Meltdown or Spinround?
By: Wayne Brown
As might be expected, it did not take the liberal media long to go after Kentucky Republican nominee Rand Paul. Already questions are being raised about his position on civil rights and government interference. Paul is fielding the questions and answering them but his frustrations are evident in that he sees this direction as being totally off subject with regard to current election focal points in the Kentucky races. Some media analysts are actually describing Paul’s response as a “meltdown” for the Republican nominee.
A link to AOL News is posted below. AOL News headlined the piece by alluding to conspiracies surrounding the candidate’s meltdown. The link also offers an opinion piece by Michael Medved who describes Paul to be in meltdown as he appears in an interview with George Stephanopoulos shortly after winning the nomination for his party. In watching the video, I find it interesting that,in this instance, Stephanopoulos is practicing the tough question, hard-hitting, in your face journalism that he cannot seem to muster when he is tossing softballs to the various liberal guests who come into his spotlight.
Michael Medved describes Paul as coming across with a “deer in the headlights” look in response to the questions when, in fact, I think his look was more one of disbelief that the media could continue this badgering to expose him as a racist and an anti-government maverick. In fact, as you watch the video and listen to the response, I think it becomes apparent that Mr. Paul handled a rather difficult and frustrating interview quite well.
In part, Medved described Paul’s handling of the media as follows “Rand Paul responded with the same sort of dodgy, incoherent, embarrassing answers he ineptly offered after his victory.” In the end, it appears to me that Medved is trying to work his magic in convincing Republicans that they chose the wrong pony. We’ll see about that when election time comes around.
Rand Paul, being new to the game of politics, tends to speak plainly and directly at the issues. In response to one question in the video interview concerning his purported position on civil rights, Paul responded by pointing out Democratic Senator Robert Byrd’s elongated filibuster of the proposed civil rights act back in the 60’s. It appeared to be quite an effective counter as Stephanopoulos immediately wanted to move on in the questioning.
It is already quite obvious that any candidates who are endorsed by the Tea Party crowd are going to get a thoroughly rough ride with the media as we near the mid-term elections in November. Liberal media spin-masters will be more than happy to take a situation and write an op-edit along the lines of something that is not even on subject in order to gain the analysis that he wants the reader to embrace. Casual readers may be easily turned by such antics. Anytime the words “conspiracy, civil rights, and anti-government” begin to be assigned to candidates, it naturally becomes a defensive situation for that candidate. It is impossible to prove a negative but very easy to assign one as in “Please tell me sir, when did you quit beating your wife”.
Now, more than ever, it is very important that we read information and look closely for the various forms of misinformation and spin that is being mixed into it. More and more, opinion is being delivered as fact or at the very least not clearly marked as “opinion”. All of it plays to the heart more than the mind. It focuses on creating the mindset that someone is evil, devious, and uncaring. Those thinking with their hearts and not their heads will easily be swayed by this approach time and again. This is exactly how America arrived where we are today.
Keep an eye on the media over the next few months. Conservative candidates and Tea Party favorites will become the fodder of the liberal media cannons. Any candidate who prevails in this liberal onslaught will certainly be a courageous one and will certainly take his or her elected seat with a mandate from the people.
Liberal politicians of today cannot bear up under the intense public pressure to get spending and social agendas under control in Washington. Their only viable response will be to attack personally those conservative candidates willing to take on the task. And attack they will with all their strength and all of the help of the liberal media.
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