Republicans & The Press
By irisheyes
@irisheyes (4370)
United States
January 22, 2009 2:54pm CST
Republicans have had problems with the mainstream press for a long time. They blame everything and everybody but refuse to regonize that they are doing anything at all to perpetuate the problem even though their attitude toward the press borders on a persecution complex.
First, there was Richard Nixon with the "won't have me to kick around" speech. Then Bush 43 left the mike on while he cursed out the NY Times reporter. Now we're being treated to Sarah Palin telling us that Katie Couric thinks things revolve around her.
The bit with Palin is interesting since the question was a stupid little one about magazines that could have been spun into political gold. Sarah just had to go on and on about all the good conservative publications she read regularly. She would have thrilled her base and maybe even picked up a few new subscriptions. She could also have let it be known that she enjoyed the quilty pleasure of leafing through Vogue. Not a woman in the country who couldn't relate to that. Instead, she got her back up and acted like a fool. Now she's whining about what Katie really meant (the deeper meaning behind "what magazines do you read?") The woman is insuring herself even more hostile press down the road. Not a smart move.
As a Democrat, I don't mind watching Republican candidates shoot themselves in the foot. I just wonder why they keep going down the same road. Were I a Republican I'd tell the likes of Sarah to quit whining and look at tapes of the Reagon press conferences. At least one Republican knew how to get what he wanted from the press. How come the rest of them don't study him and change their attitude?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
22 Jan 09
And so the Palin bashing continues. Can you honestly say that the media wasn't out to ruin her? Forget the Couric interview for a minute. We all know she tanked it. How about the attacks on her, her daughters, her daughter's boyfriend, and even after the election her daughter's boyfriend's mother? These attacks are so far outside of the standard behavior for the media. It was disgusting and wouldn't have happened in the days when the mainstream media had more integrity.
Reagan lived in a different time. The media did not behave then as they do now. Even in 2000 and 2004 the media didn't treat republicans the way they did Palin. Sure, there was bias, but bias is a far cry from the blatant and often dishonest attacks on Sarah Palin and anyone associated with her.
1 person likes this
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
22 Jan 09
I'm not Palin bashing here. I used that example because it proved my point. She did tank it BUT she didn't have to. It could have been a shining moment if it had been handled without the chip on the shoulder.
I'll agree with you that the times have changed since Reagon but basic human behavior hasn't and Reagon knew how to handle the press because of that. I honestly believe that even under today's media scrutiny, Ronnie would still do okay with the press.
1 person likes this
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
22 Jan 09
I can't say I've ever been aware of McCain's relationship with the press as good or bad. I will admit that I had an image of John McCain that did not match the man who ran for president. After Hillary dropped out I briefly considered McCain but I couldn't find the so called maverick in his voting record. Frankly, he also struck me as too hot headed to ever deal with the press as well as Reagon did. That's just my observation but it's honestly what I saw.
1 person likes this
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
22 Jan 09
I disagree. John McCain was great with the press as well. That all changed when he ran against their messiah. Suddenly, he was no longer every democrat's favorite republican. He was painted as a right wing extremist, war monger, adulterer (thanks to the NY Times), and friend to lobbyists. Even Reagan would have been painted that way if he were up against Obama in today's world.
Reagan however had that classic line when Mondale played the age card.
"I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I'm not going to exploit for political purposes my opponents youth and inexperience."
1 person likes this
@Fortunata (1135)
• United States
22 Jan 09
Why are you still going on and on about Sarah Palin? Your guy got elected. Isn't that all that matters to you? The 'mainstream' press, as you call it, is extremely biased against he republicans. I suppose you'll squee when the Fairness Act gets put through the congress and the senate, and then it'll be all Obama all the time on tv and radio.
1 person likes this
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
22 Jan 09
Where the devil is the bias in asking someone what magazines they've read? It was asked of Democrats too. It was just a dumb little question that could have been spun off well but it wasn't?
Why not talk about Sarah Palin? She's still in the news and she's still casting blame for what whe herself did.
Your defensive response here is exactly the way some Republicans handle the media and it hasn't worked for a long time.
1 person likes this
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
22 Jan 09
FYI It's going to mostly Obama, most of the time, no matter what gets passed. He is the president and that more or less guarantees him the lion's share of the news.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
23 Jan 09
Most Democrats in Congress as well as Obama have said they're opposed to bringing back the Fairness Doctrine. Also, the OP isn't "going on and on" about Palin as far as I could tell, she was simply using her has an example of the way the Republicans bring much of their problems with the press onto themselves. Since the right is constantly attacking the "liberal media" I think this is a worthwhile topic.
Annie
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
22 Jan 09
If you don't see Liberal bias in the press, you're blind.
It has been laid bare during the last campaign season. McCain was a media darling and they helped him get the Republican nomination, then turned on him like a rabid hyiena.
They were so in the tank for Obama they refused to do their jobs and vet him at all. We knew more about Palin's family in 3 days than we knew about Obama's entire life up to then.
I've been on the scene of many "reports" by the incompetent press. I never once heard them report the truth.. ever. I've been interviewed by the press around a dozen times. In each case my quotes were taken out of context or changed.
In Hurricane Katrina they knowingly reported blatant lies about murders in the Superdome and people shooting at National Guard helicopters, while cover up the fact that Mayor Nagin sent people home from shelters after the hurricane went through but before the flood walls broke. All the incompetent liars were interested in was how they could blame Bush for everything.
To this day most Americans think that the N. Vietnamese won the Tet Offensive. WHy? Because that lying piece of trash Walter Chronkite said so.
The only reason the left refuses to see the facts about the liberal bias in the incompetent press is because they love it! They don't care how many lies are told as long as the lies bolster their side.
