Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Media? Democrats Are! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Mitch   
Friday, 04 April 2008 06:57

It’s now been two solid weeks since Andy Birkey, acting in his capacity as a conduit for lefty talking points, gurgitated:

Have Michele Bachmann’s media gaffes and extreme conservative views driven her to speak mainly to conservative and Christian-right news outlets? Bachmann’s media appearances since her election create the impression of a member of Congress who is shy when not among friends, and perhaps a campaign that is concerned about what happens when a nonconservative microphone or camera is pointed in her direction.

So Rep. Bachmann - the conservative firebrand and lighting rod from the Sixth District - has consistently shied away from the regional, left-leaning media, which has engaged in bald-faced campaigns of context-mangling character assassination against every single Republican to the right of Arne Carlson in recent memory (see: Rod Grams, Norm Coleman, Alan Fine), and has been in the bag for every single DFL candidate for every single office in every election in recent history. Their claims - and those of their apologists - that outlets like MPR and WCCO are “balanced” are utterly disingenuous, and about as plausible as Flash claiming he’s a Centrist, my claims to be the “best” feminist in the Twin Cities, or the Minnesota Monitor’s claims to being “independent media”.
Hm.

In response, I wondered - would local lefty politicians be any different? So I sent invitations, two weeks ago, to the following:

  1. Senator Amy Klobuchar (Emailed and left a phone message for her press person)
  2. Senate Candidate Al Franken (Emailed and left a voice mail message)
  3. Rep. Keith Ellison (left a voicemail and an email)
  4. Rep. Betty McCollum (I left a message with her local press assistant)
  5. Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak (Email sent).
  6. “Growth and Justice” poobah Joel Kramer President Dane Smith (email sent)

In this email, I told the truth; that Ed Morissey and I are overt conservatives - and that we pride ourselves on doing incisive, but fair, interviews. Not ambushes. Not slime jobs. Which is better than an awful lot of the Twin Cities’ media (to say nothing of the ever-hack-ier Monitor) can say.

Responses:

  1. Senator Amy Klobuchar: Nothing.
  2. Senate Candidate Al Franken: Nothing.
  3. Rep. Keith Ellison: Nothing.
  4. Rep. Betty McCollum - my “representative” did not respond.
  5. Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak: I did get an automated response - but nothing else.
  6. “Growth and Justice” poobah Joel Kramer President Dane Smith: Eureka! Mr. Smith will appear on an upcoming Northern Alliance broadcast.

So - the obvious conclusions are that, even when faced with a chance to “reach across the aisle” to the half of Minnesota that is to the right of center, in a medium that pledges to be fair and even-handed (and has demonstrably delivered on that pledge over the course of four years), Minnesota’s elected DFL politicians and candidates are a bunch of snivelling cowards.

(Comments stating anything to the effect of “I’m glad they didn’t waste their time responding to a bunch of conservatives” will be mocked for what they are - the enabling of craven cowardice).

Cross-posted at Shot in the Dark. Comments welcome.