They Never Let Up
The Liberal Media, That Is
Posted: November 7, 2012
At this writing, the presidency is yet undecided. But an observation one can make if Mitt Romney prevailed is this: He did so despite the president’s free campaign auxiliary, the liberal news media. Then again, if the president is still in office as you read this, you might observe that he had the gratis help of a devoted camp.
Consider just two small items, courtesy of Newsbusters. The first comes from Obama partisan David Letterman, a spiteful man for whom the daughter of a woman vice presidential candidate is a matter of sport, who had this to say in his monolouge the other night:
“Ladies and gentlemen, today is the last day of the presidential campaign.” Letterman said. “Boy, just flew by, didn’t it?” Then Letterman offered this:
“So here’s the rundown: tomorrow is Election Day; Wednesday will be the recount; December 18 the Supreme Court will give the election to Mitt Romney. That’s what we got ahead of us.”
Granted, Letterman is a comedian. And this is just a joke. The question is whether this particular joke is grounded in reality or myth. As Newsbusters’ notes, “[f]unny how all these liberal media members ignore the fact that news organizations that went to Florida in January 2001 to count the votes found that Bush would have won anyway.”
Could the remark turn an election? No. But it reflects an earnest belief among liberals that the Bush presidency was illegitimate, and also breathes life into the ridiculous claim that the U.S. Supreme Court decided the election.
That, in turn, delegitimizes Mr. Romney. And that was Mr. Letterman’s point, regardless of his joke’s practical effect.
A second item, this one from John Heilemann of New York magazine, who predicted that a Romney defeat might occasion a “scary” reaction from his supporters:
“That Romney and his people have not yet completely wrapped their heads and hearts around [losing] is unsurprising: In politics as in life, the recognition of deep loss comes slowly and with no small degree of anguish before it takes hold fully. But, eventually, take hold it does. And if loss is to be Romney’s fate, the question for him will be how handles it, for the ferocity of the reaction of many of his supporters — those who despise Obama with a passion so raw and burning it is hard to comprehend — will be breathtaking, and perhaps not a little scary.”
Well, yes, “Romney and his people” are irrational and “scary,” rather like the McCain supporters who became so “scary” after that candidate lost.
Identifying the meme — Republicans and conservatives are irrational, greedy, racist and hateful people who cannot possibly oppose a liberal president on principle — identifies the problem: the mainstream media is monolithically liberal and opposes conservative ideas, whatever their merit. Rather, this monolithically liberal group attributes to conservatism base and evil motives. Conservatives oppose liberals not because liberal ideas are wrong and harmful; rather, opposition is rooted in the evil of the opponents. Thus, one cannot disagree with Mr. Obama or liberals without being called racist or hateful, hateful people being, of course, “scary.” Messrs. Letterman’ and Heilemann thus seek to delegitimze opposition, in the person of Mr. Romney, not only to their liberal candidate, but also to liberalism itself.
Delegitimizing opposition is how the left moves forward. The left never sleeps. Its obsessions never flag. It wears down opponents through old-fashioned attrition, not least by incessant demonization that places opponents outside the bounds of reasonable debate. This is how proposals that would have been unthinkable 50 years ago, such as women in combat or homosexual “marriage,” achieve legitimacy. Opponents are “bigots” and “haters.” They must "get with the times." Thus, even when conservatives control the government, leftist proposals prevail.
This is what conservatives face in perpetuity, as long as people like Messrs. Letterman and Heilemann control the cultural institutions that matter the most.
Consider just two small items, courtesy of Newsbusters. The first comes from Obama partisan David Letterman, a spiteful man for whom the daughter of a woman vice presidential candidate is a matter of sport, who had this to say in his monolouge the other night:
“Ladies and gentlemen, today is the last day of the presidential campaign.” Letterman said. “Boy, just flew by, didn’t it?” Then Letterman offered this:
“So here’s the rundown: tomorrow is Election Day; Wednesday will be the recount; December 18 the Supreme Court will give the election to Mitt Romney. That’s what we got ahead of us.”
Granted, Letterman is a comedian. And this is just a joke. The question is whether this particular joke is grounded in reality or myth. As Newsbusters’ notes, “[f]unny how all these liberal media members ignore the fact that news organizations that went to Florida in January 2001 to count the votes found that Bush would have won anyway.”
Could the remark turn an election? No. But it reflects an earnest belief among liberals that the Bush presidency was illegitimate, and also breathes life into the ridiculous claim that the U.S. Supreme Court decided the election.
That, in turn, delegitimizes Mr. Romney. And that was Mr. Letterman’s point, regardless of his joke’s practical effect.
A second item, this one from John Heilemann of New York magazine, who predicted that a Romney defeat might occasion a “scary” reaction from his supporters:
“That Romney and his people have not yet completely wrapped their heads and hearts around [losing] is unsurprising: In politics as in life, the recognition of deep loss comes slowly and with no small degree of anguish before it takes hold fully. But, eventually, take hold it does. And if loss is to be Romney’s fate, the question for him will be how handles it, for the ferocity of the reaction of many of his supporters — those who despise Obama with a passion so raw and burning it is hard to comprehend — will be breathtaking, and perhaps not a little scary.”
Well, yes, “Romney and his people” are irrational and “scary,” rather like the McCain supporters who became so “scary” after that candidate lost.
Identifying the meme — Republicans and conservatives are irrational, greedy, racist and hateful people who cannot possibly oppose a liberal president on principle — identifies the problem: the mainstream media is monolithically liberal and opposes conservative ideas, whatever their merit. Rather, this monolithically liberal group attributes to conservatism base and evil motives. Conservatives oppose liberals not because liberal ideas are wrong and harmful; rather, opposition is rooted in the evil of the opponents. Thus, one cannot disagree with Mr. Obama or liberals without being called racist or hateful, hateful people being, of course, “scary.” Messrs. Letterman’ and Heilemann thus seek to delegitimze opposition, in the person of Mr. Romney, not only to their liberal candidate, but also to liberalism itself.
Delegitimizing opposition is how the left moves forward. The left never sleeps. Its obsessions never flag. It wears down opponents through old-fashioned attrition, not least by incessant demonization that places opponents outside the bounds of reasonable debate. This is how proposals that would have been unthinkable 50 years ago, such as women in combat or homosexual “marriage,” achieve legitimacy. Opponents are “bigots” and “haters.” They must "get with the times." Thus, even when conservatives control the government, leftist proposals prevail.
This is what conservatives face in perpetuity, as long as people like Messrs. Letterman and Heilemann control the cultural institutions that matter the most.