(H/T: Instapundit) It’s not “take this Bryon York article” seriously – I already know that they’ll do that.
Romney aides believe that cooperating with Democrats and media figures who are demanding a Trump disavowal would most certainly lead to more calls for more disavowals of other figures in the future — leaving Romney spending as much time apologizing for his supporters as campaigning for president. Team Romney views it as a silly and one-sided game designed to distract voters from the central issue of the race, which they remain convinced will be President Obama’s handling of the economy.
By one-sided, they mean not only that Obama has not disavowed SuperPAC contributor Bill Maher for a number of Maher’s statements that were particularly insulting to Republican women. They also mean the press, with, as Team Romney see it, questionable associations of its own. Has David Gregory, moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” repudiated his colleague Al Sharpton, the MSNBC host with a decades-long record of incendiary statements and actions? And has, say, the New York Times columnist Gail Collins repudiated her colleague Charles Blow, who once wrote to Romney, “Stick that in your magic underwear”?
…No, my friendly advice is this: start calling the media on this. Up front and in person. Yes, they’ll splutter. Yes, they’ll get mad at Romney. Yes, they’ll do everything in their power to get Obama re-elected… which means, in other words: business as usual. Please remember:
Ten Media Truths for Conservative/Republican Legislators
- The Media hates you, and wants you to die in a fire.
- The Media will only reliably compliment you when you do things to help liberals and Democrats.
- The Media loves it when you attack other conservatives/Republicans.
- You will never, ever, ever be able to reliably buy off the Media by being a ‘good’ (i.e., self-hating) conservative/Republican.
- Every flaw that you have – real or perceived – will be magnified by the Media. You will get no slack at all.
- Every flaw that your opponent has – real or perceived – will be downplayed by the Media.
- If you get an endorsement from a major Media source, it’s probably because your opponent was caught in a horrific scandal. So don’t count on getting that endorsement the next time.
- The Media has no shame, no sense of guilt, and no institutional memory of its own faults, flaws, and prejudices. Do not appeal to its better nature: the Media could care less about your opinion of it.
- Do not whine about any of this: the truth is, this unrelenting hostility from the Media will (if properly handled) simply make you an unstoppable political machine.
- Most importantly: THE MEDIA DID NOT ELECT YOU. The voters did. Keep that in mind when you’re working out your legislative priorities.
Preach it, Moe!