This Is a Scandal?
The mainstream media are the
scandal
The Mark Foley page “scandal” is pretty
much winding down, but its damage has been done, precisely as
designed, to the Republican electoral cause. More than any other
single incident in recent years this has highlighted for me what
a corrupt, useless and profoundly incompetent bunch we have in
charge – of our national media.
The scandal itself is rather small potatoes. Mark Foley, Republican
Congressman, apparently made some email and instant message remarks
to at least one underage House Page that were of questionable
moral status. Actually, some of the IMs were clearly improper.
No laws were broken. There is no evidence of actual sexual contact
of any sort with pages. All there was was a disturbed and perverted
fellow hitting on 17 year olds. Clearly disgusting, but he was
found out and resigned. As is proper. And unlike similar Democrat
Congressmen caught up in similar scandals.
So why is this a scandal instead of a page 6A story? Because the
MSM wanted it to be, that’s why. This scandal was driven
by the media working hand in hand with left wing activists. It
was whipped into a frenzy by the media, and they tried everything
they could to keep it on the radar.
There was much talk of “that’s how it works in this
town,” i.e., it’s not always fair, but that’s
how Washington works. Scandals like this create feeding frenzies,
and sometimes people or parties get hurt out of proportion to
what is fair. But you know what? It doesn’t always
work that way. It works that way only when the media wants
it to work that way! It wasn’t like that with Barney Frank,
or with Gerry Studds. Nope. If anything those similar scandals
were underplayed. There was no frenzy. Why? Because gay liberals
fit the media’s preferred White-Hat Storyline of “tolerance”
and healthy sexual expression. How dare we turn healthy gay sex
into a crime, or a sin, or a scandal?
But Republicans who proposition same sex pages make it a different
storyline. That’s an MSM Black-Hat Storyline. Then it is
about hypocrisy and repression and puritan comeuppance. The media
loves nothing more than making Republican “hypocrites”
face the music. It is astonishing to me how deeply this MSM view
has sunk into the culture. Just this morning I heard a local politically
neutral morning show radio host talk about how Republicans consider
themselves “morally superior” and therefore the Foley
scandal wonderfully exposes them for hypocrites. Straight out
of the MSM storyline. In reality of course, “Republicans”
(which is not the same as conservatives which is what I think
they really mean) do not consider themselves morally superior
to anybody. In fact, they are probably much more likely to see
themselves as imperfect and sinful creatures as prone to temptation
as anyone else.
The main difference between Republicans and Democrats in this
regard is that Foley is gone, while Frank and Studds merrily went
about their business with no party pressure to resign.
The media has shown absolutely no interest in the truth whatsoever.
Or any truth that doesn’t support their preferred storyline.
They just want to shout “Who knew what and when?”
as long as they can, hoping to keep the scandal alive long enough
to make a difference. The MSM today is absolutely stuck in the
70s paradigm. They believe that they saved the country in the
70s, first by stopping the war in Vietnam, and then by destroying
Richard Nixon via Watergate. And they want to save it again. They
have tried very, very hard to damage President Bush, with some
effect. Despite the remarkable ineptitude of this Congress they
have until now largely left it alone.
But now, a big ol’ juicy scandal that not only fits their
preferred Storyline, but gives them the chance to once again be
powerbrokers and national saviors. It is irresistible!
And so they act with complete immaturity and irresponsibility.
They report with the gusto of Geraldo and the professionalism
of Maury Povich. They are cheap scandal mongers pretending to
be growed-up journalists. And they have gotten the liberal pundits
all aflutter as well. Chris Matthews is in need of sedation.
Like the government, we get the media we ask for. The MSM is losing
power in the face of the new media revolution. But enough people
still watch it and listen to it to make it a powerful force. Scandals
like this highlight just how corrupt and arrogant it has become.
|
