McCain and Hagel and such ilk are media whores who know that they will get press and accolades if all they do is trash a Republican. They live for the love they get from the media. They're indulging their egos at the expense of the party.
Posted on 12/22/2004 7:41:58 PM PST by wagglebee
I got up today and I'm doing research for the program, and I ran across a story and it just made my day because this is something -- I'm not going to call this a Limbaugh Echo Syndrome because I don't want to make it sound like everybody takes their cue from me -- but this is something, ever since this Rumsfeld stuff, when McCain stepped out on Fox News and said Rumsfeld has not got my confidence. He was followed by Hagel. It was immediately picked up by the media, and these guys were made heroes and they were invited on all the shows that would have them, which is of course all the shows that they will appear on, and so this effort to get Rumsfeld was mounted, and the president had his press conference this week and staunchly stood up for Rumsfeld, and just shut it all -- well, he didn't shut it all down. They're going to keep harping, but Bush is not going to jettison Rumsfeld in any way, shape, manner, or form. So this story, actually it's from National Review Online. It's by Eric Pfeiffer, and it's called Dump Don, the media coverage of the defense secretary suggests more than reporting is at work. It is great to hear this in additional media outlets.
"The mainstream media is abuzz, making their strongest drive yet to depose Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But a critical look at who's talking and how their argument is framed shows a lack of new data from those theorizing Rumsfeld should step down. While Democratic assaults against Rumsfeld and the Iraq-war effort are not new, the media is smitten at the prospect of GOP officials taking similar jabs at the Pentagon's leadership. Leading the charge are Senators John McCain and Chuck Hagel. It was McCain who first made a splash two weeks ago on Fox News Sunday, announcing his lack of confidence in Rumsfeld. To no one's surprise, the media ran with the story while McCain reciprocated, giving a number of interviews to print and television outlets. However, this past week when McCain issued the same statement, it was again treated as a breaking-news story. Meanwhile, Hagel continued his shadow-McCain approach, announcing on Face the Nation this Sunday that he too lacked confidence in Rumsfeld's leadership. However, two facts must be observed in weighing the credence of their claims. First, both McCain and Hagel have openly begun their campaigns to succeed President Bush in 2008."
And this is as much as anything what this is all about. Stick with me on this, folks, because what we have here is the first territory in the Republican presidential primary of 2008 being staked out by McCain and by Hagel. I know many people assume these two to be on the same team, and in many areas and cases they are. But they both want the Republican presidential nomination. I mean, there's stories all over the place out there about how they're tuning up McCain's bus, the Straight Talk Express, you know, his PR guy, yeah, we're gassing it up and we're putting air in the tires, making sure the oil is flowing freely and we're about ready to pull the things out of the garage. Oh, the press just can't contain themselves they're so excited about this and Hagel getting involved, because they're gonna treat this as people running against Bush. They are going to treat this as people running for the presidency in 2008 against George W. Bush when he will not be on the ballot. You watch and see if I'm right, that's how this is all going to be characterized.
"Maine Senator Susan Collins, fresh from her intelligence-reform victory over Rumsfeld, has been criticizing the war since it first became fashionable with the meteoric rise of the 9/11 Commission. And Trent Lott, an otherwise solid player in the war effort, has no love lost for an administration that allowed for, and some would argue advocated, his defrocking as Senate Majority Leader. Meanwhile, the mainstream press has all but ignored the votes of confidence Rumsfeld has been receiving. This past Friday, influential GOP Senators Wayne Allard, Sam Brownback, Jim Bunning, Saxby Chambliss, John Cornyn, Mike Enzi, James Inhofe, Jeff Sessions, Ted Stevens, Bill Frist, Mitch McConnell, Rick Santorum, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Jon Kyl, and Elizabeth Dole released a joint statement offering support for Rumsfeld. On Sunday's Face the Nation, Chambliss stated in no uncertain terms, 'This secretary is very sensitive to the needs of the military. He seems insensitive when he makes comments. And that seems to be what gets him in trouble.' And Virginia Senator John Warner, no close friend of Rumsfeld's, added in his Meet the Press appearance, 'I have confidence in my ability and his ability to continue to work together as a team for the common goals of the men and women of the Armed Forces.'"
That got hardly any scant mention whatsoever. I mentioned it on Monday, but these two people coming out in support of Rumsfeld barely got a mention. "More important politically than Rumsfeld's critics are his allies. And he has no greater ally than President Bush." So it goes on, this story is basically about how the media is clear in their mission here. They've gone beyond just reporting something and are now trying to achieve an outcome. And as I scanned other articles today, I have noticed on the Republican side there is a huge counter-effort to McCain-Hagel going on from the right. It was started, I think, on this program last week and it has been followed by others in the media. McCain and Hagel, I tell you what, tell you what's happening here, McCain and Hagel are trying to stake out anti-Bush, anti-conservative positions as they play to their received constituency, and they also are playing to the liberal spin machine for millions of dollars in free publicity. And the thing that grates on me a little bit, both these guys, McCain and Hagel, have combat experience. They ought to be the most appalled at the politicization of the war. And yet there they are.
