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« on: June 30, 2017, 05:18:40 PM » |
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The Patriot Post - Alexander's Column 6-28-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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Democrat/MSM Collusion v the First Amendment and Liberty
By Mark Alexander
Jun. 28, 2017
“But the fact being once established, that the press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood, I leave to others to restore it to its strength, by recalling it within the pale of truth.” —Thomas Jefferson (1805)
Why we do what we do…
Our Founders rightly asserted that the First Amendment1 protection of a free press would be a powerful check on statist usurpation — that a free press was the most promising assurance for extending Liberty to future generations.
Consistent with the views of other Founders, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it.” He also noted, “No government ought to be without censors & where the press is free, no one ever will.”
Indeed.
However, after his first term in office, in his 1805 second inaugural address, Jefferson wrote: “During the course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been levelled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety.”
A free press was and remains essential to the protection and advancement of Liberty. But as Jefferson noted, the disingenuous adulteration of that sacred First Amendment trust, in which the media abandons its responsibility and colludes with partisans to become an instrument of their bidding, perilously endangers the future of Liberty.
In principle, our Founders’ advocacy for a free press was correct. In practice today, however, the collusion between the statist Democrat Party2 and its press outlets — the Demo/MSM propaganda machine, which now encompasses most of the mainstream media — has devolved into the most significant self-inflicted threat to Liberty3 today.
To counter that threat, our team4 launched The Patriot Post two decades ago5, when the Internet was a lonely and largely uncharted medium. But we believed it would be, long term, the most effective medium to reach the largest number of grassroots Americans6 with a genuine conservative message. Today, The Patriot Post is the oldest news, policy and opinion digest on the Web, and a highly acclaimed touchstone of Liberty for Americans from all walks of life.
We didn’t attain that status on our own merits, however. When others observed that he was a “great communicator,” my mentor, Ronald Reagan7, said humbly, “I communicated great things, and they didn’t spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation — from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries.” Any success we have experienced comes solely from our steadfast devotion to and advocacy for “the principles that have guided us for two centuries.”
From day one, we have remained sharply focused on our original objective — to counter the mainstream media (MSM) stranglehold on public opinion and to expose their corrupt collusion and obstructionist objectives. It was critical then, and now more than ever, that we effectively counter their statist rhetoric with our genuine conservative message “to Support and Defend8” the inalienable Rights of Man9 outlined in our Declaration of Independence, and the Liberty3 and Rule of Law10 enshrined in our Constitution.
The alternative, if we do not all lock arms in opposition to this growing menace, is, irrevocably, tyranny.
A recent Harvard study11 evaluating media “reporting” on President Donald Trump12 — or, more accurately, their echo chamber parroting of Democrat talking points — makes clear their Leftmedia prejudice13.
Of course, that bias has been well documented for years, as repeated surveys find that more than 90% of “journalists14” support Democrats — most of them leftist Democrats.
In 2014, The Washington Post noted the findings of an academic study15, “American Journalists in the Digital Age16,” that only “seven percent of journalists are Republicans … fewer than a decade ago.”
In 2015, The Washington Times affirmed the findings of a book on media bias17, entitled “Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind,” that “more than 90 percent of D.C. journalists vote for Democrats.”
In 2016, it was no surprise when the Washington Examiner reported the results18 of a Center for Public Integrity media study19 finding, “Of the 430 people CPI identified as ‘journalists, reporters, news editors or television news anchors — as well as other donors known to be working in journalism,’ 96 percent gave money to Clinton, according to federal campaign finance filings.”
Of far more value to Hillary Clinton’s20 campaign were the “in-kind” contributions of her sycophantic media pool — who tailored their reports to favor her election.
And note that, just prior to Trump’s election, The Washington Free Beacon reported survey results21 that found, “Not a single White House reporter is a Republican.” (I know, you’re shocked — SHOCKED.)
Again, the leftward mainstream media trend has tracked with the leftward trend in the Democrat Party for three decades — but that trend has accelerated dramatically in the past year to the point of raw collusion. The consequence is an accelerated decline in journalistic standards22. |
