It’s been awhile since I’ve mentioned Chris Matthews, which is likely due to MSNBC’s nightly viewership being a number I could roll on a pair of dice.
That said, their parent network (NBC) often references them, which means their influence is magnified far more than their worse-than-dismal ratings warrant. And THAT’s why I still, occasionally, pay attention to the prattling of Matthews & Co.
The following quote is from Matthews’ Wednesday night ‘Hardball’ show, but the date really doesn’t matter: his shtick is the same, every night and every week. Chris Matthews often describes himself as “leaning” left. HA!
He leans so far left, he’s horizontal.
Read the following and you’ll see what I mean: (courtesy of HotAir.com and Duane Patterson, as well as Newsbusters.org):
“Did you get the impression during the presidential campaign that the press was trying too hard to be even-handed? Did you think the people delivering the news were pushing what we call “balance” at the expense of the obvious facts, that the day-to-day stories never got across the obvious BIG fact, that the Democrats in this election were like Democrats going back to Jack Kennedy, but the Republicans were far to the right of anything we’ve seen from that party, ever?
Self-deportation; forget the 47 percent; treat women like they belong in binders; ignore the rights of gay people; crack down on abortion rights even in cases of rape– all those wild statements, all the lingo in the GOP platform approved in Tampa, and not a word that one of the country’s two major political parties has gone so far starboard that not even Ronald Reagan could get aboard, and certainly not– not by his own admission Jeb Bush.”
***(NOTE: Accompanying video at the links above)
Ummm, …just….wow.
Through what sort of prism do you need to look in order to view this past election that way? What sort of Bizarro-world-view is necessary to believe Obama & the Democrats were anything even approaching mainstream with their “Eat The Rich/War On Women” invective, yet the Romney campaign was beyond the pale? And that the “press was trying too hard to be even-handed“? Whose press is he talking about, ….Peru’s?
And then he gets almost comical: too “far to the right”? Romney? Would Ron Paul have received ANY traction this year if that were the case? Would turnout numbers have been down among some hardcore Conservatives if the Republicans had been TOO “extreme”?
Good grief, Oliver Stone movies are more grounded in truth than this.
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This isn’t to primarily complain about the obvious fiction which Matthews is blathering. A mindless, soulless, Leftie sycophant, Chris is merely a symptom, not the problem. This is only the 20,000th time I’ve said this, so let’s all say it together: it’s the Culture.
Even though he has no idea who I am, Glenn Reynolds (aka “Instapundit”) is echoing what I’ve been saying forever:
“… I think that rich people wanting to support the Republican Party might want to direct their money somewhere besides TV ads that copy, poorly, what Lee Atwater did decades ago.
My suggestion: Buy some women’s magazines. No, really. Or at least some women’s Web sites.
One of the groups with whom Romney did worst was female “low-information voters.” Those are women who don’t really follow politics, and vote based on a vague sense of who’s mean and who’s nice, who’s cool and who’s uncool.
Since, by definition, they don’t pay much attention to political news, they get this sense from what they do read. And for many, that’s traditional women’s magazines — Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, the Ladies Home Journal, etc. — and the newer women’s sites like YourTango, The Frisky, Yahoo! Shine, and the like.
The thing is, those magazines and Web sites see themselves, pretty consciously, as a propaganda arm of the Democratic Party. So while nine out of 10 articles may be the usual stuff on sex, diet and shopping, the 10th will always be either soft p.r. for the Democrats or soft — or sometimes not-so-soft — hits on Republicans.
When a flier about getting away with rape was found in a college men’s bathroom, the women’s site YourTango (“Your Best Love Life”) led with the fact that the college was Paul Ryan’s alma mater in a transparent effort to advance the Democrats’ War on Women claim that Republicans are somehow pro-rape. A companion article was “12 Hot Older Men Who Endorse President Obama.”
Similar p.r. abounded across the board: Sandra Fluke is a hero; Sarah Palin is a zero. Republicans are all old white men (women or minority Republicans get mocked or ignored).
This kind of thing adds up, especially among low-information voters. They may not know or care much about the specifics, but this theme, repeated over and over again, sends a message: Democrats are cool, and Republicans are uncool — and if you vote for them, you’re uncool, too.“
I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve written along these lines: I’d be sipping a Tanqueray on my own private beach in the Bahamas right now.
Seriously, we need to stop reacting to the Left and start taking the initiative. Buy a magazine, or maybe a network? Why not? We have some awfully deep pockets on our side. If we want to start spending that money wisely, this is an avenue we need to explore.
And we better do it straight away, before Obama’s Statists decide that Chrissie and his ilk should be put in charge of the inevitable Ministry of Truth.
Two Heads are Better Than One 
You guys already have a network – FOX News. You still lost the election anyway. If anything, the MSM bends over backwards to placate conservatives who imagine they’re plotting against them.
Hector,
First of all, thanks for stopping by.
Now, to your point.
“We” don’t “have” a network. I assume you are referring to Fox, which is merely the only network which is not Leftist in nature.
