Posted on 01/05/2003 1:14:16 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
NEW YORK -- Influential Democrats, worried that their party has been outgunned in the political propaganda wars by conservative radio and television personalities, are scouring the nation for a liberal answer to Rush Limbaugh and the many others on the deep bench of Republican friends.
For years, Democrats have groused about their inability to balance what they see as the increasing influence over the electorate by advocates of Republican policies.
But they say their concerns have taken on a new urgency because of the rise to the top of the cable news ratings by the Fox News Channel, considered by liberals to have a conservative slant, and the loss of the Senate to the Republicans in November. Some Democrats say the election outcome enhanced the influence of Fox News and personalities like Limbaugh.
The efforts among influential Democrats, particularly liberals, range from a grass-roots talent search for progressive radio hosts to the creation of think tanks to provide a Democratic spin for the news media, to nascent discussions by wealthy supporters about starting a cable network with a liberal bent.
People working on these projects acknowledged they were venturing into territory where liberals have failed and failed again, most notably with the short-lived radio programs of Mario Cuomo and Texan Jim Hightower, not to mention Phil Donahue's struggling, liberal talk show on MSNBC.
However, they said, the recent Republican gains have perhaps set the backdrop for the emergence of an angry liberal who could claim the same outsider status that worked so well for Limbaugh in the early 1990s.
The hurried efforts by Democrats to find more powerful media voices comes after years of carping but little action.
"If you start from the premise that the message was right, which we do, then the problem was that it wasn't getting out to the people," said one official of the Democratic Party who spoke on condition that his name not be used.
With that sentiment, there is a sense within the leadership ranks that the party erred in not building a media support system after the 2000 presidential election, when it lost the media coordination of the Clinton White House.
"Across the board, we need to muscle up," said John Podesta, the former White House chief of staff for Bill Clinton and now a law professor at Georgetown University. "That means from the congressional operations to the party committees to the think tank world to, most significantly, beefing up our capacity to communicate with the public in all forms of media, not just through obscure Internet Web sites but on television and radio."
For his part, Podesta is discussing with Internet entrepreneur Steven T. Kirsch and others the creation of a liberal version of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative research group that, along with others of its kind, is credited with helping start the modern conservative movement.
The foundation is part of a circuit of influential conservative groups that are credited with helping to hone a singular conservative message, bolstered each Wednesday at back-to-back meetings held by Grover Norquist, the head of Americans for Tax Reform, and the conservative activist Paul Weyrich. Those meetings are monitored and at times attended by some conservative commentators, columnists and Internet writers.
Democrats have long claimed that the circuit has corralled conservative thinkers, and more importantly, conservative media, into a disciplined message of the week that gets repeated attention from Web sites like The Drudge Report, Limbaugh's radio show, Fox News' prime-time talk shows and the editorial pages of The Washington Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Kirsch, chief executive of the Propel Internet service and a prominent Democratic fund-raiser, said the foundation he and Podesta envision would do the same for liberals.
"During the last 10 years the opposition has become more organized and the liberals haven't adapted to counter it," he said. "We will have components that will include messaging, message delivery and coordination of progressive groups so progressives will speak with more of a unified voice."
But if history is any guide, the soil may not be fertile. Liberal radio programs have not worked very well in the past. Liberals and conservatives said they believed this was in part because the most prominent liberal hosts have tended to present policy issues in all of their dry complexity while refraining from baring fangs against their conservative opponents.
"Most liberal talk shows are so, you know, milquetoast, who would want to listen to them?" said Harry Thomason, the Hollywood producer who is close to Clinton. "Conservatives are all fire and brimstone."
And who may I ask is going to watch it?
And for what reason?
Vicious man. And I laugh when they talk about starting a liberal network. They have all the networks, PBS (which I highly resent paying for) and all the cable except Fox.
When you hear people saying over and over, "I thanked God the first time I heard Rush. Finally someone was talking the way I think". That is the secret of conservative success, not fancy focus groups and "messaging, message delivery and coordination of progressive groups." It is because Rush talks to the soul of what people already believe.
I wouldn't watch any of these media whore networks even to see a piss ant eat a bale of hay!
These are dead air outlets who write their own "rave" reviews!
However, I would really like to SEE a list of Edwards' visits to all 100 of NC counties WITH DATES AND PURPOSES.
Yeah it is weird how they always have to honor each other. It's like Jimmy Carter getting the peace prize, they're awarding themselves.
Why, of course they are. They're so smart, they can't even begin to explain to the wee folk just how smart they are. They're so smart, it overwhelms them.
"If you start from the premise that the message was right, which we do, then the problem was that it wasn't getting out to the people," said one official of the Democratic Party
I just love that sentence. I'm going to make it into a sampler and hang it on my wall.
The chronic third party losers preach the same victimology.
In the beginning was the Demo Project. And the Project was without form. And darkness was upon the staff members thereof. So they spake unto their Division Head, saying, "It is a crock of sh*t, and it stinks." ...
The difference being that aging dung dries up, blows away, and will diminish greatly in odor. A crock or vessel facilitates fermentation of such foul substance. Thus, we have the Democratic Party in an urn of the body politic and the scent thereof wafts forth putrified when the lid is loosened from time to time.
It's kind of off topic, but this is as good a place to post it as any.
Why aren't the Rat's all over Joe Biden to run for President? He's 50 times more impressive than the field of clowns they have now and he's got name recognition.
GAD!! I just finished firing off a letter to Steve Lopez in the LA Times about his identicle column in today's paper. It even had the Harry Thomason quote.
There has been an all out media blitz since the November elections, to find some way...any way to bring the Democrats back to power.
Every newspaper, non-FOX cable network and Carville clone has been beating its breast and howling at Heaven to help them stop the Republicans.
If the Left wasn't so evil they'd make me sad.
Guys: Limbaugh, FOX News and the Washington Times succeeded because there was a void (market) on the Right to be filled. There is no such void on the Left, so your hysterical efforts will fail. Try coming up with better solutions (Ha! Yeah, right).
Why, of course they are. They're so smart, they can't even begin to explain to the wee folk just how smart they are...
They don't have to b/c they're annointed. All they have to do is come up with liberal dribble, repeat it ad nauseam, then the minions will accept it, thus becoming empowered with the liberal agenda. i.e.
'Tax cuts for the rich'
'It will benefit the top one percent'.
'Right wing extremists'
'Rrepublicans are mean spirited'
'We feel your pain'
etc.
Shhhhh! ;)
O.K.
(BAWHAHAHA!)#;^)
The VLWC (Vast Left Wing Coincedence).
What the hell does that mean?
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