Republican Reps to Boycott MSNBC?

Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom links to Ace of Spades

I’m beginning to think the time has come to see more of this. So long as MSM “reporters” are acting like George Soros-funded attack ads in pancake makeup and mousse, there’s no reason for Republicans Reps to provide them with on-air access.

If the media is no longer interested in even pretending toward objectivity and fairness, why should Congressional representatives continue to lend legitimacy to this theater of the (odiously and obviously) absurd?

I have long maintained that if you allow yourself to be used as a verbal punching bag by the Drive By Media you should stop. It's not true in politics that you don't care what they say about you as long as they spell your name right. It is foolish and counterproductive to get suckerpunched by the media.

How do you know you'll get suckerpunched? The odds are good that anyone in the Drive by Media is a liberal and is not interested in making you look good. Some may be strive for fairness, but they all have their biases, that is human nature. So there should be a few rules for Conservatives and Republicans (they are not the same) if they are asked to be interviewed.

First, if in doubt, refuse.

Second, if you are going to appear, do a practice session beforehand. It is amazing but true that most politicians are not usually very good at debate. The floors of the House and Senate don’t really lend themselves to give the kind of debate you get in the British House of Commons. Here we have speakers reading their prepared remarks to mostly empty chambers.

There are some exceptions. Newt Gingrich is an excellent debater for our side; Barney Frank is also very good. Most are awful. That is why it’s a mistake to go into an interview without thorough research on the person doing the interview, the topic for discussion, a thorough practice session with someone who will throw you hostile questions and a willingness to shoot back. Showing weakness, being defensive or appearing flustered signals the reporter that he can close in for the kill. Fire back and there is a good chance you will either cause the reporter to back down or at least make the interview a draw.

Finally, the public image of the Drive By Media is now tarnished sufficiently to allow a Conservative to run as much against the media as against his opponent. It may sound Machiavellian, but there may be a good campaign strategy that can be built around branding your opponent as a lapdog of the local – and often hated – media monopoly and then running against the media organs. If the Left can run against effectively against Big Tobacco or Big Oil, how much more effective can be a campaign against the "elite, effete snobs.”who look down their noses at the “little people like you from their gilded palaces who try to tell you what to do and think everyday.”