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Sunday 7 October 2018

Sour grapes

Inevitably the Guardian has a sour grapes piece on the the US Senate's confirmation of judge Brett Kavanaugh's elevation to the supreme court.

The saga of judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the supreme court is over, and it is time for the credits to roll. Top billing will go to a Republican president and his allies in the Senate who were willing to allow norms to be steamrollered and justice to be short-changed in the pursuit of a reliable conservative majority on the court. But the greatest cost of all for Republican ambition will be paid by the supreme court in its most precious coin: legitimacy.

Of course the Guardian has its readership to consider and no doubt they expect such a transparently partisan piece but anyone could churn out stuff like this. Or maybe an alternative from the other side of the saga.

The saga of judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the supreme court is over, and it is time for the credits to roll. Top billing will go to a Republican president and his allies in the Senate who were willing [determined] to allow norms to be steamrollered [maintained] and justice to be short-changed [served] in the pursuit of a reliable conservative majority [judge] on the court. But the greatest cost of all for Republican [Democrat] ambition will be paid by the supreme court [party] in its most precious coin: legitimacy [integrity].

It's so easy - don't Guardian readers see through it and just occasionally sit back and wonder if they are being short-changed?

2 comments:

Sam Vega said...

don't Guardian readers see through it and just occasionally sit back and wonder if they are being short-changed?

I think the short answer is "No, they don't". The old "Manchester Guardian" is now really no more than a group of polemicists and opinion-writers who respond to the same news agency feeds as everyone else. Readers don't want news - they just want an emotional hit that comes from reading someone else articulating the narrative more convincingly than they themselves can do. And, online at least, it's free. The only risk is that they might respond to one of the ads.

A K Haart said...

Sam - I agree - sad but that's how it is. Maybe people checking the Guardian for loopy stories are also helping to keep it afloat with their clicks.