OPINION:
Lately, I’ve been taking a spin through the comments on my columns. They aren’t nice. Take “rhj,” who said simply, “this guy is a woke moron — stop printing his crap.”
So let’s run through a few things, like what a columnist does, what a journalist is, etc.
We’ll start at the beginning. Writing about politics is like being a sports reporter. If you love the Washington Commanders, then you’re supporting your team, come hell or high water.
But a sports reporter, like the great Thom Loverro here at The Washington Times, isn’t the same animal.
When the big brains on the sidelines call a shovel pass on a two-point conversion attempt, the sports reporter will say what needs to be said: Dumbest. Call. Ever. You’ve got perhaps the most mobile quarterback in the NFL — not to mention a horrible offensive line — and that’s your call?!
Sports reporter = political columnist. My job is not to cheer on everything President Trump does; it is to hold his feet to the fire, pay attention to his promises, see if he comes through and say — in the plainest possible language — when he falls short.
Take last week, when I penned a column about the president’s absurd promise to give every adult in America $5,000 if the Republicans hold the House and Senate in the midterm elections. Mr. Trump has made such promises before: Everyone was going to get rich with cash from his tariffs, as well as refunds from the cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency, courtesy of trillionaire Elon Musk.
“Free money for everyone! Trump gets desperate as crushing midterm losses loom,” was the headline of my column.
“mrsteevo56” took issue, saying, “You’re a loser, curly. Take your biased act to the MSM where you belong. You’re the reason I cancelled my WT subscription.” (Never mind that you need to have a subscription to comment.)
“wordmason” chimed in, saying, “How much does the DNC pay you to write this tripe? I couldn’t get past the headline!” The headline? Listen, I’ve been covering politics for like 40 years and the GOP is going to get crushed in the midterms. The polls will catch up soon.
“El_Kabong” piled on, saying, “Doesn’t USA Today need another Op-Ed writer? Kinda out of sorts here with the constant TDS stuff.”
By the way, that seems to be a common thread running through the comments: ad hominem attacks. I say that Mr. Trump’s promise to give $5,000 to every adult is pretty implausible, run through a bunch of supporting facts, and readers just … call me names? Where are the well-thought-out refutations? Counter my column with facts, and I’m all ears.
“Almostforgot” commented on that column: “TDS suffering Joseph CURL gotten trapped again by his low IQ wishful imagination. Smoking pot again, are we? Or is it just that mindless fanatical Soros offspring running around greasing arrogant dummies with a little cash? Whichever, whatever… none of it matters.”
The criticism also happened a few weeks before that column, when I wrote one headlined “Trump is no Reagan.” The first paragraph was this: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s—- out of them,” President Trump said on Monday morning. That was just a quote from our president.
“RememberingRush” said, “After reading the unhinged and lie-filled first paragraph, it becomes obvious that one does not need to read the rest of this moronic rant Curl is known for. Joseph Curl is the poster boy for what we mean by FAKR media.”
I also got a lot of guff writing about Mr. Trump’s ridiculous run with the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool. The president claimed that vandals destroyed the pool; it turns out the Washington prosecutor dropped all the charges and the vendor doing the work later admitted it was all their fault.
“RememberingRush” popped up again, saying, “The author of this dumb rant has mental issues. Apparently, he’s cheering vandals due to his brainless TDS. This isn’t journalism, it’s propaganda of the worst kind.” Yeah, well, turns out I was right.
But that’s not even the point. At the time, maybe I was wrong (I was one time in 1996). So bring the facts. Tell me things I don’t know. Dazzle me with data. Do that, you win. Just accusing me of suffering from TDS goes nowhere.
So now is your time. Below, write your thoughts. I say Mr. Trump has failed to deliver on a slew of promises: Lower prices at the grocery store, the gas pumps, no more forever wars, the list goes on.
But you MAGA people say no. So, lay out your case in the comments section. I’ll read through everything and put it all together for a column next week. Now’s your chance.
Just saying I suffer from TDS, though, won’t cut it. Bring the facts.
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com.
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