Jon Stewart: We've Let The Media Decide For Us Which Candidates Are Viable

image
Created: 01 Jun, 2015
Updated: 15 Oct, 2022
2 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnaqrepHrtc

The past few presidential campaigns have hosted a number of off-the-wall candidates like this guy, or this guy, remember this guy and this gal. All of these candidates were at one point serious contenders to win the nomination of the Republican Party.

The 2016 race features a lot of the same candidates with the same messages. So when a candidate enters the race who has served in elected office for over three decades, remained true to his ideals, and has promised to run on a platform of issues, it seems only fitting that the media would portray him as a batty old outsider with no shot at the nomination.

As Jon Stewart pointed out recently on

The Daily Show, Bernie Sanders' entrance into the presidential race was greeted with an almost universal scoff from major media outlets. Kind of ironic, right? A candidate with serious legislative credentials and a storied history of sticking to his left-of-center principles is somehow rendered a kook among "professional" political pundits.

Yes, best to focus on real candidates like Mike Huckabee, who thinks society's ills can be traced to Beyonce's "explicit moves" and dangerous lyrics, and is in no way due to people like appropriate musician Ted Nugent.

Why are all of the major outlets so quick to cast aside a candidate that has a strong grassroots network and has also raised over five million dollars in small donations? It might have something to do with the "S" word. Bernie Sanders has classified himself as a Democratic Socialist, and to a lot of people, socialist equals scary European World War something. It's not. In fact, most Americans now prefer some form of Socialism. I know, crazy right?

But that's not what we have been hearing from the media cycle.The fact that most Americans are actually more in line with Senator Sanders than they are with Rick Santorum is something that the media refuses to acknowledge and as long as the media continues with its own narrative, the American people will refuse to acknowledge it as well.

Photo Source: AP

Latest articles

Young person voting.
2024 Recap: Lessons Learned from the Successes and Failures of Statewide Primary Reform
In 2024, a historic number of statewide initiatives appeared on the ballot to open primary elections to all voters and candidates. Most of the initiatives failed, but reformers were successful in Washington DC. ...
19 Dec, 2024
-
2 min read
Picture of the US Capitol Building with American flags in front of it.
Declining Voter Turnout and Rising Costs Highlight Problems with Runoff Elections, New Report Finds
A new report shows that runoff elections are not only expensive, but in 2024 were less effective than in any other election in modern history at providing adequate representation. ...
17 Dec, 2024
-
2 min read
Reformers at NANR's 8th annual summit in San Diego, California.
Down, But Not Out: Nonpartisan Election Reformers Maintain Their Resolve
Nonpartisan election reformers have chosen not to hang their head in defeat after a few statewide losses in 2024. Instead, their mood was surprisingly optimistic when they met in San Diego for the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers’ annual summit....
16 Dec, 2024
-
4 min read