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Conservatism And the Press

OK, John King got his butt handed to him in a basket by Newt Gingrich. David’s got the video up already [1], so I won’t bother with it. We all know of the exchange. Frankly, it’s no great feat of foresight that Gingrich saw the question coming.  The supposed mainstream media is nothing if not predictably leftist.  Which is not to say Gingrich doesn’t deserve accolades for knocking it out of the park.  Indeed, I would think an ill prepared for the Presidency indeed had he not seen it coming.

But, please, let’s not fall into the trap of thinking that the liberal media has learned its lesson by this.  I will guarantee you that John King is being inundated by leftist admirers in his emails and phone calls.  He is being greeted and hailed as a liberal hero.  And of course, his objectivity is never in question in these comments. The same goes for Brian Ross.

Essentially what happend there with John King happens all the time.

Brian Ross, the guy who went after the interview with the former Mrs. Gingrich, that King played off of, tried to pull a Dan Rather.  I will remind you that Dan Rather lost his job over that.  Frankly, the same should happen to both Brian Ross, and John King…. They both should lose their jobs.   That is, if ‘objective’  is at all prized in the supposed minatrseam media…but I tend to doubt that’s going to occur.

But let’s look at the nature of the “Gotcha”

First off, there are divorced people all over this country.  Finding an ex- husband or ex-wife who is actually LIKED by their ex, is in fact the rarity, not the norm. So on that point alone, this story is not news. But further, the story was already out there…. years ago. And found no traction, then and if the numbers in the South Carolina race are of any indication, it’s not found any traction in the more current iteration, either.

But let’s remember, also, back in 1994 when Gingrich hadn’t even taken the speaker’s gavel yet, that the supposed mainstream press was trying to attack him then, as well.  It didn’t stick then of course, but neither did Gingrich’s innocence in the matter change the leftist mantra.

 

And let’s look at the response from Gingrich, who says:

[2]

Newt Gingrich

I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.

Obviously, Gingrich makes a great response.  But he doesn’t go far enough here.  The question should have been raised why the press never directs that kind of questioning and that kind of ardor against leftists.  Even there, however, they wouldn’t be ashamed for their double standard having been revealed.You see, the fact of the matter is, you cannot shame a Liberal.  They are totally without shame.  Anything…. any lie, any mistruth, any stretched truth, any fact ignored, is worth the price to them of furthering the agenda.  That is the ultimate goal.  This situation was nothing if not a clear demonstration of how the supposedly mainstream media can and does control the agenda… tilting the national argument to the left.

And left we forget which way the press leans, let’s remember that the supposedly unbiased “mainstream” press that takes such pride in attacking Gingrich is the same one that carried the water of Bill Clinton for the best part of a decade. So, their bias was already revealed in any case.

There are those around the sphere who will point out that Gingrich got press out of this thing that Romney,Satorum, and Paul cannot touch.  I’ve even seen accusations that John King tossed Newt a softball. I doubt that in the extreme. I suspect, rather, the he hoped Gingrich would flub the response, thus killing his electoral chances. Clearly, that backfired, but don’t anticipate that that’s going to change any minds in the supposedly mainstream media.

 

Addendum, 5 minutes after posting:

There’s something else that needs to be said here as an extension of these thoughts.  For decades we honor I have been told that we should not directly confront leftist bias.  We should not call the socialist left what it is.  That we must, in fact, avoid all confrontational with such.  The reason given is that the press will never like this.  Without the presses support we can’t get anywhere.   The fact of the matter is, we will never as conservatives get the support of the press.  That is simply put because they are died in the wall leftists.  They are not unbiased.  They are fighting for the leftist cause.

Those cheers that you’re hearing both on the video in question and from around the country right now are not because confrontation was avoided, but because Gingrich had the actual stones to go after bias when he found it.  Not timidly, not in a tone of false friendship, but with both barrels.

I was sitting in a rest area outside Ulter, New York during that debate, putting together some rough notes for the Ramble that night.  I can tell you there was a lot of cheering going on… with many happily saying “It’s about time”.

The path to victory is not being timid.  The path to victory does not involve the canine courtesies as prescribed by the supposedly mainstream media, and the establishment GOP’s consultants.  The path to victory is going after lies where they are found, with both barrels.