If there’s one lesson to be discovered in these extremely politically polarized instances, it’s this: The one individuals who ought to be tuning into primetime tv protection on Election Day night are political junkies, math nerds and the hopelessly masochistic.
Early within the night, CNN’s Jake Tapper, reciting quite a few early outcomes, consistently repeated the warning, “It’s still very early!” It definitely was, since typically the share of tallied votes was within the single digits. Tapper additionally suggested us to settle in and “brew a pot of coffee,” which was not precisely what viewers wanted to calm their jittery nerves or keep sphincter management.
Whether or not you have been watching the published networks or the cable information stations, the protection was largely dominated by commentators, largely white males, standing in entrance of digital screens whereas frantically waving their arms like weathermen on pace. Foremost amongst them, after all, stays MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki, who shot to fame in 2020 due to his quicksilver supply and trademark khaki pants. He got here throughout tonight like an over-caffeinated Harry Potter, analyzing historic traits and the voting historical past of explicit counties with the kind of in-depth element that may make a Talmudic scholar envious.
The entire networks have comparable figures working their fancy screens, corresponding to CNN’s John King and his “Magic Wall” and Fox Information’ Invoice Hemmer and his “Bill-board.” This 12 months, MSNBC even supplied an internet “Kornacki Cam” — streaming on Peacock and YouTube — to satiate these viewers unwilling to tolerate any second he’s not on the air.
The protection started in comparatively lighthearted trend, by way of such moments as an exit ballot interview with a younger man in North Carolina who confessed to CNN that he had no intention of voting till his girlfriend gave him an ultimatum. He voted, after all, for Harris, and it made you assume that ladies involved about their reproductive rights might need wished they’d adopted by means of on these whimsical notions a few Lysistrata-style intercourse strike.
Talking of male votes, notably of the youthful selection, we discovered that the Trump marketing campaign was “laser-focused” on getting them to the polls that evening. And why shouldn’t they be, contemplating the younger Arizona man who informed an MSNBC interviewer that he voted for Trump as a result of Harris hadn’t bothered to look on Joe Rogan’s podcast? Is it any marvel that the nation is in hassle when Rogan, previously greatest generally known as the host of Concern Issue, has grow to be probably the most influential figures in American society?
For sure, the oldsters at Fox Information may barely include their glee as Trump racked up early wins in state after state. Their “economic panel,” consisting of such supposed mental heavyweights as Maria Bartiromo and Fox Enterprise’ Larry Kudlow, affirmed that the voters was turning in opposition to Harris due to the Biden administration’s “open border policy and stimmy checks.”
Kellyanne Conway helpfully defined that “wokeness and weakness” have been on the poll. Sean Hannity was virtually drooling over the opportunity of a Trump win. And Laura Ingraham was already declaring it “the greatest political comeback in history.” All through the night, Fox referred to as states for Trump sooner than the opposite networks, to the purpose the place Jesse Watters mockingly complained, “Are we sure about New Jersey?” when that reliably blue state was referred to as for Harris.
Loads of races have been determined early, after all, together with the defeat of referendums in Florida involving loosening abortion restrictions and the legalization of leisure marijuana. Each measures obtained nearly all of votes, thoughts you, however not the required “supermajority” of 60 %. It’s all a part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ apparently profitable campaign to make Florida essentially the most regressive state within the nation. As MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell put it, the result represented “Republican-defined, minority-rule government.”
Because the outcomes poured in, commentators from all the networks stored referring not solely to “bellwethers” but in addition “bellwethers within bellwethers,” to numbing impact. Alongside the way in which, we discovered about numerous election hiccups, together with the Trump marketing campaign claiming election fraud in Philadelphia (surprising, I do know); bomb threats referred to as in to quite a few polling locations in Georgia, some apparently traced to Russia; and issues with mail-in ballots in Nevada as a result of, and I’m not making this up, “young voters don’t know how to sign their names.”
In the end, the downbeat tone of the night was summed up by, of all individuals, Sen. Joe Manchin, who by no means managed to select a aspect. He informed CBS’ Jim Acosta, “We will survive whoever wins.” Which just about explains why virtually nobody in America can stand Joe Manchin.
