An MSNBC Shocker From Left Field (Donahue one of FEW truly leftist commentators)

Newsday ^ | April 16, 2002 | Noel Holston

[weegee]

It's not as though liberals have dwindled to a tiny minority - remember, half the people who voted in the 2000 presidential election, give or take a few, sided with the Democrat. But they apparently don't have the same urge to have their beliefs reinforced - or dittoed - on a daily basis as some conservatives do.

They have the talking points pushed forward on them every day on the nightly alphabet networks news. Every night there is some "slice of live" report that is not news that belongs on one of the nightly magazine shows. As Rush says, he is equal time. A sizeable audience got tired of having their intelligence insulted by "those in the know" at 60minutes et al.

There are a lot of demorats who vote that party because their daddy did and their grandpappy before him did and so forth. They have had it instilled in them that the Republicans are the party of the rich and the Democrats are the party of the working class. New strategy has been to say that the Republicans are racists and the the Democrats are "all inclusive" (just never mind their horribly racist ad campaigns).

That said, there are plenty of people who don't side with all of the positions of the left but are afraid to speak out because of politically correct dogma. To question abortion makes you anti-woman. To question global warming makes you anti-environment. Turn on the leftist claptrap radio shows on the left-end of the FM radio dial. NPR seems positively centrist compared to Jerry Brown (no longer on the air) and the people of Pacifica. Yellow Dog democrats who vote their family's vote can't stomach hearing these people whine about positions that they can't fully support. This is why left-wing talk radio can't get a foothold (although Larry King was unapologetically leftist in his radio career).

[syriacus]

FAIR was launched in mid-1986 at a time when the major media were bending distinctly rightward. Big media businesses were being absorbed by even bigger ones, with dangerous implications for those viewpoints already underrepresented.

Thanks for looking up the very revealing quote.

The folks at FAIR seem to like to use fear-mongering to try to win an argument when all else fails in their pitiable fight against reality.

[Floratina]

"Donahue is nothing but old-fashioned, unapologetic, card-carrying liberal. But that in itself is so rare nowadays in the electronic media..."

HUH?