The McCain Palin campaign's war against the media came to Wisconsin yesterday as Republicans who fell upon Cedarburg apparently heaped abuse on the media who were following the candidates.
Charlie Sykes -- who, in keeping with GOP talking points has taken to describing the media not only as "liberal" but "elite" -- happily read emails from Wisconsinites who attended the rally.
"Apparently the press bus got a rousing reception from the crowd," Sykes told his listeners. Reading from an email he went on to say "The press bus just rolled by and was loudly booed," he says. Based on a picture someone emailed (to him directly or via another listener was unclear), Charlie added "I would say that people were giving the media the Cedarburg 1-finger salute."
This would be of course the same Charlie Sykes who was offended by a Fox reporter cum agent provocoteur getting shouted down by protesters in Denver.
Realizing a win in November is a long shot, the GOP has reached deep into its Nixon play book and is running against the media and the liberal blogosphere.
As Al Giordano notes:
A "war" like that - McCain-Palin vs. the media - will make all the legitimate questions about Palin's public policy positions, the extreme right-wing and out-of-touch stances that she shares with McCain, play second fiddle to the more compelling narrative that will push voters to declare for or against the media. If the 2008 campaign becomes a referendum on the media, McCain wins. Large swathes of the voting public - if offered a choice between "Palin vs. the media" - will naturally begin to root for her even as they disagree with her policy stances.
Charlie, a Nixonian's Nixonian and the King of Milwaukee Orthogonians, 100% approves of this line of attack and has been pushing this line to an absurd degree.
The media is trying to "destroy" Sarah Palin, Charlie informs his listenes. They want to ask questions about the "Troopergate" coverup (which Charlie misrepresents by saying the issue about whether Palin's ex-brother-in-law was a bad trooper who should have been fired). They might want to ask about her relationship with the Alaska Independence Party (he claims the smear is that she was a member, which is not true, but she had appeared before them and her husband was a member). And some want to set the record straight about her governing record.
(Meanwhile, Sykes will merely lie about Obama by saying he smoked crack.)
In Sykesland, the media is hoping to catch Sarah Palin in a gaffe and make her look stupid...and in the next breath he says that the media gave Al Gore a pass on gaffes. Dude! The media invented gaffes for Al Gore or reliably reprinted RNC faxes about faux-gaffes! And did you know that the media ignored the Jeremiah Wright story?
Also in Sykesland, Charlie demands Oprah have Sarah on the show -- but at the same time no doubt would agree that she's under no obligation to face real media scrutiny.
Stomachturning.
For some perspective on the historical roots and precedents of the GOP's war against the media, check out Rick Perlstein. Is lipstick the difference between Sarah Palin and Spiro Agnew?
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