Fox ‘News’ and the ‘08 Democrats
22 February 2007 12:11 am by Taylor Marsh
Fox \’News\’ and the \’08 Democrats
| VIDEO: Sliming a Democrat, all in a day\’s work for Brit. |
It\’s amazing what can happen in 24 hours. I go to Carson City to cover an \’08 forum and all hell breaks loose between Hillary and Barack.
There\’s also that little item that\’s been on simmer for months. Nevada Democrats
inviting Fox \”News\” to host a debate later this year. That none
other than Bush\’s boy Brit Hume will moderate it is enough to send anyone to
the liquor cabinet, because you simply won\’t be able to watch this one sober.
A couple of things to consider.
First, it\’s hard for me to believe, no scratch that one. It\’s impossible for me to accept that anything as big as a presidential debate in Nevada with Fox \”News\” as the media partner could happen without Harry Reid being party to it at
some level; likely at the very top. I have no inside knowledge whatsoever,
but as far as I can tell, Reid IS Nevada politics. He didn\’t beat the mob in Las Vegas and
live to tell about it because he\’s a punk.
For emphasis and also for those who are coming late to this party, I give you exhibit A, which is actually old news.
In making the announcement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said,
“This is more great news for Nevada. I\’m happy FOX News will be a partner
for the August presidential debate. Western issues will be a major focus of
this debate in particular. With FOX News as our partner, candidates will have
an opportunity to not only speak to Nevada voters, but voters across the West
who will be instrumental to electing a Democratic president in 2008.”(snip)
The Western Majority Project (WMP), another cosponsor of the FOX debate,
is a federally registered political action committee. WMP was recently founded
to build upon the growing political strength of the West by injecting Western
issues into the national dialogue and highlight the common sense, forward
looking, independent values of Western voters. WMP’s advisory
council includes co-chairs Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, as well as Senators Ken Salazar, Colorado; Max Baucus,
Montana; Jon Tester, Montana; and Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico and Governors
Bill Ritter, Colorado; Brian Schweitzer, Montana; Bill Richardson, New Mexico.
Secondly, and this is going to be hard for some to swallow. What makes you
think the Democratic \’08 hopefuls don\’t want to have access to the Fox audience?
Think about it. Politicians want eyes. They\’re egotistical enough to believe
that they have the power to change minds. That\’s why they\’re in the game. You
don\’t get into it because you\’re insecure, though clearly anyone needing that
much love from the entire nation isn\’t exactly an island.
I\’m not saying there isn\’t merit in pushing back on the Fox deal. But something
tells me it won\’t have any support among Reid, the WMP and the \’08ers, though that hardly should stop anyone from mounting a campaign against it. But the event teases the possibility of reaching a whole new audience for Democrats, at least that\’s how the crew behind the partnership is likely thinking about it, at least as I see it.
This event is advantage Biden.
\”The Democrats\’ point man on national security.\” – Chris Wallace, Fox News Sunday (2.26.06), introducing Senator Joe Biden.
See, the DC Democrats think engaging the Fox audience is a plus, because they
actually believe that audience can vote Democratic if the right magical combination
of political pandering and pressure is applied.
The insulting absurdity is after all these years of being maligned and mischaracterized
on the air every day, the Democrats are going to reward Fox \”News,\”
a network that clearly doesn\’t deserve it. Can you just hear the cluck, cluck,
clucking in the Fox \”News\” corridors?
I know we can\’t expect someone like, say, Keith Olbermann, but Brit Hume? It\’s
certainly not because Keith couldn\’t ask good questions. Instead we\’re going
to have to look at Hume\’s melting mug, while advertisers give Fox \”News\”
millions of dollars, which they don\’t deserve. Because Democrats are never going
to win over the majority of Fox \”News\” viewers. We will, however,
bring lots of viewers to Fox to root for a political train wreck.
How quickly DC Democrats forget about the Obama madrassa slur, as well as the compounding insult that it came out of camp Hillary. Then, of course, there is Dick Morris.
Nevertheless, Harry Reid has made the deal and rolled the dice, because he is betting that some
new voters will like what they see and hear. To boldly go where smart Democrats would rather be seen dead.
Or look at it another way. Reid inviting Fox \”News\” in is like a
Democrat shooting a gun and liking it. See Brian Schweitzer. See Brian Schweitzer
win.