So what you have here is the first territory being staked out for the Republican presidential primary in 2008, McCain and Hagel, and there will be others getting in the -- and some of the Republicans that are countering, I'm not going to mention any names, but there are some others that are going to run for this presidency, names that might surprise you, people that you think are politically dead and have no future in that arena are going to try to resurrect themselves. So it's gonna be lively, it's gonna be big, and so that's what this is. But McCain and Hagel, their effort is largely aimed at moving to the left, because that's where they think their perceived constituency is and they know that they're going to get the love and adoration and support of the liberal spin machine media, and that's going to result in millions of dollars of free publicity, publicity they will not have to buy or pay for in the form of ads. And they will end up, they will end up, you watch, characterizing their campaign, structuring their campaign so that they're actually running against Bush. And if you doubt me on this, why in the world are they coming out against Rumsfeld? It's not just to come out against Rumsfeld, it's not just to get on the news, it's also they're staking out political positions. There are Republicans, and this has not changed. You know, the Democrats are out there flailing away, trying to figure out what they did wrong and how they can get their power back and, oh, woe is us and they're out there lamenting all these hicks and hayseeds in the red states.
Let me clue you into something. There are a lot of blue-blood elitist Republicans who also look at the red states and say, "Gee, do I want them voting for me?" And they're gonna be making moves to what they think is the center to try to peel off some gay marriage supporters and some pro-choice supporters by being socially liberal. They're gonna go just dovish enough on the war that it'll be perceived as anti-Bush but not anti-war to try to build up a constituency because they don't think they can pull it off by relying on the Republican base. They're right about that. But that's what's happening here, folks, make no mistakes about it.
RUSH: Here's Joe in Cincinnati. Welcome, sir, nice to have you on the program.
CALLER: Merry Christmas, Rush.
RUSH: Hi.
CALLER: Hey, I think McCain and Hagel, all these people are being very shortsighted. You know, most of us voted for President Bush because he does what is right, not what is popular. And the McCains and Hagels who are exploiting these tragedies purely for political gain, I think come '08, they are really going to find we have long memories because we're really tired of this and I think they're going to have a lot more trouble than they think.
RUSH: Well, that would be my gut instinct now. The problem is we don't know what events are going to happen between now and the Republican primary. We could maybe safely project some trends. I think that the cultural right is only going to get more confident, is only going to become even more aware of their power and their willingness to use it at the ballot pox and other places. I think what's happening this Christmas season is evidence of that. I think more and more people are rising up saying, "What do you mean problems with Christmas?" That's essentially what's being said by Barry Lynn of Americans for Separation of Church and State United. I don't know how many members of the group, five maybe, he says the big problem here is Christians demanding to be included in Christmas. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have any problems. And you sit there and you say, "What?" But all of these nativity scene controversies, and you have to say happy holidays, people are rising up against it now. More and more people are getting fed up with secularism. And I think, you know, you have Schwarzenegger saying Republican Party needs to move to the left. Of course, you know who the first one out there echoing him was? It wasn't McCain, it wasn't Hagel, it was his wife, it was Maria Shriver, "Oh, yes, my husband is going to redefine the Republican Party." I guess it's okay if you're Republican as long as you're liberal. But I know, I agree with you, Joe, I think they're all misreading the results of the election and they're misreading the future strengthening of the movement here and the population base that created these election results in 2004.
McCain and Hagel and such ilk are media whores who know that they will get press and accolades if all they do is trash a Republican. They live for the love they get from the media. They're indulging their egos at the expense of the party.
indeed.
But I will add this - if it takes McCain to stop Hillary from getting into the white house, I'm voting for McCain.
Mark Sanford for President
There must be a conservative show him-(or her)-self soon.
If the GOP allows McCain or Hagel to win the nomination in '08, get ready for President Hillary Rodham Clinton (God help us all).
Think conservatism.
I think our best bet is for Rudy to win Hitlery's senate seat in 2006. If she loses that race, her national prominence will disappear. McCain will be older in 2008 than Reagan was in 1980, plus McCain has had a lot of health issues. If McCain were to win the nomination his "admiring friends" in the media would turn on him in a second and tear him to pieces.
Mccain's constant grandstanding really makes me sick. I've never once seen him take a really ballsy stance on anything.
Hillary will not run for Senate re-election if Rudy runs - because if she loses, her presidential bid is over. She will make a statement: "I don't feel I can give the Senate my full attention, and run for president at the same time". The media will lick it up.
You're probably right.
The Republican nominee in '08 will be former Senator Fred Thompson, and he will win in the Fall. He is smart, right on the issues, and telegenic as Hell. As soon as people get a look at him on the trail, he will be unstoppable.
Fred Thompson...nice call! Another actor.
I have always thought that Fred Thompson had what it takes to be POTUS. I was actually surprised he didn't run in 2000.
Here, here! The right is becoming more confident and making its voice heard.
I like to call him Knox Pooley.
I just had a flashback to my teens. My Dad (RIP) and I used to watch him on Wiseguy, I believe.
I love Fred Thompson. Plus he is funny when needed but can look you in the eye and call you an a**hole and not even blink. He's got the killer bulldog look that could melt an opponent in a NY minute.......love him in Red October too and everything else..........he is a no nonsense Repub but i think he's got too good of a thing going with his acting now........doesn't need the headaches
I hope you're right! Thompson is great...his introduction of the president at the Republican Convention was incredible. He seems like an intelligent, calm, and strong figure.
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