Domestic Contingency

In recent weeks, something formerly referred to as “War” has been unofficially declared against a television network. Fox News Channel has been singled out and denied it’s every request to interview Barack Obama or even top officials of his Administration. This became conspicuously apparent a couple of weeks ago when BHO, went on a whirlwind media tour of all the Sunday News/Political programs and even included an appearance on the David Loserman show, while continuing to refuse the requests from Fox.

In the past few days Obama, his Chief of Staff (Rahm Emmanual), his Senior Advisor (David Axelrod) and others close to the administration have made statements that outright attack the #1 rated cable network. In true statesmanlike, above-the-fray fashion, they’re lashing out with numerous accusations such as: (Fox News is) “not a news organization” and (Fox News is) “opinion journalism masquerading as news.” This Coordinated effort is designed to isolate and discredit the only network to dare be critical the President’s policies, while simultaneously sending a message to the rest of the media that they dare not. A picture comes to my mind here. It’s a visual of the Three Stooges, wearing black pinstriped suits Fedora hats and each gently stroking a violin case.

I find it somewhat amusing, yet quite telling, the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, can be so thin skinned when it comes to criticism when if fact criticism seems to be the primary modus operandi of his administration. If you were a Congressman that called him out for a lie, you would be called a racist. If you were a radio talk show host who criticizes his policies or ideology you might be accused of hate speech. If you were a free market capitalist, an insurance company, a CEO, an oil company, or any other type of person who has accumulated wealth, you might be vilified for your greed. If you were a former president (R) then you might be the arrogant author of failed policies of the past. And if you are a conservative, someone who opposes abortion, a member of the NRA or a former military person then you could be a potential terrorist threat. Get it?

Rather than seriously engage his critics at Fox and attempt to defeat them with honest intellectual debate, this President prefers to take “drive by” pot shots at them, marginalize them, and then dictate his propaganda through the rest of the left wing freak media who simply repeat the talking points and gleefully cheer lead, the Democratic agenda.

While I disagree with Obama’s position on nearly everything, I am not a partisan hack, nor a dogmatic ideologue. I want to hear the case made and debated in an honest way. I’m not buying a Sham-Wow here. The policies and laws enacted by our government are a serious matter. The people don’t want to invest in a non-refundable bill of goods at a going-out-of-business sale just because the Salesman-In-Chief tells us “the time for debate is over, the time to act is now.” ("Act before midnight tonight and we’ll include billions upon billions of dollars in pork spending and scrub away your liberties… but wait that’s not all…call right now, and we’re going to double your order…")

Obama has said that he wants to move beyond the partisan atmosphere of past administrations. Is it wrong to assume he is supposed to be the president of all Americans? Well then, may I suggest that the shutting out, avoiding or declaring a ”Domestic Contingency” against Fox News, or anyone else who is critical of his policies, will only make the atmosphere more visceral. In my opinion, leadership is about convincing people you are right and then they willingly follow along. Strong arm tactics are far more characteristic of a Fascist Dictator. Am I allowed to say that?

Mr. Obama needs to man-up. He should drop the fascist tactics and engage Fox and others who challenge him. If his ideas have merit, he will win the debate. If his ideas are discredited then he will lose the debate and then we will have that teachable moment he’s been waiting for, won’t we?

Humility, intellectual debate and the evidence of history are 3 crucial elements to good policy making. This society is not some grand experiment. Bad policies have destructive consequences. A skeptical press forces politicians to articulate their ideas and sheds light on their motives, hopefully scrubbing away the bad ones. For all practical purposes, the public can only hold their representatives accountable in an election year. In the meantime, we must have someone to take these politicians to task, and force them to restrain themselves. Shutting out critics is an indication of a diabolical agenda. It indicates they prefer the cover of darkness. Our nation’s founders knew a critical press would be absolutely necessary to keep us informed about our government and make them answer for their actions. Hence… the very First Amendment to the United States Constitution.