If there’s anything we’ve learned about the recent blowout in Kansas, where voters rejected a measure to remove the right to an abortion from the state’s constitution, it’s this:
“One is women be votin’,” co-host of The New Abnormal Andy Levy reveals. “And we also learned that conservatives have a coastal elite problem. People… are outraged by this Kansas vote, which is odd because I thought they were all states’ rights guys, but it turns out as usual states’ rights never means what they claim.”
On this week’s episode of The New Abnormal, Andy, along with co-host Molly Jong-Fast, discuss the conservative state’s rejection of the anti-abortion measure after nearly 60 percent of voters dismissed the move.
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“I can't tell you the joy I have about this Kansas vote,” Molly says.
“Seventy percent of the people who registered to vote after the Dobbs decision were women, pissed-off women. So I’m delighted that these furious women went and said, ‘Kansas, get out of my cooch.’
“I'm happy to see a lot of pundits, a lot of right-wing pundits who were anti-choice, get their heads handed to them.
“It’s always these white Republican men who are just the most devastated about abortion.”
Then, Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of Media Matters for America, debunks a study by Nielsen media research claiming that the top-rated news show among Democrats between 25 and 54 is Tucker Carlson Tonight. The study says that in total debut viewership, Fox News grabs 42 percent of Democrats.
“There are a lot of problems with this,” Carusone says. “There is not anyone in the actual industry that takes this seriously. It actually does matter a lot for people to know why this is wrong for a variety of reasons.”
“They’re a really rough snapshot. They’re not just like a stick figure drawing. They’re like the abstract stick figure drawing that an 18-month-old would draw.”
Molly sums it up nicely: “Nielsen ratings are bullshit.”
Carusone also reveals his thoughts on Jon Stewart’s appearances on Newsmax and Fox News over the past week as he rallied for health care for veterans exposed to burn pit toxins.
Summing up, Carusone says: “I think it’s OK. Sometimes you have to engage in ways that are atypical or out of sorts. But the difference-maker there is that there’s a really clearly stated objective. I think he’s really careful about this.
“Every time he does these appearances, he never validates the spin or the core claim the network makes about itself. He never starts from the premise that somehow they’re legitimate. In fact, he always makes it clear in the segments that they’re really not. That’s important, actually, because it means that it loses some of its punch and its power from a business perspective.
“Jon Stewart was a good illustration of how you could leverage some of these terrible people.”
Also on the show, The Daily Beast’s congressional reporter Sam Brodey discusses how the Senate and congressional map is changing to a more optimistic map for Dems.
Listen to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and Stitcher.
