Why Conservatives Love Rathergate
By Monte Kuligowski (09/23/04)
In Jonah Goldberg’s column of Sept. 14, he didn’t hold back on how Rathergate made him feel. He said he loves the story so much he would like to hug it and squeeze it and call it George (referencing a line from Bugs Bunny). Those words caused me to consider my feelings over the recent implosion of CBS News. To paraphrase a verse from a children’s song, I love it a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap and I’m talking in my sleep, about the news.
So why do conservatives have such affection for the Rathergate story?
Before addressing that question, I think I’m speaking for most of us when I say we don’t delight in the fall of Dan Rather. Yes, he was an over-inflated, pridefully arrogant, partisan political operative, who thought he was above reproach. Yes, it would be easy to relish in his downfall, especially considering how difficult it is to shake those horrible memories of Mr. Rather sitting across the table from the enemy, treasonously interviewing Saddam Hussein, addressing him as “Mr. President” with a smug smile and a twinkle in his eye. But even in light of that, and all of his other partisan offenses, I would rather see Rather restored to a position of honor and dignity. But that’s not going to happen with only a superficial apology for being “misled” and for making a “mistake in judgment . . . in good faith” over a story he still would have peddled, only in a different manner.
Considering the seriousness of what CBS News did (or tried to do), Dan needs to say something like: “America, please accept my sincerest apologies. I guess I was blinded by a partisan ambition to get George Bush. Knowing that Ben Barnes had completely changed his story since the last election should have been reason enough to not give him a microphone. Even his own daughter believes he is lying for political gain. If that weren’t enough, I knew Mr. Barnes was serving as a vice-chairman for Senator Kerry’s campaign when he was asked to appear on 60 Minutes. Regarding the fraudulent memos, this was nothing less than a vast left-wing conspiracy. First of all, my unreliable source was, like Ben Barnes, a pro-Kerry partisan operative. Wanting so badly to nail Bush, I rejected the strong warnings of two document experts and instead went with a handwriting expert who, at best, could only say the copy of the signature on the copied memo looked like Killian’s. Rather than acting in good faith, I truly set aside all journalistic integrity and due diligence in my pursuit of President Bush. I’ve brought shame to myself and to all of CBS News. For that I am truly sorry and I do ask for forgiveness.”
A real apology – as opposed to cries of being “misled” – would greatly benefit Mr. Rather. Of course he probably wouldn’t phrase it quite like I suggest, but he will have to accept full responsibility; as much as it hurts.
Anyway, back to the question of why conservatives love Rathergate.
Rathergate has conservatives doing back-flips because it confirms, for all people, what we’ve known for quite some time: There exists such a strong liberal bias in the major newsrooms that the mainstream media had been operating essentially as a rather large 527 for the Democratic Party.
The giant networks were once fortresses wherein liberal news people could hide securely. The operative words are, were once. Rathergate has single-handedly broken down the walls of their strong tower. Before Rather’s foot could exit the 60 Minutes studio on that infamous September evening, attentive bloggers were already disproving his story at the speed of sound. Remember Mr. Rather’s immediate response to his critics when he was stopped on a sidewalk by a reporter a couple days later. It was quite telling. The anchor was smugly condescending while writing critics off as “partisan political operatives.” Mr. Rather sternly warned that people should stay away from the “professional rumor mill” of the internet. That’s quite a statement considering it was the internet folks who actually broke the real story of the counterfeit memos. It turns out that the professional rumor mill was none other than CBS News. And, no, I didn’t forget: they were also exposed as the real political operatives.
Conservatives love the scandal because it helped facilitate the inevitable paradigm shift in news media. Network news will never be the same. The major networks once had a monopoly – with the uninformed – on perceived integrity and trustworthiness of news information. Prior to Rather’s fall, network news was king. Not a healthy king, mind you, but an arrogant ruler nonetheless. In the Information Age, however, the divine rights of the news kings are over. Absolute authority has been replaced by absolute accountability. The former kings once sat in their high towers looking down their noses with disdain for the little people. But now the tables have been turned. Hooray for the internet bloggers who brought down a vast empire within micro-seconds. Internet sources have gained credibility, while the big media establishment has been humbled. Everyone loves a story where a little David takes down a haughty Goliath.
Yes, the liberal media will still be tempted to influence its audience with a left-wing bias. But now they do so at their own peril. That’s why we love Rathergate.
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