Endorsements. Don’t. Matter.

Endorsements. Don’t. Matter.

God! It pains me to have to agree with Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos. For reference purposes, Jeff Bezos is the real Antichrist. Does anyone really believe that the devil would be as stupid, blatant, and vulgar as Lucifer wannabe Donald Trump?

As you’ve likely already heard, Bezos brought down hellfire on himself and his newspaper for ending the Post’s practice of making presidential endorsements. Many perceived that shift as capitulating to the Grand Cheeto’s vengeful mob, so almost a third of their editorial board resigned and 250,000 readers have canceled their subscriptions.

So, suddenly the news reporters are the newsmakers. How ironic. But just like that proverbial broken clock, at least twice a day, Bezos can be correct as indicated by his recent editorial:

Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election. What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.

Post Publisher and CEO William Lewis also noted that, prior to 1976, the paper similarly eschewed endorsing presidential candidates, so it’s nothing new. But that didn’t stop the shit from hitting the fan.

As much as I’d like to blame Bezos for anything, the man isn’t the least bit afraid of a paltry piece of shit like Donald Trump. Not only does he have exponentially more money than Mr. Combover, but the fastest way to triple any newspaper’s circulation is to invoke the wrath of that self-appointed demagogue.

And I’ve been saying the same thing since 2012. Why? Because newspaper nods are an anachronistic remnant of a time when there was no Net and no cable news channels. Back in the mid-20th Century, even the smaller local papers boasted robust editorial boards and a cadre of reporters dedicated to covering local and national politics. Readers respected that kind of due diligence and those endorsements mattered.

Now? Not so much.

Thankfully, the Kane County Chronicle, a paper that can’t even spell the word “politics,” finally gave up on the notion because their editorial board and newsroom are figments of a distant past. When they did bestow endorsements, they were typically shortsighted and self-serving. Buy a political ad they’d be much more likely to bestow their blessing.

Meanwhile, the Daily Herald persists in calling candidates in, but the process has become a complete farce. They frequently throw five or six candidates in the same room with one or two reporters who wouldn’t know Kamala Harris from Franco Harris. Then the proceedings immediately bog down into a who-can-talk-the-loudest contest with the paper finally endorsing the candidate who will cause the least amount of reader pushback.

Even the once-proud Chicago Tribune needs to give it up. One lone reporter makes all of the suburban recommendations, and years ago he told me he could barely keep up with it. I’ve previously posited that if you want to lose an election, secure the Trib’s endorsement.

The only reason the Tribune and DH preserver in this pointless regard is it’s the only time they can ask candidates to “jump,” and those hopefuls readily reply, “how high?” Otherwise, considering the sad state of local journalism, politicians generally ignore those tabloids.

I’m not sure what’s in the water these days, but even the younger candidates insist upon making three absurdly errant suppositions:

  1.     A grand gesture on my part will win the election.
  2.     A grand gesture against my opponent will win the election.
  3.     Endorsements are the key to victory.

Despite my stellar campaign track record, they’ll argue with me to the death on all three fronts. Unless it somehow relates to the primitive lizard brain function, I can’t begin to understand that kind steadfast electoral self-destructiveness.

A judicial candidate I was helping INSISTED that persuading other judges and a former state’s attorney to give her the thumbs up would win the day! NO! Judges, by definition, disappoint 50 percent of their courtroom participants. That makes it a zero-sum proposition at best. And a former state’s attorney? Unless they left office with heretofore unparalleled approval ratings, that endorsement will actually cost you votes.

Not to mention that no one in the elected law enforcement regard – judges, state’s attorneys, sheriffs – should seek or bestow endorsements for all of the obvious conflict of interest reasons.

There was a time when a well-regarded local politicians’ endorsement meant something. Former KC Chairman Chris Lauzen and former Sheriff Pat Perez come to mind. But now the electoral battlefield has descended into the kind of hyper-partisan quagmire that’s rendered even those possibilities moot.

Then there’s this. How many Chicago Machine mavens sought Alderman Ed Burke’s benediction, only to flee from it when his world came crashing down upon him. Isn’t that true Comptroller Mendoza!

I similarly advise my Democratic candidates to avoid publicly posting union endorsements. Why? Because they’re not going to get you a single vote you don’t already have, and it might cost them those coveted Republican crossover voters.

Bezos is dead on about the inherent bias involved here, too. But even if they weren’t, as he so aptly noted, “Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election.” Does anyone really think that the average imbecilic Trump supporter is going to read their glorious op-ed and suddenly declare, “You know what! I’ve been wrong about him all along. I’m going to vote for Harris!”

So, no! All of these supposedly educated people losing their minds over the lack of an endorsement are meatheads, dead from the neck up. Repeat after me class! “Endorsements. Don’t. Matter!”

 

2 thoughts on “Endorsements. Don’t. Matter.

    1. Ron,

      No, because they’re passive and simply intended to provide that coveted name recognition. But placement matters in that regard. You’ve given me a great thought for a column, so I will answer if further soon.

      Jeff

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