Posted on 06/25/2002 9:13:33 AM PDT by johnqueuepublic
The Right’s Abdication Of Responsibility
By William A. Mayer, Editor & Publisher
June 25, 2002
In the battle for the hearts and minds of the American voter the shadow of “right wing” talk radio looms large.
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but…the power behind that image is largely illusory – a bit of intricately crafted fluff - more shadow than substance.
Yes the lucrative conservative talk show format, largely pioneered by Rush Limbaugh, is a guaranteed moneymaker and even liberal program directors [check out what Jack Swanson, program director, at San Francisco radio station, KSFO, has done] see the folly of ignoring it on mere philosophical grounds.
But, to put it bluntly, the right for the most part, talks loudly and carries a bb gun to the thermonuclear war that modern politics has become.
The reason why the conservative movement, more often than not, gets its head handed to it is that it refuses to play the game according to the rules.
We have no one to blame but ourselves.
The process whereby events become “news” is really misunderstood - as is the process whereby ideas become legislation, but they share a vital link, one that can be probed for answers.
Examine your typical American newspaper, note the source of the articles, certainly some are generated in house – written by staff reporters placed on particular assignments by editors.
This is the cream of reportage, events locally reported and analyzed by individuals. But only the largest news organizations can generate even a small percentage of what is required and even young reporters are an expensive method of building content compared to the breadth of information available via the wire services – AP, US Newswire, Reuters, etc.
Where does this wire service information come from?
It comes from a myriad, a torrent if you will, of paper [both the real kind and the cyber variety] detailing the actions and positions of every group that seeks to influence public opinion – call them press releases, for lack of a better term, but they encompass everything from the announcement of a political fundraiser to the release of a study by an advocacy group to Mr. Hotshot’s blurb, announcing the fact that he has been hired as CEO of XYZ company.
This information is the grist of the public relations departments of large companies, governmental agencies, public relations firms themselves and from the PR directors within political advocacy groups and trust funds – predominantly 501c3s and other not-for-profit single issue oriented entities.
These activists not only generate an ocean of media friendly sound-bites but they spend inordinate amounts of time testifying before Congress as expert witnesses and beating congressional staffers over the head with reams of statistics and other mind numbing data.
They preside over the factoids surrounding whatever their current pet project is and insinuate themselves into the legislative process at all levels of government [check to see who is behind your next local “land use” squabble – 9 times out of 10 you will find the attorneys from some anti-progress group like the Sierra Club involved] They also scream - a lot - at each other on cable television talking head shows, reiterating the official dogma of whatever is appropriate.
Here at PipeBombNews, we recently featured a story about the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States. It was set against a poll that an advocacy group had conducted which tended to support the thesis contained in the headline – Anti Semitism On The Rise In U.S. – the source was a press release from the ADL, the Anti Defamation League – a group devoted to fighting anti-Semitism. We thoroughly agreed with the group’s findings and ran the story.
Now there is absolutely nothing sinister about this process, we chose this particular example because the ADL is a group with which we are philosophically allied for the most part.
But the overwhelming majority of sources for this information are allies against the conservative/smaller government movement - the deck is stacked against us, but again it’s our own fault.
Why is it our own fault?
Because for all the bluster we can bring to bear at any one point in time we can not possibly control the agenda, at its seminal source, until we start to build an infrastructure to support it.
What would this structure consist of?
Easy - conservative 501c3s and “public interest” firms churning out an incessant tidal wave of paper and lawsuits advancing our perspective, as well as snuggling up to regulatory agencies and generally injecting themselves into the nerve centers of government – twisting and breaking a few arms along the way.
The left has become quite skillful in taking over groups like the Ford Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trust, etc., and building a cottage industry of grand sounding organizations like the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Violence Policy Center which are nothing but Stalinist advocacy groups intent on restricting liberty and thwarting “small d” democracy.
We have to use the same tools that our adversaries use; merely bitching that the deck is stacked serves no purpose.
Now what follows may not sit well with some but here goes anyway.
People like Rush Limbaugh, George F. Will, Bill O’Reilly and other lesser stars in the conservative constellation have grown rich serving this market – it’s time to pay up boys!
C’mon Rush you are worth at least a quarter of a billion dollars – which we in no way begrudge you – but its time to pony up to the bar, bucko.
Hey Mr. Will [remember you owe us one anyway in atonement for being the first to turn on RR and his Laffer-inspired economics] how about spending some of the dough that you get for penning really pedantic books - to set up something like the Foundation for Limited American Government or the Trust for Responsible Environmental Engagement - put some money back into the movement that allowed you to become rich and famous.
Same with you O’Reilly, and you too Hannity and Savage and all the rest.
Until the right can actually help form public opinion by having significant input into the news stream that is the lifeblood of the media we are going to remain second-class citizens.
The Right doesn’t seem to be very good at taking over existing organizations so they are going to have to build their own – until that happens we can really only fight a slowly losing battle against far better positioned adversaries.
If you would actually read for content your job would be easier - the point is that the left has done a yeoman's job of setting up an infrastructure beneficial to promoting their goals and we have to do the same.
Sheesh, some people.
What does money have to do with it?? Well how do you build a non profit orgainzation without $$s??
You have to incorporate them properly, get IRS approval, get an office in DC hire at least a small staff, get real it takes money.
You simply must not be able to comprehend the stakes that are up for grabs.
The socialists will take everything that you hold dear unless we match them tooth and nail, attacking someone who has the temerity to suggest that there is a component of debt to conservative success plays right into their hands.
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