JIM GERAGHTY: The Ever-Expanding ‘Group Therapy for Liberals.’
Stephen L. Miller — a.k.a. RedSteeze — has argued for a while now that the late-night talk shows aren’t meant to be entertainment or comedy anymore; they are now, functionally, late-night “group therapy for libs.” And that description, while harsh, seems pretty accurate — the constant sneering and ridicule at figures on the right, the warm welcome for celebrities on the left, the obsessive focus on whatever is outraging the Twitter Left at that moment, the reassurance that every good and right-thinking American thinks the same way. . . .
And maybe despite their seeming triumphs and power, the modern urban progressive Left needs that reassuring group therapy. If you’re a progressive, it can often feel like the world is always giving you some sort of bad news: Republicans oppose the bills you want to see passed. Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema won’t get on board. The Supreme Court keeps ruling against your side. The polling for the midterms looks terrible. Despite mass shootings, Congress and states won’t just ban guns the way you wish. Trump won’t go away. Tucker Carlson and other figures on Fox News keep saying things that outrage you. People still listen to and watch Joe Rogan. Elon Musk might buy Twitter.
In fact, it might be time to ask if a lot of modern journalism is meant to serve as a form of group therapy for liberals, too. Think about how much print, television, and web journalism features the subtext, “You are right, and your uncle who votes for Republicans is wrong. In fact, he’s racist. And sexist. And homophobic and transphobic. And selfish. And doesn’t care about the earth. You are the good and righteous one, and you were right to scream at him and storm away from the Thanksgiving table.”
Well, it might not be an “ever-expanding” group therapy session: Joy Reid, pictured atop the article, might not have an in-perpetuity contract with MSNBC after all: Heartbreak at MSNBC as Joy Reid’s ‘ReidOut’ Crashes and Burns in Ratings Wars. “Perhaps most infamously, Reid came under fire in late 2017/early 2018 when she claimed she was ‘hacked‘ after posts from her old blog were dug up and found to contain what LGBTQ rights activists said were ‘bigoted’ and ‘homophobic’ remarks. MSNBC stood by her at the time, but if rumors of her on-air days being numbered are true, it sounds like the higher-ups there might have just about reached their limit with her.”