Beyond Paranoid
Greta Van Susteren interviewing Newt Gingrich:
Van Susteren: Well, you know, Fox News Channel got, quote, punished — Fox News Channel didn’t get a question the other night — Major Garrett, our White House correspondent — because the Fox broadcast, not the Fox News Channel, but the Fox broadcast decided not to air the press conference.Gingrich: Right. Which should tell all of you about the abuse of power inherent in this administration. They now control General Motors, they basically control Chrysler, they control Citibank, they control AIG, and they are prepared to punish people.
I think that’s very dangerous, to have a president who thinks he should get up in the morning and punish Americans. You know, appease foreigners, bow to the Saudi king, embrace the Venezuelan dictator, and punish Americans? I think that’s a very dangerous attitude.
Wow. I mean, I have heard that Fox News people have been going ballistic for the past few days over this, but this is a bit much.
Let’s leave aside the idea that Fox News is, from a fully objective and 100% factual standpoint, a political propaganda machine of an opposition party. Leave aside for the sake of this argument the fact that Fox News has been close to the edge of insanity in its virtually non-stop, hysterical, fear-mongering, sleazy smear-fest of this president even before he got elected. Forget for the moment that during the Bush administration, reporters were often frozen out, not just for one press conference, but for long periods of time, because of their political orientation (witness Helen Thomas). And set aside for now the fact that Obama has respected Fox News in the past far more than Bush or McCain did for similarly biased newscasts–after all, Obama actually had the guts and fortitude to appear on Bill O’Reilly’s show–did Bush or McCain ever even think of coming on Keith Olbermann’s show? Hell no. And let’s ignore Newt’s reference to wingnut blathering about bowing to Saudi Princes (as opposed to holding hands) and all that other unhinged nonsense.
Set all of that aside for a moment. How the hell can you say that failing to call on a news network a single time is equal to “punishing Americans” every morning? I would hardly call it “punishing Fox News,” but to call it “punishing Americans” is to presume such status for Fox News, that they somehow hold such an honored, beloved and revered place in the hearts of all Americans that a snub to them is a snub to the whole country–well, I mean, wow.
And “abuse of power”? Really? How is not calling on Fox News an “abuse of power”?
And “they” (who are “they” exactly?) somehow “control” GM, Chrysler, Citibank and AIG? I used to think that Gingrich was relatively reasonable, but this is on par with some of the more paranoid rantings of people like Glenn Beck. The administration, in exchange for bailout money, was able to negotiate some concessions from these corporations necessary to the health of the American economy, but not nearly enough to even come close to being called in “control” of them, and certainly not so the president could wake up in the morning and decide to incur his wrath on the American people by calling the corporations up and, well, doing what exactly with them?
To make the jump from the president failing to call on a news network dedicated to destroying him for a single news conference, to the conclusion that the President of the United States has absolute control over major corporations and uses them in an iron-fisted manner to attack all of the American people while in obeisance to foreign powers–that’s deeply into heavy schizophrenic-delusion territory.
When you add this to all of the crazy stuff being said by so many on the right, including state governors openly suggesting secession and stuff like that, one has to reflect on the fact that Obama has been president for less than four months and then wonder where this will all lead to, eventually. The mind boggles at the inability of conservatives to tolerate even the smallest amount of power in the hands of someone aside from themselves. Frankly, it is more than just a bit worrying.