Pundits vs Facts

July 7th, 2008 Posted in Of Interest

So called “liberal” pundits like Liasson are deathly afraid of the “radical liberal” label, statistics notwithstanding. Greenwald:

This is the standard propaganda tactic of establishment media stars like Liasson, and she’s hardly unique — in this way or in any other. This is how they manipulate public opinion and coerce political officials to disregard the views of most Americans in favor of the fringe, establishment view. The views of the establishment pundit class are automatically labeled “the Center” even when they’re rejected by majorities of “the American people.” By contrast, views that are actually held by majorities but which the pundit class dislikes are demonized as those of “the Left.” Thus, they argue, political candidates, in order to win elections, must embrace the views of the establishment and reject the view of most Americans. That’s how a candidate “moves to the Center.”

Source: Beltway myth: “The left-wing base” vs. “the American people” on Iraq - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

News bias isn’t so much conservative or liberal as it is adherence to conventional wisdom. I think that comes utlimately from a lack of intellectual courage. Watching Liasson on FOX News is particularly painful, because she comes across as someone incable of standing up for herself; her objectsions must always be couched in terms of these types of “I’m-not-a-leftist” disclaimers. She is there not to reject the premises of her opponents based on statistics or facts, but merely to ameliorate them.

Watching such shows is an education in how propagand is used to keep people from thinking even their own thoughts.

That Obama seemed willing to stand up for the truth, whatever the counter-propaganda, is what made him so unique and appealing to voters like me. It’s unclear to me whether he’s tacking to the center out of the same unfounded fear that motivates people like Liasson.