Washington Post writer Paul Waldman ruminates in a column
today on the different standards the mainstream press uses when evaluating the
damage caused by gaffes made by Republican and Democratic candidates. He notes
correctly that Democrats are held to a higher gaffe threshold than Republicans,
and a minor slip for a Democrat will induce howling indignation among the
pundit class whereas Republicans can drop crazy bombs all day long and there
isn’t a whisper in the MSM. The author concludes that the media has become so
numbed by Republicans saying insane things they simply ignore the stupid. I
have a slightly different take.
My feeling is that Republicans are generally spared harsh
MSM critiques because they are the party of useful, pliable dupes who can be
counted on to do the bidding of America’s corporate elite. Our media is owned
by a small cabal of corporations who depend on Republicans (and some Democrats)
to push their goals and policies while in office. They know that many
Republican politicians are crazy, but why should they care, as long as the nut
job they own supports deregulation and low corporate taxes?
So for the most part, Republicans can get away with calling
Obama a socialist or saying that local sheriffs should arrest people trying to
institute the Affordable Care Act without much reaction from the MSM. It’s not
because the MSM has grown calloused to the right’s crazy rants, but because
Republicans play an important role in helping corporate America get the
policies it wants.
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