John,
Yesterday, Republicans failed yet again to elect a Speaker of the House of Representatives. Donald Trump’s pick, Jim Jordan, earned even fewer votes on the second ballot than on the first.
As chaos at the Republican-led House reigns, here’s what’s becoming abundantly clear:
The decades-long project by Fox News and right-wing leaders to destroy faith in democracy and government institutions has reached a crisis point.
Fox News and the crisis at the U.S. House is a classic case of a snake eating its own tail. In the name of profit and radical right-wing politics, Fox News personalities like Sean Hannity have made fortunes trashing Democrats, the idea of compromise, and even the most basic ability of the government to do good in people’s lives.
Conditioned by Fox News (and later Donald Trump) to support elected officials with a burn-it-down mentality, Fox News audiences carried so many MAGA candidates to victory that they now make up a massive portion of the House Republican caucus.
After failing to elect a House Speaker, they’ve succeeded in grinding democracy to a halt for 16 days and counting.
Until Fox News is held accountable for the damage they inflict, our democracy will continue to suffer.
John, fighting this toxic dynamic is why we founded Courier.
Our journalists are working in nine battleground states to hold Fox News and right-wing bad actors accountable by correcting the record and telling authentic stories about issues that matter to the communities we serve.
Put another way, we’re on a mission to strengthen democracy by restoring trust in journalism.
We don’t lock our work behind paywalls or subscription fees to carry out our vital mission. We count on the support of grassroots donors like you to help us keep the lights on and the fire of democracy burning for generations to come.
More updates soon,
The Courier Newsroom Team