Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) (aka AOC) tweeted on Sunday that “As horrific as this president is, he is a symptom of much deeper problems….Even foreign influence plays on national wounds that we refuse to address: income inequality, racism, corruption, a willingness to excuse bigotry.”  She continued, “In order for us to heal as a nation, we ALL must pursue the hard work of addressing these root causes.”  (https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-trump-mueller/#4xfKGXcCuPq7)

AOC is correct.  Trump was elected because he was seen as offering a better way forward to address the problems facing America.  The Democrats ran on a platform of class and race warfare, pitting various groups against others.  Their candidate was seen as the epitome of political corruption, and had obviously been part of DC’s War against Middle America for many decades.  The problems AOC identified are real, but they were caused or exacerbated by her party, and the answers the party offered were designed to create more problems.

So AOC is correct –on a deeper level than she knows, but on a level she rejects – Trump is the result, not the problem.

Meanwhile, on his show on Tuesday, March 26, Hannity made a statement I fear is not correct.  Discussing the impact of the Mueller report on people’s evaluation of the media, he said:  “This has been two-years of never-ending, non-stop lies and conspiracy theories. Frankly, they ought to be apologizing and embarrassed, but that will never happen… They’ve been promising this to their audience. They can’t recover, from my perspective,”

Oh how I wish he were correct, but I doubt it.  The world view that led them to believe the reporting in the first place – without evidence – is still intact, it was not challenged.  Paradigms do not change because an anomaly was found, only a questioning of the view’s basic premises will lead to that change.  Lies, for many people, do not cause them to turn away.  As evidence, I present the political scene.  Growing up during the 60’s and 70’s, I remember the hand-wringing by my professors in political science and  sociology classes while they proclaimed the Vietnam-war induced distrust of government was fatal and permanent.  As a Libertarian, I was hopeful, but disappointed.  Those most vocal then in their ‘mistrust’ are now running the government.  I see no reason to believe the media will fare any different.

But just imagine how much better life would be if AOC would recognize interest-politics was wrong and abandon statism in favor of truly rational policies.  But that won’t happen, and unfortunately, neither will Hannity’s prediction.

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