January 14, 2005 - "Here LIES CBS News..."

Today's Commentary: January 14th, 2005

Hello Thinkers,

"Here Lies CBS News..."

Is that going to be the inscription on the tombstone of CBS News or will it be Dan bin Rather's salutation at the top of his evening news broadcast? Probably both.

Based on what I am seeing from the internal report released by CBS on what is now known as "Memogate", I am going to make the following (obvious) prediction for the 2006 midterm elections and even more so for the 2008 presidential election:

All the talk about Democrats embracing traditional "values" is crap. Things are going to get worse - WAY worse.

I make this prediction not based on personal clairvoyance, but because I see the following trends:

1. Democrats are continuing to elevate internal fringe groups, and maintain the "bunker mentality."
2. The mainstream media (MSM) still doesn't get it.
3. Any single political party "in charge" will lead to our national demise.

The two major political parties are roughly composed of the following constituencies:

Republicans - Those who believe in limited government, strong military, being tough on crime and a "dead" Constitution. While many of these people are upset with the shift away from some of these values by the current (and past) administrations, they are not crazy enough to embrace a "better fit" in political parties or candidates at the cost of (an apparently inevitable) slide towards socialism. They remember Ross Perot and Ralph (The Man) Nader.

Democrats - Those who believe in greater government control over their lives, greater taxes on the ubiquitous "rich" (ie. you), a weaker military, less culpability for criminal behavior and preferences based on race or gender. In addition, a greater portion of active Democrats seem to be fringe groups whose primary drive consists of saving the mudskipper, voting rights for felons, homosexual 'rights', etc.

Many ex-Democrats can honestly say that the Democratic Party has left them - including those who maintain a "D" suffix on their voter registration. The voice of the party fragments, whose transitory alignment crystallizes only during campaign season, has drowned out their old-school counterparts in the din of the Democrat echo chamber. Ask a PETA member what they think of Zell Miller or Joe Lieberman. Watch this year as the Democrats take every chance possible to shred Bush, his nominees, and his policies (a.k.a. the "bunker mentality").

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,144082,00.html

While there are plenty of nuts affiliated with either party, I believe the media's focus on the "Religious Right" of the Republicans is seriously misplaced. Many conservatives believe in a strict textual interpretation of The Constitution followed closely by the standards of our society that have been in place for over 200 years - a la Justices Scalia and Thomas. For example, saying "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, because it does not recognize an official religion such as The Church of W. The oft noted "wall of separation between Church and State" is not in the Constitution, but part of a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut. The idea that this should define our nation as being completely void of any religious reference is ludicrous and has no basis in our history nor the Constitution. If you agree with this then you are apparently part of the media-defined "Religious Right".

Still the MSM doesn't get it. Look at how they are handling Memogate. CBS has fired the producers, but left the overseers of the machine that spawned their Bush hatchet-job, Heyward and Bin Rather, in place. Their own story on the report focuses on the described "myopic zeal" in getting the scoop on a "big story".

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/10/national/main665727.shtml

The looney Mary Mapes, producer of the story, is still singing with the Titanic orchestra.

http://homepage.mac.com/cfj/CBS_mapes_statement.pdf

In her statement she says, "Much has been made about the fact that these documents are photocopies and therefore cannot be trusted, but decades of investigative reporting have relied on just such copies of memos, documents and notes."

...Actually, you idiot, much has been made that these documents are obviously forged and were refuted within hours of the 60 Minutes story.

She continues with this doozey, "It is noteworthy the panel did not conclude that these documents are false."

...Yes - and OJ WAS found to be innocent.

Mapes concludes, "I am heartened to see that the panel found no political bias on my part, as indeed I have none."

...Then why did you rush a negative story on Bush weeks before a presidential election without a thorough vetting process and without presenting any opposing data like the interview with the family of the deceased alleged author of said report? Was the Cracker-Jack internal investigative team looking for a CBS memo titled "Let's use our liberal bias to alter the election." ?? Would they say the same thing if the players were Kerry instead of Bush and Fox News instead of CBS?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationalpolitics/2002032742_bushguard11.html

Even Bin Rather, after the wheels began coming off the cart, chimed in with a statement amazing in its irony:

"My colleagues and I at '60 Minutes' made great efforts to authenticate these documents and to corroborate the story as best we could. . . . I think the public is smart enough to see from whom some of this criticism is coming and draw judgments about what the motivations are."

...Indeed we can, which is why your ratings SUCK, Dan!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A12809-2004Sep10?language=printer

Even if proven with concrete evidence, this story would probably have not changed the 2004 election outcome. But the fact that CBS tried to manipulate the process, is huge. The main story here should be the ongoing liberal bias of CBS News and Bin Rather - not how he was "stretched thin", or the "broken trust with his producer", as the likes of Andrea Mitchell and Tim Russert claim on Imus. Watch the reports on this story and where the "concern" is reported to be.

As I see it, the MSM is continuing its course to the left - steady as she goes. And I view the alphabet soup news networks, NY Times, Boston Globe, et al as the best barometer for what the Democrat party is thinking and where it is also going - in this case, destination: electorate obscurity.

And this is bad for all of us. Without some sane alternative to keep one party, even Republicans, in check, we are in some serious trouble. They are after all, politicians.