Cheese With That Whine?
I am struck by our constant alarm at the unfairness of the MSM in not sympathizing with a conservative side to a story and their constant display of blatant anti-Christian attitudes. The presumption of racism, bigotry and homophobia toward us is commonplace. We all see it. We all agree and are outraged that this is pervasive. And yet, while our righteous indignation serves as a balm to our like minded warriors, does our self pity serve any good purpose? Their is no honest broker on the opposing side who is readily willing to engage in the arena of ideas. We are not likely to have any mass conversion at NBC or the New York Times for all the logic and honesty in our argument and philosophy. Even to seek such weakens our cause.
Perhaps there is a quantum leap to make beyond the pain and fear of the false criticism of our detractors. My concern is we have become too defensive and are rarely able to go on offense. We tacitly agree with our antagonists when we argue to prove we are not as they say. The phrase "compassionate conservative" is a prime example. That term is a loser out of the gate.
Can we rise above the fray by simply laughing at the absurdity of liberal critique? Or more generally, how do we go on the offensive?
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Jul '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
I have the wonderful character flaw of being highly offensive whenever I encounter a liberal openly speaking their progressive gibberish as if it is a lesson worth imparting to all in hearing distance.
I usually counter their argument with something witty and intellectual in a learned crowd (but if I fail I resort to pepper spray). I reserve my best for gatherings of what the elites think of as commoners where I saunter up to the offender and ask him why they hate America so much that its worth being whooped up on in public.
The worst thing to do is to be quiet though. We are at the stage of the beer hall putsch and if we stay quiet there may be a sanctioned home guard of brown shirts knocking on your door.
Edited on Jul 21, 2011 at 1:24pmJul '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
WWABD - What would Andrew Breitbart do?
I'm lousy on the roller blades, though.
Edited on Jul 19, 2011 at 11:35pmJul '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
Sisyphus: WWABD - What would Andrew Breitbart do?
I'm lousy on the roller blades, though. · Jul 19 at 11:16pm
WWCCD? - What would Chris Christie Do?
Ignore them and stay right on message.
Mar '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
The table is tilted, and not in our direction.
Stay calm, be polite, listen attentively (and demand the same), and give them enough time to say something completely ridiculous. Then pounce, take their arguments to their absurd but inevitable conclusions, but do so with humor and good grace.
Then bring out the pepper spray.
Apr '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
Conservatism is by nature defensive, guarding what has been built, protecting it.
Conservatism is rational, or at least aspires toward rationality.
Leftism is by nature offensive, tearing down everything (including human nature) in order to re-build in its self-image.
Leftism is irrational, and has no aspirations toward rationality (only draping itself on occasion in the trappings of rationality).
Seems like a built-in problem.
The only sane course is to play to our strength, rationality, and leave the hysterics to the Left.
Easier said than done, yes.
Dec '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
Assiduously guard your credibility by telling the truth, as it is known to you, or by admitting you don't know.
I was recently surprised to learn how respected I am by some lefty friends of friends. But, I know the precise moment my credibility was established with them.
These lefty friends from Britain, knowing my husband and I are conservative, asked if we thought Obama is a Muslim. I immediately answered in the negative and said I am reasonably sure he is an atheist given his abortion stance. Being European and atheists themselves, they found this to be a very complimentary assessment of Obama and his rational sensibilities. /SNORT! Riiiight. I followed up by saying, however, I did not find it entirely unreasonable to believe he is a Muslim when the death penalty is imposed for apostasy, his father was Muslim, he was partly raised in a Muslim country by a Muslim step-father, he is non-committal about his church attendance, etc.
Let the facts speak for themselves.
Nov '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
I suspect the views of the MSM are becoming less and less important. By so shamelessly shilling for Obama they unwittingly bound their fate to his performance. If everything turned out to be unicorns and rainbows no problem. However, as everything is going south, independents are asking how it came to be that this president was not vetted? Why did the MSM go so easy on him, and even run interference for him? This is why all of the main MSM organs are dying. It takes a long time for institutions to die, but the trend is clear.
So, I guess the answer to your question is that it just doesn't matter.
Sep '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
Use direct language, instead of telling someone you're pro-life or anti abortion, say that you're against pregnant women killing their unborn babies. Never use politically correct euphimisms.
Jul '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
The GOP has been consistently out hustled by the left on the media front for decades. Even Fox News, the most successful and balanced news source available, is effectively a transplanted off-shoot of foreign media courtesy of Rupert Murdoch. If not for Murdoch and Rush Limbaugh and Bill Buckley, the situation would be even more laughable.
And, of course, the conservative movement left it to Korea's Rev. Moon to establish a conservative voice in the nation's capital. Pathetic. Media ownership has never been just a question of profit and loss, but of mindshare. Country clubs do not buy media holdings, that is too plebeian.
The Left plays the game no holds barred. I hear the GOP are statesmen, which a few wags have pointed out is a term referring to deceased politicians. Reagan appreciated the gamesmanship, he did not flinch from deploying a Lee Atwater to Alinsky the Alinskyites.
The facts do not speak for themselves. They never have. The facts lie there passively while the partisans build narratives to suit themselves or their editors and publishers.
Mar '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
Yep, Brietbart is an excellent role model. I'd add David Horowitz, Mark Levin and Rush (the titular head of the Republican party - I think he likes saying titular). And, needless to say, the guy with the soon to be forthcoming, imminent, book.
No politicians spring to mind, that's the problem. Sarah Palin is close - she has a reputation for whining, but that shows how successful the media are (at the risk of me whining).
Edited on Jul 21, 2011 at 11:57amApr '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
The media loves emotional stories and therefore the Left will always have an advantage as most of their arguments are emotional at their core.
