Fox News' outrage at President Obama’s critical remarks about their network is becoming hysterical. It’s not a simple matter of their being pissed at his criticism. No, the President is trying to shut them down. He’s going after the First Amendment just as he went after the Second. And he’s sending the country down the tubes because without a free Fox there is no free America. So, at least, said “legal analyst” Peter Johnson Jr., appearing on Fox and Friends for the second morning in a row.
We have previously noted that Johnson is also Roger Ailes’ personal attorney, and speculated that he might be acting as a stand-in for Fox's chief. Since Johnson also appeared on Hannity last night, and maybe on other shows as well, I speculate that he's speaking for Ailes in this case, and that the F&F segment was part of a Carefully Orchestrated Outrage Strategy.
Brian Kilmeade fed Johnson the appropriately sensational opening lines: "After going after the Second Amendment, President Obama, unhappy with freedom of speech, is going after the First Amendment.” Indeed he is, agreed Johnson, as the chyron shouted FIRST GUNS, NOW FREE SPEECH. “The imperial Presidency playbook is open." The First Amendment is "seriously in doubt,” he added, when the President embraces those that echo his talking points, and brands anyone who seeks to “foster debate” as an “enemy of the state.” GOING AFTER FREE SPEECH, the chyron hollered.
Of course he would, said Kilmeade, right on cue. Obama’s got all the Democrats and all the mainstream media and even a few scared Republicans in his camp – “everyone but Fox and Rush apparently.” BIAS ALERT, the chyron screamed.
Johnson then took Fox's outraged-victim message out to the stratosphere. Obama is not just criticizing Fox; he’s threatening the free press that is the bulwark of our democracy. “Ask Thomas Jefferson,” pontificated Johnson. “Ask Alexis de Tocqueville (I might, gentle reader, but they are both sort of like – ahem- dead. Died without having heard of Fox News, poor guys.) “Look at our history. Without a free press, there is not a free America. Without a free Fox, there is not a free America.... Fox is doing its job. ‘Fair and balanced’ means something, especially in a media that’s in the tank across the board, and the President does not like that.”
Doesn’t it make you sleep better at night, gentle reader, knowing that Fox is standing all alone (except for Rush of course) between you and that imperial dictatorial bully in the White House? After this, I expect that Obama will shut the network down and throw all its staff in the slammer. That's what imperial dictators generally do.
The only reason the left wants it reinstated is to silence Conservative talk radio. Thats it. The left hates the fact that conservative radio is highly popular but very few want to listen to the left. You cant compete when its actually fair so you want to put in a law to limit free speech; but only conservative free speech.
Conservatives didnt shut down liberal talk radio. Liberals shut down liberal talk radio. No one wants to listen to it. You cant force yourselves on people. If people didnt want to listen to conservative radio they wouldnt, and you guys wouldnt have this problem. The fact is you want to force the so-called Fairness Doctrine on people and force them to listen to something they dont want to and supress what they do want to listen to.
Which leads you to calling those people names and insulting them because they dont want to listen to your viewpoint.
And the hilarity of it all is while you claim to want this “Fairness” and want both sides to be heard you all band together to try to take down the one conservative news show thats out there and want it to just be liberal news shows only on TV.
Its a neat little trick that you guys do. If someone on the right says something you dont agree with accuse them of spewing hatred, racism and bigotry, even when thats completely untrue.
All I see on here is hatred. From the name calling to the insults to the comments about people who were viciously attacked “getting what they deserved”. But its the right thats putting all the hatred out there.
You people arent true liberals. True liberals want open debate from all sides. You guys want to hear one voice proclaiming the greatness of one side and want to shut down anyone or anything with an opposing view point.
A true liberal would support FOX News right to provide their viewpoints in opposition to all the other News opinions. True liberals would want voices from the right to be heard as much as the voices on the left.
You guys arent liberals. You’re sheep bowing to the Democrats wishes.
Of course, there’s also the fact that most of the talk radio brigade had NO journalism credentials. If they’d attended college, that was where most of them got their limited amount of “news experience” (usually by working at the college radio station as DJs where their work consisted of playing records and hosting events). BUT, they’d “worked in radio” so that was all they needed.
Journalism has suffered a great blow from the corporate entertainment complex, but Fox has driven the propaganda nail into journalism’s coffin. I hope journalism will be reborn from this mess one day, but it will need to take a different form from televised information, something less corruptible is needed.
Here’s what the President said proving that both Rush and Fox only want to make money by creating outrage.
One of the biggest factors is going to be how the media shapes debates. If a Republican member of Congress is not punished on Fox News or by Rush Limbaugh for working with a Democrat on a bill of common interest, then you’ll see more of them doing it.
I think John Boehner genuinely wanted to get a deal done, but it was hard to do in part because his caucus is more conservative probably than most Republican leaders are, and partly because he is vulnerable to attack for compromising Republican principles and working with Obama.
The same dynamic happens on the Democratic side. I think the difference is just that the more left-leaning media outlets recognize that compromise is not a dirty word. And I think at least leaders like myself—and I include Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi in this—are willing to buck the more absolutist-wing elements in our party to try to get stuff done.
