‘Fox News All-Stars’ Bash Progressive Bloggers As ‘Pungent,’ ‘Profane,’ ‘A Pox’

[Hissyspit]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/20/fox-tba-bloggers

‘Fox News All Stars’ Bash Progressive Bloggers: They Make It ‘Difficult To Get Any Problem Solved’

Last night on Special Edition, the “Fox News All-Stars,” used this week’s Take Back America conference as an oppurtunity to bash progressive bloggers. Describing bloggers as “a pox,” Roll Call editor Mort Kondracke compared them to right-wing talk radio, charging that they are preventing “American problems” from being solved:

KONDRAKE: And They are the leftward pressure on the Democratic Party that the right-wing talk show hosts are on the Republican party. And between the two of them they manage to polarize even further an already polarized politics, making it increasingly difficult to get any American problems solved, like health care, or the war in Iraq, or sensible terrorism policy.

NPR’s Mara Liasson also compared bloggers to the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth because “that was on the internet too.”

Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer added that conservative blogs are “more analytical and restrained” while “the more liberal blogs are a lot more pungent and profane.” Watch the entire segment:

CLICK LINK FOR VIDEO

Transcript:

LIASSON: I would say the Democratic Party is most influenced by its bloggers.

I think that the liberal blogosphere has become an important constituency group in the Democratic party, just like the labor unions, or the civil rights groups, the way that Harry Reid, the Senate Majority leader meets with them like he would any other constituency group in the Democratic party.

I think that they have, as Mort said, have been responsible for making the Democrats more partisan, more confrontational, and pushing the party to the left.

HUME: And the sources of their influence, is it their readership or is it something else?

LIASSON: I think it’s both. They have both been able to raise a lot of money.

HUME: The bloggers?

LIASSON: Yes, the bloggers and the internet–

HUME: Are you talking about the bloggers or the activists websites?

LIASSON: Well, I’m talking about both. The activist websites like Moveon.org– Moveon.org along raised $27 million in the last cycle. And Moveon.org members, there are three million of them, every cycle give about $100 million on their own to candidates, all of them, presumably, Democrats.

So they raise a lot of money, and they also create a kind of echo chamber, and they do keep stories alive that would otherwise die. And, look, we saw this on the right, the swift boat veterans, that was on the internet, too.

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[blogslut]

1. LOL Krauthammer's a comedian!

Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer added that conservative blogs are “more analytical and restrained” while “the more liberal blogs are a lot more pungent and profane.”

That's hilarious!

[spanone]

6. yea charles blah blah blah....horseshit

[bunkerbuster1]

8. Conservative blogs often don't allow comments at all

Fucking cowards.

And the ones that do have commenting tend to think swear words make the baby Jesus cry, or something.

[ixion]

2. yeah, we're really holding back that coporate theocracy implementataion

that the right has been just dying to implement. :grr:

[Robbien]

3. Politico has to recoup some of its costs somehow

Since Politico has put out a good deal of cash for a presence at Take Back America, it doesn't surprise me that there are right wing hit pieces coming out of the convention.

The RNC communications strategy that Politico published said this type of bashing activity is exactly what it needed to diminish the left wing online advantage.

[Kurovski]

4. Kick

Edit: my mistake.

:kick:

[pacalo]

5. First of all, what is "Fox News All Stars"? The most vile hosts gathered on one show?

I don't watch this propaganda channel, although I've seen quite of bit of their most outrageous claims on video, so I'm being sincere when I ask that.

Reading this transcript, it seems they're trying to (1) shape a negative opinion toward liberal (not Democratic or progressive) bloggers:

-- Notice the word "bloggers" is being used heavily, particularly by Hume, to create hatred toward the bloggers (activists!!!) & the internet;

-- Notice the "scary" message about the "activists/bloggers" for the already-scared-of-Democrats-thanks-to-Faux-News audience: they (the ordinary people who happen to be constituents) influence the Democratic Party; they "have been responsible for making the Democrats more partisan, more confrontational, and pushing the party to the left"; they're raising "millions"; they "keep stories alive that would otherwise die (Faux News'/BushCo's biggest worry).

(2) It also seems that they are trying to mobilize their audience to create their own (Rethugs as a whole) "echo chamber" on the internet.

[SoCalDem]

7. Freepers must be worried.. n/t

[bunkerbuster1]

9. Maura's right

"they have ... been responsible for making the Democrats more partisan, more confrontational, and pushing the party to the left."

Kicking and screaming, yes. And we all should be damn proud of them for doing so.

[Arugula Latte]

17. Why can't they just stay the good little cowed Bush bootlickers that they were? nt

[bunkerbuster1]

10. Speakin of which, anyone NOT see Digby's acceptance speech?

It's a thing of beauty. She speaks for me, and so many others, here.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=860546376283859020&q=digby+%22take+back+america%22&total=1&start=0&num=100&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[Johonny]

11. From this I learned

That Fox news all stars doesn't think right wing talk radio is helping America... yet Fox employs so many of them. Hmm...

That Fox news all stars doesn't think Right wing bloggers aren't able to influence the republican party. They probably noticed the blogs are pretty much the same bad facts and ideas heard on right wing radio.

That Fox news all stars don't think anything you see on the internet is valid, insightful or helpful. Since I just read their views on the internet...

[blondeatlast]

12. I, for one, am a proud Pox. nt

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

13. Those Silly Repugs are at it again...

Roll Call editor Mort Kondracke compared them to right-wing talk radio, charging that they are preventing “American problems” from being solved

And so many on the other side of the aisle too busy creating problems for the rest of the world to figure out what the real "American problems" are...like the economy, the widening income gap, lack of a proper health care system, no living wage, 3000+ troops lost, thuggish security detail at the airports, enormous national debt, sprawl, $3/gallon gas prices, jobs getting shipped overseas, mega-corporate mergers...you get the picture.

[Bitwit1234]

14. Well when you are the scum on the bottom

you attack the cream of the crop. Why else would Fox take to slurring the liberal bloggers. If they weren't a heck of alot better than they were, they would ignore them.
\
So since they feel threatened by a superior group they attack - attack.

[lumberjack_jeff]

15. Success!

we're now a pox comparable to "that great american" Rush Limbaugh!

This has been my contention for a long time. Battle isn't a problem unless there are two combatants. When one party is abusing another without reciprocity, it's easy to ignore it. If only congressional democrats would learn this lesson.

Indict
Impeach
Imprison

It's about fuckin' time that someone speak with some passion for working people.

[Arugula Latte]

16. Can't just ignore us anymore, eh Fox Asswipes?

Good.

[valerief]

18. Is "Fox News All-Stars" an oxymoron? nt

[rasputin1952]

19. FOX's "Take Bak America"...WTF...The conservatives have

had America, and they ruined it!

What a crock of crap...leave it to FOX to come up w/this tripe...and Brit Hume???? He took some time off from chasing his flock of sheep, (the only way he can get laid)...to do this wonderful expose'!!!!

Grind out my eyes w/rusty reamer....