The Latest Line From The Democrats

The Latest Line From The Democrats: In Paul Krugman’s Friday editorial he touches on a theme that I’ve heard repeatedly from Democrats since the election…

“It’s not just Sept. 11. As Jonathan Chait points out in The New Republic, the Republicans also have a huge structural advantage. They can spend far more money getting their message out; when it comes to free publicity, some of the major broadcast media are simply biased in favor of the Republicans, while the rest tend to blur differences between the parties.

But that’s the way it is. Democrats should complain as loudly about the real conservative bias of the media as the Republicans complain about its entirely mythical liberal bias; that will help them get their substantive message across. But first they have to have a message.

….Talk radio and Fox News let the hard right get its message out to its supporters, while those who oppose the juggernaut stay home because they don’t get the sense that the Democrats offer a real alternative.

To have a chance of breaking through the wall of media blur and distraction, the Democrats have to get the public’s attention — which means they have to stand for something.”

I really like how Krugman blames the media for not getting the Dems message out while simultaneously complaining that the Dems don’t have a message. Moreover, isn’t it kind of ironic for a left-wing editorial writer with a regular gig in the New York Times to complain that the Dems have no way to get publicity?

Yes, the right has Fox News and talk radio (and within a few years, the population on the internet will be large enough to make a trifecta) — but the left has ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, almost every paper in the country except the Washington Times. Would Krugman and the rest of the left be willing to trade?

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