# I'm tired of the liberal media giving any time to conservatives **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 27, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904 "2009-08-27T14:18:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/21 "2009-08-28T00:08:42Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Too bad for them that at least half the country consisted of right-wing nutjobs (plus addition to a fair number of fence-sitters). For decades, people with right-wing viewpoints had to sit by seething as the MSM portrayed liberals and Democrats in a positive light and pushed the liberal agenda, while at the same time presenting conservatives and Republicans with skepticism, scorn and condescention. Because, as we _all_ know, the decision about what is real is generally decided by popular demand. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/22 "2009-08-28T00:13:23Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Too bad for them that at least half the country consisted of right-wing nutjobs Ummm, cite, please? Maybe 20 % is what it looks like from here, and if I don’t count fence-sitters, that’s generous. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/23 "2009-08-28T00:15:46Z")
> [@Captain Carrot](#): > > Ah yes, the mainstream media, so biased in favor of lefties that NBC, ABC, and CNN all had more guests on criticizing the administration’s health care reform effort than supporting and neutral combined. Fox, of course, was no contest. Sometimes news is so important (or becomes so obvious) that reportage becomes unavoidable. No one has said that the MSM NEVER reports bad or harmful things about Democrats or the left. What the MSM does do, however, is present a consistently positive portrayal of leftie politicians and aims, while simultaneously presenting the right-wing viewpoint with skepticism and suspicion. That is why the MSM is said to be biased rather than full-on prejudiced (which is ironic because prejudice is the very reason for the bias to begin with. I personally would have no trouble characterizing the MSM as prejudiced). > [@begbert2](#): > > Because, as we all know, the decision about what is real is generally decided by popular demand. It doesn’t strike you as funny that telling the “real story” somehow always seems to have a liberal slant? (And yes, I know the old saw about truth having a liberal bias but I wouldn’t have thought anyone actually believed it.) ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/24 "2009-08-28T00:25:42Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > On Olbermann, though, he rarely has anybody relevant on the show, just some commentators he can have a back-and-forth with about today’s conservative-related outrage. He almost never has people he disagrees with on the show. I’ve wondered about this – it might be because people with whom he disagrees simply won’t come on the show. Along similar lines, Rachel Maddow often indicates that she would welcome “opponents”, but they seem to rarely take her up on her offer. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/25 "2009-08-28T00:42:57Z")
> [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > I’ve wondered about this – it might be because people with whom he disagrees simply won’t come on the show. > > Along similar lines, Rachel Maddow often indicates that she would welcome “opponents”, but they seem to rarely take her up on her offer. There are hundreds of elected officials in both parties, to say nothing of the tens of thousands of partisan political operatives, commenters, columnists, authors, pundits and bloggers on both sides, the vast majoity of whom would love to advance their careers by appearing on national TV. I don’t doubt that some individuals may decide not to go on those shows, but the idea that every prominent conservative turns them down is laughable. What’s more likely, IMO, is that the really big names – top Senators, House leaders, etc – would rather go on Fox or CNN for ratings reasons, and MSNBC doesn’t want their people to look second-rate when all they can book are backbenchers, minor governors and lesser pundits. Easier to have nobody on and then talk about how the conservatives are all so scared of them, ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/26 "2009-08-28T00:57:39Z")
You are SOOOO ignorant. Bill O’Reilly, is neither a liberal, nor a conservative. Politically he’s independent. He has no alliances. That’s why they call it “The No Spin Zone.” He’s impartial. Fox News is “fair and balanced.” It is perfectly in the center. If you think it’s not, that’s only for the same reason that if you lived in Antarctica you’d consider Brazilians northerners. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/27 "2009-08-28T01:02:27Z")
> [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > Along similar lines, Rachel Maddow often indicates that she would welcome “opponents”, but they seem to rarely take her up on her offer. I think people are generally invited to be on these shows. Perhaps she’s merely paying lip service to having opponents on so as to create the impression that she is willing to debate, but not actually inviting them. Wouldn’t surprise me. ETA: Or upon further review, what **furt** said. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/28 "2009-08-28T01:09:25Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > You are SOOOO ignorant. > Bill O’Reilly, is neither a liberal, nor a conservative. Politically he’s independent. He has no alliances. That’s why they call it “The No Spin Zone.” > > He’s impartial. > Fox News is “fair and balanced.” > It is perfectly in the center. > If you think it’s not, that’s only for the same reason that if you lived in Antarctica you’d consider Brazilians northerners. If I wrote “No Shit Zone” on the wall above my toilet, would that mean that I wasn’t going to shit there anymore, or that the wall is a liar? ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/29 "2009-08-28T01:16:33Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > If I wrote “No Shit Zone” on the wall above my toilet, would that mean that I wasn’t going to shit there anymore, or that the wall is a liar? Not shit there anymore. I used to do almost exactly that when I lived on a farm and the septic tank was dangerously overfull. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/30 "2009-08-28T01:19:34Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > If I wrote “No Shit Zone” on the wall above my toilet, would that mean that I wasn’t going to shit there anymore, or that the wall is a liar? I just tried to type “Whoosshh…” in all caps and when I previewed, the letters converted to lower case. Tried it again, same result. S’up with that? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/31 "2009-08-28T01:19:44Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > According to Bernard Goldberg, longtime CBS newsman, this was precisely the view of Dan Rather and most other newsies. They regarded their leftist viewpoints as normal, fair and reasonable . . . . . . and not such as would be considered “leftist” at all in most industrialized democracies. Which they’re not. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/32 "2009-08-28T01:33:09Z")
