In the scheme of things, this is fairly trivial — on the surface. OK -it’s trivial, even if you go deep, but it is just one more example showing that FOX is just the PR arm for the GOP.
The segment was about the Democratic contest in Massachusetts.
The report itself was unremarkable, talking about an endless stream of meaningless polls — just as all of the media does.
What interested me was the lead-in to the segment, which proffered the idea that Massachusetts is becoming a battleground state. The host even used the phrase “Who would have thought it could happen?”
It is achieving this status, according to the host, because of the competitive nature of Sanders Vs Clinton.
This term is universally excepted to mean a state where the outcome of the general election is so contested that it could go to Dems or Repubs. These states are the ones which can turn the overall election one way or the other.
It has nothing to do with intra-party nominating contests. If it did, then many states would be battlegrounds.
Since 1928 MA has voted Republican four times. Two times for Eisenhower and two times for Reagan. Since 1988, the state voted exclusively Democratic — and by margins of 60% or more.
It might sound, on the surface, like a simple misunderstanding of the term Battleground State. Or it could be a subtle message to FOX viewers that there is an opportunity for them, to rally around and turn the state GOP.
It is unlikely that such a rally would be successful. My point is only that FOX will say or do anything to try and help the Republican cause. This, of course, is nothing new — merely one more example.