Coop Scoop: Here's what New Hampshire Meant

The same as Iowa. Trump owns the GOP and they now own him.

January 23-24

By Marc Cooper

So you didn't have to, I spent Tuesday watching the coverage of the faux New Hampshire primary and all I can say is that it has been stultifying, depressing and enraging.

Let me save you time by informing you that in spite of all the hot air and rat-tat-tat of data points that the media is obsessed with, it makes NO difference whatsoever if Haley finished five, ten or fifty points behind Trump (looks like it's going to be about 15).

This "primary" season was over before it started as from the beginning Trump was going to be the nominee for two simple reasons: he long ago captured the mass of a degenerate and degraded GOP who is in his thrall and who dreams of dictatorship and second, there was never any serious challenger to him because they were all cowards and at best were running to be a lackey of his in any future cabinet. Only Chris Christie challenged his own party base.

I watched the whole thing on the putatively liberal MSNBC and it came off as one prolonged gigantic smoking train wreck. When Trump showed up for a "press gaggle" they ran his demented and impaired and mendacious rant live with NO context, pushback or even a tough question. He rambled on for several minutes completely making up an incoherent but fear-filled pitch about the danger of immigrants -- like "they are opening up to all the mental hospitals in the world…all the criminals…” yada yada.

And, somehow, the only voters that were interviewed seemed like until 10 minutes before getting on camera they were uprooted from a turnip patch. These yo-yos were inarticulate and irrational and as ill-informed as possible, a lethal mix only amplified by the corps of MSNBC reporters who, apparently, were ordered to never ask a single important follow up. And MSNBC could not find ONE voter who could form an entire paragraph of linear thought? Or would that be too long for a 7 second sound bite?

When one dolt after another was asked who did you vote for and they grunted "Trump" they were sometimes asked why and for those capable of answering most said "immigration." End of interview.

You'd think at least ONE reporter might ask, um, what is it about immigration that affects your life? Or do you worry that your choice is facing a panoply of criminal trials? Or are you Okay voting for a guy who says he will be a dictator? Or, even, have you ever read a newspaper? But nothing, nada, zip.

Then it's back to that frickin’ Big Board where Steve Kornacki breaks down the 2024 turnout in East Jesus County compared to that of 2016 and it is basically all totally pointless and worthless information. Sorry. Talk about horse race coverage! This was like trying to explain the voting by sifting through clumps of horse shit.

Perhaps the follow up coverage later Tuesday nite or Wednesday might delve a bit deeper but I did not see ONE minute of coverage during the day (and I watched from 9 AM onward) that dealt with this circus as anything except one more absolutely normal election. Not a moment of analysis (and I mean analysis not opinion) on how we are moving closer to the death of democracy, not one moment delving into the appeal of naked xenophobia...just one common place or threadbare cliche after another.

As I write this at 5:30 PM PST, Haley is making a "victory" speech claiming she is in for the long run. My God, she is an empty vessel and quite a right winger herself!

As if anybody cares if she is going to "stay in," as if she is going to NOT get crushed in hew own state of South Carolina next month. As if she, and the bootlickers like Tim Scott and Ron DeSantis are going to be anything other than asterisks by November.

As I said last week after the ridiculous Iowa caucuses, the general election has already started and what went down in NH was a sideshow that entertained --and mattered to-- only the media who did it’s damndest to give this horror show a varnish of respectability and gravity.

The only good news coming out this week is that the Republicans have saddled themselves with Trump as its virtual nominee and has thereby created the longest general election campaign in recent history. And that is bad for Trump and his party. He will be going on trial at least on that most important federal charge on the January 6 conspiracy before the election and, if convicted as he probably will be, the Republican Party will be going into November with a convicted felon as its standard bearer. Not a winning idea strategy. More than 40% of even these NH voters said if he is convicted they will not vote for him.

Though the media continues to pee its pants over Biden's age, they are very very very slowly catching on to just how muddled and impaired Trump's mental acuity has become. The more he talks in the coming months, the worse it will be for him. And for his soft supporters.

As for cable "news" today -- it would have been more useful to just play re-runs of the Twilight Zone and then late Tuesday, take maybe 5 minutes to sum up the New Hampshire results. It would have been a greater public service than uncapping the open sewer pipe they drowned us in today. ++

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