Well, they aren’t broadcasting to a bunch of socialist lefties who owe the fact that they aren’t goose-stepping or calling each other comrade to the engine of power, might and technological innovation that is the United States, are they? Okay, I don’t really mean that…but you get the idea. 😉 A hell of a lot of good has come about around the world because of the entrepreneurial drive, the capitalistic economy, and military might of the United States of America, not to mention the extraordinarily lush and comfortable lives lived by most of the people in this country. If you think those countries have such a wonderful grip on the citizen/government relationship, why are you wasting your life here? Time’s a wastin’ and the years go by faster than you think. You’ll probably be dead long before this country ever goes that far down the drain…if for no other reason that our military is the one freeing them up from spending money on their own defense and allowing them to play nanny to their citizens in a way that isn’t possible here…unless we want Mexico to come up or Canada to come down and kick our ass and take all our women. And once that happens, what do you think will become of your beloved Western European socialist states? Can you say, “Da, comrade?” Yeah, I thought that you could. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/33 "2009-08-28T01:33:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I dunno, I hope there’ll always be a place for kittens and ducks in a crosswalk . . . though my vision of that scenario is probably a whole lot bloodier than yours . . . Do the ducks perform ritual sacrifice on the kittens to appease the car gods? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/34 "2009-08-28T02:51:22Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m tired of the liberal media giving any time to conservatives _ **President Andrew Shepherd:** For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about character, and although I have not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I’ve been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character. For the record: yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. But the more important question is why aren’t you, Bob? Now, this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question: Why would a senator, his party’s most powerful spokesman and a candidate for President, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? If you can answer that question, folks, then you’re smarter than I am, because I didn’t understand it until a few hours ago. America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say "You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can’t just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the “land of the free”._ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/35 "2009-08-28T03:07:21Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > A hell of a lot of good has come about around the world because of the entrepreneurial drive, the capitalistic economy, and military might of the United States of America, not to mention the extraordinarily lush and comfortable lives lived by most of the people in this country. From [“The American Paradox,”](http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/01/halstead.htm) by Ted Halstead, published in _The Atlantic Monthly,_ January/February 2003: > [@](#): > > Nothing illustrates America’s profound contradictions more starkly than a comparison with other advanced democracies: among these the United States is either the very best or the very worst performer on a wide range of social and economic criteria. We are simultaneously the leader and the laggard among our peers—almost always exceptional, almost never in the middle. > > Without question we are the richest, most powerful, and most creative nation on the planet. Our economic and military might stems from our embrace of a particularly high-octane brand of capitalism, supported by financial markets that are deeper and broader than any others, labor markets that are more flexible, and a culture of entrepreneurialism that is unparalleled. These attributes have turned America into the world’s unrivaled engine of innovation and wealth creation. We boast more patent applications than the entire European Union; almost three times as many Nobel laureates as Britain, our closest competitor; and more business start-ups per capita than almost every other advanced democracy. One in twelve Americans will start his or her own business, evincing another outstanding American trait—our great tolerance for risk. And our export of movies, television shows, music, and fast-food chains makes us, for better or worse, the dominant cultural force on the globe. > > But like the Roman god Janus, America has two faces. Despite being the richest nation on the planet, we suffer from higher rates of poverty, infant mortality, homicide, and HIV infection, and from greater economic inequality, than other advanced democracies. We have far more uninsured citizens, and a lower life expectancy. On a per capita basis the United States emits considerably more greenhouse gases and produces more solid waste. We spend more per student on K-12 education than almost all other modern democracies, yet our students perform near the bottom on international tests. We have the highest rates of teen pregnancy and among the highest proportions of single parents, and American parents