After 160 Years Of Republican Publishing, Isn't It Time For a Change?

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In case you may have missed it two weeks ago or simply just don't care, the Janesville Gazette endorsed republican Joe Knilans for Janesville's state assembly seat. They also endorsed Paul Ryan for re-election to our house seat, Tommy Thompson over Tammy Baldwin for Senate and Ryan again with Mitt Romney for the White House. Their editorial endorsement titled, After four years it's time for a change offered mostly canned GOP talking points in favor of the deceptive duo. They even suggested that Romney's waffling around and inability to articulate positions on almost everything were likely moderate tendencies that will prove pragmatic. Given their heaping praise and unforgivable defenses for the Romney/Ryan ticket, their opposition to Barack Obama however was mainly built around a rather rigid and seemingly impatient excuse - that after four years, it was time for change.

OK, that's all behind us now. But what I thought was most interesting was a second Gazette editorial published the same day with the Romney/Ryan endorsement that attempted to explain how and why they endorse mostly republicans. Titled, "Miffed about our Romney endorsement? Read this," the chief editor of the Gazette tries to head off the expected wave of subscription cancellations by writing that no one should be surprised by their political endorsements. He's right on that point. If you've had a chance to read this blog or any of the featured articles in the right sidebar pertaining to the Janesville newspaper, you would know that the Gazette is a major media sponsor of the republican party, its legislative agenda and candidates. The fact is, your subscriptions and ad purchases help fund their political model whether you like it or not. But that's the plot for a different story.

The editor went on to explain how their endorsement process works.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
How can we justify such unwavering support for the GOP over the years, regardless of the candidates and their strengths and weaknesses? First you have to understand how the process works.

There's a "process" at work alright behind the Janesville Gazette's endorsements of presidential candidates. It's called the Republican Party. You see, the last time the newspaper did not back a republican candidate for president, they endorsed a Whig. That's right. So all the way back dating to 18-freaking-52, through the different generations of newspaper editors and members of the Bliss owning family of the Janesville Gazette, they could not stand to endorse even one democrat for president. Not one of FDR's terms, not Truman, Kennedy or Clinton.

But the Gazette editor goes through the motions in his editorial explaining the political make-up of the editorial board and how they toil over the candidates and the issues and offers a final caveat: Half of America agrees!

The irony between the newspaper's tandem editorials should be obvious even to the casual reader. If after 4 years with Barack Obama deserves immediate change, what are we to make of 160 years of the constant stream of republican editorials and endorsements from our local newspaper?

Note: Gazette editorial titled, "Miffed about our Romney endorsement? Read this" is not available on the Web.