When Opposing Parties Usually Agree
Reported by Deborah - July 18, 2004 -
FNC likes to argue that their Fair & Balanced motto is accurate because there are so many Democrats on staff to debate the Republican bias. Well, one look at the Beltway Boys, and the uninformed would wonder, which one was the Democrat. The latest edition of the Beltway Boys, 7/17/04 6PM, was a prime example of Fox Democrats usually agreeing with the Republican message.
Mort Kondaracke, Democrat, and Fred Barnes, Republican, have a very civilized political discussion each week. Both men are pleasant, articulate and well informed
and would probably have great debates, if they didn't always agree. When Kondaracke does disagree with Barnes, the exchange always ends with Kondaracke backing down and qualifying his statement to agree with the Republican message.
Kondaracke opined that Kerry was smart to "steal" Bush's theme of values but was plagued by the hotheads like Moore, Whoopy Goldberg, and the haters at the NAACP. That doesn't sound like a democratic viewpoint to me.
As the show progressed, Kondaracke blasted the NAACP, accusing them of dividing people by race and crossing the line with their hate crimes ad. "It was worse then the Willy Horten ad." Barnes, the opposition, agreed."There was nothing wrong with the Willy Horten ad."
On Joe Wilson, Kondaracke called a "Bush Hater" who lied because his wife did recommend him for the job. No mention of the outing of his wife.
On Hillary Clinton Kondaracke said that she was snubbed on purpose because John Edwards fears her. Although Hillary bashing often crosses party lines, this was in the category of negative Republican gossip.
There is no denying that Mort Kondaracke has every right to express these opinions on Fox. However, it appears ludicrous to use this show as an example of Fair & Balanced programming.It's quite possible that Kondaracke is a true Democrat and possibly even a liberal, but if that is true, his behavior on the show must be dictated by the authors of his paycheck.