I have to ask: did you actually read the entire piece? The predominate Media culture leans overwhelmingly to the Left, and please notice I included “Media” in that description. The Media pushes its message in numerous ways, constantly.
It’s why I eventually stopped watching one of my all-time favorite shows, ‘Law & Order’: they became boring & predictable.
Quite literally, they ended up having the (pick one): Conservative, Christian, priest. gun rights, Tea Party, Republican as the villain, and the (pick one): Leftist, Statist, Democrat, abortion rights, Green energy proponent as the “good” guy.
Originally, it handled these subjects evenly. But after awhile, it was so one-sided it became laughable.
Or very, very sad.
Your comment largely proves my point, actually. Since there is one network, …ONE…, that doesn’t toe the line with the rest of the Media worldview, it’s out of phase somehow and we shouldn’t attempt to balance the scales further.
Not gonna happen, my friend.
I don’t recall the Left recanting all of their deeply held beliefs after Bush won in 2000, …or in 2004. Or Reagan back in ’80 & ’84. Or Bush Sr in ’88.
They got their message out, everywhere, effectively.
This isn’t “plotting”, as you put it: it’s merely empirical fact.
That’s the beauty of a Representative Republic: we don’t need to agree. Each side continually needs to devise ways to get their message out. Recently, the Right hasn’t been as effective as it needed to be, and thus needs to step up its game.
Right…. the people who refused to vett Obama in 08 and have been his useful idiots since. Right!
and they were bending over backwards appeasing conservatives when they called the tea partiers names. Even made up stories, so obviously fraudulent, yet the MSM could not even look into them or question their validity. They just marched along in gooosestep.
I recall the CNN reporter (Susan Roesgen, I believe) who basically attacked a guy who was making a great argument on limited government with “Don’t You Know Obama Gave Your State Billions with the Stimulus??”
The examples are endless; we’ve covered them to death.
These alleged journalists simply have no shame, and now I mean that literally. They cannot be embarrassed. Praetorian guards didn’t protect Caesar with this much enthusiasm.
if only that was actually their job…
How true, Obama’s idea of a press briefing is telling the pres what they should cover, and they do it.
Do you think the MSM gave the Tea Party a fair hand?
Clearly not. They certainly bent over backwards for OWS.
You can throw out Fox news, MSNBC and CNN because they have an agenda, not always fair to either side. The newspapers, magazines, local broadcasts of major networks are way more slanted against conservatives than any other group.
The reason the founders gave the press such freedom was to be the watchdog of the American public. That has long ago faded.
Ever wonder why newspapers are dying? They have forgotten their true purpose.
Agreed, Blaine.
If you search through our archives on ‘FIND A POSTING’, my post from earlier this year (“It’s the Tea Party! Run for your lives!”) gives the entire list of dozens upon dozens of OWS complaints/legal violations, NONE of which do I recall being trumpeted by the media.
Conversely, the Tea Party was accused of being everything from the KKK to aliens from Mars…and they were the most peaceful, well-mannered protest group in history.
Why? It’s culture. It’s Narrative…and it takes some serious effort to keep from seeing it.
Obviously, using Hector as an example, it CAN be done, though….
Very nicely said. I know that was not the real point, but it was. It is all part of the culture they have usurped and destroyed…and yes, politicized to the point where no other messages are welcome.
As for Hissy Matthews, it does pay to listen occasionally to the prattle, lest we forget what they do and say. I’m amazed how they criticize Repubs for what they themselves are doing. Calling their media fair and tolerant; what Newspeak. He’s trying to say they’ve been too nice. Its disgustingly absurd (even when I know that is what they say). Could be time for that, but will those mags allow it, agents of intolerance that they are?
We should try because these people must be so sealed in those echo silos that they never hear anything else — much less think it.
Thanks, BR!!
The entire CULTURE argument is something I’ve been pounding-on for years now. Having been raised in highly-progressive New England, I can attest firsthand what education and environment does to people’s perception of what’s “fair” or “balanced”.
It’s the old fish example: ask the fish how does he breathe under water, and he responds “WHAT water?”
They aren’t even aware of the counter-argument to their own views. It’s as if they don’t exist.
No wonder they think Conservative thought is extreme: they don’t need to encounter it in their daily lives, so on that rare occasion when they DO hear it, it sounds like gibberish or the rantings of a crazy person.
We need to (1) starve the Public Schools of our kids (via home schooling or Parochial schools); and (2) get into the public discourse more subtly through media (movies, magazines).
If we don’t, this disconnect will only worsen…which given where we are now, is TRULY a scary thought.
This also reminds me — as bad as it is and getting worse — of the last election there was a move to not talk about it or those cultural matters, at least on the right. We’re supposed to leave those things alone, or that is the message they were sending. Look what the Clintons did for culture; don’t tell me it’s irrelevant or out of the bounds for political discussion.
But people want to act “shocked” when something happens. They’re having a Casablanca moment.