More heart and grit When a Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) or a Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) stand up and call out Republican BS or CEO excess, it’s like a breath of fresh air to liberal politics. Not Jon Stewart brashness, exactly, but not the usual business-as-usual politics that is too easy for the press to ignore. Nerds. Maybe it’s because we’re nerds, rarely sure enough of ourselves to go straight at the opposition or stand up for ourselves. Democrats wanting to be liked are forever second-guessing themelves. Republicans will settle for being feared. Why else all the posing with guns? On one side of this Lord of the Flies narrative, Ralph and Piggy try to maintain order and improve living conditions on the island while Jack and his spear-armed tribe cohere around fear of the Beast (any real or imagined threat). The press preferences flash over substance and pays more attention to the former. Digby observed yesterday that the press under-reports Joe Biden’s economic accomplishments because he “hasn’t been entertaining enough for them.” Piggy wore spectacles. Jack’s “warriors” made spectacle. Brian Beutler this morning goes straight at “finger-in-the-wind style analysis rooted in little more than the media’s sense that Things Seem Bad For Democrats On TV.” Beutler sees its roots in “the clash between insecure liberalism and kayfabe conservatism.” But the press also reflects “Democratic neurosis and artificial Republican aggression” back to the world, Beulter writes: A toughness schtick has been integral to every Republican campaign and strategy I’ve ever…