.

The truth is, this election is not about identity politics, it's about class warfare. It's about the Haves and the Have Nots and about how the government has been bending over backwards for the former and stomping all over the latter. Sanders' campaign is (consciously or not) trying to keep this war in the world of politics.

I think it's time for MSNBC to acknowledge how we got here, enter the 21st Century, and start actually talking to people about what issues are important to them.

UPDATE: It seems like there may be hope for them yet.