I could write a novel about all of the misinformation that comes from the Left, including media and the Biden administration (that actually might not be a bad idea). But with Herculean effort, the Left also likes to gaslight the rest of us by acting as if 'misinformation' is a threat to democracy.
That 'misinformation', of course, is any statement that's made by a Republican. Donald Trump could say the sky is blue, and we'd be treated to a thousand media think pieces about how the sky is really cyan and Donald Trump is making 'baseless claims' to the contrary because he's literally Hitler.
Or something.
When actual misinformation comes from Democrats, however, media do one of two things: 1) defend that misinformation as factual by playing a game of Orwellian semantics or 2) ignore the story entirely.
In the wake of Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats declaring the 28th Amendment is the 'law of the land' yesterday (more on that in a second), the media have selected Option 2.
If this were a Republican, the story would be at the top of the page instead of the very bottom, and the headline would read, “X says the Y Amendment is Z. Experts say that’s wrong —and dangerous.” And it would be in the “Democracy” section, next to a piece on authoritarianism. pic.twitter.com/Ds5HjRu4Hx
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) January 18, 2025
Yesterday, Joe Biden's staffer took to X and posted that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was magically the law of the land. My colleague Aaron wrote about it here. For me, this was the most breathtaking -- and downright frightening -- abuse of executive power by a president.
And I lived through the George W. Bush Patriot Act era.
It bears repeating what I wrote a little over a month ago, because the misinformation -- actual misinformation -- on this is running wild, so bear with me (and feel free to share this with any Lefty friends or family who think we have a new Constitutional Amendment):
Back in 1972, Congress sent the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the states for ratification in 1972. At the time, the states had a seven-year deadline to ratify the amendment. That deadline was extended to 1982 and yet, the ERA was not ratified.
You'd think the people who scream about norms, democracy, and the rule of law would let the matter rest, no? Because MUH NORMS and MUH DEMOCRACY and all that.
But no.
In 2020, Virginia finally decided to ratify the amendment -- 42 years after the deadline. Democrats saw that as all they needed to publish the ERA and add it to the Constitution.
It didn't take long for other Democrats, including Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris to jump on the 'It's the law of the land!' bandwagon.
Georgetown Law, which is supposed to know how law works because it's LITERALLY IN THEIR NAME, also congratulated one of their professors for this 'victory.'
I will give credit where it's due, and you'll want to mark your calendars, because this won't happen often, and acknowledge The Washington Post ran an article that said the 28th Amendment is not a thing:
Analysis by Aaron Blake: A 28th Amendment has not suddenly been appended to the Constitution per Biden’s decree — there are still only 27 — nor does there appear to be much hope that it will soon. https://t.co/1zlja9rFSh
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 17, 2025
All of this is building towards something important. Over the last couple of weeks, as Elon Musk continues to rule over X and Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta is parting ways with fact-checkers, we've seen media wring its hands over the rise of free speech online.
Brian Stelter said the move would lead to 'more lies and confusion.'
Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman said the First Amendment doesn't allow free speech on Facebook.
Axios wrote three separate pieces on it: one about the 'dangers' of 'unfiltered' CEOs, one about fears that Facebook users can now say 'mean things', and another on the need for 'reality-checkers' (because of all the Right-wing information, of course).
They are all very, very concerned about misinformation.
But where are they this morning? Where are the breathless alarmist pieces about how the 28th Amendment isn't a real thing, and how dangerous it is for Joe Biden to unilaterally amend the Constitution like an authoritarian? Why aren't they screaming about norms and democracy like they do every time Trump opens his mouth?
They're largely silent because -- even in the waning days of a disastrous presidency -- they will protect Biden and they will tacitly support anything he does, no matter how dangerous it is and regardless of the fact it's actual misinformation.
The 28th Amendment isn't 'the law of the land.' The ERA withered and died on the vine before I was even born.
Now, thanks to the push to resurrect its corpse, the concept of 'misinformation' is as dead as the ERA.
And Joe Biden killed it.
