The
Washington
Post’s
editorial
page
had
drafted
an
endorsement
of
Kamala
Harris
for
president
when
its
owner,
Amazon
founder
Jeff
Bezos,
intervened
to
cancel
its
publication,
The
Washington
Post
reports.
In
its
place,
The
Post
ran
a
bizarre
column
by
its
current
publisher
(and
former
Rupert
Murdoch
henchman)
Will
Lewis,
saying
The
Post
would
not
endorse
anyone.
This
is
now
the
second
American
newspaper,
after
The
Los
Angeles
Times,
to
kill
a
Harris
endorsement
at
the
owner’s
behest
In
his
editorial,
Lewis
cited
the
Post’s
decision
not
to
publish
an
endorsement
in
the
race
between
John
F.
Kennedy
and
Richard
Nixon
in
1960.
Nixon
would
later
be
implicated
in
the
Watergate
scandal,
which
generated
69
indictments
and
48
criminal
convictions
in
one
of
the
biggest
political
corruption
scandals
in
American
history.
“We
recognize
that
this
will
be
read
in
a
range
of
ways,
including
as
a
tacit
endorsement
of
one
candidate,
or
as
a
condemnation
of
another,
or
as
an
abdication
of
responsibility,”
Lewis
wrote.
(It
is
unclear
who
the
“we”
is,
here.
Lewis?
Lewis
and
Bezos?
Some
secret
third
group?)
“That
is
inevitable.
We
don’t
see
it
that
way.
We
see
it
as
consistent
with
the
values
The
Post
has
always
stood
for
and
what
we
hope
for
in
a
leader:
character
and
courage
in
service
to
the
American
ethic,
veneration
for
the
rule
of
law,
and
respect
for
human
freedom
in
all
its
aspects.”
This
is
now
the
second
American
newspaper,
after
The
Los
Angeles
Times,
to
kill
a
Harris
endorsement
at
the
owner’s
behest.
Times
owner
Patrick
Soon-Shiong
similarly
blocked
a
planned
endorsement,
prompting
the
newspaper’s
editorials
editor
to
resign
in
protest.
Readers
are
already
canceling
subscriptions
The
Post’s
union
says
it
is
“deeply
concerned”
that
the
paper
would
do
this
just
11
days
before
a
“immensely
consequential”
election.
“The
message
from
our
chief
executive,
Will
Lewis
—
not
from
the
Editorial
Board
itself
—
makes
us
concerned
that
management
has
interfered
with
the
work
of
our
members
in
Editorial.”
Readers
are
already
canceling
subscriptions,
the
statement
notes.
Neoconservative
scholar
Robert
Kagan
resigned
his
position
as
editor-at-large,
according
to
Semafor’s
Max
Tani.
The
Washington
Post,
which
bears
the
motto
“Democracy
Dies
in
Darkness,”
published
endorsements
of
candidates
for
Virginia’s
7th
district
on
Oct.
13
and
for
senate
in
Maryland
on
Oct.
2.
It
has
routinely
published
investigations
into
Donald
Trump
that
allege
wrongdoing
and
illegal
behavior.
Two
Washington
Post
board
members,
Charles
Lane
and
Stephen
W.
Stromberg,
wrote
the
Harris
endorsement,
according
to
The
Columbia
Journalism
Review.
David
Shipley,
the
editorial
page
director,
told
staff
the
endorsement
was
“on
track,
adding
that ‘this
is
obviously
something
our
owner
has
an
interest
in,’”
according
to
The
CJR.
Today,
Shipley
told
the
board
there
would
be
no
endorsement.
That
was
followed
by
Lewis’s
peculiar
editorial.
“This
is
cowardice,
a
moment
of
darkness
that
will
leave
democracy
as
a
casualty,”
said
Marty
Baron,
the
former
Washington
Post
executive
editor,
in
a
text
message
to
the
Post.
“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.”
(Originally posted by Elizabeth Lopatto)
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