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One needn’t be very old, or terribly bright, to recognize that the priorities of politicians are often not aligned with those of their constituents. The priority of every candidate is to get elected. Once elected the incumbent shifts to their second priority, getting reelected. Once reelected, politicians find themselves being sucked into the power vortex of their party. This is when politicians are required to make a choice. Will they buck the demands of their party? In doing so they risk the loss of party support, and face threats of a primary challenge. That decision allows them to stay true to what they promised their constituents? Or, having tasted the power and perks of office, will they forego their integrity and follow party bosses? Too frequently, they have chosen the latter. We understand that Dems. will no longer support Repubs. legislation, and vice versa. Even if that legislation clearly benefits the American people. While this angers many Americans, we have come to expect it from elected representatives. No one is surprised. The real threat to our freedoms exist in the board rooms of our media outlets That is where the decisions are made as to who will be elected, and what they will do afterward.

The “free press” was given special privileges in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers (FF) recognized that all human beings are fallible. They recognized that government, left unchecked, could become too powerful. Special protections were given to the press so that they could serve as watchdogs for corruption by the government, and political elites. For all of their genius they didn’t see a time when the press would become as corrupt as those they were created to watch, Nobody imagined the watchdog of corruption would over time morph into a lapdog for the Democrat party.

For the better part of 200 years the free press generally lived up to its constitutional mandate. Until the early 1940s Americans got 100% of their news from daily newspapers and intermittent radio news programs. Then in the 1940s, televised network news broke on the scene with 15 minute programs. Throughout the 1950s network news continued to grow, and change, as more Americans were able to afford televisions. In 1962 Walter Cronkite became the anchor of the CBS Evening News. In 1963 it was expanded from 15 to 30 minutes. The CBS Evening News was the dominant newscast throughout the 70s, and Cronkite was regularly referred to as “the most trusted man in America.” Younger Americans will find this hard to believe. How far has the media/press fallen? In a Gallup poll taken last year 7% of Americans had a great deal, and 29% had a fair amount, of trust in newspapers, television, and radio. On the other side 29% of those polled did not have much trust, and 34% said they had no trust at all in the media! Yikes!!

This incredible decline was completely self inflicted. So what happened? Think of the press as the 5 people (there are actually 7) who referee at college football games. The referees in this example are represented by CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Through the 1980s, and into the 1990s, referees were nearly as apt to throw a flag on the Dems. as on the Repubs. Then, for reasons I do not understand, officials started throwing fewer flags against Dems. In fact, the only flags they threw on the Dems. were for flagrant fouls because even the casual viewer recognized the infractions. It was growing increasingly difficult to find newspapers, and TV news programs, that provided what Americans were asking for. They want(ed) news outlets to report what happened and let us decide who is right and who is wrong. Their constant biased reporting, and editorializing, chased people into the arms of the growing cable networks. It was then that a man with money decided it was important that both sides be given an equal opportunity to win. So he launched FOX News in 1996. The existing referees were upset that an interloper was forcing its way onto their domain. They didn’t like that the new referee interpreted the rule book from a different point of view. The thought that committing fouls, without being caught, was now more difficult frightened and infuriated the Dems.

I’ll stick with this football analogy for one more paragraph. Please continue to think of referees as a metaphor for the media. When we watch a football game, other than when we are watching our favorite team, we want to see a fair game. If referees are bad, but consistently bad, no advantage is gained by either team. If referees are honest it is said their calls equal out. If so, again there is no advantage to either team. What if referees decided they would not call pass interference penalties against either team? If they don’t call pass interference on either team then again, no advantage is gained by either team, right? Not so fast my friend. This decision would clearly hurt the chances of a team that relies heavily on passing. Referees could honestly say they called the game the same for both teams. It would NOT be honest to say they had no impact on the outcome of the game. The same could be said if the refs decided not to never throw a flag. We called it the same for both sides they could say. But in this instance the game would devolve into a battle of brute strength. It would benefit the biggest, strongest, team without regard to talent or finesse. Finally, what if the refs told the coach of just one of the teams they would not make any holding calls, or pass interference calls, against his team. Think of how that coach would be able to guide his offensive linemen, and defensive backs. His game plan would be altogether different once informed that he, and his players, could break the rules without fear of penalty. The opposing coach would scream bloody murder. The refs would call him a crybaby, or worse. This is the situation that has favored Dems. for at least the last two decades, probably more. The media has refused to throw a flag on Dem. transgressions. Even worse, they have refused to even look for them. It is the situation that has made the media more dangerous than politicians.

When discussing the media there are two kinds of lies. There are lies of omission and lies of commission. Above, I have laid the groundwork for a discussion of both. Because I don’t like my blogs to get too lengthy, I’ll discuss instances of both in my upcoming Sunday blog. The media, instead of reporting the news, has effectively been shaping it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. If you found this post interesting or informative please tell your friends about it. Bob