Andrew Desiderio writes in the Daily Beast about how the Alabama special election Senate race became a battle between left wing and conservative media to control both the narrative and the outcome.
MIDLAND CITY, Alabama—A Roy Moore victory over Doug Jones in the Alabama Senate special election would represent a major victory for Donald Trump. But it would be an absolute triumph for some of the conservative press.
As much as any candidate, it is the press corps that is on the ballot on Tuesday. Reports by The Washington Post turned what was supposed to be a sleepy contest in one of the most conservative states in the country into a political battleground. Since then, the primary question being asked of voters, and pushed by conservative media sympathetic to Moore, has been: Do you—can you—believe the sexual misconduct allegations that you have read?
Moore has done his best to sow doubts. He has leaned on the large, enthusiastic voter base he built throughout his decades in public life—a base that showed up in full force at a rally at Jordan’s Activity Barn here in Dale County on Monday night. And to keep it intact, he has resorted to a non-stop barrage of attacks on a press corps that he’s deemed disingenuous and agenda-driven.
His crowd has followed his lead.
Read the rest of the story here.