America's political establishment is under attack, and it's just not fair. It's gotten so bad that political reporters can't even hang out and sip cocktails with leading politicians at Maureen Dowd's house in Georgetown without getting ridiculed by the filthy rubes who wouldn't know a green room from a fried green tomato with jalapeño aioli.
In the old days, big shot journos could casually boast about their attendance at these élite soirées and feel good about themselves. Now everything is ruined. On a related note: Congress and the media are among the most loathed institutions in the country.
Donald Trump's election in 2016 was a humiliating defeat not only for Hillary Clinton, but also the establishment that backed her candidacy and assumed she couldn't possibly lose. They were wrong, but they're not going down without a fight. This recent announcement suggests the establishment's counter-attack is already in the works.
Amtrak is launching non-stop New York to D.C. Acela service on September 23. It will start with just one train a day in each direction. https://t.co/LngNE9G7w6
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) July 25, 2019
This new service will almost exclusively serve some of the most despised professional classes in American life: Politicians, journalists, lobbyists, bankers, rich people who can't afford to fly private, and other city-dwelling neo-liberals who want to "save the environment" by banning cars and letting 1,000 Acela corridors bloom across the land with the help of exorbitant government subsidies. No one else is particularly excited about this news.
Its is great but keep in mind it only runs once a day and saves just 15 minutes.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) July 25, 2019
This excitement is presumably tempered, however, by a lingering anxiety regarding the taking of group selfies on the train. Acela passengers might have to think twice before posting those photos on a popular social media website. That's on us. Think before you comment, and be mindful of everything these heroes have sacrificed for the greater good. They're people, too. Sort of.