When Republicans shout for war, they seek the authorization of Congress, the body given the power of war declaration by our supreme law, the Constitution. When Democrats shout for war, they either lie about circumstances to forge it (are you hearing this, LBJ?) or don’t know why we should go, but agree to pay for it and hand France the reins (ahem, present situation in Libya acknowledged).
It’s a curious thing, though, when the media declares war on conservatives. No formal declaration is issued from the commanders-in-chief of MSNBC, ABC, CBS, or CNN, but the opening salvos from the guns of libel and slander ring loud and clear each time we turn on the television. The assault has been ongoing for decades. In an October, 1987 issue of Newsweek, a picture of Vice President and soon to be President George H. W. Bush was captioned with the words, “Fighting the ‘Wimp Factor.’” A more treacherous headline could not have been conceived. Bush the “wimp” had not only served with distinction as vice president, CIA Director and envoy to China, but after becoming the youngest aviator in the United States Navy at the age of 19, he had completed 58 flight missions in the Pacific during World War II, earning him the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals.
Let’s not mince words: Newsweek is an example of a leftist publication with a staff whose mission is to destroy conservatives. It was members of that very staff, Evan Thomas and Eve Conant, who penned a story called “Hate on the Right,” a shameful skewering of the Tea Party movement. The article, published on April 19, 2010, includes a timeline of disconnected acts of violence that are purportedly the doing of right-wing extremists. This list includes the Kennedy assassinations, the shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr., and attacks committed by The Weathermen, a leftist anti-war group.
And get this--one caption reads, “Trouble in the air: Huey Long castigated the rich and Father Coughlin denounced Jews in the 1930s. Today, the microphones belong to Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.”
You see, liberals don’t bat an eye when they compare a conservative talk show host and a Republican governor and vice presidential candidate to racist fear-mongers who believe in class warfare. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find two people who have greater respect for Israel and earning your keep than Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.
But this caption delivers a new level of irony. Not only is it blatantly wrong in its assertion, but it ignores the fact that the opposite is true. It is President Obama, not conservatives, who is calling for the wealthy to “pay their fair share” in no less than $1.5 trillion in new taxes. Oh, and wasn’t it the president who stated in a speech, “If asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a Jew--as a janitor--makes me a warrior for the working class, I wear that as a badge of honor”? And Newsweek has the audacity to imply that Beck and Palin have it out for the Jewish people?
But that’s the difference between liberal and conservative writers. I know that President Obama made a slip of the tongue, not a jab at Jewish Americans. It’s beneath us to put substance behind that kind of remark and put it on the front page. But it’s not beneath a liberal.
Whether it’s CBS publishing a story that wonders if Michele Bachmann’s headaches would interfere with her ability to be president, or every media outlet in the nation giddily and falsely reporting that Sarah Palin doesn’t know her history on Paul Revere’s ride, the media will sink to any low to paint conservatives as incompetent.
But there are two things that render the media’s war on conservatism totally ineffective. Firstly, people don’t read liberal publications or watch liberal television. That’s why Newsweek has lost money since 2007 and more people watch the Fox News Channel than CNN, MSNBC and CNBC combined.
Secondly, we don’t need front page magazine stories to push our agenda. Our ads can be seen everywhere, and we don’t pay for them. They’re gas price signs. They’re notices on people’s doors that read “foreclosed.” They’re unemployment lines. Every time the stock market goes down, our national debt increases and a small business closes its doors, it’s an ad against President Obama.
The media will never offer a truce in its war on conservatism.
And we’re not asking for one.
