The radical left starts 2011 behaving very badly. After their horrible attempts to blame the Arizona massacre on conservative press and talk show programs for which they were thoroughly rebuked (At least until Sarah Palin shot off her mouth with her “blood libel” comments starting the whole debate up anew), the new year looked like the usual gang of idiots – MSNBC, Jack Krugman, Bill Maher, Maureen Dowd, and Joy(less) Behar were in rare form with their usual demonization, false accusations, contempt for facts and logic, and pure demagoguery.
Of course it would be one thing if this frantic angry chatter was limited to the lunatic fringe but given The New York Times itself is deeply entrenched in presenting the world’s news through radical blood red rose colored glasses and such ideology controls the NBC broadcast network, the extremist ideology which shows pure contempt for free markets, limited government, gun ownership, and traditional particularly religious values has a death grip on conventional news sources in print and over the air.
Meet the Press, from its inception in 1947 at the dawn of the television age through Tim Russert’s untimely death, presented well-respected news figures skillfully interviewed followed by thoughtful and probing commentary and analysis. In his later days at the peacock network, the even-keeled thoughtful moderator served as an oasis of sanity at a network that was rushing like lemmings to full-blown left wing advocacy “journalism.”
All that’s changed with the appointment of David Gregory, former White House correspondent and Today Show host who made a reputation of hectoring the President’s spokesmen with supposition-laden questions rudely hectoring and nagging them in an accusatory tone which almost seemed to say, “This is the answer I want to nail you to death with. I will not stand down until you repeat it verbatim.” To say he perfected the “do you still beat your wife” technique would be such a blatant understatement. Much to the peril of the George W. Bush administration, Gregory made mopping the floor with the timid Scott McClelland look like child’s play.
It was fascinating to read Tim Russert account for how thoroughly he prepared for his interviews and what he sought to accomplish. Truly, for such a professional, it was the relentless pursuit of the truth. No subject had better have any tapes of what he had said in the past that might contradict a recent statement as the good old vet would make many a mighty figure squirm asked to explain the variance. Gregory’s style is shooting straight from the hip and the purpose is to make those who dare have convictions contrary to the orthodoxy of the media’s ideology look as evil as Richard Nixon in combat boots and a pink negligee. After the Republicans’ huge victory in the house last November and the press establishment reeling after making asses of themselves with the Arizona tragedy, to say David Gregory was loaded for bear having the opportunity to interview newly installed speaker of the house, John Boehner.
The interview boiled down to two questions: did Boehner believe Barack Obama was born in the United States and did he believe Barack Obama was Christian. Polls still reveal that a substantial number of Republicans and Conservatives including some congressmen continue to maintain “the birther” conspiracy, a notion that Barack Obama was not born in American and that no one has had access to see an official birth certificate. Likewise, many believe that Obama is Muslim though there has never been ANY verifiable information showing Obama actively engaged in the practice of the religion. Folks can say what they like about Jeremiah Wright’s church in Chicago. It IS NOT Muslim. There can be little question about what fuels these contentions, fire breathing unprofessional sensationalistic talk show hosts who prey on their audiences’ fears and ignorance. All kinds of misinformation are plentiful on the Internet—fools believe what they will believe. For the record, left wing gabber, Bill Maher insists that Obama is not Christian -- he argues Obama is an obvious “secular humanist.”
Gregory Interview source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41560716#41560851
To make the issue absolutely clear, John Boehner was never suggested in even the most subtle sort of way nor said anything in the slightest degree that could be taken as an endorsement of these totally unproductive rumors. So why would these two issues be of such importance to David Gregory wanting to pursue them with such persistent intensity?
With issues concerning foreign policy, particularly Egypt, budget issues including variances between “establishment” and “Tea Party” Republicans, the job Markey, and plenty of pressing issues, that such a topic would come up makes one question Gregory’s judgment from the onset, but fair enough. That he would pursue it as rudely and aggressively as he did should certainly make it clear what a hack has inherited one of the most prestigious seats in broadcast journalism.
Citing that what fueled his speculation was a Fox News Broadcast where on Hannity, a focus group of potential Republican voters conducted by Professor Frank Lunz showed a substantial number, perhaps 40% or more of the panel, believed Obama a Muslim and that Boehner has not stepped forward to speak out on the matter, Gregory first asked Boehner his understanding of where Obama was born, Boehner made it clear Obama was born in Hawaii. On the matter of Obama’s religion, Boehner asserted that Obama had clearly stated he was Christian and that he takes Obama at his word.
Fine, should that not be end of this line of questioning? Certainly it was not for Gregory who persisted irritated that Boehner had not personally scolded those who continue to maintain the “birther” and the Muslim issues. Boehner refused to be drawn in and affirmed that the he believed he stated the facts clearly making it clear that they speak for themselves. He has more important things to do than essentially play mommy and daddy with those who don’t toe the line.
It became clear quickly that Gregory was baiting Boehner and nothing short of saying he hadn’t done enough to debunk the fringe misperceptions and that he would aggressively pursue those who don’t measure up to Gregory’s dogmatic level of compliance would be acceptable – either that – or Gregory was baiting Boehner to lose his tempter. On neither score would Boehner yield patiently but obviously irritated trying to move the agenda to another topic.
What came through so clearly was David Gregory’s overinflated sense of self importance and disrespect for one of the highest officials in Washington. After all, the Speaker of the House is third in line in succession to the Presidency. Tangentially, Gregory also ignored the esteem of his own program as a venerated platform from which the nation’s most powerful figures can address their colleagues and constituents. If there were any people within the sound of Boehner’s voice who weren’t clear what he felt on the birth and religion issue, they would know from that program forward. How can that not be enough in light of the Speaker’s responsibilities?
For the chattering class who subscribe to the kind of nonsense Gregory presented Sunday, perhaps they feel content, “Boy, he sure told him a thing or two.” For the rest of us, Gregory looked like a smart ass, a punk who didn’t have the common courtesy to listen to his guest to moderate the discussion and move forward.
The importance of this issue is that it reveals the real loser is the interested public being denied what was once a trusted resource in analyzing the issues of the day. The viewer got little insight into the true person Boehner is, how he understands the issues, and far more breadth covering what a very powerful person in the legislative process intends to do in molding the direction of our country. The harm reverberates because instead of having a provoking discussion on how Boehner and House Republicans are appraising the nation’s budget situation as just one possibility that as responsible citizens we should be probing, the discussion instead winds up sounding something like the content of this blog.
When the public wonders how the media has deteriorated so extensively in the last couple decades and what’s behind it, a careful examination of what happened on Meet the Press Sunday couldn’t make it clearer. Such destruction isn’t generally as clearly in the open or broadcast on the kind of scale Meet the Press is; however, every day on news casts around the nation and printed in the dozens of remaining newspapers, today’s left-wing journalists are chipping away at the authority of those who don’t endorse their agenda, work to redefine the agenda what’s important in America, and through ever technique imaginable including gross dishonesty and distortion, attempt to make all news coverage fit preexisting templates which tell the story they want those tales to tell that questions our essential social, moral, and economic values while promoting their values of political correctness, redistribution of wealth, multi-culturalism, and secular humanism.
We are all responsible for watching all news media with critical eyes ready to identify and correct misrepresentation of the truth whether conducted by left wing hacks like Gregory or some content on Fox News which can get distorted supporting unsubstantiated right-wing talking points. News coverage is riddled with analysis, subjectivity, and bias no matter how much a news agency attempts to show objectivity. A good skeptic’s eye and consulting multiple sources provides the best road to the truth but in a world where the contrast between fact and opinion is out of the reach of so many, the task is daunting at best.
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