I was struck again today by just how little research reporters do in the mainstream media. Journalists supposedly spend hours or days making sure that their stories are correct and then editors do fact checks, etc. None of that is true, it appears.
Here's a good example: The Washington Post (supposedly one of the premier mainstream media outlets) ran a story this morning headlined "John McCain's Seat Will Likely Stay Republican". The story reports that because the governor is Republican, he will likely appoint a Republican. It then speculates that there will probably be a special election to fill the rest of McCain's term in 2020, but that it could be sooner.
This is a nonsensical story. There is no doubt about what will happen. A registered Republican will be appointed to fill McCain's seat. The appointed senator's term will run until the general election in 2020. At that point there will be a special election for the two years remaining in McCain's term.
How can I be so certain? The answer is simple. Arizona law (section 16-222) sets the rules for a vacancy in a US Senate seat. The law REQUIRES that the replacement appointed by the governor be from the same party as the senator who vacated the seat. That means the GOP certainly will hold this seat when the replacement is nominated. The law REQUIRES that if the vacancy occurs less than 150 days before the next regularly scheduled primary election (which this one does), then there will be a special election held one the date of the second general election following the appointment. That's November of 2020.
So what does this mean? Simply put, the WaPo didn't bother to look to see what Arizona law requires in this situation. It literally took me less than a minute to find the correct section of the law. Couldn't one of the reports or editors or fact checkers at the WaPo spend a minute looking for this?
There's a reason why the name #FakeNews sticks to the mainstream media. Even if the reporters aren't making things up, they still seem too lazy to do their jobs, and the editors and publishers just don't seem to care.
Here's a good example: The Washington Post (supposedly one of the premier mainstream media outlets) ran a story this morning headlined "John McCain's Seat Will Likely Stay Republican". The story reports that because the governor is Republican, he will likely appoint a Republican. It then speculates that there will probably be a special election to fill the rest of McCain's term in 2020, but that it could be sooner.
This is a nonsensical story. There is no doubt about what will happen. A registered Republican will be appointed to fill McCain's seat. The appointed senator's term will run until the general election in 2020. At that point there will be a special election for the two years remaining in McCain's term.
How can I be so certain? The answer is simple. Arizona law (section 16-222) sets the rules for a vacancy in a US Senate seat. The law REQUIRES that the replacement appointed by the governor be from the same party as the senator who vacated the seat. That means the GOP certainly will hold this seat when the replacement is nominated. The law REQUIRES that if the vacancy occurs less than 150 days before the next regularly scheduled primary election (which this one does), then there will be a special election held one the date of the second general election following the appointment. That's November of 2020.
So what does this mean? Simply put, the WaPo didn't bother to look to see what Arizona law requires in this situation. It literally took me less than a minute to find the correct section of the law. Couldn't one of the reports or editors or fact checkers at the WaPo spend a minute looking for this?
There's a reason why the name #FakeNews sticks to the mainstream media. Even if the reporters aren't making things up, they still seem too lazy to do their jobs, and the editors and publishers just don't seem to care.
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