The Media Keeps Getting it Wrong or Lying on Purpose

Guests in the weekly Gang-up: Karen Tumulty, reporter, "Time" magazine; Clarence Page, syndicated columnist, "Chicago Tribune"; Tod Lindberg, editor of "Policy Review" and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and the supposedly token conservative, I guess.

Congratulations on the extra hour for international affairs!

Mrs. Diane Rehm is a beautiful, caring and most sensitive person and it shows in her manners and concerns. Today she was showing her real sense of indignation about Rush Limbaugh's reported reaction to a partisan political ad by actor Michael J. Fox. Unfortunately, she also showed her liberal bias as she misrepresented only about 99% of the story regarding Mr. Fox and Mr. Limbaugh.

Mr. Fox has admitted in writing and in interviews that he stops taking his medication on purpose whenever he wants to highlight the effects of his disease. What Mr. Limbaugh has criticized is the creation of the unassailable victim, a tactic used by the Democratic Party to politicize any cause without allowing the possibility of criticism of the spokesperson. It is shameful that Mr. Fox and the Democrats have chosen to politicize in a partisan manner a tragic illness like Parkinson's. Many Parkinson's sufferers agreed with Mr. Limbaugh.

Mrs. Rehm statements that Limbaugh's comments lack intelligent fundaments are without fundaments themselves since I wonder if Mrs. Rehm honestly took the time to hear the whole debate on Limbaugh's Show and how the mainstream media has absolutely, and without any semblance of objectivity, to a fair analytical mind, purposefully distorted and misrepresented what Mr. Limbaugh actually said and how he said it.

But Mrs. Rehm's reaction is precisely what the tactic of the unassailable victim seeks to create. The unassailable victim can launch into the partisan political arena from the parapet of a supposed neutral cause or position, throw his verbal grenades and verbal Molotov’s and runs and hides behind his revered and victim status. And of course, nobody can criticize their behavior because the critic then becomes a cruel, insensitive brute.

Mr. Fox is a political activist who came out during the last election for Mr. Kerry and now has lent his credibility using his illness for partisan purposes on a campaign that knowingly distorts the proposal in question and lends itself to create false hopes about the cure of a disease pending on political outcomes. The intentions of the ad are clear. They want to reinforce the template that Republicans and conservatives do not care about Parkinson’s sufferers just like they don’t care about clean drinking water and breathable air.

Out of context, yes, Mr. Limbaugh's comments are grotesque and unfair, but no more and no less than those that have been made about Mr. Limbaugh's deafness or drug addiction which in liberal circles automatically should grant him not only a prime badge of victim but even a badge of courage. But as we have seen lately with being gay, liberals can freely choose when an illness or a sexual preference can be used for political purposes as something to behold or as something to deride.

A Republican African American candidate for the senate, Mr. Michael Steele gets called "slavish", gets thrown Oreo cookies at him and the silent outrage from liberals is deafening. The jokes and actual celebrations about Mr. Limbaugh's becoming deaf were never criticized by liberals including the DR Show. No one needs to defend Mr. Limbaugh, he can do that himself. But what I have defended and called for in these and other pages is for liberals to look closer at their own self-righteousness and sanctimony before they are so quick at pointing fingers.

Last night with Katie Couric Mr. Fox said that finding a cure for his disease should be a partisan effort. I agree. Ironically, the person who should now lead a double effort against Parkinson's is Mr. Fox himself. First, he should disassociate his image and efforts from partisan political ads, and then he should try to reconsider again those of us who left his side when he decided to politicize his affliction.


http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/story.html?id=9eeae5c9-c9ff-4eab-8ef1-907ae94b1326