Slog Comments
The Conservative Media Tries to Figure Out What the Hell It's Doing
2
I don't understand why you're gushing over this. He hits some good points, but his baseline assumption remains in the crazy-area: fear-mongering over the "liberal bias." He remains a hack. All he's doing is criticizing the way other hacks operate.
The problem is simple: whatever conservative ideas that work have already been implemented. The ones that don't work have also been implemented, and all you have to do is look at the facts to realize this. "Trickle-down" economics don't work, pure and simple. Having an effective social safety net makes the country stronger, pure and simple. You can't be a conservative pundit and tell the truth. No matter how you slice it. So they will always be reduced to lying or perpetuating their delusions in some form or other.
And people are getting fed up w/ being lied to.
The problem is simple: whatever conservative ideas that work have already been implemented. The ones that don't work have also been implemented, and all you have to do is look at the facts to realize this. "Trickle-down" economics don't work, pure and simple. Having an effective social safety net makes the country stronger, pure and simple. You can't be a conservative pundit and tell the truth. No matter how you slice it. So they will always be reduced to lying or perpetuating their delusions in some form or other.
And people are getting fed up w/ being lied to.
3
The hardcore teabaggers have suspected Erickson of being a tool for the establishment for a few years now. Things like this give support to that idea. The old boys who meet in the smoke filled rooms recognize that 2012 was a disaster created in no small part by the right wing media. Erickson is expressing the establishment's concerns that these stupid stories are hurting more than helping. I bet they gave him that task personally.
Interesting that he's giving the Obamaphone as an example of what's wrong. I wonder what he (or the other redstate editors) had to say when that was being pimped for all it was worth? I'm sure they were either encouraging it themselves, or saying nothing at all, but there's no way they were pointing out the truth about the program.
Interesting that he's giving the Obamaphone as an example of what's wrong. I wonder what he (or the other redstate editors) had to say when that was being pimped for all it was worth? I'm sure they were either encouraging it themselves, or saying nothing at all, but there's no way they were pointing out the truth about the program.
4
It's astounding how Erick "I am the 53%" Erickson could write an essay about the lack of integrity in the conservative media without once directly implicating himself and all the baseless bullshit he's peddled over the years. I mean I get why he did that, I just don't get how he expects anyone to take him seriously.
5
Republicans are really cowards about self-reflection. Oh no, it's all the other guys who are assholes, I'm not a part of this mainstream movement, I'm a tea partier/libertarian/"independent".
I love how the Republican party is made up of millions of "lone guns" and "mavericks" who totally buck all trends. Yeah, you and every other Avril Levigne "punk" and mallgoth who shops at hot topic. You're all unique snowflakes.
I love how the Republican party is made up of millions of "lone guns" and "mavericks" who totally buck all trends. Yeah, you and every other Avril Levigne "punk" and mallgoth who shops at hot topic. You're all unique snowflakes.
6
Paul, links to said shitstorm, please? The original article was fascinating--where's the best place to turn for the reactions, positive or negative?
7
We understand it perfectly well, asshole. That's the problem.
The echo in the chamber has gotten so loud it is not well understood outside the echo chamber in the mainstream press and in the public.
We understand it perfectly well, asshole. That's the problem.
8
@5:
I tend to look at today's GOP as being like the crowd in that scene from "Monty Python's Life of Brian", where Brian is trying to convince them that, "you're all unique individuals!", to which the crowd responds in-unison, "We're all unique individuals!" Erickson is just trying to set himself apart by being the one, lone voice who responds with, "I'm not!"
I tend to look at today's GOP as being like the crowd in that scene from "Monty Python's Life of Brian", where Brian is trying to convince them that, "you're all unique individuals!", to which the crowd responds in-unison, "We're all unique individuals!" Erickson is just trying to set himself apart by being the one, lone voice who responds with, "I'm not!"
10
To follow up on what @2 said, there is almost no media that doesn't push the conservative narrative on most important economic and foreign policy issues: trickle down, job creators, debt and deficit have to be addressed now, public employees are on the gravy train, there is a SS crisis, we have to invade Iraq, Iran is a threat to us, and on (it'd be easier to list issues when the media doesn't push conservative memes). In other words, the media certainly doesn't have an ideological bias against conservative ideology as can be seen in their constantly pushing conservative propaganda.
13
I'm surprised he didn't mention the "You didn't build that" line of Obama's.
I give Erickson credit for not latching onto the easy lie of omission in his editorial on the speech from which the out-of-context sound bite came. The one which Fox News salivated over for months. The one repeated by Romney and Ryan over and over.
His response had some reason to it: clearly part of the success that business people enjoy is based on the system of enterprise created by business, and not by government.
But I fault him for 1) implying that Obama's belief is that government is entirely responsible for a business's success, and then claiming as fact that Obama believes it is more responsible than enterprise, and 2) putting forward his own belief that business owes the government practically nothing. The first is a cheap straw man, yet his entire editorial hangs on it; the second is demonstrably false.
He even brought up that the first roads were privately built out of necessity, while completely ignoring the interstate system, which I assume he believes is necessary to business, yet somehow remained unbuilt until the government stepped in.
He's a hack, but a lot cleverer than most.
I give Erickson credit for not latching onto the easy lie of omission in his editorial on the speech from which the out-of-context sound bite came. The one which Fox News salivated over for months. The one repeated by Romney and Ryan over and over.
His response had some reason to it: clearly part of the success that business people enjoy is based on the system of enterprise created by business, and not by government.
But I fault him for 1) implying that Obama's belief is that government is entirely responsible for a business's success, and then claiming as fact that Obama believes it is more responsible than enterprise, and 2) putting forward his own belief that business owes the government practically nothing. The first is a cheap straw man, yet his entire editorial hangs on it; the second is demonstrably false.
He even brought up that the first roads were privately built out of necessity, while completely ignoring the interstate system, which I assume he believes is necessary to business, yet somehow remained unbuilt until the government stepped in.
He's a hack, but a lot cleverer than most.
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