Sunday, June 08, 2008
Quick

Letters to the Editor

Pushing Hillary out

Although it’s their own internecine fight, I have been impressed at the mainstream media’s manipulation and outright partisan interference in the Democratic primary. No fan of the Clintons, I’ve disciplined myself to observe the events with dispassion. Remove the name Clinton from the candidate, and what you see more clearly is the overt attempt by the mainstream media to anoint a presumptive nominee months before primary elections are held and decided.
 
In other words, they have pursued an overtly anti-democratic process, with their own cadres dictating the desired or forecast results prior to millions of their fellow citizens having the opportunity to vote. Let us recall that until recent history, presidential candidates were selected at the convention, following roll-call votes by the state delegations. Until such votes are held, there is no official candidate.
 
Led by Tim Russert, since early February, all of MSNBC and most of CNN have not only declared Obama as winner, they have been an echo chamber for Obama’s campaign to urge Clinton to drop out and concede or to ridicule her for not doing so. “It’s inevitable,” they keep repeating. Then, following up on their arrogant prescience, they belittle every subsequent primary victory for Clinton, even when won with lopsided 70-30 percent margins.
 
What Russert and his counterparts in the media have ignored is that since the Rev. Wright and Obama’s San Francisco comments, Clinton has won nearly every single primary. In other words, the better the public gets to know the real Obama, the worse he does at the polls. This is why they wanted Clinton to quit, the earlier the better.
 
If ever there was any doubt about the media’s bias and partisanship, it has been dispelled by their incessant calls to hound Clinton out of the race. Even reasonable Democrats must see this now.
 
But what occurred last weekend at the Democratic Party’s rules committee meeting must make every freedom-loving American shudder. Hundreds of thousands of voters from Florida and Michigan had their votes canceled out, divided up and reapportioned. Why should it matter what conflicting Democratic committees said at the time or what any of the candidates said at the time? The irrefutable fact of the matter is that neither election was canceled. Both elections were held, and the citizens of both states went to the polls in an open, fair and democratic election, fully believing they were casting votes to decide who the Democratic nominee for president would be. These voters, and by extension the entire American electorate, were deceived, betrayed and disenfranchised.
 
Unlike the craven mainstream press led by Russert, Chris Matthews and their network political experts, I view this as no insignificant matter. It is not, as they would have us believe, a trivial matter of arcane rules and regulations. It is a direct assault on our liberty.
 
Instead of simply counting votes, which is the only fair thing to do with votes in any election anywhere, the members of the Democratic Party Rules Committee deem it in their purview to decipher votes, interpret votes, translate votes—anything but count them! Then, to add fantasy to falsehood, they insisted on conjuring votes that were never even cast. After all, goes their illogic, if voters didn’t show up who otherwise would have, it’s up to the Committee members to discern how they would have voted if they did.
 
The fact that this committee of self-appointed commissars met at all, with the intention to nullify or change election results, is appalling enough. The additional fact that the media was silent in the face of this monstrosity is cause for grave concern.
 
If anyone has shown their true colors in this election season, it’s the left-wing radicals who control the Democratic Party, and their partisan allies in the press.
 

YOU FORGOT OUR MAY 11 READER’S CHOICE COVER

Just a question from a fellow publication designer: Why is The Sunday Paper’s masthead so often obscured on the front cover? This kind of layering can be good in many instances; however, mostly it just makes me think, “WTF is this rag?” See “T.I.” (April 6), “Ted Talks” (April 13) or “From Jane to the Joker” (May 4).

A COOL MILLION PER YEAR OUGHT TO COVER IT

(Regarding “Crank It Up,” the Sunday Paper summer music guide, May 25): “81 Must-See Concerts.” Assuming one is eclectic enough to want to attend all these events and doesn’t get free passes for promoting them, has anyone calculated the “must-earn” figure to buy tickets (not to mention gas, parking, perhaps babysitters) for all of them?

The Sunday Paper must stop using “must” so much.

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