COCKBURN: Jennifer Rubin’s resignation from the Washington Post is surely imminent.

The non-endorsement is the new endorsement! Hot on the heels of the Los Angeles Times’s decision not to endorse a candidate in the presidential race, a controversial call made by the paper’s owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong that has been met with multiple staff resignations, the Washington Post is following suit.

A statement published Friday reads: “The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election. Nor in any future presidential election. We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”

Public statements from leading Post personalities have been aghast. Columnist Karen Attiah tweeted, “Jesus Christ.” Then, an hour later, “…” Then an hour later still, “What an absolute stab in the back. What an insult to those of us who have literally put our careers and lives on the line, to call out threats to human rights and democracy.”

Of most interest to Cockburn, however, were the remarks of fellow columnist and MSNBC mainstay Jennifer Rubin to the LA Times resignations earlier in the week. In response to Sewell Chan’s resignation from the Times, she wrote, “Bravo. All respect.” Followed by, “and where are the rest of them?”

The implication is clear: now that her paper, too, is refusing to endorse the sainted Kamala Harris, Rubin must be set to join the charge of resignations in disgust, along with Robert Kagan, as a sort-of Potomac Joan of Arc. The prospect brings a tear to Cockburn’s eye. Such bravery.

Ed Morrissey adds: WaPo: Never Mind on That Whole Darkness Thing.

Besides, it’s hardly a secret how the Post views Trump at least, if not Harris. They adopted their banner not after January 6, but just after Trump took office in 2017. Bezos owned the Post at that time too, and had used the slogan during the 2016 election before Trump had even formally won the nomination. It’s still on the masthead, and even as Bezos put it there, Allahpundit recognized it for what it is:

The timing gives the slogan the same effect as that dopey NBC News story from a few days ago noting that Trump would not, in fact, become the shortest-serving president in American history. It’s a declaration of opposition to the new administration. If it wasn’t, they would have slapped it on the front page back when Barack Obama, a.k.a. “the greatest enemy of press freedom that we have encountered in at least a generation,” started snooping in journalists’ phone records.

With all that as background, does the refusal to participate in endorsements really matter? It does to Lewis’ predecessor, Marty Baron, who called Lewis and Bezos cowards for refusing to participate:

Colleagues were said to be “shocked” and uniformly negative. Post corporate spokespeople have not responded to multiple messages left by NPR on the subject.

Former Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron, who led the newsroom to acclaim during Trump’s presidency, denounced the decision starkly.

“This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty,” Baron said in a statement to NPR. “Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”

As Baron’s statement hints, if you’re on Twitter today, it may seem like every employee at the Post has very publicly lost his mind: Floodgates Have Opened! Hilariously Brutal Thread of All Freak-Outs Over Wapo Not Endorsing Kamala Wins Twitter.

It really is an incredible thread. Just click here and start scrolling before the Posties either come to their senses or are read the riot act and start deleting their cris de cour:

THE FLOODGATES HAVE OPENED https://t.co/g1tOV2g0SW

— Parker Thayer (@ParkerThayer) October 25, 2024

Attiah is taking the non-endorsement of Kamala particularly badly:

Hey, you know who else called an unexpected last minute betrayal a “stab in the back,” right?

Given today’s freakout, and the general redlining of the Godwin meter, John Ekdahl proposes a new slogan for the Post:

Hey, they really are leftists in a hurry!