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New Dictionary Entry: Blowback

From the Wikipedia entry:

Blowback is a term used in espionage to describe unintended consequences. In context, it can also mean retaliation as the result of actions undertaken by nations. The phrase is believed to have been coined by the CIA.

Is it really news that CBS is biased? Hardly.
Is it really news that Dan Rather will only look at information that fits his 'template' for the interpetation of news? Hardly.

So what's the story here?

The story is that everyone, everywhere has noticed an egregious case of political advocacy by a major media outlet covering a Presidential election. It's not that it happened that's news, It's that everyone noticed and everyone noticed that everyone noticed. Thats news.

CBS set out to tell a story that fit within its existing worldview template. Into that template fell a series of documents that backed everything that CBS already believed to be true at a deeply personal level. When contradictory information was put in front of the producers and their staff, it was dismissed as 'partisan driven' or 'unsubstantiated', only information that fit the template was allowed to enter the holy temple in the Church of the Divine St. Murrow and Chronkite.

It was just one story. One story that the producer will insist to her dying day is true now and was true then, with or without the documents, or any witnesses. She wanted it to be true, she needed it to be true, therefore, It just has to be true, what else could it be?

What's important here isnt the newest case of what we saw demonstrated with Jason Blair, Howell Raines or the BBC ,the important thing here is what is not what is going on in press rooms, its what is going on in the country.

I am now of the opinion that we are seeing something really, really big happening.

America has changed. It was changing before 9/11, but that fateful day didnt start the change, it just accelerated the change. In 1994, The House of Representatives switched parties from control of the Democrats to the Republicans. It was a sizeable victory, that has remained in place ever since. Bill Clinton, to keep "relevant" needed to run towards the right, away from his parties left leaning tendancies. The result is that the great liberal icon Bill Clinton ended the welfare state and made fiscal responsibility a reality. Only Nixon can go to China, but only Bill Clinton could end welfare as we know it. In 2000, a sitting Vice-President of a popular President in a time of prosperity found himself in a narrow race, when by ever historical indicatior, it should have been a "walk in the park". In 2002, Democrats poured everything they had into defeating Republican Govenor Bush in Florida and outspent Republicans 3 to 1, They lost.

The Democrat party and their willing accomplices in the "Ted Baxter Media" have walked into this election season like a careless baggage handler into the prop of a commuter airliner. They literally dont know what hit them.

Into this new reality the leaders of the Democrat party have made the fateful strategic mistake of attempting to "reinforce an indefensible position". They have poured everything they have into pointing out George W. Bush and his National Guard service.

Now,every hour on the hour, America is treated to pictures of George W. Bush in a flight suit, climbing into the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. On the cover of "Newsweek" sits two pictures side-by-side, Bush on one side, Kerry on the other. The problem is that the Picture of Kerry is the anti-war Kerry, the doppleganger who was not at the Democrat Convention.

Mr. Bush, who has never made an issue of his service, who has rarely if ever shown pictures of his service, now has his opposition running ads and doing hit peices in the media to remind us over and over again that Bush was in the military.

The Democrats set out to discredit the President. The President is now setting the terms of the debate.

This is the 'law of unintended consequences' having the same impact in press rooms that the law of gravity has on the foot of everyone who ever dropped a hammer over their toes.

This is 'blowback'.

In 60 days, the wikipedia entry for blowback will include a picture of Dan Rather.

The Democrat party is no longer fighting to win for Kerry, They are fighting for their lives. When the party trots out Teddy Kennedy, the party is scared. When Bill Clinton finds himself immobilized by quadruple bypass at this crucial time in history, you have to wonder if its providence or an innate sense of smell on the part of Mr. Clinton that has caused him to avoid standing side by side with a loser. When only half the people who say they are for Kerry say that they like Kerry or agree with him, the threat to the Democrats is the downticket losses that are sure to come with a Bush Landslide.

Whatever position Kerry takes at the debates will alientate half of his constituents. With the smell of loss in the air, many will be asking themselves "if Im going to lose anyway, why compromise my values"?

For those that say that the Kerry campaign is being purposely sabotaged so that Hillary Clinton can run in 2008, at this point you have to ask if she will run as a Democrat or as a Whig? Will there be a Democrat party in 2008 for her to be candidate in?

New Dictionary Entry: Blowback

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