Should The Media Be In The Business Of 'Selling' The Build Back Better Act?
"It's not our job to sell your agenda for you," CNN's Don Lemon says
While Washington DC Democrats argue over trying to pass their key Build Back Better Act, a separate debate also has emerged.
At least some Democrats have begun complaining that the mainstream news media have not done an adequate job “selling” the $3.5 trillion legislation to the American people.
Democrats have been engrossed in recent weeks trying to get Senate holdouts Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema on board with some version of the sprawling spending package, which is designed to enact much of President Biden's agenda into law before next year's midterm elections.
While the vast majority of congressional Democrats appear ready to pass the bill, Manchin and Sinema have proven recalcitrant. And their support is crucial if the measure is to become law.
And this has led some Democratic supporters of the legislation — which would expand the child tax credit, provide for universal pre-K, scholarships for community college, the largest federal investment in the fight against global climate change in history, and more — to contend that the news media isn't doing their part to get Americans onboard.
That, for instance, includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Well, I think you all could do a better job of selling it, to be very frank with you. Because every time I come here I go through the list, family medical leave, climate, the issues that are in there. But it is true. It is hard to break through when you have such a comprehensive package. But as we narrow it down and put it out there I think that -- for example, one of the things in the bill is the continuation of the Biden tax credit, the child tax credit that is within the rescue package,” the California Democrat said during a press conference earlier this month. “That has great appeal. Do people know where it springs from? No, but it is a vast bill. It has a lot in it and we will have to continue to make sure the public does. But whether they know what or not, they overwhelming we support it. And by the way, women much more than men.
It's an opinion shared by Sen Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), who has been a main architect of the Build Back Better Act in his role as chair of the Senate Budget Committee.
“Poll after poll shows overwhelming support for the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better legislation – and the need to lower prescription drug costs, expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision, greatly improve home health care, make child care and housing affordable, establish Paid Family and Medical Leave and address the existential threat of climate change,” Sanders said in a statement. “And the polling numbers go astronomically high when people understand that this $3.5 trillion bill will be paid for by demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes.
“Yet, polling also shows that despite President Biden having introduced this proposal five months ago, a majority of Americans have very little knowledge as to what is in this bill – one of the most consequential pieces of legislation for working people in the modern history of our country. Americans can be for the bill. They can be opposed to the bill. But it is absurd that so many of them don’t know what is in the bill,” he added. “Why is that? There are a number of reasons but, at the top of the list, is the reality that the mainstream media has done an exceptionally poor job in covering what actually is in the legislation. There have been endless stories about the politics of passing Build Back Better, the role of the president, the conflicts in the House and the Senate, the opposition of two senators, the size of the bill, etc. – but very limited coverage as to what the provisions of the bill are and the crises for working people that they address.
“The foundations of American democracy are threatened not only by extremism, but by ignorance and lack of knowledge. It is hard to ask people to have faith in their government when they have little understanding of what their government is trying to do,” Sanders said. “Build Back Better is an enormously important piece of legislation. The American people have a right to know what’s in it. My hope is that mainstream media will fulfill their responsibilities and make that happen.”
“When you speak, we listen”
That doesn't mean that the press is buying it, however.
Don Lemon, the CNN host, this week tried on-air, during his program, to instruct politicians just what the role of the press was.
“When you speak, we listen. When you say, ‘I'm going to have a press conference, I'm inviting the media to do this,’ I'm going to actually go into the press room with Jen Psaki, I'm going to show up there sometimes and surprise people, and guess what? I'm going to pull the nation in with my narrative. I'm going to get their attention. I'm going to make sure I have their attention. I'm going to tell them what is in the bill,” Lemon said. “I'm going to tell them what I'm selling that is going to help them and everybody in red America and everybody in blue America and all Americans. I'm not just going to sit back and expect the news media to do it for me, because it's not our job to sell the narrative.
“It's our job to discuss what you are doing and yes, part of what's in it, but it's not our job to sell your agenda for you. They are not selling their agenda. And the only reason that I'm so enthusiastic about this is because our democracy is on the line and I don't want America to lose its democracy. I don't want America to be a country of minority rule and I don't want America to be a place where black and brown people like me, whose ancestors fought and died for the right to vote, are restricted from going to the voting booth. That is the most un-American thing to do. So, I have this platform that I have now and I'm speaking very passionate about it. Democrats, get your butts in gear and get passionate about saving this damn country. You're not doing it.”
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