January 10, 2008

Sound advice

Gene Lyons has some thoughts about what Hillary should say to Obama if she could afford absolute straight talk:

Everybody’s sickened by Washington-style partisan warfare. We all have Republican friends and relatives whose ideals we value. It’s never been true that all the good ideas belong to one faction or party.

But when I cross party lines, they call it cynical ‘triangulation.’ When you do, it’s praiseworthy ‘bipartisanship.’ Until you’re nominated, that is. That’s when the GOP smear machine will start on you. It’s a Washington thing, run by paid political operatives who have browbeaten and bribed much of the Beltway media into seeing things their way.

Their way means that, as a Democrat, you’re either a weak, ineffectual man or an unnatural, bitchy woman — effete, unpatriotic and downright weird. Your marriage is a sham, your religion a fraud. If you think you’re above it, you’re dreaming.

Nothing’s sacred to them, not even the sacred. Some of it circulates in anonymous e-mails; some on dubious Web sites, on far-right talk radio; some in ‘conservative’ newspapers, magazines and TV networks, which will broadcast almost anything.

Eventually, ‘mainstream’ pundits chatter about it on ‘Hardball’ because it’s ‘out there.’ Since 1992, I’ve been accused of everything up to and including murder. Then after the charges were proved false, they decided I was ‘polarizing.’ And I’m still standing.

Today, you’re the great liberal hero because job one is taking me out. Tomorrow ? Well, ‘hope’ is not a plan. Remember, the original ‘man from Hope’ was my husband.

Lyons is the co-author of "The Hunting of the President"; he's been documenting what the right-wing and its allies in the media have done for years, specifically to the Clintons and generally to the Democrats. While the rest of us notice the slime machine, snort in disgust and move on, Lyons keeps track.

Posted by Linkmeister at January 10, 2008 12:01 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Leonard and I have often discussed this one sided mentality and the willingness of much of the media to allow it to go unquestioned. I suspect that the "liberal media" claims the right wing make are as manufactured and right centered as any of the bias they claim against all democrats.

Thanks for the book link. I like that you promote a favorite NW bookstore!

Posted by: Karan at January 11, 2008 12:22 PM