The best chance you have against liberals is one on one, where you can quite often disarm them quickly with some simple facts or by taking their arguments to their natural conclusions which result in less freedom with big brother monitoring your life and punishing you for 'incorrect' behavior. Many liberals still believe in freedom and fail to see how Progressive ideology demeans the individual. I think many of them just go with what they've been told to believe and don't think things through very well.
Most importantly, try to convey why the conservative approach holds merit. Too often, the liberal argument is that the system is horribly broken, so we must destroy it and reinvent it. They commonly don't understand why things work the way they do. This is my primary critique of our education system - it does a poor job explaining how the world actually works and why gut reactions are quite often wrong.
May '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
I disagree with this post more than I disagree with Mike Murphy!
Pointing out bias is not "self pity", even when we all see it and agree it is there, isn't a bad thing. The intent isn't to have some sort of mass conversion of the NY Times, but reinforcing our argument helps to sharpen our side (especially the person commenting).
"We" are not too defensive. Paying money to be in Ricochet is already joining the offense. Not watching MSNBC, joining the tea party... these are all going on offense. And people are doing it.
Saying that there is no honest broker is a straw man. Just because an institution cannot be perfect does not mean it cannot be improved.
And "compassionate conservative" was a solid winner for eight years.
Where we probably agree is that it is important to persuade those who are undecided. It is important to go on an effective offense. Maybe we differ in that I see that as happening more and more.
Oct '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
WWABD? Build another table! Where is the entreprenuerial spirit on the Right? Is there not adequate capital available to build or to buy a media outlet to equal or better MSNBC? Or, is it a matter of lack of courage, vision or conviction?
Edited on Jul 21, 2011 at 1:38pmSep '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
To some extent we are not much different; see for example, "hate America" in #1 comment. And "absurd but inevitable conclusions" in #4.
And then there's the stereotype in #11: "Too often, the liberal argument is that the system is horribly broken, so we must destroy it and reinvent it. "Our take is not far from that: "the systems's broken and we need to return to something."
Jun '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
We simply must have it on record about our objections to the lies of the MSM. Men don't complain -- they fight. But when we have to fight only with words, you might think it's complaining but it's not.
The biggest single lie in the MSM is the statement that they are not biased. It is important to keep banging the biased media meme.
I have stated elsewhere that the Fairness Doctrine is probably to blame for the biased media in this last generation.
It goes like this: you are a producer of a piece that will go on CBS News, you notice that it is biased to the left and you are then required to go get some one (or quote some one) who is on the right to provide balance. But, if you instead deem everything you produce to be unbiased, you have a much simpler job. The easiest thing in the world is to convince yourself and other peers in journalism that the leftist screed you just produced is not biased after all -- it is just a factual piece without need to contextualize it. Now this is real reporting. (Walter Cronkite started the ball rolling.)
Jun '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
The Great One showed us how to go on offensive. We must go on the offensive with humor and we must articulate through the detail-oriented weeds. I'm old enough to remember Ronald Reagan. I can hear him now with the head wiggle, like a batter digging into the batter's box before he drills a line drive. "Our liberal friends on the other side of the aisle ......" "It's just that so much of what they know is not so...."
We need to fight with words. Deconstruct their misuse of the language. Articulate conservative principles. Its difficult because we are doers and liberals are feelers. But it must be done if we are to save the republic.
Apr '11
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
Comparing that, or anything else that Reagan said in his long public life, to West's outburst would be more than a bit of a stretch.
Dec '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
For DocJay: I associate northern "whooped" with cheering, versus the southern "whupped" that I associate with opening a can.
We don't whine and all somebody like Breitbart asks for is honesty, not contrition. He knows they will never change and merely wants them to publically admit their bias, so that the readers/viewers can evaluate accordingly.
Long before Breitbart, there was Kuralt, the guy that Cronkite replaced. Too many people have never read A Life On The Road, and at least digested his observations about the first CBS News program, how Cronkite came to take over, then how Cronkite brought in Dan Rather. It's laboratory evidence for the transition from old-fashioned liberal to activist liberal dominance of the media. Kuralt was beloved till the end of his career, because he was so gentle about pointing out the issue he saw developing. However, he asked a question near the end of that book that has never been answered: (something like), "I wonder what Leiutenant Soon would have thought about that?". Please, if you have not, familarize yourself with that fine book. I would suggest that it provides great insight into the transition that occurred in the American media.
Dec '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
Conservatism is the correct philosophy and political system because it reveals the best of human nature. It is naturally compassionate in that, when allowing man to strive to be his best, all society benefits. Evil, in the form of liberalism, takes from man his self reliance and replaces it with government reliance where individual interests are described as selfish. The result is class warfare and decreased productivity.(See Rush's first Thanksgiving story).
The propriety is so obvious and the counter is so heinous and yet, on the battle rages. Our productivity in the form of taxes/revenues are turned against us to create underclasses and even to indoctrinate our own children into our enemies folds. That is immoral, both in that it happens and we allow ourselves to be disarmed from preventing it.
I will hold the line until I can no longer. I will argue and cajole and even try to gently persuade. I will do my best to raise upstanding children. At some point, however, before we lose this, our last best hope, we are going to have to have the same level of commitment of our Founding Fathers. Literal skin in the game.
Oct '10
Re: Cheese With That Whine?
WWABD - What would Andrew Breitbart do?
The left often uses boycotts, perhaps it's our turn. Someone recently noted that conservative media, i.e. talk radio and perhaps Fox News, only seem to get advertising from fringe companys. Perhaps we should indicate that our purchases will be influenced by whether corporations have advertised on conservative media.