# Questions about Citizens United and political ads... **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 10, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316 "2012-09-10T18:49:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/61 "2012-09-14T15:26:37Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > There’s never a story that challenges Obama’s image in those outlets? > > None of them reported, for instance, Romney’s comments criticizing Obama on the whole embassy attack thing? They aren’t completely in the tank, just mostly. As for Romney’s comments, mainstream sources are acting like this was the end of his campaign. I also recall them reporting “increasing outrage” over Romney’s tax returns a few months ago. Sounds like they are trying to make news happen. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/62 "2012-09-14T15:27:45Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Because a bunch of Romney voters watch Steward and change their minds based on what they see there? No, just observing that Stewart and Colbert are more influential than the Kochs. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/63 "2012-09-14T15:32:32Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > No, just observing that Stewart and Colbert are more influential than the Kochs. Okay. Yes, quite true. It’s always amusing to me when people whine about those who rent the media in 30-second intervals, but don’t care one bit about those who own it and spew opinions all day for free. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/64 "2012-09-14T15:37:16Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > They aren’t completely in the tank, just mostly. How convenient. Perhaps the bias is yours, not theirs. You’d need to offer some kind of objective, comprehensive study to show that a media outlet is biased. I think these “liberal” outlets are a little left-leaning, but Fox is extremely right-leaning. But that could be my bias. I think “a sitting President has been allowed to establish a mythology around himself without the media contesting it” is inaccurate, regardless of the rest. These “liberal” outlets give Romney and others coverage and faithfully report what they say. I think you’re just frustrated because nothing sticks. > [@](#): > > As for Romney’s comments, mainstream sources are acting like this was the end of his campaign. By reporting that he’s losing? > [@](#): > > I also recall them reporting “increasing outrage” over Romney’s tax returns a few months ago. Sounds like they are trying to make news happen. So there wasn’t “increasing outrage” over his tax returns? I’d say there was. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/65 "2012-09-14T15:54:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > No, just observing that Stewart and Colbert are more influential than the Kochs. From your lips to the Ears… ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/66 "2012-09-15T03:52:02Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > How convenient. > > Perhaps the bias is yours, not theirs. > > You’d need to offer some kind of objective, comprehensive study to show that a media outlet is biased. > > I think these “liberal” outlets are a little left-leaning, but Fox is extremely right-leaning. But that could be my bias. > > I think “a sitting President has been allowed to establish a mythology around himself without the media contesting it” is inaccurate, regardless of the rest. These “liberal” outlets give Romney and others coverage and faithfully report what they say. I think you’re just frustrated because nothing sticks. I see Fox as right wing as well. CNN is actually about as fair as can be, also the Washington Post, although the opinion folks from those outlets lean overwhelmingly left. the NY Times is about as liberal and partisan as you can get these days. > [@](#): > > By reporting that he’s losing? He is losing right now, but the reporting on his Libya comments goes further than that, implying that he pretty much ended his chances. Now there’s a lot of BS about his “middle class” comments in regards to those making under $250,000, even though that’s been the conventional wisdom in the Beltway since the Bush tax cuts were passed. > [@](#): > > So there wasn’t “increasing outrage” over his tax returns? I’d say there was. Outrage would move the polls. There’s been no evidence that the tax return issue has affected the polls at all. No one is voting based on this. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/67 "2012-09-17T15:41:44Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > They aren’t completely in the tank, just mostly. As for Romney’s comments, mainstream sources are acting like this was the end of his campaign. I also recall them reporting “increasing outrage” over Romney’s tax returns a few months ago. Sounds like they are trying to make news happen. First, they are always trying to make new happen. They wanted the war in Iraq as much as the neocons, while no news may be good news for the rest of us, it is not so for journalists. > [@adaher](#): > > No, just observing that Stewart and Colbert are more influential than the Kochs. Noone who watches Stewart of Colbert is likely to have their opinions influenced, they are also less likely to vote than the general population. The Koch brothers can’t shape public opinion as much but they can add fuels to the fire of a fringe movement and make it more mainstream through the use of godzillions of dollars. They didn’t make the Tea Party but they made it viable. > [@adaher](#): > > I see Fox as right wing as well. CNN is actually about as fair as can be, also the Washington Post, although the opinion folks from those outlets lean overwhelmingly left. the NY Times is about as liberal and partisan as you can get these days. It is usually the editorial staff of news organizations that are partisan and biased. The news folks are usually just regurgitating what they picked up on the newswire services. This is less true on Fox news than on any of the other networks. The bioggest problem with Fxnews is that they camoflauge opinions and editorials as if it were news. > [@](#): > > He is losing right now, but the reporting on his Libya comments goes further than that, implying that he pretty much ended his chances. Now there’s a lot of BS about his “middle class” comments in regards to those making under $250,000, even though that’s been the conventional wisdom in the Beltway since the Bush tax cuts were passed. Romney has been trying to come from behind since the Republican primaries. He doesn’t have the political resilience to recover from gaffes and unforced errors. He has enough trouble with his political history and his financial and business record (or lack thereof in the case of his financial records). His campaign is simply not robust enough to recover from these moments of unpresidential utterances. Its been one thing after another. All of Obama’s dirty laundry is already out there, we keep finding out more about Mitt Romney every news cycle and its rarely ever good. I don’t dislike Romney and if the rest of his aprty wasn’t so nucking futz, I might not even vote this year, but the spectacle of the Republican primary along with the sort of crap that we’ve seen here in Virginia when they took over the statehouse makes it hard not to forget that Romney’s party is nucking futz. He has very few realistic paths to the white house without Virginia and he is not doing so hot in Virginia right now. > [@](#): > > Outrage would move the polls. There’s been no evidence that the tax return issue has affected the polls at all. No one is voting based on this. That’s because we don’t know what is in them. The polls were already moved when he released his tax returns showing a 14% tax rate. If he releases his 2009 tax returns and they show that he took advantage of the FBAR amnesty then it would in fact move the polls. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/68 "2012-09-17T15:56:13Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Noone who watches Stewart of Colbert is likely to have their opinions influenced, they are also less likely to vote than the general population. > > The Koch brothers can’t shape public opinion as much but they can add fuels to the fire of a fringe movement and make it more mainstream through the use of godzillions of dollars. They didn’t make the Tea Party but they made it viable. Irrelevant to whether either have First Amendment rights though. > [@](#): > > The news folks are usually just regurgitating what they picked up on the newswire services. That’s a little harsh. Depends on the news outlets. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/69 "2012-09-17T20:49:27Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Irrelevant to whether either have First Amendment rights though. The first amendment is not simply “free speech” it is free speech, free religion and free press. In addition to rpeserving the right of free speech, the First amendment was preserving the rights and priveleges of the third and fourth estates from the first and second. I think that the “press” has more rights derived from the first amendment than merely free speech. Rights that protect them from interference that do not apply to some billionaire that wants to spend his money to get a specific political result by hook or by crook. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316/70 "2012-09-17T20:58:32Z")
Freedom of the press is freedom of the printing press, or more broadly, freedom to use technology to spread your views or just to share your art. There is no special privilege for “the media” in the Constitution. Every American has press rights. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-citizens-united-and-political-ads/634316.md?page=3)