Originally posted by vspA quick question to all concerned:
Is it still possible for someone to be neither a raving liberal NOR a staunch conservative, or do we have to pigeonhole every (politician | reporter | pundit | voter | human being in general) as belonging to one side or the other?
It's very possible. It just isn't the "done thing". When you're "discussing" something with someone, and their viewpoint disagrees with yours, it's a hell of a lot easier to dismiss them and be comfortable in your rightness if you can just say "well, they're just a liberal/conservative/witch/HHH fan, they must be completely wrong."
And the worst part is, the media and the political system as a whole really seems to encourage this, to the point where it's damn near impossible to come to any kind of understanding. Hell, I remember about ten years ago during the big Operation Rescue thing here in Wichita they had Randall Terry and the head of a women's organization (I forget exactly who) on an episode of Donahue... they spent the entire taped portion of the episode trading rhetoric and arguing, same ol' same ol'... but the second they actually found a middle ground and began to talk and try to figure out something realistic...
Stop tape, roll credits.
Kansas-born and deeply ashamed The last living La Parka Marka
"They that can give up essential liberty to gain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Noted one news editor at a large daily paper: "I think people realize the press has its own agenda - a middle-class, white suburban or hip urban, college-educated, somewhat liberal vision of how the world should be."
That's a great quote, and one I agree with wholeheartedly. You think a "middle-class, white suburban" vision of how the world should be is liberal? I hate to see what you think is conservative.
As for the "hip urban, college-educated, somewhat liberal" vision, that's the alternative weekly city rags crowd then the established newspaper crowd.
The GOP is great at taking a small segment of something (the media, or academia, or the judicial system, or whatever) that's a bit to the left, and using that to call the whole thing "liberal." The Washington-area newspaper reporters (the 92% figure) are liberal, therefor the whole media must be liberal. The University of Michigan is liberal, therefor Academia is liberal. The 9th circuit court of Appeals is liberal, therefor the Judicial system is liberal.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think I was going to talk about 'man on dog' with a United States Senator. It's sort of freaking me out."
Associated Press interview with Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), 04-07-2003.
Originally posted by MoeGatesThe GOP is great at taking a small segment of something (the media, or academia, or the judicial system, or whatever) that's a bit to the left, and using that to call the whole thing "liberal." The Washington-area newspaper reporters (the 92% figure) are liberal, therefor the whole media must be liberal. The University of Michigan is liberal, therefor Academia is liberal. The 9th circuit court of Appeals is liberal, therefor the Judicial system is liberal.
EXACTLY!!!
Bill O'Reilly is liberal so FOX News is liberal. Rush Limbaugh is liberal so talk radio is liberal. Bill Gates is liberal so corporate America is liberal. Toby Keith is liberal so the country music industry is liberal.
anyone care to explain what he's trying to say? Is he trying to use satire (or something. I can't tell) to say that FOW news is not conservative and whatnot?