How Republics Fall: The Fourth Estate’s degrading hero worship trivializes an election.

National Review ^ | 09/17/2012 | Michael Knox Beran

[Truth29]

The Republic is dying. Who’s on Dancing with the Stars?

[Vaquero]

I have a new, appropriate name for the “Fourth Estate”

they are the "FIFTH COLUMNISTs".....© Moosejaw 2012

[blueunicorn6]

What price silence, NBC? What price silence?

[joe fonebone]

there is only one way to kill this beast... find out who the major advertisers are and REFUSE to patronize them...

you will not need a major announcement, or even an email blast... just say no..

this is the one thing we can do with little to no pain to us, and it will deny the msm what it needs.. cash flow..

these idiots have yet to figure out that a business model that automatically alienates over half your perspective customers is doomed to fail...

[Pearls Before Swine]

This is how republics die, in thrall to the inane, the frivolous, and the inconsequential.

Well said. As the Greeks put it, "Those whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad."

[Machfour]

The worship of the "cult personality" president is beyond disgusting.

[dfwgator]

It’s going to take a collapse for people to wake up.

[dforest]

This is an excellent piece of work describing the Obama media.

This is worth passing on to others. Question is, what do we do about it?

[Reo]

Yep. See my tagline for the past 9 months.....

[Servant of the Cross]

This is a masterpiece. Thanks for posting!

In spite of the anemic economy and a real unemployment rate above 11 percent, the high priests of pontificating liberalism were giddy with euphoria. The Democrats “put on a nearly flawless convention,” Paul Begala opined, and it was soon all but incontrovertibly established that, come November, the president — beautiful, magical, and lovable as he was — would vanquish his boring opponent.

This is how republics die, in thrall to the inane, the frivolous, and the inconsequential. A liberalism incapable of persuading the public to embrace its policies has been converted by its media tribunes into a publicity stunt. As a result, the nation that gave the world the Federalist Papers and the Lincoln–Douglas debates may very well reelect a flawed chief executive for no other reason than that he has been continuously portrayed as a super-nice guy by the media lackeys who tend the Obama cult.

... 'high priests of pontificating liberalism' (wretch) ping.

[I am Richard Brandon]

On the other, locked thread: "I’d like to see him ban most, if not all, of the MSM from the WH Press Corps"

Mr Alinsky expressed it quite well. Name names, isolate them, etc. If the President from the podium at each presser, highlighted one Obamanite and their misreporting with a very specific and irrefutable example and then banned them for (say) the next 5 pressers it might tame them. If the Pres won't do it, start the presser off with the Press Secretary performing the ceremony. It would be fun to see how the remaining MSM would report it.

[Truth29]

"This is worth passing on to others. Question is, what do we do about it?"

Well, one thing we do is vote for Romney, no matter how much we have to hold our noses. If Obama wins a second term, the 2016 election will be for a Potemkin Village and more worthy of Hugo Chavez than the former United States.

[Iron Munro]

[Terry Mross]

Haven’t you heard? “If the Tea Party hadn’t held the republicans hostage and kept them from working with the president, this wouldn’t have happened.”

[Loud Mime]

bump

[Leep]

First the media wore everyone out with the daily attacks on Bush for nearly the whole 8 years he was in office.
Then they do a complete 180 with Obama.
Everything is historic and he will fix all the evil Bush has done.
Here is where I think people are suffering from a little bit of the Stockholme Syndrome.
Obama has not been “historic” and he has not “fixed” anything.
In MANY ways he has made them worse!
Still, the media is not reporting the truth.
Its obviously not their objective.
They are manipulators,distorters,propagandist dupes, tools, American haters and all around sycophants.
Meanwhile politicians know they can promise almost half the country OPM for four more years.
Who cares if it destroys America.
In fact, in their twisted minds destroying America is the most democratic/patriotic? thing they can do.
Afterall, America deserves to be taken down a few notches.

[GOPJ]

The closeness of mainstream journalists to President Obama has debauched their integrity. Some of them give the White House veto authority over their stories. Others look to be rewarded with plum jobs or stimulus-funded ads.

You're finding the good stuff SeekAndFind. Nice to know people are waking up to the corruption we're facing in the MSM...

[GOPJ]

Which raises another question: If the administration’s Islamic policy has failed to pacify Islam and “make us safer,” why didn’t the president act forcefully in the months preceding the tragedy to protect American diplomats?

Michael Knox Beran comes up with another question the MSM groupthink people won't ask...

[Vaquero]

Yup. Cool

Mine uses the (reporter) double meaning Columnist