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The Spectacle Blog
Yowzer.
Twenty conservative leaders are calling the media on the carpet for rigging the election.
In the lead is Brent Bozell from the indefatigable Media Research Center. And the list of signers is memorable. Enough said. The letter speaks for itself and is reprinted in full below.
Movement to Media: “You are Rigging this Election”
Over 20 Conservative Leaders including Rush Limbaugh, Ed Meese,
Mark Levin and Tony Perkins
Call on Public to Tune out the Liberal Media!Tuesday, September 25, 2012
This election year, so much of the broadcast networks, their cable counterparts, and the major establishment print media are out of control with a deliberate and unmistakable leftist agenda. To put it bluntly: you are rigging this election and taking sides in order to pre-determine the outcome. In the quarter century since the Media Research Center was established to document liberal media bias, there has never been a more brazen and complete attempt by the liberal so-called “news” media to decide the outcome of an election.
A free and balanced media are crucial to the health of this country. It is your duty as journalists – as outlined in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics – to “distinguish between advocacy and news reporting,” while simultaneously “seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.”
There is a reason why the media are viewed with such disdain by the American public, as evidenced by every recent poll on the issue.
You have breached the public trust by willfully turning a blind eye to the government’s public policy failures, both domestic and foreign, while openly and shamefully smearing Gov. Mitt Romney. You are:
- Painting conservative ideas as extreme, while refusing to report the disastrous consequences of liberal programs enacted since 2008.
- Submerging the truly horrendous economic conditions America is facing and focusing only on minor political issues.
- Characterizing conservatives as cruel budget “slashers” instead of responsible officials trying to avoid a debt catastrophe.
- Focusing on alleged shortcomings in Romney’s business record instead of Obama’s record as the chief executive, whose policies contributed to a failed economy.
- Deliberately covering up embarrassing government failures and scandals, including the Solyndra debacle, Fast & Furious, and national security leaks which have put American lives in jeopardy.
- Pouncing on real and perceived missteps by conservatives, portraying them as bumbling incompetents, while suppressing embarrassing and incendiary remarks made by Vice President Joe Biden to prevent him from becoming a liability.
- Portraying conservative opposition to tax hikes as an impediment to deficit reduction while failing to highlight how liberal tax increase policies will cause massive damage to the economy and cause the deficit to explode.
- “Fact-checking” conservatives in order to discredit their arguments while regularly refusing to “fact-check” liberals who are distorting the truth.
We the undersigned – representing millions of Americans from our respective organizations – are now publicly urging our members to seek out alternative sources of political news in order to make an intelligent, well-informed decision on November 6.
It is time the American people turn you who are offending off, once and for all. You have betrayed their trust.
Sincerely,
L. Brent Bozell, III
President
Media Research CenterCo-Signed:
Gary Bauer
President
Campaign for American ValuesHon. J. Kenneth Blackwell
Former, U.S. ambassador
U.N. Human Rights CommissionMorton Blackwell,
Chairman
The Weyrich LunchDavid Bozell
Executive Director
For AmericaBrian Brown
President
National Organization for MarriageAl Cardenas
Chairman
American Conservative UnionMarjorie Dannenfelser
President
Susan B. Anthony ListBecky Norton Dunlop
Former Reagan OfficialColin Hanna
President
Let Freedom RingLaura Ingraham
National Radio HostMatt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorksAmy Kremer
Chairman
Tea Party ExpressCurt Levey
Committee for JusticeMark Levin
Author and National Radio HostRush Limbaugh
National Radio HostJenny Beth Martin
Co-Founder
Tea Party PatriotsEd Meese III
Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy,
Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies
Heritage FoundationMike Needham
Chief Executive Officer
Heritage ActionKarl Otteson
U. S. Federation of Small Businesses IncWilliam Pascoe
Executive Vice President
Citizens for the RepublicTony Perkins
President
Family Research CouncilAlfred S. Regnery
Paul Revere ProjectMathew D. Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty CounselRichard Viguerie
Chairman
Conservative HQ.com
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More Blog Posts by Jeffrey Lord
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DRed| 9.25.12 @ 3:10PM
Or maybe Americans don't like what you're selling? I see today we're blaming the voters for being dumb and whining about a media conspiracy. When do you start taking shots at the Romney campaign? Is that next week?