have the least amount of free time to spend with their children; indeed, the average American works nine weeks more each year than the average European. Our performance on many social indicators is so poor, in fact, that an outsider looking at these numbers alone might conclude that we were a developing nation. > > How do we reconcile these two faces of America? To a remarkable degree the United States seems to have exchanged social cohesion and a broad-based middle class for economic dynamism and personal freedom. Have we abandoned what used to be referred to as the common good? > > \ > > THE TWO FACES OF AMERICA > > This list of “bests” and “worsts” is based on a variety of sources—including statistics from the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and a number of other groups and experts—but the basic criteria are consistent. Among advanced democracies, America had to rank in the top three for a category to be listed under “bests” and in the bottom three for a category to be listed under “worsts.” (Where applicable, all rankings were determined on a rate basis or as a percentage of population.) > > Bests-------------------------------------------------Worsts > > Gross domestic product------------------------------Poverty > Productivity---------------------------------------------Economic inequality > Business start-ups------------------------------------Carbon-dioxide emissions > Long-term unemployment---------------------------Life expectancy > Expenditure on education---------------------------Infant mortality > University graduates----------------------------------Homicide > R&D expenditure---------------------------------------Health-care coverage > High-tech exports--------------------------------------HIV infection > Movies exported---------------------------------------Teen pregnancy > Breadth of stock ownership--------------------------Personal savings > Volunteerism--------------------------------------------Voter participation > Charitable giving---------------------------------------Obesity Each approach to the social contract has its pluses and minuses, of course, but **on balance** America has made a very bad bargain for itself and should learn from the examples of others. > [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > If you think those countries have such a wonderful grip on the citizen/government relationship, why are you wasting your life here? If you don’t like the way America’s going under Obama’s leadership and Dem predominance, why don’t **you** leave? > [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > . . . if for no other reason that our military is the one freeing them up from spending money on their own defense No country on Earth has any need of American military protection any more, not even South Korea, and certainly no nation in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/36 "2009-08-28T03:07:24Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I just tried to type “Whoosshh…” in all caps and when I previewed, the letters converted to lower case. Tried it again, same result. > > S’up with that? It does that because it detected you were trying to Whoosh me when I wasn’t Whooshed, but participating in the Whooshing. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/37 "2009-08-28T03:28:30Z")
Software has a setting that prevents an entire post from being ALL CAPS. Find some way of putting at least one lower-case character there, and the rest can be capitalized. F’rinstance: > [@](#): > > Umm, > WHOOOOSH ETA: But **wierdaaron** ’s answer is good, too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/38 "2009-08-28T03:49:14Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Well, they aren’t broadcasting to a bunch of socialist lefties who owe the fact that they aren’t goose-stepping or calling each other comrade to the engine of power, might and technological innovation that is the United States, are they? > > Okay, I don’t really mean that…but you get the idea. 😉 > > A hell of a lot of good has come about around the world because of the entrepreneurial drive, the capitalistic economy, and military might of the United States of America, not to mention the extraordinarily lush and comfortable lives lived by most of the people in this country. > > If you think those countries have such a wonderful grip on the citizen/government relationship, why are you wasting your life here? Time’s a wastin’ and the years go by faster than you think. You’ll probably be dead long before this country ever goes that far down the drain…if for no other reason that our military is the one freeing them up from spending money on their own defense and allowing them to play nanny to their citizens in a way that isn’t possible here…unless we want Mexico to come up or Canada to come down and kick our ass and take all our women. And once that happens, what do you think will become of your beloved Western European socialist states? > > Can you say, “Da, comrade?” > > Yeah, I thought that you could. This is your argument that conservatives are the exemplars of objectivity? ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/39 "2009-08-28T04:08:18Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > MSM portrayed liberals and Democrats in a positive light and pushed the liberal agenda, while at the same time presenting conservatives and Republicans with skepticism, scorn and condescention. How do they manage to do that in a half-hour nightly NEWS cast? There’s only so much room to impart partisan advocacy in the reporting of the day’s events. Sure, maybe there’s a slight left-wing bias in how some news stories are framed, but there are no partisan pundits on the 3 networks like most of the programming on Fox consists of. (Skepticism, scorn and condescension? Who does that remind me of?) The basic rule of thumb is that the typical MSM outlet is as biased to the left as the typical big-city police department is racist. That is, slightly, but greatly exaggerated by their political opponents. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904/40 "2009-08-28T04:20:33Z")
> [@](#): > > …and take all our women… When they can pry her from my cold, dead…OK, that’s going to need some work… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-tired-of-the-liberal-media-giving-any-time-to-conservatives/507904.md?page=3)