Republicans and the Media

Mailings from Republican fund raisers tell us that things are serious, that the leftists are running amok, and that people who believe in limited government must engage in a focused, determined, committed struggle to win the coming election and start righting the country before the damage gets even worse. I think these claims are generally correct. I wish the Republican politicians would act as though they thought so too.

However, the sad fact is that many of them do not seem to take things all that seriously. They too often come across as unfocused, careless, and even unaware, particularly in their relations with the press. With very few exceptions members of the traditional media are leftists – some strong leftists, some weak leftists, some thoughtlessly conformist leftists, some I-don’t-really-believe-this-stuff-but-it’s-the-party-line-and-I’ve-got-to-follow-it-to-get-ahead leftists, but almost all leftists. Their bias against and hostility toward Republicans are easy to see. If a Democrat in Washington comes down with gonorrhea, they will report that he fell ill while trying to get closer to his constituents. If a Republican catches a cold, they will report that he contracted a disease that can be spread by illicit sexual contact. The people in the traditional media are the Republicans’ enemies. They are out to defeat and if necessary destroy them. This is well known and well established and transparently obvious.

Given that, a sensible person would react with caution and care not to give these people ammo. He would not expect a fair shake and would keep his feet well away from his mouth at all times. Yet too many of the Republicans in Washington go around shooting their mouths off in the most impolitic ways, acting as though they believe they can win their antagonists’ approval, and generally seeming oblivious or indifferent to the fact that they are surrounded by real enemies and in a political knife fight. That needs to stop. The stakes are pretty high. They need to toughen up and to wise up.