CNN & Media Matters Tag-Team Accuracy in Media (Video)
By Sarah Schaerr Norton | June 11, 2009
AIM media analyst Roger Aronoff was on CNN's Newsroom this afternoon, debating Eric Boehlert of Media Matters, a liberal media watchdog. CNN host Rick Sanchez said he'd serve as "referee." Did he cross a line and pitch for the home team? You be the judge:
Here's a great analysis of the exchange from Matthew Balan at NewsBusters:
Anchor Rick Sanchez used another crazed gunman’s rampage to blast conservative media during CNN’s Newsroom program on Thursday, and brought on Media Matters’ Eric Boehlert as his aide to bash talk radio and Fox News. He hinted that the white supremacist who killed a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, might have been “motivated to move by right-wing pronouncements...on some TV and radio outlets.”
Sanchez began his panel discussion with Boehlert and Accuracy in Media’s Roger Aronoff at the end of the 3 pm Eastern hour of the CNN program with his indicting line of questioning against conservative radio and TV: “Was there a tone in this country that was actually started with the election of our first black president that is bringing the crazies out of the woodwork, and are they being motivated to move by right-wing pronouncements, like he’s dangerous- he’s a socialist- he’s a Muslim, and he isn’t even a U.S. citizen? This is what we hear on some TV and radio outlets.”
After introducing his two guests, the CNN anchor let the left-wing partisan Boehlert “start with the premise” which, of course, echoed the preceding introduction: “I don’t think there’s any doubt since Barack Obama’s been elected, there’s been a complete unhinged reaction from the conservative movement in America, and sort of this vigilante and- and militia-style rhetoric has become a cornerstone of the movement, and certainly of conservative media.”
When Sanchez asked if there was a “cause and effect” between the conservative media and these acts of violence, the Media Matters senior fellow affirmed that “it absolutely creates a dangerous environment. There’s no doubt about that. Now, the people who commit these crimes are ultimately responsible, but there’s no question it creates a very dangerous environment.”
Aronoff then countered with “the hatred coming from the Left and people like Keith Olbermann” during the Bush administration. Boehlert flatly denied that there hadn’t been any left-wing inspired violence during that time period: “Where’s the violence on the Left been in the last six or eight years? There hasn’t been any.” He would later claim that there was a “false equivalency now- you know, liberals were critical of Bush and had hate speech during his years. I can’t find any, you know, dehumanizing, demonizing quotes from anyone on the Left about military recruiters.”
The Media Matters fellow is being dishonest. As many assorted left-wing pundits and political leaders condemned the Iraq war and the global war on terrorism, their activist peers in the anti-war movement vandalized recruiting stations in several cities across the U.S. throughout the Bush years, and chased military recruiters off college campuses. More recently, churches which voiced support of Proposition 8 in California were picketed, their services disrupted, and their property damaged after pro-homosexual “marriage” supporters on the Left denounced the “hate” supposedly emanating from the pulpits.
Sanchez did not chime in at any point to question Boehlert’s claims, and even assisted the Media Matters fellow. When Aronoff tried to discredit their claims by citing the website of James von Brunn, the Holocaust Museum shooter, where he proclaimed that “socialism is the future of the world,” the CNN anchor brushed this off: “No, that’s not the kind of socialism he’s talking about....He’s talking about socialism as in the Nazi Party socialism.” That aside, Sanchez must not have heard about how von Brunn railed against “neo-conservatives” and criticized Christianity as a “hoax....[which] destroyed Roman civilization.” He then let Boehlert come back and again recite his talking points: “The Left is not built around this vigilante sort of militia rhetoric of hate....the conservative movement now embraces it.”
What do you think? Was Sanchez fair, or did he play favorites?
9 Comments | Post a Comment
I recall violent protests and massive damage to cities by left wing nut jobs at G-8 Summits, and other World economic and social conferences throughout Bush’s tenure. Do these pundits have no recollection of the massive cost of damages to Seattle? And Democrat, left wing groups like PETA are often seen spewing violent and militant messages and actions against any person or group who denounces them. There are extremist nuts on both sides of the political spectrum, but being a conservative does not mean I advocate violence against anyone. Of course I would not sit by and have violence perpetrated against myself or my fellows without response either. As to the question, a moderator should not be voicing their own opinions either way, only asking questions and ensuring equalk time for both sides to answer, let the arguments stand for themselves.
Hey, political extremist left-wing nutcases recruited and motivated a lot of mental midgets to engage in a lot of violent and destructive stuff in the late ‘60s - - - and, obviously, right now, with the election of Obama, the always raw and ready-to-go anti-abortionists, along with other, standard-issue, right-wing political and socio-cultural nutcases (white supremacists, the militia movements, the KKK remnants, the Confederate flag-wavers) are CERTAINLY as able as the ‘60s radicals to recruit and motivate a like number of mental midgets to engage in a lot of violent and destructive stuff, today, too!
No difference between the ‘60s radicals and today’s reactionaries - and extremist and fundamentalist mini-minded mental midgets, whether leftist or rightist, can be readily swayed by the rhetoric of those persons who are there to verbally and psychologically incite them.
And - religious fundamentalists, whether Christian Crusaders or Muslim Jihadists, for example, are often able to recruit, mold and motivate the most violent and fanatical followers who will do ANYTHING “for the cause”.
So, obviously, Muslim Jihadist rhetoric is an underlying cause of the murder of the army recruiter in Arkansas - anti-abortion rhetoric undoubtedly played a role in the assassination of Tiller in Kansas - and reactionary, ultra-conservative white supremacy/anti-semitic rhetoric obviously played a role in the D.C. museum killing.
It’s ridiculous to argue about it. Some people are apparently easily incited to commit any host of atrocities - and political and/or religious fanatics are high on that list. Ask Charlie Manson. Or Jim Jones. Any Crusader. Any Jihadist. A Kamikaze.
Extremist political partisanship in this country has been getting more and more out of hand since “the Gingrich revolution” in 1994 - and it is certainly raging on at a higher-than-ever level right now!
What about the rampaging gunmen who rant about “injustice”, like the guy at Virginia Tech who sounded like he’d overdosed on Noam Chomsky? Are not the intellectuals of the Left at least as complicit in this?
The opening monologue shows right were the “referee” stands. It disgusts and frightens me that liberals can’t see the blatant twists and bias.
If the brains of liberals can no longer discern such simple logic then it’s time to admit that brainwashing has occurred.
Hey Rey, what brains, if liberals had brains then they would also have “common sense”, two words which are not in their lexicon.
To quote Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men”, they cannot handle the truth.
Liberals are like a bowl of cereal, what isn’t fruits and nuts are flakes (a partial quote from George Carlin).
Why didn’t the MSM cover the story of the Black American Muslim convert who killed one, and wounded another at a Military recruiting office?
Even B. Hussein is about as honest as the Iranian Election, or the MainStream Media. I would trust the Mafia over the Liberals, at least you know where you stand.
There was an Old Man of the East,
Who gave all his children a feast;
But they all ate so much,
And their conduct was such
That they killed that Old Man of the East.
There was an Old Man of Calcutta,
Who perpetually ate bread and butter,
Till a great bit of muffin,
On which he was stuffing,
Choked that horrid Old Man of Calcutta.
There once was an Old Man from Nantucket,
Who had a ............
June 12 at 11:53 am | #1 | Link
Sanchez played favorites. Sorry Rick, but you as well as a lot of the media have lost track of good journalism based on facts, rather than opinions.