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Why I read
conservative blogs
That’s My Opinion
By Bob Robinson
2000. The year of the infamous pregnant chads. I still see the closeup
of the guy down in Florida with his huge eye behind the magnifying
glass. It would have been funny had it not been so crucial. The
Democrats are still huffy over that... “the Supreme Court stole the
election!” I heard it for years.
Fortunately, the insanity came to an end before the coming “almost
pregnant” chads had a chance to change the course of events. They
counted the votes of those who couldn’t figure out how to punch a
ballot... I’d hate to have a different president based upon unpunched
ballots that had a dirt speck (discovered under a microscope) on them.
George H. W. Bush had to lead us through the infamy of September 11,
2001. It was just short of eight months after he took office. I thought
he did a good job bringing back an economy that had been brutalized by
the attack, thank you very much.
2004. Not nearly as close, as 1.5 percentage points separated Bush from
his challenger, John Kerry. I still remember Kerry testifying to
Congress about the “brutality” and “criminal acts” of our heroes in
Vietnam. Kerry was there a few months, got some cuts and scratches, a
Purple Heart or two (or whatever), then came home and joined the
anti-war movement that President Nixon once referred to as the
“greatest single enemy working against the United States.”
I wasn’t nearly as happy with G.W. during his second term. He tried to
“make nice” with the left. He called it “Compassionate Conservatism.” I
called it caving. Still do. Discouraged (true) conservatives watched
the House switch to Dem power two years later and the spending spree
began.
The groundwork had been laid.
The economy started to slide after five years of happy times and the
left demonized G.W. Not once did I ever hear the mainstream media mention that spending starts with the House of
Representatives... at that time under the control of a Democrat
majority.
Finally it was time for G.W. to step down and in 2004 the field was
wide open. My worst nightmare came true when Hillary tossed her hat
into the ring. The media loved it. Then something happened. I
discovered that my worst nightmare wasn’t my worst nightmare.
Someone totally unknown – an ivory tower-type academic – was pulled out
of the woodwork and captured the nation with his brilliant oratory,
unbelievably talented campaign team and a “Yes we can” slogan that
resonated from one coast to the next.
Suddenly it was a 3-way nightmare. Hillary and sitting President Barack
Obama were duking it out for the Democrat nomination... offering voters
the first woman president or the first Black president. The best the
Republicans could muster was a Vietnam vet and U.S. Senator in
his 70s, John McCain.
He was a nice enough guy, but he made G.W.’s Compassionate Conservatism
look like the stronghold of fiscal conservatism. The left, however,
referred to him as more of the same. G.W.’s second term? Maybe they
were right.
The voters had a choice: Left of Center (McCain), Far Left of Center
(Hillary) and way out in left field beyond the bleachers (Obama).
Now that we’ve taken a brief walk down history lane, let’s take a brief
look at the Fourth Estate.
Three-fourths (or is it more?) of our “guardians” in America’s
mainstream media freely admit they are liberal and vote Democrat.
That’s fine. This is the United States of America. They are free to
believe and vote as they wish.
However, they took an oath (unofficial... rather an oath of
professionalism) to be unbiased in their reporting of the news. I took
that oath 40 plus years ago when I accepted my first job as a cub
reporter for a local newspaper in Texas.
Since then I’ve watched example after example of slanted news, either
by a proactive search into the past or recent misdoings of Republican
candidates to a total lack of concern over the past or recent misdoings
of Democrat candidates. I’ve seen negatives lost in the shuffle or
blown out of proportion, depending on whether the “candidate” is blue
or red. I can say the same about the positives... again depending on
the color of their views.
Little was mentioned (outside of my columns of course) about Kerry’s
anti-war activities but there was much to-do about his military
“service.” Bush’s National Guard service was noted periodically but
took a back seat when they dug up something about him smoking pot as a
college student.
Or something like that.
Fabricated news about G.W. led up to the demise of the short-lived 60
Minutes 2.
Then there’s 2008 through today. This is probably the most grievous
example of the Fourth Estate becoming simply another campaign tool for
our current president.
Who hasn’t heard about Obama becoming the first president ever to
endorse Gay and Lesbian marriage? Raise your hands... I thought so.
According to reports, he was for it before he was against it and now is
for it again.
This stance was referred to by many in the mainstream media as his
“maturation.” If Romney had said it? It would have been just one more
“flip flop” like he’s accused of on the issue of abortion.
Who hasn’t heard about Romney supposedly being a gay-bashing bully in
high school? Raise your hands. I thought so. The digging has started...
and in this case, just accidentally released about the same time as
Obama’s announcement on Gay marriage.
How much do we really know about Obama’s background? Quite a bit
if you read the blogs. But of course, they aren’t legitimate. If you
stick with the mainstream media, probably almost nothing. They didn’t
do much - if any - digging.
I’ve often commented that my mentor - a professor at Texas A&M -
told his students that you provide the unbiased bare bones when you
report the news. You get a little more in-depth when you do a feature
or investigative report. I’ve tried my best to do both in my career.
But if you REALLY want to know what’s going on – like the state of the
American economy or availability of jobs - you read the editorial pages.
Both left and right.
I’ve done it for years. In the last few years it has dawned on me
that I really don’t need to do that. To get the left, or Progressive,
side all I have to do is read (or watch) the mainstream news.
To get the conservative side? That’s why I read the conservative blogs.
It’s a shame that I can no longer trust my fellow journalists to give me both sides, but
that’s the way it is.
That’s my opinion. What’s yours?
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