Yes, Reagan was a master at getting the word out inspite of the fact that the press absolutely loathed him. But not everyone is a Reagan.
You bring up Gov. Palin. Please explain to me how the Governor with the highest approval rating in the country could be as incompetent and foolish as the press made her out to be? Please explain to me why none of the rumors the press spread about her actually turned out to be true?
Guess what, Palin never tried to get books banned from the library, she was never part of a socialist organization and she never said "I can see Alaska from my house".
Global Warming is another playground for the incompetent press. They make it sound like no reputable scientist questions it at all. But that isn't true. The head of the Meteorological at MIT considers global warming a farce. Thousands of scientists have challenged the concept. None of the Global Warming models predicted the reduction in global temperature over the last two years. None of the models have accurately predicted anything.
The Old Farmers Almanac is the only publication that accurately predicted the last two winters because they paid no attention to the Global Warming models.
Did you know that Desert Storm wasn't a UN operation? If you listen to the press, you don't.
Did you know that the nooses hung on the trees at the school in Gena, La were in reference to the school rodeo team, and not only was there no "racial outrage" about them, but kids of all races thought they were funny? Did you know that they took the ropes down and were putting them around their own necks and laughing?
Did you know that the case of the "Gena 6" assault and battery had nothing to do with the noose incident?
If you listen to the incompetent press, you probably didn't know any of those facts.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
23 Jan 09
The press loathed Prs. Reagan. They constantly accused him of wanting to start a war with the Soviets. They trumped up lie after lie against him.
To this day the incompetent press can't get themselves to admit that Prs. Reagan was instrumental in bringing down the Soviet Union and freeing the people of the Communist Block.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
22 Jan 09
I doubt that Sarah Palin's rating is any higher than Ed Rendells but be that as it may, I did NOT call her imcompetent. I said she got her back up and acted like a fool rather than answer a somewhat dumb question that could have been turned very much to her advantage. Why? Because of her attidtude towrd the press. That wasn't a policy question. There was no fair on unfair and it was a question asked of Democrats too.
You also say that Reagon was hated by the press. I disagree. They loved him and that made it possible for him to get out that message.
All I'm questioning is why would Republicans choose a path that hasn't worked well for them for a long time when they have an example that worked. Ronald Reagon wasn't God, he was just a likable guy who didn't have the huge chip on his shoulder that most Republicans have when it comes to the press. He can be studied and learned from.
It's no skin off my Democratic back. I'm just wondering why people can't see that the defensiveness isn't working.
1 person likes this
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
23 Jan 09
"TASKER36: Please STOP the SPIN game, it doesn't work with me!!! You choose the Pew report BECAUSE it supported your views."
Of course I chose a study that supported my views. That's the only study I found on this topic. It's not MY fault it supported my views. If you have a study that shows otherwise SHOW IT TO ME. Of course you don't have one so it's easier to insult me.
"He said clearly that "we"(U.S.)bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki and didn't bat an eye. Did we bomb them or not???"
He clearly said we bombed them on December 7, 1941. That was a lie since that was when THEY BOMBED US.
"He talked about the government allowing medical experimentation on Black people in this country. Did we or not???"
We didn't. That's more conspiracy theory crap spread by hateful people like him. There is no proof to back it up. None whatsoever. He's one of those morons who believes The White Man designed AIDS to kill African Americans.
Are you like his kid or something? You seem to be drinking the same kool aid as Wright. Odd that you posted on Annie's thread instead of mine though.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
26 Jan 09
"ASKER: It doesn't matter as long as you got the message. You are typical of your kind, you can't address FACTS so you TRY to spin. You know what Wright spoke was true and you can't get around it. Like the molester, you want to do the deed under the cover of darkness and try to blame the victim as being a hater when they address your behavior in the light of day!!! Medical experimentation of Black people just a conspiracy??? There you go trying to hide your filthy hands again. It is a conspiracy like infecting the Indians with small pox. Please, your satanic history speaks for its self. Wright was NOT defamed by the media or you BECAUSE he got a date wrong. He was called a hater of America because he dared to speak of historical truths you didn't want to hear. If you don't want people to speak of your satanic deeds change your demonic behavior!!!"
Ery you are freaking hysterical. Thank you SO much for giving me a good laugh. This was a pretty boring day until I read your post. "Your kind" sounds a bit racist to me. If I said that to a black man, I'm pretty sure I'd be labeled a racist for life, but it's ok for you to say it to me right?
What exactly does me challenging your conspiracy theories have to do with molesters? I'm more than happy to challenge your extremist behavior day or night on this very public forum. I could ask you to show proof of this "medical experimentation", but naturally you can find none since there's no such thing. I bet you read the writings of another conspiracy theorist or you'll just buy anything Wright says because you're a sick racist like him. Indians aren't the only people to have had smallpox. In case you are unaware, it effects EVERYONE regardless of race.
"If you don't want people to speak of your satanic deeds change your demonic behavior!!!"
Satanic deeds and demonic behavior? Are you referring to my work volunteering at Give Kids the World working with terminally ill children? Perhaps you mean the way I help homeless people job hunt, as well as helping them sign up for medicaid and food stamps? Nope, you must have discovered that I donate blood every 2 months.
That's it isn't it? I must be one of those satanists and demons who spend time helping people while the truly good such as yourself work hard to make baseless accusations and spread hate. You have shown me the way Ery.
@murderistic (2278)
• United States
23 Jan 09
Wow, thanks for making me look like a moron. I just started a thread defending liberals saying that they haven't been bashing republicans on myLot lately. Let me give you a hint... take the plank out of your own eye before you point out the speck of wood in someone else's eye.
