Liberal derangement syndrome

“Bye bye burgers” and hello state issued copies of the Vice President’s new book. Those were the major talking points in the conservative media sphere last week. Two startling controversies that showed the liberal excesses and utter corruption of the Biden administration. In the first story, the Biden administration’s new climate plan would eliminate 90% of beef from the American market! A direct shot to the heart of red blooded Americans. In the second, thousands of copies of VP Kamala Harris’ new book were being handed out to child migrants as they arrived at the US border and were taken into custody by CBP. Who’s paying for that!

Both stories were carried on Fox News, in tabloids, and assuredly across a host of online networks. Both stories were also completely false.

Fox News was forced to meekly retract their story about beef after it was found to have no meat. The 90% figure came from a university study that has used 4 separate scenarios in order to get under a particular emissions threshold. One of which suggested the cutting of beef production by 90%. The Biden administration has yet to release their climate bill and it will almost assuredly not contain a measure which would have such drastic economic and cultural effects. Kamala Harris’ book was, in fact, spotted at a Long Beach, California immigration shelter, but it had arrived via donation through a local toy and book drive. The reporter from the original New York Post article resigned her position and claimed she had been forced to write the article. 

Both stories fit into a longer term trend of conservative media: highlight perceived (or real) offenses to conservative cultural norms and blast them in the faces of their viewers as long as their eyeballs are glued to the television. Rage sells, and nothing makes conservative Americans more angry than Liberals. 

Liberals don’t have to do much of anything to draw conservative ire, just their existence is enough. President Obama famously was pilloried on Fox News for the damnable offences of wearing a tan suit and using dijon mustard. Unfathomable. Liberals in liberal cities want to shape the politics of their towns as they see fit? Absolutely not! This is a free country as long as you stick to conservative beliefs after all. 

It can be easy to criticize Fox News for much of America’s partisanship, and they do deserve a share of the blame. But they’re just a company right? Fox News is the best at what it does because they recognized that people don’t tune into 24 news networks to be informed, they tune in to be entertained. Fox does it better than anyone because, like social media, they recognized that controversy and outrage keeps viewers more engaged than thoughtful coverage and messy conversations. 

The most recent controversies feel rather similar to previous examples because they are. Fox News has been running away with minor controversies for two decades. But these latest examples also remind me of different Fox favorite: Trump derangement syndrome. 

Trump derangement syndrome or TDS was the phenomenon of unreasonable anger and outrage directed at former President Donald Trump. Conservative commentators used TDS to label critics of Trump as being so driven by emotion and irrationality that their points of view weren't to be trusted by rational audiences. And there was some scintinling of truth. Many Americans viewed Trump actions and policies under a different standard simply because of the person perpetuating them (as evinced by the lack of concern about Trump policies that have continued under the Biden administration or China apologia).

Trump derangement syndrome was probably real, albeit over exaggerated and used mostly in bad faith, but the contours of the idea fit quite comfortably with what I dub “Liberal derangement syndrome.”

Liberal derangement syndrome (LDS) is for Republicans what TDS was for Democrats. The overwillingess to believe any negative story, no matter how asinine. The ability to cast dispersion on the most benign behavior. The desire to see only storm clouds on a sunny day. LDS is the irrational use of hate, anger, and emotion to drive clicks, increase readership, and maximize advertiser revenue for conservative news outlets. 

Will we see more LDS in the coming months and years? Almost assuredly, I don’t expect last week was just a particularly erroneous example of bad journalism becoming headlines sensationalism. The Biden administration, thus far bereft of major gaffs or scandals, will require more creativity in crafting outrage narratives about it. Biden doesn’t even appear in public enough to lead every news hour with stories of his mental decline. And covering popular legislation that the Democrats produce in Congress is simply too boring. 

Republicans were more than happy to label Trump critics with Trump derangement syndrome. Democrats should be just as forceful labeling Fox News and others for their Liberal derangement syndrome. It may not reach the actual viewers and readers of those outlets, but maybe it can seep into the lexicon in the fight for reality against bad faith and shoddy journalism.