Late night host Jimmy Kimmel has been on a roll lately. As Stephen Colbert’s ratings have gone up by capturing the attention of angry liberals, Kimmel had to do something. So he took up the crusade against touching Obamacare and is using his son for moral authority.
His facile logic is simple. His son had a terrible health problem and thanks to Kimmel’s great insurance and very well-paying job, his son was able to get the surgery he needed. Consequently, if Republicans change or repeal Obamacare, they will hurt kids who do not have Jimmy Kimmel’s income and insurance plan. So Republicans must be stopped.
It has certainly helped him in the media. Kimmel got more mentions by the press than Stephen Colbert last week, and Colbert had just hosted the Emmy’s. To be fair to Kimmel, good for him. He has every right to take his position as an American citizen. He has a platform and is using it for a cause he cares about. As a side benefit, it helps him in the ratings against another host who has been doing the same thing. But now Kimmel can make it even more personal and humanize himself more than Colbert.
The problem is not what Kimmel is doing, but that the same reporters who lament the election of a reality TV star as president are giving moral authority to Jimmy Kimmel to talk credibly about public policy because of his son. He gets expert status and headlines in the press to talk about Obamacare because he is a highly paid celebrity who has access to doctors, income,…
