This Just In: The GOP Intends To Campaign!

[Stephanie]

The newspapers aren't even hiding their bias any more......


Posted by Hugh Hewitt | 9:22 AM
The Washington Post is moving into all Democrat-boosting, all-the-time-mode with this morning's "In a Pivotal Year, GOP Plans to Get Personal: Millions to Go to Digging Up Dirt on Democrats."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/09/AR2006090901079.html
Chuck Schumer, we must assume, will be not be running any ads against Conrad Burns or any other GOP incumbent using opposition research.

Here's the first graph, followed by the first bit of evidence the paper can itself dig up:

Republicans are planning to spend the vast majority of their sizable financial war chest over the final 60 days of the campaign attacking Democratic House and Senate candidates over personal issues and local controversies, GOP officials said....

The Republican National Committee, meanwhile, has enlisted veteran party strategist Terry Nelson to run a campaign that will coordinate with Senate Republicans on ads that similarly will rely on the best of the worst that researchers have dug up on Democrats. The first ad run by the new RNC effort criticizes Ohio Rep. Sherrod Brown (D) for voting against proposals designed to toughen border protection and deport illegal immigrants.

Are there any editors left at the Post? If the story is supposed to be about using "personal issues and local controversies," how exactly does an ad about illegal immigration fit the premise?

It doesn't, of course, any more than the idea of opposition research going on is news, or the the proposition that only the Republicans are doing opposition research for the purpose of using it in the campaign is remotely accurate. The story is almost a caricature of reporting, so purposefully does it ignore the obvious parallel effort by the Democrats.

The article is simple agenda-journalism of the sort we should expect in great waves between now and November. Plamegate fizzled out, the voters prefer the president and his party on national security and for leadership on the war, the economy is booming and the judges the president appoints and the GOP majority confirms are excellent. The campaign will be about the NSA program and other national security issues. No wonder the Dems have gone from chest thumping to disorganized confusion in a space of two weeks. Lamont's getting creamed by Joe Lieberman: Have they begun to realize that the fever swamp, with assists from Reid, Pelosi and Leahy, have lead them over the edge?

All the talking points about a big Democratic "wave" have been internalized by the MSM, but Santorum is closing, Kean and Steele are looking great, and Kennedy, Bouchard and McGavick are pushing their Democratic incumbents hard. Less than a Democratic blowout leading to Democratic majorities in both House and Senate puts almost the entire MSM in Zogbyland, with their already tattered reputation for objectivity completely destroyed.

Rather than retreat into serious reporting, much of the MSM will twist themselves into pretzels to find some anti-GOP line to pursue to help make the "wave" come true. This Post story is a laughable example of what will be a chorus-line of tryout memes in the next few weeks.
http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/c15e93c9-355d-4227-89e8-905e79474f7f

 

[007]

If it's true, I say GOOD FOR THEM. Fight fire with fire. Digging up dirt has been the favorite tool of the trade for libs for years. A fair fight to them is a dirty fight, so lets give it to them.

 

[musicman]

All the talking points about a big Democratic "wave" have been internalized by the MSM, but Santorum is closing, Kean and Steele are looking great, and Kennedy, Bouchard and McGavick are pushing their Democratic incumbents hard. Less than a Democratic blowout leading to Democratic majorities in both House and Senate puts almost the entire MSM in Zogbyland, with their already tattered reputation for objectivity completely destroyed.

Rather than retreat into serious reporting, much of the MSM will twist themselves into pretzels to find some anti-GOP line to pursue to help make the "wave" come true. This Post story is a laughable example of what will be a chorus-line of tryout memes in the next few weeks.
http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/c15e93c9-355d-4227-89e8-905e79474f7f

Mr. Hewitt takes a kinder view of the MSM/DNC than I do. I have to ask, "WHAT reputation for objectivity"?

(from another thread)

C.J. Burch emails:

I didn't watch it, but let me make a bet with you. Over the next couple of weeks the networks will do so many stories "debunking" the show that I'll feel like I have to see it just to get a fair look at all the facts. And I won't be the only one. Look for this to be a huge seller on DVD for just that reason. Oh, and Sandy Berger will be on television alot over the next couple of weeks as well which will lead to booming business for the blogs willing to take another look at his pants stuffing incident. Becuase the networks sure won't. The Democrats have a huge problem here. The problem is that people are beginning to wonder what the hell they're hiding. With the AP thing and the Rueters photos thing and the Rathergate thing and the Eason Jordan thing and the Censorship for access thing and the staged photos thing the networks have the same problem. Look for some surprises come November.

The wheels are really starting to come off for this unholy alliance. Surely the most dimwitted, apathetic sleepwalker in America can no longer believe that the mainstream media provide a fair, reliable representation of ANYTHING.