Chris Mathews is the poster boy for what is wrong with the mainstream media. He has ascended to the key role as a political analyst and commentator at MSNBC, which is symbolic of who and what standards that network aspires to.
I watched him interview Donald Trump on their 'Townhall' program and it was indicative of why it is impossible to trust the mainstream media. Mathews doesn't pretend to be unbiased, so that is something that must be acknowledged. Though the network is oustensibly a news network, it is not unprecedented that opinions are shared. That is fine. But like the daily newspaper, there needs to be a clear deliniation between editorial and hard news. When the pretext of the program is a 'Townhall Interview' of the Republican Presidential candidate, it is not an opinion program, it is a 'News' program. Here is the problem: Chris Mathews made himself the story. For every two words Trump said, Mathews spewed at least three or four. His questions were incomplete, disconnected and rambling. He answered his own questions and then challenged Trump to respond to his assertions. Then, when Trump tried to formulate a coherent response, Mathews would either restructure the original question, or veer into another subject altogether. In the end, one subject became a viral news story. Trump suggested that a woman who has had an illegal abortion should be held legally accountable, or be punished. OMG! Who ever heard of someone who breaks a law being held accountable? Mathews just went berserk! But the point is, under the onslaught of such an unorganized, unfocused and accusatory verbal barrage, almost anyone would be inclined to make less-than-well-concieved answers. It is 'Gotcha' political news, and Mathews has placed himself directly in the spotlight. If you look up 'Gotcha News' in the dictionary, you will find a picture of Mathews. Unfortunately for America, it is not the first time the media has shaped the news instead of reporting it. This is a threat to our freedom because it determines what people learn from news events. It makes news outlets an accessory to the news, just as someone riding in the gettaway car is an accessory to a crime. It is one thing to be a witness to a crime, but quite another to participate, or worse, to direct a crime. To refer to MSNBC as a mainstream media news organization is a stretch, but like so many others, it has become the Bermuda Triangle of the Truth. I have written about how Republicans are like dogs, and Democrats like cats. Yesterday I heard one of the Republican Party's rules committee spokespersons talking about how the 'Party selects the Presidential candidate, not the voters.' And how it is not unprecedented for the Party to alter the rules of the Nominating Convention days before it opens. This discussion was about the possibility of a brokered convention, and how the newsperson interviewer was taken aback by the spokespersons intonation that the Party could simply deny Donald Trump the nomination because 'they' don't like him. The spokesperson implied the nomination rules are designed to be changed, in whatever manner the Party leaders deem necessary to protect their positions of power and influence, because, presumably, they know better what is good for us 'little people' than we do. So if Republicans are generally like the family pet dog, I would now have to say that the Republican Party 'leadership' is a Pack of Coyotes. They have no keepers. They show no loyalty or distinction between their victims and the weakest dog in the pack. They follow the rules of a very short list of Alpha Dogs, those that are the strongest and most vicious. And should one of the 'leaders' so decide, any of the pack are vulnerable to being eaten by the others. According to them, we should be grateful to have such 'leaders' looking out for us. Isn't it interesting that the Party that has traditionally been for 'border enforcement' is attempting to execute the candidacy of the only candidate who has promised to 'build a wall'? So which Rules count, and which ones don't? Are we as a Nation ever going to enforce our own, duly enacted immigration laws? What about the laws regarding the right to peaceful assembly? When did the Republican Party repudiate its reputation as the party of Law and Order? Apparently, the Republican Party leadership is only for enforcing laws and rules, when it suits their purposes. Who is this Party representing? Of course, we will hear the cries of bigotry, of bombasity, of xenophobia and all of the other PC violations by Trump, and how he doesn't represent 'our values.' Those same Party leaders who have for years lamented their inability to broaden the tent, to attract minorities, whose presumed family and work ethic values 'should' be more in line with Republican principles. Those same 'leaders' have ordained the candidacies of Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney. By their standards, all respected representatives of the highest standards of ethics, self sacrifice and public service, of conservative values and traditions of self dependence and small government. All losers. Besides, they have a candidate, Ted Cruz. So what is their problem, Cruz is a strict constructionist, he is a Godly man, he has served in the Senate, he was strongly supported by his home state, he is on the right side of the issues. So what are these Republican Party leaders bitching about? If Trump is so bad, why isn't Cruz killing it? Obviously if the pious and self righteous Party Leaders were at all consistent, they would have all fallen in behind Cruz and we wouldn't be having this conversation; Cruz would be cruisin' into the Convention. This whole focus on Trump's human weaknesses, his slight of Megyn Kelly as indicative of his 'hatred and contempt' for women, his idea that since our border control policies cannot properly vet immigrants, we should ban all Muslim immigrants until we can properly screen them for terrorists, and his characterization of Planned Parenthood as 'doing some very good things' as evidence that he is not a 'true conservative' are all diversions. Everyone knows, no candidate can pass any thorough PC analysis, since the whole concept is a leftist construct designed to marginalize any opposition to the implementation of Statism. “...they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes.” ― George Orwell, Animal Farm Now, after a grueling, long and trying process of debates, caucuses and primaries, where the Reality TV Star has followed all of the 'Rules' and to everyone's surprise, drawn a broad coalition of Republicans, Independents, moderate Democrats, and especially working class men who have lost their livelihood to corporate downsizing, offshoring of the workforce, and uncontrolled immigration, the 'Party' has decided, it knows better, and we will all need to come together around the Leaders of the Pack, and start howling in unison, "We want Kasich!" Then, as if on cue, when Trump suggests "I fear bad things might happen (should you deny me the nomination).There could be riots,' he is accused of 'provoking riots.' Since I haven't heard one word from the Party leaders refuting that media extrapolation, it is obvious, they are all turning their hungry eyes on Trump. Suddenly, the truth isn't any more important than the rules. The Republican Party, it seems, has been, and is, an illusion.The media talks about how, should Trump be nominated, it would be the end of the Republican Party. In my view, that ship has sailed. |
Archives
October 2024
|