The liberal bias of the media is in the news again. The question: Is liberal bias a problem? I would say not. I'm not going to claim liberal bias doesn't exist, it does. I just don't see bias as the problem. The problem is dishonesty. Consider this. Here is Howell Raines, former New York Times executive editor, offering advice in a column he wrote for the Guardian, to John Kerry. "As matters now stand, Kerry has assured the DLC [Democratic Leadership Council], 'I am not a redistributionist Democrat.' That's actually a good start. Using that promise as disinformation, he must now figure out a creative way to become a redistributionist Democrat."
What conclusions might one draw from a journalist who advises his preferred candidate to employ "disinformation", to be, in fact, dishonest? Well for one thing, it's a stunning display of condescension to the average American. You can hardly escape the conclusion that in the Raines world view, Average Americans aren't so very bright. They need to be led to proper conclusions - ones they wouldn't reach if left to their own inadequate devices. According to Raines, voters must literally be fooled in to voting for Kerry. It's for their own good. He says, "Americans aren't antagonistic toward the rules that protect the rich because they think that in the great crap-shoot of economic life in America, they might wind up rich themselves. It's a mass delusion, of course…"
In the Raines world view the Average American is not particularly capable, and sadly, he just doesn't know it. While Average Americans may believe in fairy tales, it is abundantly clear to Mr. Raines, the situation is hopeless. Deluded Americans think they can be successful, get ahead, even get rich, while the informed Mr. Raines knows it's really a crap shoot, and a mass of delusion. Average Americans will never achieve success without help from say, a "redistributionist Democrat". So it's no coincidence. Since redistribution depends on taxes, the center piece being the graduated income tax, there has been a massive campaign against tax cuts. The language of the discussion has been carefully crafted in the image of past arguments against spending cuts, where a "spending cut" really meant a smaller boost in spending. In tax rhetoric, the government's decision to take less money in income taxes - across all tax brackets - is described as "stealing" from those in the lower tax brackets.
Alas, in the Raines world view Average Americans just don't get it. Without Mr. Raines and the rest of the main stream press to tell us frequently and at length how unfair the new tax policies are, we would never be aware of the depth of their evil. They're so very un-redistributionist. So the press focuses their reporting on those broader truths, the ones Average Americans are unable to discern for themselves. In the meantime the absolute truth takes a back seat. And what is the broader truth? Bush lies! It's unimportant that Bush doesn't say anything that is actually demonstrated to be untrue. It doesn't matter that Bush often doesn't say what the press claims is a lie, or that when he does, it turns out to be true. Technicalities. The broader truth is, as any good redistributionist knows, his policies will never help the Average American. The broader truth is, those policies are intended to help his wealthy friends and any attempt to say otherwise is a lie.
Over the past year stories appeared describing the state of the economy as the worst since the Great Depression. But as it became apparent that the recession was over and that near record GDP growth could no longer be ignored, the press turned from stories of recession to the topic of the jobless recovery. Then job creation picked up to near record pace, so the headlines turned to outsourcing and the American jobs going over seas. Inconveniently, it turns out that we win insource more than we outsource. Liberal pundits have even taken to analyzing the employment statistics. Measures of unemployment that just five short years ago were considered gospel, are now thought to be misleading. The numbers are much too good, they couldn't possibly be right! It's been a difficult campaign, bringing the truth to the Average American.
And, when the broader truth can be found nowhere else, there is always Iraq. Take the recent spate of headlines blaring "No Evidence Connecting Iraq to Al Qaeda". Immediately after those headlines graced front pages all across the country, the 9/11 Commission chairman and vice chairman contradicted them on NPR, saying, well, yes there were connections. But the technical truth of the matter is inconsequential. The press knows the broader truth. Saddam posed no threat. Any attempt to say otherwise is a lie.
Here's a depressing realization. Nobody is surprised that a former executive editor of the New York Times suggests in print that his candidate should resort to dishonesty. We've grown accustomed. We've all learned to translate "spending cut" into "smaller spending increase". Still, for us Average Americans, getting accurate news becomes more and more a challenge. What we Average Americans would really like is to have the press report the facts, not keep trying to lead us to the broader truth. We don't care if the reporter is biased. He can have an opinion. But can he please just say it's his opinion, instead of pretending to report it as fact? We'd like the press to report all the facts, not just the ones that support the "broader truth".
In an article in the National Review Bruce Bartlett suggests that this leftward bias may be succumbing to economic pressures. Perhaps so, but I'd rather it were the dishonesty that succumbs to economic pressures, and it may. Where once there were only the big three, ABC, CBS, and NBC, today there are countless sources of news. That casual dishonesty, so prevalent in main stream reporting, has given rise to conservative talk radio and internet news bloggers. It also explains why Air America, the liberal answer to Rush Limbaugh, is such a bust. Air America is not an alternative. It's the broader truth from a different medium, and Average Americans, dull as we are, can't be bothered with it.
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