Butch| 9.25.12 @ 4:04PM
Way ahead of 'em. I haven't tuned in to the MSM since we got FNC here, and don't really use the local paper (a good one, by the way) for national/international news: too dependent on AP, Reuters, etc. I read the local news, sports, editorial pages, and funnies in it.
Drudge is my newspaper, these various web sites, and talk radio fill in the rest, plus paper NR, TAS, and Conservative Chronicle . I am better informed than ever. Rush does the best job of showing how the various MSM outlets spin the same thing in exactly the same wording--nothing but sound-bite spin. They are definitely coordinated.
JeffP| 9.25.12 @ 5:43PM
I rarely watch TV because of the hard-left bias, but my wife and brother-in-law can't tear themselves away from the boob tube. Both are "low information" voters, but normally are reliably Republican in sentiment. This year both have expressed "shock" at Mitt Romney's low taxes, his dog abuse, his Cayman Islands bank accounts, etc. Despite both having been unemployed for over a year, both have expressed "relief" that the economy is improving.
Hmm. I wonder where they got all these notions?
The media will never change, especially now that their influence is bearing fruit. The "20 Conservative Leaders" are spot on, but how are they going to get this message out? They don't expect the MSM to report on this, do they?
RCV| 9.25.12 @ 6:24PM
Oh, you poor right wingers!! "The media" is "rigging the election"!! If only people could be forced to listen to Rush, Jeffrey Lord, Hannity & Ingraham, instead of being exposed to other viewpoints, then surely the GOP would have a chance to win!! It's Unfair! Life is Unfair!
AllAmericanAmerican| 9.25.12 @ 10:22PM
Other viewpoints? Are you serious?
I live in Virginia and we are seeing a TON of political ads. Here's a sampling on my TV the other night:
Obama ad: Romney will raise taxes on the middle class and gut Medicare.
Tim Kaine ad: George Allen will raise taxes on the middle class and gut Medicare.
The dude running for Congress against Scott Rigell: Scott Rigell supports raising taxes on the middle class and gutting Medicare. Plus he wants to outlaw abortions and deny women access to contraceptives.
Ooops, I guess you're right, the Left does have "other viewpoints."
Paul McGrath| 9.25.12 @ 7:42PM
I can only imagine what the daily headlines would be at every newspaper in the nation were Bush the current President:
"Bush In Absentia as Mideast Burns."
"White House Backtracks on Film as Cause of Rioting."
"Bush on Letterman; Netanyahu Shunned?"
AllAmericanAmerican| 9.25.12 @ 10:24PM
You forgot one like this:
"Egg on First lady's face; not in school lunches. Kids revolt over revolting new offerings approved by Laura Bush."
RCV| 9.26.12 @ 6:15PM
Please!! The Media loved Laura Bush, and rightly so. Her press was uniformly positive - more so than that given to the current First Lady.
Mnestheus| 9.26.12 @ 2:45AM
Given signatories monumental disregard for the facts , their fear of fact checking is quite understandable.
Jrk| 9.26.12 @ 7:44AM
Obama is a joke. Open your eyes you idiot and take a look around. Your such a jackass.
Fiscal| 9.26.12 @ 8:21AM
This letter is really quite self-serving. They're saying "Watch Me" (so I can get higher ratings). You want people to watch more conservative media? Then don't lie as much so that independents and moderates will listen to you. And please don't give me any more of this "poor me" and "MSM" stuff. Fox News is the biggest cable news channel and is the MSM. This goes doubly for radio where conservative commentators control the airwaves. This whole issue is false advertising and if you believe it, you're stupid.
True conservatism (not social conservatism) can be supported by factual data and logic and doesn't need all of this "Obama is a socialist/Marxist" and "baby killer" stuff. Right now, the Romney budget has a much larger deficit than the Obama budget but you don't hear that on "conservative" media outlets. Conservatives need to hold people to fiscally conservative principles based on facts, not ideology.
