I first saw this article at Verum Serum this past weekend, when I came across the link at Brutally Honest. I didn’t have anything to say other than, “See! Another example, and really blatant this time.” until I read what Morgan Freeberg had to say about it.
As he says,
That media bias exists and that it slants to the left, seems to be something that cant be doubted by anyone except the insane. But thats just the way I see it. I cant speak for others.
I don’t know where Morgan lives, but the area I live in is so far to the left that the Republican candidate for Congress drew about 1% of the vote in the last election. The rest was split about 3-to-1 between the incumbent Democrat and the Green Party candidate. I have no trouble finding people who believe that the media is either balanced (except for Fox) or tilted to the right.
Like media bias, whether you believe that a candidate is a moderate who works well with others is a function of your point of view (and whether you have a historical perspective on the matter).
Snopes says that Hillary’s quotes (“We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good”) aren’t really Marxist. I couldn’t find anything there about her Christmas video. However, Snopes has its own problems with bias.
I don’t like John McCain. I respect the man for his military service, but it’s going to be hard for me to vote for him in November. I’m not a Republican, so appeals to party unity have no standing with me. I took an online quiz not that long ago that said he was the best match to my positions, but the quiz seemed to be looking for simple answers to hard questions, and McCain lands on the wrong side some issues I consider very important.
I do feel that Obama and Clinton are unacceptable choices – given that the liberal-conservative split in this country is roughly even, with slightly more identifying as conservative, I don’t see how they even have a chance without the active support of the media. Then again, I’ve seen McCain described as the third Democrat in the race.
It’s depressing to think about – radical left-winger, socialist-in-all-but-name, or Republican-in-name-only. Harsh characterizations, perhaps, but contrast them with the media portrayals as the election approaches.