Will the MSM "steal" this election?
I bumped into a liberal Democrat the other day. Big smile on his face, he asked if I was ready for a Democratic Congress. I told him that I didn't think it was going to happen. He took that as evidence that I was in denial, simply unwilling to face reality.
I don't know what is going to happen in November. I'm sure that the polls are suspect. There is simply too much evidence over the last 3 or 4 election cycles that the polls always over-sample Democrats. The polls always underestimate how well the GOP vote comes in on election day. So I think things are likely to be really close come election night.
What will happen if all the MSM predictions of a Democratic tsunami turn out to be as worthless as their news product? I guess we should expect that the left-wing netnuts will go bananas. How many ordinary Democrats will join them in concluding that the evil Bush-Rove machince stole the election? Given what the MSM has been telling them, I think there is a very real danger of it happening.
As I type this, CNBC's financial show is about to do a story on why the good economic news does not seem to be translating to GOP support in the coming elections. Is "it's the economy stupid" still applicable?, asks the news anchor. Easy answer -- it is only good "news" when the newspapers and news broadcasts choose to tell the people. If they don't publish it, it becomes what is known as a secret.
The extraordinary bias in news coverage has been well-documented. You can find the research on other blogs. For me, I am really curious to see if the MSM can finally win one for their chosen side. The one-sided coverage has been unprecedented. It has become such a joke that even lefties like Mickey Kaus and those at the ABC web site openly laugh about it. Regardless of which way the election goes, what will be the ramifications of this kind of relentless propaganda?
We can imagine the rage from the left, if the GOP squeaks out a win. Has anyone thought much about the anger from the right, if the Dems win both houses? Now we all know that Republicans have real jobs and businesses that require work. They aren't going to take to the streets. It's just not the GOP way. But seeing the MSM steal an election will not sit well.
In 1997, the national sports media decided to launch an unprecedented campaign to deny Peyton Manning the Heisman. They succeeded. Vol fans were outraged. And that was only football. In that case, we got to see a small taste of the helplessness, frustration and anger that builds up in people when they witness the MSM band together to shaft someone. Watching and listening to talking heads lie, distort, slander and propagandize without being able to do anything to stop it has an amazing effect on people. When the campaign against Peyton succeeded and the vote totals were announced, I saw and heard otherwise rational people give voice to emotions that were pretty surprising.
Do people care less about war and the economy than about whether their favorite college QB gets an award? No. No way. No matter how passionate they are about their Vols.
I get the same feeling watching the news these days as I did watching ABC and ESPN campaign against Manning in 1997. Part of me wants to believe that, in the end, sanity will prevail upon the voters. They'll see through the propaganda. In the booth, the facts will be stuborn enough. Reality will overcome.
Part of me knows better. Part of me knows that the Big Lie often works. Part of me wonders if the Big Lie is going to work this November. And that part wonders what the repercussions will be in the long run. I suspect that, either way, the campaign of Big Lie 2006 will set in motion a strong current of ugliness below the surface that will impact politics for a long time.
The aftermath of election 2000 served as an enormous wake up call to the GOP. All the angry words came from the left. Lots of hard work for 2002 and 2004 came from the right. If 2000 was a wake up call, what would a defeat at the hands of the MSM's Big Lie in 2006 mean for the right? I think that currents created would be stronger and deeper than many might imagine.
I don't know what is going to happen in November. I'm sure that the polls are suspect. There is simply too much evidence over the last 3 or 4 election cycles that the polls always over-sample Democrats. The polls always underestimate how well the GOP vote comes in on election day. So I think things are likely to be really close come election night.
What will happen if all the MSM predictions of a Democratic tsunami turn out to be as worthless as their news product? I guess we should expect that the left-wing netnuts will go bananas. How many ordinary Democrats will join them in concluding that the evil Bush-Rove machince stole the election? Given what the MSM has been telling them, I think there is a very real danger of it happening.
As I type this, CNBC's financial show is about to do a story on why the good economic news does not seem to be translating to GOP support in the coming elections. Is "it's the economy stupid" still applicable?, asks the news anchor. Easy answer -- it is only good "news" when the newspapers and news broadcasts choose to tell the people. If they don't publish it, it becomes what is known as a secret.
The extraordinary bias in news coverage has been well-documented. You can find the research on other blogs. For me, I am really curious to see if the MSM can finally win one for their chosen side. The one-sided coverage has been unprecedented. It has become such a joke that even lefties like Mickey Kaus and those at the ABC web site openly laugh about it. Regardless of which way the election goes, what will be the ramifications of this kind of relentless propaganda?
We can imagine the rage from the left, if the GOP squeaks out a win. Has anyone thought much about the anger from the right, if the Dems win both houses? Now we all know that Republicans have real jobs and businesses that require work. They aren't going to take to the streets. It's just not the GOP way. But seeing the MSM steal an election will not sit well.
In 1997, the national sports media decided to launch an unprecedented campaign to deny Peyton Manning the Heisman. They succeeded. Vol fans were outraged. And that was only football. In that case, we got to see a small taste of the helplessness, frustration and anger that builds up in people when they witness the MSM band together to shaft someone. Watching and listening to talking heads lie, distort, slander and propagandize without being able to do anything to stop it has an amazing effect on people. When the campaign against Peyton succeeded and the vote totals were announced, I saw and heard otherwise rational people give voice to emotions that were pretty surprising.
Do people care less about war and the economy than about whether their favorite college QB gets an award? No. No way. No matter how passionate they are about their Vols.
I get the same feeling watching the news these days as I did watching ABC and ESPN campaign against Manning in 1997. Part of me wants to believe that, in the end, sanity will prevail upon the voters. They'll see through the propaganda. In the booth, the facts will be stuborn enough. Reality will overcome.
Part of me knows better. Part of me knows that the Big Lie often works. Part of me wonders if the Big Lie is going to work this November. And that part wonders what the repercussions will be in the long run. I suspect that, either way, the campaign of Big Lie 2006 will set in motion a strong current of ugliness below the surface that will impact politics for a long time.
The aftermath of election 2000 served as an enormous wake up call to the GOP. All the angry words came from the left. Lots of hard work for 2002 and 2004 came from the right. If 2000 was a wake up call, what would a defeat at the hands of the MSM's Big Lie in 2006 mean for the right? I think that currents created would be stronger and deeper than many might imagine.
posted by Stan at 4:11 PM
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