As Twitchy reported earlier today, Rep. Martha McSally managed a huge win in the race to take over the retiring Jeff Flake’s seat in the Senate. By a wide margin, McSally stomped challengers Kelli Ward and Joe Arpaio, inspiring this hot take from CNN’s Chris Cillizza:
Conservatives have struck out repeatedly in Arizona Senate primaries.
Hayworth loses to McCain in 2010
Ward loses to McCain in 2016
Ward and Arpaio lose to McSally in 2018
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) August 29, 2018
So … McSally isn’t a conservative but Ward and Arpaio are? Maybe in Cillizza’s world, and maybe over at The Wall Street Journal as well:
Martha McSally wins GOP Senate primary in Arizona, beating more conservative rivals in a race that evolved into a test of loyalty to Trump https://t.co/ETpLkN5gzV
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 29, 2018
More conservative rivals? That reminds us of the media trying to sell Alex Jones as a conservative as he was being banned from practically every social media platform available. No, conservative still means something, and even Sen. Ben Sasse knows it:
those people were not “more conservative” https://t.co/ZaPW1afuV1
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) August 29, 2018
Your mileage may vary depending on how conservative you think Sasse himself is, but he’s got a point.
Correct. Thanks for reminding people what conservatism is.
— Peter Burns (@peterburns_1861) August 29, 2018
The media will rest at nothing to describe zealots as conservative while the “Progressives” who divide by class, gender, and race are apparently totally a-okay!
— Admiral Waugh (@AdmiralWaugh) August 29, 2018
Recommended
Remember when CNN reported that there was no such thing as the alt-left … it was just a “made-up term” to be used as an insult to progressives?
https://twitter.com/stephenwoodnv/status/1034827515225767936
It means killing off the poor and the environment and making the rich richer, right?
To major media, "more conservative" is shorthand for "nuts." Yes, I know the idea of shorthand is to save characters, but the idea of "news" is supposed to be at least marginally about the truth, too, but . . .
— Boris_Badenoff (@Boris_Badenoff) August 29, 2018
On this, I agree. News media is myopic and binary in their views. Independents are not all centrists. Whack-jobs or nationalists are not always conservatives. Populists are not all progressives. This is just lazy reporting.
— tony v. zampella (@zampella) August 29, 2018
Solid pushback on a lazy, inaccurate characterization. Ward and Sheriff Joe are little more than the Birchers that Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, and Barry Goldwater rejected.
— Dan Barkley (@dan_barkley) August 29, 2018
Reporters have started using the word conservative when they really mean fringe right, alt-right, or Trump-y. It's annoying.
— Sadie Renander (@SadieInProgress) August 29, 2018
Media equates more right to more conservative. Thereby making alt-right the ultimate conservative.
— Chris Christensen (@dwc8647) August 29, 2018
Preach it. It drives me batty that people have changed Conservative to mean Populist or Extremist. There is a real definition of the word Conservative, with a big piece being a respect for the current state (with thoughtful modification) and it seem strange to change that.
— Aron Galonsky (@AronGalonsky) August 29, 2018
The word 'conservative' has been hijacked.
— SueS (@sues711) August 29, 2018
They are monkeying up the English language
— Roger Smith (@Nuk3dawg) August 29, 2018
The meaning of the word "conservative" has become totally twisted in the last couple years.
— Andy Marso (@andymarso) August 29, 2018
Thank you! They weren’t more conservative, rather more populist and more in need of help.
— Bobby Burton (@bobbyburton81) August 29, 2018
Exactly! More populist
— HankChapman (@HankChapman) August 29, 2018
They are based upon what the GOP has become…GOP is not the party of fiscal conservatism anymore, very sad to say
— Jason Franzen (@franzenj07) August 29, 2018
They were more something, but it wasn’t “conservative.”
— Independent Voice (@1_IndVoice) August 29, 2018
I don’t know if they were more conservative but they were more awful.
— Mary Tyson (@tyson_mary) August 29, 2018
They were more something, and whatever it is, we need a lot less of it
— gary wiebke (@GaryWiebke) August 29, 2018
When exactly did Conservative become a synonym for whack-a-doodle?
— Larry Zyontz (@lzyontz) August 29, 2018
They were more insane though. I think that’s why McSally won.
— Joe (@JoeC1776) August 29, 2018
Some people equate conservative with lunacy. Arpio and Ward were loony, so way more conservative.
— Polly Karr (@karr_pe) August 29, 2018
"More Trumpian"
— Jordan Olsen (@jordan_olsen26) August 29, 2018
One of the CNN folks referred to her as the “least Trumpy” of them as the results came in last night. ?
— Kristie Bergmann (@GraphixChic) August 29, 2018
The “least Trumpy”? Now that’s some prime punditry right there.
Related:
"Stop being a dumba**": Apparently Chris Cillizza has no clue what a conservative looks like https://t.co/tYrAFevjzc
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 29, 2018
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