Inside the Beltway: Still clinging to those collusion bombshells

NEWS AND OPINION:

The news media now sits all dressed up with nowhere to go, now that the Mueller investigation has had a finale of sorts. What now? Well, there’s always the 2020 election, of course, and ongoing wars over money, the southern border, overseas intrigue, the fate of Obamacare and the battle between the young upstarts and establishment politicians. Yes, there’s that. But the thrill, apparently, is gone.

“For the commercial press to recapture any dignity after this collusion debacle, it has to at least start admitting to its role in artificially raising expectations in the last two years. It’s hard to imagine them doing that, however. This story has been so enormously profitable for cable stations, in particular, it will be hard for them to let go of this narrative. What are they going to do, go back to just reporting the news? One can almost feel how depressed network executives must be at the thought. They’ve trained audiences to expect bombshells. What will they sell now?” asks Matt Taibbi, contributing editor at Rolling Stone.

All bombshells all the time is a very tall order. Some are not ready to let it go, though.

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough rejected heavy criticism of the Mueller investigation press coverage, and offered his own prediction.

“The New York Times, The Washington Post — they are going to keep doing their job, and will keep following the story,” Mr. Scarborough noted Tuesday.

Then there’s the other question. Is the public still interested in hearing about “collusion”? Maybe not. A new Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted after information about the Mueller investigation was released found that 47 percent of all U.S. voters said Congress should not continue to investigate whether the Trump campaign “worked with Russia” during the 2016 election while 39 percent would like to see the investigation continue and 14 percent were undecided in the matter.

COLLUSION MADNESS

The Mueller investigation has given rise to its own culture. There are bumper stickers available from online purveyors like Cafe Press and Zazzle with such messages as “Where’s this Russia collusion? With Hillary and the DNC, not Trump” and “Forget Russia, it’s a Swamp Coup we have to worry about.”

Things are getting more creative, though. Based on the popularity of March Madness college basketball brackets, The New York Post is seeking public input to decide which one of 38 prominent pundits was “the most wrong” in his or her predictions for the outcome of the probe.

“The president’s haters no doubt wish to memory-hole collusion and move on to the next anti-Trump theory. But not so fast: We want to laurel the punditry champion’ — the one who peddled the most nonsensical nonsense, the wildest inanities, the weirdest theories and unsubstantiated stories,” advises op-ed editor Sohrab Ahmari.

“Our contenders are divided into four groups (not unlike NCAA conferences): the print journalists, the cable TV talkers, the Twitterati and the network news reporters and ’analysts.’ And the brackets are seeded, with the most visible and influential figures contending against the lesser-known,” Mr. Ahmari writes.

Among the top seed contenders: MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, columnist Bill Kristol and Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin — with final results due out in the future.

PREDICTION

“The Republican Party will become ’The Party of Healthcare!’”

— President Trump in a tweet Tuesday afternoon

MEANWHILE IN ALASKA

An Alaskan moose hunter took his fight to operate a hovercraft in state-owned rivers all the way to the Supreme Court. He won.

In 2007, National Park Service rangers ordered John Sturgeon off the Nation River, which runs through the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve in northeast Alaska, informing the hunter that it was illegal to operate the amphibious vehicle on such waters.

Mr. Sturgeon sued the federal agency, then waited years for the final outcome — which arrived Tuesday.

“U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled unanimously that the Nation River doesn’t qualify as ’public land’ for the purposes of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The sweeping 1980 law created 10 new national park units following natural boundaries rather than federally owned lands, adding more than 18 million acres of state, Native and private land. Nor does the park service have authority to regulate Sturgeon’s activities on the part of the river that falls within the preserve,” explained The Associated Press, which analyzed the court’s 46-page decision.

THE ULTIMATE INTERNSHIP

Applications are being accepted for the White House Internship Program, a three-month experience that starts in early September. Hopefuls must be at least 18 and enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at a college, community college or university, or have recently completed their degree.

U.S. military veterans with a high school diploma or equivalent are welcome to apply as long as they have served on active duty for any length of time in the two years preceding the internship start date.

“Applicants are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to public service, leadership in the community, and commitment to the Trump administration, the organizers advise. “The President, First Lady, and White House staff are committed to providing young leaders an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and serve their country.”

The online application process will be open until May 3. Consult WhiteHouse.gov/participate/internships.

FOXIFIED

Fox News Channel remains the most-watched cable network of all for the 11th consecutive week in a row — besting such non-news competition as TBS, HGTV, the History Channel and USA networks, according to Nielsen Media Research. In addition, presentations of “Hannity” and “Tucker Carlson Tonight” claimed 10 of the top 22 cable telecasts.

As it has for more than 17 years, Fox News is still the top cable news network, with 2.8 million prime-time viewers, compared to 1.7 million for MSNBC and 889,000 for CNN.

POLL DU JOUR

• 44 percent of U.S. voters agree that the Electoral College “should be abolished”; 25 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of independents and 60 percent of Democrats agree.

• 37 percent of voters say the Electoral College “should stay a is”; 64 percent of Republicans, 32 percent of independents and 20 percent of Democrats agree.

• 19 percent are unsure; 11 percent of Republicans, 22 percent of independents and 22 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Hill/HarrisX poll of Hill-Harris 1,000 registered U.S. voters conducted March 16-17.

• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin