Posted on 05/03/2013 3:12:39 AM PDT by marktwain
Two very different pictures are emerging of what took place this weekend at a series of townhall meetings by Kelly Ayotte, the Republican senator from New Hampshire.
Ayotte traveled back to the Granite State to meet with constituents, and among the topics that came up were her votes against new gun control measures. But local and national news media are giving sharply contrasting accounts of what really happened when the gun control issue surfaced.
If you read about the meetings in the national press, you likely went away thinking the Republican lawmaker was overwhelmed by pro-gun control critics. You might think the opposite if you read reports from the local news there.
“The big media folks flocked to the Granite State this week as though it was the First-in-the-Nation presidential primary, all because they wanted to see Sen. Ayotte get yelled at for voting against a measure that would have expanded gun control,” columnist Shawn Millerick wrote in the New Hampshire Journal, lamenting the coverage from national outlets.
Millerick added: “The media certainly covered what they wanted to see. The New York Times, the Washington Post and Politico all created the impression that Ayotte faced a firestorm of criticism at her town hall meetings.”
Politico’s story was titled, “Kelly Ayotte on defense over gun vote.”
The Washington Post headlined it’s story, “Sen. Kelly Ayotte becomes focus of gun-control groups after voting against background checks.”
The New York Times wrote, “In New Hampshire, Senator Finds Her Vote on Gun Bill Is Hot Topic.”
The stories in local press gave a different impression. The Concord Monitor reported that, “The crowd of about 250 in the Winnisquam Regional High School cafetorium seemed mostly supportive of Ayotte, applauding frequently, including after a man thanked her for her vote against the background checks legislation.”
WMUR, the state’s only network affiliate, said of the anti-Ayotte protesters: “Just as many, if not more, came out to applaud the senator’s stand.” A quick review of video clips from WMUR and other sources indicates Ayotte supporters were more numerous than detractors.
In his column, Millerick also posted photos of license tags outside the townhalls, suggesting that many of the protesters were from out of state.
“Complaints about liberal media bias can become tedious,” Millerick said. “The mainstream media is very liberal, that is well established. Griping about it rarely gets anyone anywhere. But occasionally, the collective groupthink of the elite establishment media becomes so biased that it actually needs to be called out.”
Why does the Media want this country to go socialist so badly? What’s in it for them?
“The MSM is the problem.”
Yes they are, and the Koch Bros. are the cure!
They don’t report they push agendas.
There is no organized local opposition to Ayotte on this issue.
This is 100% astroturf. Why else are these outraged “local citizens” accompanied by New York Times reporters wherever they go?
However, it’s important to recognize two things about this: First, OFA can now deploy “protesters” anywhere with essentially no lead time, and second, the level of integration of the political arm and the propaganda arm has arrived at a place we have not ever seen in this country.
It’s a coup that’s underway, it’s not politics. The synergism of Soros/Heinz-Kerry/Gates money, large propaganda entities like CNN and NYT, and the “entertainment” industry has become a very powerful force.
Bloomberg-funded astroturf...the hecklers were probably from outside her district.
You mean, like Cindy Shehag?
Well, no, it's not.
Any "coup" that can't even pull 60 votes in the Senate to get a weak "gun control" bill to a floor vote isn't going anywhere.
I quite agree they's like to pull a coup, but is isn't working. At all.
It is their religion, their culture, their personal agenda, their entire world view.
Many get into the MSM to "make a difference". If you are not part of the "progressive" culture, you do not go far in the MSM.
I quite agree they's like to pull a coup, but is isn't working. At all.
Well, they got Obama reelected. They got Roberts to reverse and uphold Obamacare at the Supreme Court.
One setback does not mean that they are stopped, though I certainly hope that you are correct.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F1nPSNnaBo
only 2 minutes - pass it on after viewing. it is going viral ...
I believe most Journalists (A misnomer, but we call them that)are educated in colleges that are filled with leftists Communist teachers. Their peers are of the same sort .
I believe a journalist likes nothing better than reading their name on a story. The more they see their name the more sexually excited they become, It’s a fetish.
They know that in order to see their name they must be writing Communist, liberal ,Politically correct garbage.
So they write it and sneak off to themselves stare at their name on the byline and get off.
Television anchors are even worse they view their video as their own personal porn. Rachel Maddow and little Chrissy Mathews are practically worn out from it.
It is their religion, their culture, their personal agenda, their entire world view.
Many get into the MSM to “make a difference”. If you are not part of the “progressive” culture, you do not go far in the MSM.
*****************************************************
There is also the idea that they are of superior intellect,(that’s what they think) and more able to determine what is best for all the peons out here especially in flyover country.
And then there’s the power trip - we Journalists of the better intellect should be the ones calling the shots. etc etc
a keeper
They are all one world leftists and communists and evildoers. They celebrate every evil that goes against GOD.
LLS
I disagree.
They were shocked by their failure to elect Kerry, and they changed to a model of much more conspicuous lying, with much tighter integration of "stars" into the propaganda machine.
The results are all around you to see.
And, while it's true that they failed to pass Manchin-Toomey (the 90% lie being particularly egregious), they are now trying something new - deploying astroturf mobs accompanied by media to follow around the five or six Senators they need to switch (and, unfortunately, they picked a good target in Kelly Ayotte) - while there are "stars" on daytime TV constantly repeating the meme.
The only saving grace is that their machine isn't being run by Germans.
You are still talking about their efforts, not their success.
I quite agree that they want to do what you say. I just see no evidence that their methods are achieving actual results.
Which is not to say that they won’t achieve such results, only that they haven’t yet.
I wish 2A proponents would even occasionally acknowledge the extent to which the terms of the debate have shifted in their direction. 30 - 40 years ago the gun control debate was very largely about whether all guns, or at least all handguns, should be prohibited or tightly controlled.
Today the argument is most states is about “shall issue” carry permits.
That is a truly enormous shift, similar to the equivalent shift in the same period about abortion issues. 40 years ago the argument was about whether all, or almost all, abortions should be illegal. Today it’s about whether even the most egregious and horrific examples of abortion can be made illegal.
Let us assume Manchin-Toomey gets to a floor vote in the Senate and passes. It still must pass a House vote, which it won't.
“Let us assume Manchin-Toomey gets to a floor vote in the Senate and passes. It still must pass a House vote, which it won’t. “
It will in 2015, when the Dems get the issue they need to win the House. This vote was on gun control, which EVERYONE knew was a lost cause in the House - it was on control of the House in 2015. The Dems probably already had the commercials produced to isolate in on the “Do-Nothing House”. Stopping it in the Senate DESTROYED that plan for next year.
Why do you think it was such a big deal to them - if it was never going to make it to Obama’s desk? I can think of no other reason.
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