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A couple thoughts on this:
(1) I& #39;m not sympathetic to the assertion that reporters aren& #39;t talking about the Hatch Act. The news I read and listen to has been replete with discussion of the RNC& #39;s various violations of the Hatch Act. 1/ https://twitter.com/bzbergmann/status/1299018124386328576">https://twitter.com/bzbergman...
(1) I& #39;m not sympathetic to the assertion that reporters aren& #39;t talking about the Hatch Act. The news I read and listen to has been replete with discussion of the RNC& #39;s various violations of the Hatch Act. 1/ https://twitter.com/bzbergmann/status/1299018124386328576">https://twitter.com/bzbergman...
Maybe the assertion is that the news the general public pays attention to isn& #39;t reporting on the Hatch Act. But that seems like a problematic assertion for a couple reasons. First, I& #39;m not clear about what would be defined as the news people pay attention to. 2/
If you define it as "News that doesn& #39;t mention the Hatch Act," well, you& #39;re right, but you& #39;re also not helpful.
But assume that there& #39;s a legit argument that popular news doesn& #39;t report on the Hatch Act. We still don& #39;t know which way causation runs. 3/
But assume that there& #39;s a legit argument that popular news doesn& #39;t report on the Hatch Act. We still don& #39;t know which way causation runs. 3/
Is it that popular news thinks people don& #39;t want to hear about it, so they don& #39;t report on it? Or is it that people want simple news so they only listen to the news that doesn& #39;t report on complex topics like the Hatch Act? 4/
(Remember, of course, that I haven& #39;t accepted that popular news isn& #39;t reporting on it--in my experience, it is. But even if it isn& #39;t, telling reporters to report on it doesn& #39;t mean that people will get it--depending on causality, maybe they& #39;ll shift their news sources.) 5/
(2) While violations of the Hatch Act are illegal, they& #39;re not criminal. Congress decided that enforcement should rest in the relevant agency, meaning the president is the ultimate enforcer. 6/
If the president decides not to bother enforcing the Hatch Act, well, violations won& #39;t be enforced. Maybe Congress should change enforcement mechanisms. But for now, if Trump doesn& #39;t feel like enforcing it, we& #39;re stuck with public shaming for enforcement. 7/
Public shaming of a group particularly known for its imperviousness to publish shame. 8/8
