Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Short memories and mainstream media bias

This subject would otherwise be a little too insider-Washington-policy-wonkish for me, but the double standard is just too glaring for me not to mention it. Several times on the radio news tonight, I had to listen to that nasally reprobate Charles Shumer (Kleptocrat-NY) as he waxed indignant, calling for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez because he fired eight U.S. Attorneys, apparently with the knowledge and approval of President Bush. Sounds real scandalous right? President Bush ordered the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys, apparently without good reason... oooooooohhh.

Of course, the president doesn't need a reason. Those U.S. Attorneys are part of the executive branch, and they serve at the pleasure of the president. If you think firing eight of them is scandalous, how about Reagan and Clinton? When they took office, they both fired every single one of the 93 U.S. Attorneys in this country. Attorney General Janet Reno did the firings after being told to by President Clinton. Did the Democrats in Congress call for her resignation? Heck, for that matter, did the Republicans? The answers are no and no.

I for one don't give a rip if Alberto Gonzalez resigns or not, I don't give a rip about the whole thing. What I do give a rip about is consistency. Nary a peep was made by the media when Clinton fired all 93 U.S. Attorneys in 1993; in fact, it was considered a part of the political game that is played when leadership of the Executive Branch changes hands. But once again, the mainstream media has a different set of rules for our current president.

I have already seen the same thing in other aspects of Bush's and Clinton's presidencies. Remember when Bill Clinton ordered the bombing of Serbia in 1999? He killed thousands of innocent Serb civilians. Did you see any mass demonstrations on the National Mall and impassioned celebrity speeches? Neither did I. After it was determined that the reason for our bombing of Serbia - genocide - was a sham, did the peaceniks chant "Clinton lied, Serbs died"? Nah, I never saw that happen either.

I don't even support 90 percent of what President Bush has done so far during his time in office; this isn't about defending the current president. All I ask for is consistency. I am tired of hearing the media get all worked up about non-issues that they turn into issues simply because the current president has an "R" next to his name instead of a "D".

Good Day to You, Sir

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree with you, a little consistency please. Who cares which President did what, just be consistent.