Yesterday, National Journal published a piece by Ron Fournier titled “Why (and How) Romney is Playing the Race Card.” Fournier’s story repurposes an old interview with two white Michigan voters in order to reveal the supposed racial subtext in their language. But Benson Brundage, one of the two men mentioned in the story, accuses Fournier of mischaracterizing the discussion and putting words in his mouth that he neither said nor meant.
Me, neither. Possibly the worst thing here is that allegedly Fournier recycled material from an October 2011 interview to make it look like Brundage was commenting on Romney’s (Summer 2012) welfare ad. That’s something that Fournier needs to explain, because while it’s probably not nice to do that to anybody it’s certainly not nice to do that to people who presumably can’t fight back. In other words… time to revisit the list: after all, many of them apply to any conservative in the Media’s crosshairs. ESPECIALLY #1.
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.
How did Todd Akin not have this list?
Mew
He had it, he just didn’t read it. If it ain’t in the Bible, it ain’t worth reading.
Todd Akin only became the Republican candidate because of crossover Democratic voters who want him to die in a fire. If either of the two good Republican contenders had dropped out of the race and endorsed the other one, Akin wouldn’t have had a prayer.