Paul McGrath| 9.26.12 @ 11:08AM
Read a newspaper lately, Fiscal? Watched a morning, afternoon, or evening talk or news show? Or any show, for that matter--that isn't Fox--as millions of Americans do eight hours a day?
Wake up.
Fiscal| 9.26.12 @ 12:37PM
Have you listened to the radio lately, McGrath, as millions of Americans do eight hours a day? At least be a little objective!!! As for talk shows, they are NOT news. And for news, it is very limited during the week except on cable where Fox News is the king. On weekends, most network shows have just as many conservative guests and liberal -- except for Fox where you don't have virtually any balance of liberalism and conservatism.
You're drinking the KoolAid, McGrath. Personally, I don't like either approach and would prefer straight facts and real arguments with real numbers. But neither side will tell us the truth. Romney's budget numbers create a greater deficit than Obama's. Do you hear that on Fox News? Why aren't conservatives holding Romney's feet to the fire when it comes to fiscal issues instead of just believing the rhetoric about tax cuts?
I'm voting for Romney because Obama has shown he can't lead, but I'm holding my nose in doing it. He is going to mess up our country fiscally as much or more than Obama, but I do think he is a slightly better leader/executive.
Nick| 9.26.12 @ 3:09PM
"On weekends, most network shows have just as many conservative guests and liberal -- except for Fox where you don't have virtually any balance of liberalism and conservatism."
If you are referring to the Sunday political shows, Fiscal, you couldn't be more wrong. Conservatives are regularly outnumbered 3 or 4 to one, on the big three. Chris Wallace is always "fair & balanced."
And, you certainly don't watch Fox News Channel. They have liberals on all day long. Too many, for my taste. Ever heard of Kirsten Powers, Bob Beckel, Juan Williams, Ellis Henican, Alan Colmes, Joe Trippi, Ron Brown, Jr., Maura Liason, Dick Harpootlian, etc.? They are all regulars on Fox.
Liberals have even infested Fox's shows as hosts. See Shep Smith & Geraldo Rivera. Although, liberal Greta Van Susteran is probably the fairest interviewer on Fox.
Paul McGrath| 9.26.12 @ 1:47PM
Most people don't watch the radio eight hours a day, Mr. Fiscal. And as for talk shows, no, they are not news. They are just populated by the likes of Whoopi, and Barbara Walters, and Katie, and Matt Lauer, and Oprah, and Letterman, and Ellen and dozens of other morons who blather away at our benumbed public all day and every day.
You want to talk about Romney's budget numbers? How about Obama on the Letterman show the other night, and neither of these nitwits seemed to know or care and certainly did not admit where stands the current national debt?
Your problem Fiscal, is that you're one of these pseudo-intellectuals who is so sure that he's smarter than everyone else that he has to prove it by expressing disdain for one and all.
Okay. You win. You're soooooooo smart! Fiscal too! Wow!
Fiscal| 9.26.12 @ 2:07PM
I'm with you completely on the disregard to our national debt of BOTH candidates which is why I choose the name "Fiscal". And there is no difference between the "blather" of Fox and Friends/Hannity and Ellen/Whoopi.
As for the disdain comment, you have me pegged. I have great disdain for politicians and those of you on the right and left who disregard the facts for ideological lies. We need to cut Medicare and limit Social Security and neither candidate will do that because of votes. Limiting Medicare means that we do have a "death panel", and I'm fine with that. If a senior wants a procedure that extends their life, they can spend their own money/insurance, and not public welfare to do it. Those procedures amount to half of all Medicare expense. There is no reason not to limit Social Security by increasing the age limit. That limit should be indexed to longevity. You might be interested in the debt as I am. Here is an estimate (albeit liberal) of the Obama and Romney budgets as best we can decipher them:
https://www.politify.com/election/national
It may not be that bad, but I can tell you that every source that has analyzed the Romney budget has come up with the same general conclusion.