As I wrote in a recent article on this website, the current US election campaign has been fought almost exclusively by the Media Class. Democrat Party leaders and spokesmen have been most noticeable by their absence. I am aware that candidates are out in their localities making speeches to the faithful, but little of what they say has been allowed to get into the mainstream media outlets.
There are reasons for their lack of publicity in the election build-up, because at all other times the Media Class is only too pleased to magnify every syllable uttered by Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbra Streisand et al. The Media Class is fully aware that the agenda it promotes from behind the scenes and through its Leftist activists is not a vote winner. The November election is too important to the Media Class (Bush’s Supreme Court appointments are at stake) to risk having its agenda examined, debated and submitted to a popular referendum. The Media Class strategy has been to avoid publicizing the Democrat Party’s policies (or lack of them) and leaders’ statements and instead to focus entirely on daily scandal stories that damage Republican incumbents or paint the Iraq war as a disaster. The damaging stories are the result of months of Media investigations that have targeted Republican candidates and especially those in vulnerable seats. No doubt the George Soros funded organizations have contributed to this work and results have been stored to be released strategically by the Media during the election campaign. The disclosure about Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid’s land deals was clearly unintended and quickly buried, but in contrast the Mark Foley story was certainly part of the strategy and was kept alive for weeks with artificial respiration.
It is central to this strategy that Leftist Democrats keep quiet and allow the Media Class to concentrate on targeting Republicans with bad news and scandal. In this way real issues do not surface for debate and Republican voter turnout is depressed. Now, Senator John Kerry has upset the apple cart. Assuming that he was amongst fellow Leftists and playing to the gallery, Kerry said what he really believes about the US military. His audience loved it, for they share his beliefs. Unfortunately for him, someone had a video camera and the cat was out of the bag. It is certain that Kerry has blown his last chance of competing for the Democrat nomination for the 2008 presidential race. Mrs. Bill Clinton will not be unhappy and one is reminded of the old saying “it’s an ill wind etc”.
Here is what Kerry said. “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq”.
It has been a fascinating experience watching the mainstream Media Class representatives circling the wagons around Kerry in order to limit the damage he has inflicted on their campaign. Not that they care about Kerry who is expendable. After his 2002 Presidential fiasco they probably realized that he is a moron who married money. His reckless words have had two consequences for which he will not be forgiven by the new ruling class. Firstly he has revealed during an election campaign the belief that all Democrat activists share with him which is contempt for the men who defend their country. How else can his words be interpreted? He meant that uneducated dopes don the uniform. Secondly, at a vital moment he has distracted the Media from its task of sinking the Republicans.
The news of Kerry’s blunder was ‘outed’ by conservative Talk Radio hosts, and on the Internet and Fox News. Rush Limbaugh in particular has made sure that Kerry’s words have not been buried. The major networks have been enraged by this as though there is something quite unfair going on. Some of the TV anchors, struggling to come up with ‘explanations’ for Kerry’s remarks, have ventured into mind reading. Kerry himself at first tried to go on the attack and to brazen it out. Since then he has variously claimed he misread his notes, got muddled, was joking, has been taken out of context, has sort of apologized and gone into hiding to lick his wounds. To be fair to him he has avoided demonstrating any integrity.
President George Bush, currently on the stump, has defended the integrity of our troops, as he should, but if he is using Kerry’s words to make political points, he is justified, for the Iraq war and our troops behavior are the only substantive ‘issues’ that this campaign has been about. That is how the Media wanted it, at least until now!
The President went on the Rush Limbaugh radio show to do this, though Limbaugh has been doing a fine job on his own. This brings me to the main point. This election has been fought between the mainstream media and its renegades on Talk Radio and Fox News. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity now have more impact on the election than Bush, and all the House and Senate Republicans put together. Limbaugh and Hannity against the mighty mainstream Media is of course David versus Goliath, but since we do not live in Biblical times, Goliath is likely to win every time.
What is happening before our eyes is an election battle fought between Media Class contestants, whilst the politicians are sidelined. With each day, we see the Media Class elbowing aside the old political structures and moving center stage. Our ruling class is both confident and impatient.