I’m not easily shocked these days, but what the New York Times did today was stunning. It lobbied against the Republican tax bill via Twitter. These are some of the Times editorial board’s tweets from earlier today:
This morning, the Times editorial board is tweeting here to urge the Senate to reject a tax bill that hurts the middle class & the nation's fiscal health. #thetaxbillhurts
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) November 29, 2017
Contact @SenatorCollins, (202) 224-2523, particularly if you live in Maine, and ask her to oppose the Senate tax bill because it would repeal Obamacare's individual mandate, driving up the cost of health insurance. #thetaxbillhurts pic.twitter.com/id69OJ4CPC
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) November 29, 2017
This is known as “grass roots lobbying.” The Times urged readers to contact a number of senators who, it presumably thought, are likely to waver:
Call Kansas Senator @JerryMoran at (202) 224-6521 and remind him that the Senate tax bill would add more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years without helping the middle class. #thetaxbillhurts pic.twitter.com/2UNbX9LUQE
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) November 29, 2017
Contact @SenJohnMcCain and @JeffFlake, particularly if you live in Arizona, and tell them to oppose the tax bill: It would add more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years without helping the middle class. #thetaxbillhurts
Flake: (202) 224-4521
McCain: (202) 224-2235 pic.twitter.com/PvXI1b3Xd4— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) November 29, 2017
It goes on and on. I’m not sure I have ever seen a newspaper engage in grass roots lobbying. Everyone has long known that the Times is a Democratic Party paper, but this is ridiculous. The Times has abandoned any pretense of doing journalism, and has nakedly joined the political fray on behalf of its party. Grass roots lobbying is regulated by the federal government and by most states; it would be interesting to know what the Times has done by way of legal compliance.
Via Twitchy.
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