Ken Burns is a terrific documentary filmmaker. But as a political pundit? Not so much.
Witness his recent letter to the Democratic National Committee lobbying for New Hampshire, where he maintains a home and studio, to have its first-in-the-nation presidential primary status restored because it is “indispensable for this…perilous moment.” Translation: look to us for guidance in ridding the nation of Trumpism.
But from a guy who fancies himself a historian, this is a notably fact-free assertion.
If New Hampshire Democrats had their way, Bernie Sanders would have been the party’s nominee in 2020. No matter what’s happened since, it’s tough to argue he was a better choice than Joe Biden that year.
But the geniuses in New Hampshire placed Biden 5th, just five points ahead of Tulsi Gabbard, last spotted overseeing federal agents seizing ballots in Georgia in service to a Trump fever-swamp fantasy.
New Hampshire Republicans? They’re the original Trump enablers, launching his 2016 victory after Iowans gagged on him.
Despite this recent display of poor voter judgment, Burns insists the state is a sterling exception from a political culture where “celebrity is king, not character, the dollars of donors speak louder than the voices of voters, and sensational extremism is a cheap ticket to electoral success.” Celebrity trumps character these days, no doubt, and New Hampshire GOP primary voters, overwhelmingly Trump loyalists, can’t get enough of it. (Pro tip: sensational extremism sells!)
You say money talks loudly in electoral politics? Yes, even in simon-pure New Hampshire. TV ads cost money. Photo-op town halls don’t make a dent unless they’re really photogenic and the celebrity you bought with your filthy dough is driving media interest. It’s been a long time since earnest door-knocking and meaningful diner drop-ins alone can get you out of Dean Phillips territory.
“In New Hampshire we do things differently,” concludes Burns. Tell it to Scott Brown, supportive enough of Trump in 2016 to be chosen as his Ambassador to New Zealand, but snubbed last week for the presidential endorsement in the US Senate primary in favor of harsh Trump critic and 2024 Nikki Haley supporter John Sununu.
GOP elites in New Hampshire and Washington immediately called for Brown to drop out because Sununu will ostensibly have the edge in the two things that matter most in a New Hampshire primary – money and celebrity. Brown’s response: bleep off.
“There’s such an anti-swamp attitude in New Hampshire, to think someone’s gonna tell them what to do? Are you kidding me?” Brown argues in a MASSterList interview. “From everything I’ve heard it’s actually mobilized the base even more to support me because they recognize – contrary to what the president said – [Sununu’s] not a MAGA guy. The independents are saying ‘what did he have to do to get that endorsement?’…When [Trump] goes to John and says ‘jump’ he’s gonna say ‘how high, sir?’”
Those proudly independent-minded New Hampshire voters won’t buy that b.s., right Ken?
The Brown-Sununu race will be a good barometer. Round one popped late last week after Trump’s egregiously-racist social media post depicting the Obamas as apes drew denunciation even from toadies like Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina). Brown weighed in on X: “Leadership means drawing a line at decency. Others should stand up and follow suit.” As of late Sunday morning, not a peep from Sununu.
Don’t take my word for it that Ken Burns doesn’t have the slightest idea what he’s talking about. Watch this race. If it’s a Sununu cakewalk, it suggests New Hampshire voters are no better than many others – drawn to celebrity, prone to manipulation by money, sheep-like.
Then maybe Burns’ naïve b.s. about the New Hampshire “difference” can be consigned to the cutting-room floor.