GOP strategists plan to make media central focus of 2018

Republican strategists say their party plans to make the media a focus of its 2018 campaigns, capitalizing on the current anti-media environment.

{mosads}“If you pick a fight with them, I think it kind of helps you, and I don’t think many people care,” political consultant David Woodard told McClatchy.

Two weeks ago, Republican Greg Gianforte was charged with assault after allegedly bodyslamming a reporter for The Guardian at a campaign event after being asked questions about healthcare.

A day later, Gianforte won Montana’s special election for it’s at-large congressional seat.

“Does anyone want to see a reporter badly injured? No. But there are some people who think this is their comeuppance: ‘You’ve been strutting around with no accountability and maybe you should be held accountable,’ ” Tobe Berkovitz, a campaign advertising specialist, told McClatchy.