Walsh is Running for GOP Nomination, Media Kindness will Likely Hurt His Efforts
For months the media has been saying that a conservative needs to run against Trump for President. In fact, the news media practically begged people to challenge him. Well, it has finally happened — a Republican who has electoral experience and a conservative record is running against Donald Trump.
His official Congressional biography states that Joe Walsh “ a Representative from Illinois; born in North Barrington, Lake County, Ill., December 27, 1961; B.A., University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 1985; M.P.P., University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., 1991; business executive; unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 1996; elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Twelfth Congress (January 3, 2011-January 3, 2013); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Thirteenth Congress in 2012.”
It is not much of a record, but it is a record. The “Never Trump” style Republicans and conservatives have been looking for someone, and he has arrived.
The media is giving an unusually generous fair shake to this conservative. They will do anything to get rid of the Donald Trump they loathe. Of course, the more generous the media is to Walsh or anyone who runs against Trump, the more harm that will do in reaching a huge number of voters that does not trust the media. In fact, the more nice things they say about Walsh, the less likely he will get the Republican nomination, unless a significant number of Democrats and independents vote for him in the primaries, even it they intend to do something else in November.
The Washington Post made a very big deal about the former Congressman’s announcement:
Matt Lewis at the extremely liberal, The Daily Beast (although he is a conservative), had the following to say about the subject in a headline:
“To Make the GOP Great Again, a Republican Needs to Challenge Trump”
It goes on, “Joe Walsh, the former Tea Party congressman, says someone needs to make the moral case against Trump. He’s right. So, Joe—why not you?”
The Washington Post, which has never been a fan of Walsh and would normally dismiss him for his thin resume, has said that the former Congressman “might be just the guy to take on Trump.”
Conservative media, on the other hand, has not been as kind, as seen by this take on Fox News when conservative businessman Herman Cain argued that Walsh was simply looking for publicity. Of course, many said the same about Cain’s ill fated run.
That sums up the challenge of Walsh very well — for Republicans all the wrong media likes him and all the right media are suspicious of him.
Still, the large (albeit quiet) Never Trump conservative constituency will be glad to have an alternative, even if he fails to gain national traction.
About Author
