Rathergate anniversary - 12 days and counting - Ann Coulter and Judge Posner

Ann Coulter's column this week discusses a book review written by Judge Posner in the New York Times.

Ann summarizes Judge Posner's review as arguing that conservative alternative media have pushed the MSM/DNC further to the left.

Ann disagrees. She believes the MSM/DNC has moderated.

I think they are both right. I have written previously that the MSM/DNC has become more bitter and partisan than ever in the wake of the Rathergate, Easongate, Koran/Toiletgate and other MSM/DNC scandals of the past year. The MSM/DNC has become more bitter as they attempt to avoid losing more ground.

That is not exactly Judge Posner's thesis. Posner argues that market forces are pushing the MSM/DNC further to the left. I think that thesis is too simplistic. Market forces do not influence the MSM/DNC any more than market forces influence suicide bombers. The MSM/DNC is essentially a mass totalitarian movement. Profit is secondary to MSM/DNC. MSM/DNC must make money only so it can survive long enough to see capitalism and freedom end in the West. George Soros does not expect his investment in Cindy Sheehan to turn a profit.

At certain points it becomes too costly for MSM/DNC to operate certain units even in the short run. That is why Newsweek has recently reduced its editions. Those same forces drive the networks to compete with each other for ratings. But MSM/DNC will not use profit as a justification for telling the truth about the issues of our day. Such a policy would not be consistent with the MSM/DNC ideology.

I think Posner has correctly identified a trend, but has attributed the wrong reasons.

I think Ann Coulter is partially right that certain MSM/DNC units are trying to be less obvious about their bias. Instead of Peter Arnett, for example, CNN trots out other propagandists to convey the MSM/DNC message. Ann forgets that MSM/DNC has an unlimited number of mouthpieces to do its dirty work. When one of them gets discredited, others step in to fill the void. The public doesn't recognize the new face right away and lets its guard down. I am just glad that the Islamists don't have as many suicide bombers as the MSM/DNC has leftists.

We cannot think that any one "new media" victory is decisive or that we can relax because we ousted an anchor or a few executives. As I said in July, "[w]e will have to fight the MSM/DNC issue-by-issue, scandal-by-scandal, lie-by-lie."