Our political Quote of the Day today also includes a headline of the day.
The Quote of the Day comes from MSNBC’s required-reading-for-political-junkies’ First Read on Newt Gingrich & Co blaming “the media” for his latest political foot in mouth which increasingly is leading Republicans to give him a boot in his other end:
*** When in trouble, blame the media: Turning to the 2012 election… The excuse of last resort is always media bias. And that is precisely what Team Newt alleged yesterday after an incredibly rough last 72 hours. Gingrich spokesman Rick Tyler fired off this bizarre statement to Huffington Post: “The literati sent out their minions to do their bidding. Washington cannot tolerate threats from outsiders who might disrupt their comfortable world… They fired timidly at first, then the sheep not wanting to be dropped from the establishment’s cocktail party invite list unloaded their entire clip, firing without taking aim their distortions and falsehoods. Now they are left exposed by their bylines and handles.” But here’s a simple truth: The media that Team Newt needs to blame isn’t the so-called MSM; rather it’s the conservative echo chamber (Limbaugh, Krauthammer, FOX). Irony of ironies? The man who is perhaps the leading media critic on conservative circles, Brent Bozell, isn’t exactly taking it easy on Newt…
And, indeed, the term “liberal media” has become tiresome — and, frankly, lame. Except here Gingrich et. al are pressing the demonization button (“It’s the media’s fault! I Newt Gingrich have been on Meet the Press more than 30 times but never in a million years did I think that David Gregory would ask me such a mean question! Sean Hannity would never have been so irresponsible! Demons possessed my skull and made me use the words that I used that some consider accurate but others feel undercuts my own party!”) but didn’t want to..could not envision..would never dare…to blast Rush Limbaugh. It’s another case of Limbaugh getting being The Untouchable for Republicans. And Krauthammer? He as usual reflected what many conservatives and Tea Party types were thinking. And, most likely, what many Republican establishment types were thinking as well. This is all proof that Gingrich has been tolerated — not loved and not sought.
Blaming “the media” is such an instant hot button to push. It immediately elicits sympathy. But is now as much of a cliche as saying it was someone’s “defining moment.”
Our headline of the day also deals with Newt. A headline worth singling out via Richard Adams’ blog on The Guardian:
Newt Gingrich: big mouth, little chance
The irony in all of this: Gingrich was stating the truth — or at least truths that many independent voters would perceive as truths: (1) right wing social engineering can indeed be distasteful as left-wing social engineering to many and (2) the Ryan budget will not pass and if you believe it will then I can sell you THIS for $1.74.
UPDATE: Read Brent Bozell on Gingrich (and your computer will melt).
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.